[CactusPete23]

Having tried the Black and using the Red right now, I would say the Red provides a noticeable upgrade in detail retrieval and layering over the Black, and presumably also over the original Dragonfly.

FYI, Most people here that have heard both agree with you.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

FYI, Most people here that have heard both agree with you.

Have you compared the original Dragonfly to the red?

 

[ninetylol]

After a month of owning the Red I still like it very much BUT i still have a feeling that is mainly because of confirmation bias or "post-purchase rationalization". What do i mean?

I really like the sound quality and features the Red provides but after trying to do some rational listening sessions on my PC between the Red and my onboard solution (which should be fairly good, since I got a X99 Rampage V Extreme) I really cant hear any differences. As much as I'd like to hear them.
Now my question is why my opinion on the Dragonfly Red differs with all those people in here? I have three theories:

1. My Philips Fidelio X2 just dont need the amping power the Red provides (the Rampage V Extreme features a amping part on the board which seems like its enough for the easy to drive X2's)
2. The Rampage V Extreme actually is really good besides being an ALC1150 chip since it features some stuff like "PCB electrical isolation, stainless steel I/O, ELNA audio capacitors, EMI shielding, and the Sonic Sense amp feature"
3. Since i mainly use it for stationary use with my PC, and not for mobile use with my android phone I dont benefit from the upgrade as much as I would

Your thoughts?

 

[WoodyLuvr]

After a month of owning the Red I still like it very much BUT i still have a feeling that is mainly because of confirmation bias or "post-purchase rationalization". What do i mean?

I really like the sound quality and features the Red provides but after trying to do some rational listening sessions on my PC between the Red and my onboard solution (which should be fairly good, since I got a X99 Rampage V Extreme) I really cant hear any differences. As much as I'd like to hear them.
Now my question is why my opinion on the Dragonfly Red differs with all those people in here? I have three theories:

1. My Philips Fidelio X2 just dont need the amping power the Red provides (the Rampage V Extreme features a amping part on the board which seems like its enough for the easy to drive X2's)
2. The Rampage V Extreme actually is really good besides being an ALC1150 chip since it features some stuff like "PCB electrical isolation, stainless steel I/O, ELNA audio capacitors, EMI shielding, and the Sonic Sense amp feature"
3. Since i mainly use it for stationary use with my PC, and not for mobile use with my android phone I dont benefit from the upgrade as much as I would

Your thoughts?

One area you are possibly forgetting is an improvement in fine volume control via the DragonFly.

 

[ninetylol]

Thats obviously true, but since i dont wanna blow my ears away the onboard solution is loud enough and I would argue its a bad 200 bucks spend just for finer volume adjustments. Talking mor about the DAC/Amp quality which should be much better on the Dragonfly Red but just doesnt reach my ears.

 

[Degru]

After a month of owning the Red I still like it very much BUT i still have a feeling that is mainly because of confirmation bias or "post-purchase rationalization". What do i mean?

I really like the sound quality and features the Red provides but after trying to do some rational listening sessions on my PC between the Red and my onboard solution (which should be fairly good, since I got a X99 Rampage V Extreme) I really cant hear any differences. As much as I'd like to hear them.
Now my question is why my opinion on the Dragonfly Red differs with all those people in here? I have three theories:

1. My Philips Fidelio X2 just dont need the amping power the Red provides (the Rampage V Extreme features a amping part on the board which seems like its enough for the easy to drive X2's)
2. The Rampage V Extreme actually is really good besides being an ALC1150 chip since it features some stuff like "PCB electrical isolation, stainless steel I/O, ELNA audio capacitors, EMI shielding, and the Sonic Sense amp feature"
3. Since i mainly use it for stationary use with my PC, and not for mobile use with my android phone I dont benefit from the upgrade as much as I would

Your thoughts?

Sounds like your integrated audio is simply good enough already. I noticed a significant improvement over my onboard audio, but I am using old budget hardware for my phone, laptop and desktop so it isn't that great. My desktop in particular has a lot of interference that is noticeable even when plugging in high impedance cans like HD600. Dragonfly Red is dead silent in comparison.

Dragonfly Red is really most useful for portable/phone use due to its small size and low power draw. I also stack it with a Fiio A5 when I use my HD600, though the Dragonfly can technically handle them on its own.

 

[chozen1278]

I purchased the Black and one thing I have noticed while using it, is the difference in the finer details of the music I listen to. I use both an iPhone and an Android. Just going through their headphone jacks, I have to strain my ears to hear details I don't have to focus on or strain my ears for while using the DFB. I think this is more to how, or what gets amplified.. I don't eq either of my devices TBH and I don't use this in my car since the radio I use is aftermarket and has a built in 24 bit DAC (Sony radio).

So, my original intent for buying this isn't going to e what I wind up using it for. I do wish the CCK USB3 kit for the iPhone was as bendable as the OTG cable for my Android so I can "velcro" it to the case.

 

[Degru]

I purchased the Black and one thing I have noticed while using it, is the difference in the finer details of the music I listen to. I use both an iPhone and an Android. Just going through their headphone jacks, I have to strain my ears to hear details I don't have to focus on or strain my ears for while using the DFB. I think this is more to how, or what gets amplified.. I don't eq either of my devices TBH and I don't use this in my car since the radio I use is aftermarket and has a built in 24 bit DAC (Sony radio).

So, my original intent for buying this isn't going to e what I wind up using it for. I do wish the CCK USB3 kit for the iPhone was as bendable as the OTG cable for my Android so I can "velcro" it to the case.

This brings up an interesting use I've found for mine; it is much nicer to use it with aux inputs on cars or stereos and such than the phones headphone jack, since it can deliver enough power that I don't have to turn up the main volume higher than for native sources.

 

[kismetsky]

Sounds like your integrated audio is simply good enough already. I noticed a significant improvement over my onboard audio, but I am using old budget hardware for my phone, laptop and desktop so it isn't that great. My desktop in particular has a lot of interference that is noticeable even when plugging in high impedance cans like HD600. Dragonfly Red is dead silent in comparison.

Dragonfly Red is really most useful for portable/phone use due to its small size and low power draw. I also stack it with a Fiio A5 when I use my HD600, though the Dragonfly can technically handle them on its own.

How much does the A5 improve on the DFR with your HD600? I've noticed a marked improvement on my HD6XX when amping through my home receiver and am considering an A5 or O2 amp for portable use.

 

[chozen1278]

This brings up an interesting use I've found for mine; it is much nicer to use it with aux inputs on cars or stereos and such than the phones headphone jack, since it can deliver enough power that I don't have to turn up the main volume higher than for native sources.

That's how I was originally doing it. But then I spent some time REALLY listening for any differences in the audio quality with the Dragonfly through the Aux vs my iPhone connected to the radio via USB with my car radio (Sony MEX-XB100BT which has a 24 bit DAC and is Eq'd with Cadence Component speakers) doing the heavy lifting and actually found there was no difference in presentation, details, or soundstage (not entirely sure if the car radio DAC is doing he lifting through AUX or not, didn't have to change the EQ on the radio, just adjust the volume on the phone)

So, that idea was easily abandoned. So I just use it on my phone while at my desk or working out.. And in my laptop whenever I feel like using Roon and house speakers

 

[dc655321]

After a month of owning the Red I still like it very much BUT i still have a feeling that is mainly because of confirmation bias or "post-purchase rationalization". What do i mean?

I really like the sound quality and features the Red provides but after trying to do some rational listening sessions on my PC between the Red and my onboard solution (which should be fairly good, since I got a X99 Rampage V Extreme) I really cant hear any differences. As much as I'd like to hear them.
Now my question is why my opinion on the Dragonfly Red differs with all those people in here? I have three theories:

1. My Philips Fidelio X2 just dont need the amping power the Red provides (the Rampage V Extreme features a amping part on the board which seems like its enough for the easy to drive X2's)
2. The Rampage V Extreme actually is really good besides being an ALC1150 chip since it features some stuff like "PCB electrical isolation, stainless steel I/O, ELNA audio capacitors, EMI shielding, and the Sonic Sense amp feature"
3. Since i mainly use it for stationary use with my PC, and not for mobile use with my android phone I dont benefit from the upgrade as much as I would

Your thoughts?

This probably doesn't apply to your gear, but one of the reasons that I purchased one of these little USB goodies was for its small output impedance.

BTW -- I had a DFB, but it was noisy even in the absence of input. But I did keep a SMSL iDEA (similar to DFR). Great little device...

 

[Degru]

How much does the A5 improve on the DFR with your HD600? I've noticed a marked improvement on my HD6XX when amping through my home receiver and am considering an A5 or O2 amp for portable use.

A5 would be the better bet, but only if you are using quite hard to drive headphones. Even on low gain, I don't have to turn my HD600 up very high at all. As for improvement, I almost think it's not so much improvement as the amp's sound signature. The Dragonfly Red has detailed but lighter bass, while the A5 has more energy in the low end with the highs a little more smoothed out compared to the Dragonfly Red on its own. I like the sound, but the A5 and DFR sound equally good, just more emphasis on different frequency ranges. The A5 certainly does give more headroom for volume, especially with high dynamic range music, whereas the DFR on its own is just barely enough to bring an HD600 to its full potential.

Plus I can feel content knowing I can power just about any headphone out there short of an HE-6 with ease. Dedicated analog volume control is also convenient, and the bass boost switch is fun from time to time, though it's quite over-done.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Thats obviously true, but since i dont wanna blow my ears away the onboard solution is loud enough and I would argue its a bad 200 bucks spend just for finer volume adjustments. Talking mor about the DAC/Amp quality which should be much better on the Dragonfly Red but just doesnt reach my ears.

Who said anything about listening loudly? More volume steps benefits the entire volume spectrum. I have found that these extra steps allows one to better fine tune their listening level especially at low volumes.

 

[alessio-cpt]

After a month of owning the Red I still like it very much BUT i still have a feeling that is mainly because of confirmation bias or "post-purchase rationalization". What do i mean?

I really like the sound quality and features the Red provides but after trying to do some rational listening sessions on my PC between the Red and my onboard solution (which should be fairly good, since I got a X99 Rampage V Extreme) I really cant hear any differences. As much as I'd like to hear them.
Now my question is why my opinion on the Dragonfly Red differs with all those people in here? I have three theories:

1. My Philips Fidelio X2 just dont need the amping power the Red provides (the Rampage V Extreme features a amping part on the board which seems like its enough for the easy to drive X2's)
2. The Rampage V Extreme actually is really good besides being an ALC1150 chip since it features some stuff like "PCB electrical isolation, stainless steel I/O, ELNA audio capacitors, EMI shielding, and the Sonic Sense amp feature"
3. Since i mainly use it for stationary use with my PC, and not for mobile use with my android phone I dont benefit from the upgrade as much as I would

Your thoughts?

The ALC 1150 is simply a codec, not a chip. The results will depend widely on the implementation on your motherboard, like the chipset and all the extra stuff mobo manufacturers loves to add to spec list (gold plated capacitors, awesome insulation, dual-layer pcb etc.). Hence, you can compare your experience only with other Rampage V owners.

For example, I own an AsRock z170m extreme4 which implement the same codec and I agree the quality is good, even tough a bit muffled compared to the Red. The deal breaker for me is that it does not have enough power for my Fidelio X2 to sound at their best, there is a significant difference in output power despite TI® NE5532 amp touted by the motherboard.

If you're good with your setup though, I would advice not to spend extra money for a Red. I initially got the Red for office and portable use, that's its main advantage, even though it's so good I forget to unplug it from the desktop every other day

P.S. try both the back and the front jack, some mobo have an heaphone amp on only one of the jacks, so there can be a big difference in volume level/isolation depending on which jack you use.

 

[kiwikozo]

Hi, I currently have a dragonfly black and Oppo PM-2 headphones. Would upgrading to the dragonfly red be beneficial? What sort of differences could I see?