[ricksome]

iDevice (MP3's) >>> DFB>>> Sony MDRV6 / Phillips SHP9500
No Complaints>>> DFB>>> Highly Recommended

 

[canali]

 
I emailed this to AudioQuest. Here's their response:


Dear Sir,
 
Yes, you’re right.  Dragonfly Black’s analog volume control uses non-linear “steps” which are not consistent 1dB intervals.  Dragonfly Red uses all 1dB steps in its digital volume control.  It’s the fact that Dragonfly Black is making these slightly bigger “steps” that throws people off.   Assuming you couldn’t overload the signal, Red would sound louder than Black at full volume due to its increased output (2.1V versus 1.2V).  And Red sounds better!

 holy mole!  Black is louder? with my laptop and dragonfly red I'm only at 4-8%
for moderately loud volume levels as it is. Loving my new 1more e1001s.
 
deciding now to go to  try the meze 99 classics or flc 8s...decisions.

 

[suburbguy]

I was thinking the same thing. 
 
The upcoming elimination of the 3.5mm jack on the iPhone 7 and future Android models should create substantial interest in portable DAC units like the Dragonfly Black and Red - even among non-audiophiles.

 

[suburbguy]

I am still a relative dinosaur: I still use Apple Lossless Files that I burned from my large compact disc collection on various iDevices. 
 
Even though this it not necessarily HD listening, the sound quality of these audio files when coupled with an iDevice, Jitterbug, Dragonfly Red, and a high quality pair of headphones is pretty good for the combined price and portability of all of the devices. 

 

[Muniek66]

I got a little unusual problem. Does someone have tested the Dragonfly with headphones with remote control? I have Black version and unfortunately the remote control doesn't work,  as well as the controller of the Sound Blaster E3 (connected as AMP).
 
P.S. Maybe it's heresy flowing from my inexperienced ears, but I compared the DFB to SB E3 (in DAC mode) on MrZ Tomahawk and I didn’t hear any big differences in sound quality, whether its signature, maybe except that Dragonfly slightly tempered bright up of Tomahawk – for my preferences is a plus. But the Sound Blaster is more functional, when it comes to mobile DAC for smartphone.

 

[SpiderNhan]

USB DACs currently lack the ability to pass headset controls onto the host device. This is reality with all external DACs. Some models will circumvent this with Bluetooth controls or hardware buttons built into the DAC itself, but it is not a shortcoming inherent in the Dragonfly design.

 

[cribeiro]

USB DACs currently lack the ability to pass headset controls onto the host device. This is reality with all external DACs. Some models will circumvent this with Bluetooth controls or hardware buttons built into the DAC itself, but it is not a shortcoming inherent in the Dragonfly design.

It is a shortcoming inherent in the Dragonfly design and apparently in all current USB DACs "for phone use". The fact that nobody is doing it does not mean that it is technically impossible. I would rather say that no manufacturer cared up to now and we will see it coming in some future (more expensive?) version.
This is almost at the same level with having to buy UAPP for the intended use. In fact, back in the times where computer gear came with a decent driver (yes, a mobile phone is a computer), you would not need to install non-free third-party software for the device to work as intended.
It is like buying a keyboard loaded with features, rely on the windows driver to control them and blame windows if they do not work and telling to spend some money on additional software to solve the issue. I know I am oversimplifying, but this is basically the case.

 

[SpiderNhan]

I got a little unusual problem. Does someone have tested the Dragonfly with headphones with remote control? I have Black version and unfortunately the remote control doesn't work,  as well as the controller of the Sound Blaster E3 (connected as AMP).

I was addressing what Muniek66 posted, mainly, "I got a little unusual problem." It's not an unusual problem if it's the industry standard. It's also near impossible for flawless implementation of external DACs when things like upgrading from Lollipop to Marshmallow(or Android N) can render OTG functionally useless let alone the vast fragmentation among Android phones in general.

To quote the late Mitch Hedberg,

"You can't please all of the people all of the time, and last night, all of those people were at my show. "

 

[WutDaFunk]

I was addressing what @Muniek66 posted, mainly, "I got a little unusual problem." It's not an unusual problem if it's the industry standard. It's also near impossible for flawless implementation of external DACs when things like upgrading from Lollipop to Marshmallow(or Android N) can render OTG functionally useless let alone the vast fragmentation among Android phones in general.

To quote the late Mitch Hedberg,

"You can't please all of the people all of the time, and last night, all of those people were at my show. "

Marshmallow and N doesn't support OTG? 

 

[SpiderNhan]

Marshmallow and N doesn't support OTG? 

I've read a couple posts in the Android phone/USB DAC thread where people had issues after upgrading certain models. My Galaxy S6 Active had no issues going from Lollipop to Marshmallow.

 

[pkcpga]

I have the dragonfly black with my iPhone 6 Plus and Noble savant. The sound improvement from this little amp is unbelievable, it actually gives a much fuller sound than when I had my phone plugged into my grado amp with the savant, for some reason I get better hitting lows with the dragonfly and don't loose much up top. It's really an amazing little amp. I tried the black and red, choose the black because the red appeared to kill my phone battery fairly quickly compared to the black. Also for me sound wise, the black seemed to have harder hitting bass and more volume. I actually thought something was wrong with the red until I read this thread. For $99 it's a great travel amp, very portable not much larger than having a remote and mic on your cable.

 

[Devodonaldson]

I have the dragonfly black with my iPhone 6 Plus and Noble savant. The sound improvement from this little amp is unbelievable, it actually gives a much fuller sound than when I had my phone plugged into my grado amp with the savant, for some reason I get better hitting lows with the dragonfly and don't loose much up top. It's really an amazing little amp. I tried the black and red, choose the black because the red appeared to kill my phone battery fairly quickly compared to the black. Also for me sound wise, the black seemed to have harder hitting bass and more volume. I actually thought something was wrong with the red until I read this thread. For $99 it's a great travel amp, very portable not much larger than having a remote and mic on your cable.

Not trying to Rag on you, only inform. The positive change in sound quality you are noticing is not the amp section of the dragonfly that you are noticing. That is due to the dac portion. The amp merely amplifies the sound making it louder. It is the dac that is providing the tonal qualities that you are noticing as it takes the pure digital signal from your player and converts it to an analog signal to be played through your output device.

 

[waynes world]

Not trying to Rag on you, only inform. The positive change in sound quality you are noticing is not the amp section of the dragonfly that you are noticing. That is due to the dac portion. The amp merely amplifies the sound making it louder. It is the dac that is providing the tonal qualities that you are noticing as it takes the pure digital signal from your player and converts it to an analog signal to be played through your output device.

 
I agree with you. But are you sure that the amp section only amplifies the sound and doesn't colour it in any way? Just curious.

 

[pkcpga]

Thanks for the info, my grado gs1000 do not sound as well through the dragonfly. The grado's now have an unnatural amount of bass so not sure if the dragonfly color the sound a bit or if the grado amp does but each seems to work well with a different headphone. My sennheiser hd800 seem to sound great with either.

 

[SpiderNhan]

I agree with you. But are you sure that the amp section only amplifies the sound and doesn't colour it in any way? Just curious.

Amps do color sound. Just listen to a tube amp and a solid state amp being fed by the same DAC and the differences are glaringly obvious. Then there's tube rolling. A lot of times the coloration of an amp is a deciding factor in how it pairs with one's headphones.