[canali]

 
This post made my ears perk up.

great to hear and thanks for sharing.

personally i think audioquest is nailing the price point: not too low where you'll
think 'hmmm maybe the quality sucks a bit...''  but also not priced as high as he mojo which rules the roost in its price point.

audioguest is testing the market with the more expensive red.... they've seen how well the inital 2 versions sold. if it's just released models' sales are good maybe their next series of dragonflys could possibly offer yet another more premium model, say in the $300-$400 (or more $$) range, should it sell as well as it's expected to, esp if the reviews are overall very favourable...just speculating.

what will be further interesting is in who will win out in the portable audio music market: daps vs smartphones.
esp when you have gizmos like this that can really elevate the sound of your device.

 

[defbear]

   
who knows: maybe audioguest is testing the market with the more expensive red.... if the red's sales are good
their next edition dragonfly will be a yet more premium series in the $300-$400 (or $$) range, should it sell as well as it's expected to, esp if the reviews are favourable...hey just speculating.

A very astute post. I'm not cynical. I've ordered a Red from B&H. But  yes, I think you've got it!

 

[Signal2Noise]

Anyone know if Red and/or Black are USB Audio Class 1 or UAC2 ? Mojo won't work with my Windows Phone because W10M doesn't support UAC2 yet. Looking for a good option to tote around. UAC1 will work since my Audioengine DACs are fine.

 

[brent75]

The Red definitely benefits from burn in. I've had it running non stop today. There is a tiny amount of warmth (not heat) now. It's really mellowed. Bass has improved. Separation, clarity, instruments etc are more refined.

I can confirm this as well. It sounded very nice straight out of the box - but it definitely feels like it's loosening up/stretching its muscles now. I ran mine for nearly 24 hours straight, and (1) can definitely notice a sound improvement, and (2) was surprised that it was barely warm to the touch. Super happy with this purchase. I would still love to hear the Mojo at some point to compare. I may think it sounds better, but it would take something pretty incredible for it to feel "$400 better" than Red.

 

[Deni5]

Impressed by the Dragonfly Red. You get a of lot performance for the money, especially when using it together with the Jitterbug (everything it does good gets a little better). To me it's on the same level as a HERUS+ which is twice as expensive DAC/amp. With the Dragonfly Red I would say you get 300-400 USD performance DAC level - getting more for the money is always a good investment
 
I believe the digital filter it uses (minimum phase) makes everything better. The original Dragonfly is good but Red is better in instrument separation, soundstage (something expensive DACs do well).
 
Mojo plays in a different league. Detail retrieval on the Mojo is staggering, no comparison. Mojo has more power and so on. But sometimes you don't care too much for that. No matter which you would buy you get more for less

 

[mofu]

great to hear and thanks for sharing.

personally i think audioquest is nailing the price point: not too low where you'll
think 'hmmm maybe the quality sucks a bit...''  but also not priced as high as he mojo which rules the roost in its price point.

audioguest is testing the market with the more expensive red.... they've seen how well the inital 2 versions sold. if it's new models' sales are good. maybe their next series of dragonflys could possibly yet another more premium model, say in the $300-$400 (or more $$) range, should it sell as well as it's expected to, esp if the reviews are overall very favourable...just speculating.

what will be further interesting is in who will win out in the portable audio music market: daps vs smartphones.
esp when you have gizmos like this that can really elevate the sound of your device.

In consumer market only little standalone DAPs are sol anymore. Most people use their phones. This is also due to the rise of streaming services, you can not use on a DAP.
With my previous phone I would probably have bought a DAP but now that I got a large battery, I can use my phone with the Red and the size of the additional device is much smaller compared to a DAP. For me this was the main selling point of the new dragonflies.

 

[dudde]

I just bought the Dragonfly Red to use with iphone and ipad. The sound is amazing but I am experiencing a crackling, cracked sound on some tunes when I use Spotify. Have discovered that this happens when I use Spotify's equlizer. Usually i use the acoustic or the jazz setting. Should it be so, has anyone else experienced the same thing?

 

[brent75]

I've EQed on other iPhone sources with zero issues (Onkyo HF Player).

If you remove the Red and stream same thing direct does the crackle disappear?

 

[dudde]

Without the Red Dragonfly , I have no problems with distortion at all.
I experience crackling noises on some songs and in the same places, not all the time. Just like some of the tones are too "hot" and begins to crack . An example is the beginning on this : https://open.spotify.com/track/1ty1s48EKTjZNdKweHkXpY with acoustic setting on the EQ . It would be interesting if someone could test streaming from Spotify on an iPhone / iPad with these settings. I use Shure srh1840 as headphones.

 

[stenog]

Anyone tried the red and the black version and if so is how big is the difference ? I can buy both in Denmark for an ok price, don't need to import.
 
I use Xperia Z5 and Tidal HiFI download from my phone or streaming. I only use iems so i dont need a lot of power just better clarity/sound

.

 

[0rangutan]

  Without the Red Dragonfly , I have no problems with distortion at all.
I experience crackling noises on some songs and in the same places, not all the time. Just like some of the tones are too "hot" and begins to crack . An example is the beginning on this : https://open.spotify.com/track/1ty1s48EKTjZNdKweHkXpY with acoustic setting on the EQ . It would be interesting if someone could test streaming from Spotify on an iPhone / iPad with these settings. I use Shure srh1840 as headphones.

 
I tried the track that you linked using the Dragonfly Black with iPhone 6 and IE800's.  There is a very small sound that I think matches your description when I use the Dragonfly and Spotify Acoustic EQ.  Disabling the EQ or removing the Dragonfly removes this sound.  It is very minor in my setup though and I can confidently say that I wouldn't have noticed it without knowing to listen for it.  It is quite possible that the effect is more pronounced on the Red than the Black.

 

[jerry1130]

Just got my Dragonfly Red. First impression, it's barely loud enough to drive my SE846 from a Nexus 6p. It only gets loud when android volume control is at 95%. Is there another gain control that I am missing?

 

[brent75]

  Just got my Dragonfly Red. First impression, it's barely loud enough to drive my SE846 from a Nexus 6p. It only gets loud when android volume control is at 95%. Is there another gain control that I am missing?

You're using Red...with IEMs...and phone is at 95% volume...and that's not loud enough?!? Yeah, that sounds crazy and no way that could be correct. Do you have a music player volume as well as phone volume?
 
If I had my iPhone at 95% + Red coming out of my open-back headphones it would be extremely painful and cause damage...can't even imagine an IEM on top of that.

 

[jerry1130]

Using Tidal and Spotify. No in-app volume control. Volume is completely controlled through Android. Tried it with my T50RP MK3 and they are unusable out of my phone with the Dragonfly Red.

 

[west0ne]

  Using Tidal and Spotify. No in-app volume control. Volume is completely controlled through Android. Tried it with my T50RP MK3 and they are unusable out of my phone with the Dragonfly Red.

Are you able to try it with another phone or with a computer? I had similar problems with a USB DAC (not the Dragonfly) in that it worked with some phones but there was almost no volume with another (Moto G). USB DACs do seem to be a bit hit and miss when used with Android.