[Nuhapaatti]

Hi!

I've used Steinberg UR22mk2 for casual recording of vocals and guitar. At the same time I've had Audioquest Dragonfly Black v1.5 for my headphones to get some volume and soundstage out of them. I just started to wonder if it is possible to somehow connect the Dragonfly's 3.5mm output to my Steinberg audio interface and then connect my headphones to the Steinberg's headphone output (which didn't give enough for my headphones and which was the reason to get the Dragonfly)? Would the volume be pre-amped and I would get volume I need for my headphones, the soundstage and volume adjustable by the knob of my Steinberg?

Both are connected with usb to my PC.

Thank you very much!

 

[Yoram Diamand]

Hi, my Dac is being upgraded, so for a week I got the dragon fly red. I had the Feliks Audio Euforia and the Meze Empyreans to see what the dragon fly red could do. It sounds better with the tube amp than the Empyreans straight into the Dragon fly. A high end system combined with the mid level dac will show, the dac does not scale up into heaven. But is much better than the headphone output of the soundcard of my PC. 200 Euro worth? I wish I could rent it for a week.

 

[makatech]

I recently bought a used DFR together with Jitterbug and a Supra RCA cable. Only a quick test so far but it is sounding good, firmware is updated.

This is how I plan using it:
1. When connecting my laptop to my old Marantz SR7500 receiver through pure direct when streaming from Tidal Hifi. The pure direct mode on my Marantz ensures it's the DFR Dac in use, this disables my subwoofer and some settings but the sound is good and detailed.
2. From my Samsung mobile phone using headphones on long boring car trips.

Questions:

For Windows it's plug and play (after verifying sound settings in Control Panel) and I don't need any additional software at all for controlling volume on the DFR?

For Android (S8 & S10 will be used) together with Tidal (Hifi) I need the buy a USB C OTG cable together with USB Audio Player Pro or Jet Audio?
https://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/products/usb-audio-player-pro

Finally I have no idea if the Jitterbug really is needed but I am using it right now. Perhaps it's good using it from the laptop but not necessary for my phone?

Any recommendations would be highly appreciated for maximum the quality of sound from the DFR from my two scenarios.

 

[rwpritchett]

I recently bought a used DFR together with Jitterbug and a Supra RCA cable. Only a quick test so far but it is sounding good, firmware is updated.

This is how I plan using it:
1. When connecting my laptop to my old Marantz SR7500 receiver through pure direct when streaming from Tidal Hifi. The pure direct mode on my Marantz ensures it's the DFR Dac in use, this disables my subwoofer and some settings but the sound is good and detailed.
2. From my Samsung mobile phone using headphones on long boring car trips.

Questions:

For Windows it's plug and play (after verifying sound settings in Control Panel) and I don't need any additional software at all for controlling volume on the DFR?

For Android (S8 & S10 will be used) together with Tidal (Hifi) I need the buy a USB C OTG cable together with USB Audio Player Pro or Jet Audio?
https://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/products/usb-audio-player-pro

Finally I have no idea if the Jitterbug really is needed but I am using it right now. Perhaps it's good using it from the laptop but not necessary for my phone?

Any recommendations would be highly appreciated for maximum the quality of sound from the DFR from my two scenarios.

For phone use, all you need is the USB-C OTG cable and you must use USB Audio Player Pro to let the DAC handle all of the work. S10 user here.

For Windows, you will need to use software that can bypass the Windows direct sound software layer or else the DAC is not playing the music file directly (your 96kHz music might be downsampled to 48kHz by Windows then sent to the DAC, for example).

There are several options. Foobar2000 is the most popular because it is free and flexible but it does require some setup with separate plugins. Personally I'm a fan of Jriver Media Center but its not free and it has a learning curve. In either program you need to configure audio output using WASAPI, ASIO, or kernel streaming to completely bypass Windows sound processing. I find WASAPI is easier to get working properly.

 

[makatech]

For phone use, all you need is the USB-C OTG cable and you must use USB Audio Player Pro to let the DAC handle all of the work. S10 user here.

For Windows, you will need to use software that can bypass the Windows direct sound software layer or else the DAC is not playing the music file directly (your 96kHz music might be downsampled to 48kHz by Windows then sent to the DAC, for example).

There are several options. Foobar2000 is the most popular because it is free and flexible but it does require some setup with separate plugins. Personally I'm a fan of Jriver Media Center but its not free and it has a learning curve. In either program you need to configure audio output using WASAPI, ASIO, or kernel streaming to completely bypass Windows sound processing. I find WASAPI is easier to get working properly.

Many thanks, so far in Windows I have only been using Tidal (paying for Hifi option) and I believe it was working (running Tidal in exclusive mode).

I will sporadically use Foobar2000 too though for my flac collection but not trying together with the DFR yet.

Will also try the DFR on my desktop where I am currently running Topping A90 and iFi Zen Dac (as a Dac) but my plan is having the DFR dedicated for my Marantz receiver unless when travelling.

Do you have any experience from the Jitterbug usb dongle? I'm a bit confused about this one and not sure yet if it is doing anything good for my sound chain.

 

[makatech]

I'm a bit confused about the sound settings in Windows 10 for the DragonFly Red. Would appreciate if somebody could enlighten me.

Using the DFR together with Tidal (Hifi), the desktop client.

It looks like my sound setting in Windows is being reset to 61% whenever I change the level. Not sure if this is a Tidal, DFR or Windows 10 issue? When running Tidal I believe the sound setting is being reset when a new song is starting.

Settings in Swedish.

 

[spacecowboy2050]

I’ve just bought the DFR to replace my DFB but I’ve got a few questions that I hope someone can answer for me!
I consider myself to be an audiophile of sorts in that I’m really picky with sound quality and like everything the best it can be within my budget. I’d like to think I can tell the difference between devices during listening although it’s not always the case!

I’m using the DFR from my iPhone 12 through the camera adapter into my Sennheiser Monentum 3s. I’ve tried various headphones in that price range (PX7s, QC35s) and liked the Senneisers the best. I know that some people may scoff here at the fact that I’m using £300 wireless headphones and I should be using pure wired ones but I enjoy the flexibility they give me.
Onto my 2 issues.
Firstly, I’m obviously using the headphones in wired mode from the DFR but if I do this with the headphones powered off I don’t get such good, full sound, even if I use an app with an eq such as Boom or Spotify (I wish Tidal would include an eq, people have been asking for one for years). When I use the DFR with the headphones powered on in active mode the sound is much better. My question is, are the headphones asking the sound through its own audio circuitry that negates the high quality sound coming from the DFR? With the headphones on, it is giving me ANC, the stored EQ inside the headphones and transparent hearing. So it must be doing something with the sound? It is it just amplifying it rather than changing it (apart from the EQ)?

This leads me onto my second question which could be linked to the first. Having tested both the Black and the Red, I couldn’t really tell much difference. There may have been a subtle difference but this could have been in my head knowing I’m using the better one. I decided to get the £8 Apple DAC adapter and again I couldn’t really hear anything massively different. I was using tidal masters as my reference although it wasn’t a strict A/B test as I kept having to unplug and plug back in giving me time to forget how the last one sounded!
If I’m not hearing a difference, is this something to do with how the headphones are processing the sound? At the moment, although I generally like how the music is sounding through the headphones, I can’t feel that I’ve got £170 with of sound over the cheap apple dongle.

Any advice/comments would be appreciated!

 

[megabigeye]

I’ve just bought the DFR to replace my DFB but I’ve got a few questions that I hope someone can answer for me!
I consider myself to be an audiophile of sorts in that I’m really picky with sound quality and like everything the best it can be within my budget. I’d like to think I can tell the difference between devices during listening although it’s not always the case!

I’m using the DFR from my iPhone 12 through the camera adapter into my Sennheiser Monentum 3s. I’ve tried various headphones in that price range (PX7s, QC35s) and liked the Senneisers the best. I know that some people may scoff here at the fact that I’m using £300 wireless headphones and I should be using pure wired ones but I enjoy the flexibility they give me.
Onto my 2 issues.
Firstly, I’m obviously using the headphones in wired mode from the DFR but if I do this with the headphones powered off I don’t get such good, full sound, even if I use an app with an eq such as Boom or Spotify (I wish Tidal would include an eq, people have been asking for one for years). When I use the DFR with the headphones powered on in active mode the sound is much better. My question is, are the headphones asking the sound through its own audio circuitry that negates the high quality sound coming from the DFR? With the headphones on, it is giving me ANC, the stored EQ inside the headphones and transparent hearing. So it must be doing something with the sound? It is it just amplifying it rather than changing it (apart from the EQ)?

This leads me onto my second question which could be linked to the first. Having tested both the Black and the Red, I couldn’t really tell much difference. There may have been a subtle difference but this could have been in my head knowing I’m using the better one. I decided to get the £8 Apple DAC adapter and again I couldn’t really hear anything massively different. I was using tidal masters as my reference although it wasn’t a strict A/B test as I kept having to unplug and plug back in giving me time to forget how the last one sounded!
If I’m not hearing a difference, is this something to do with how the headphones are processing the sound? At the moment, although I generally like how the music is sounding through the headphones, I can’t feel that I’ve got £170 with of sound over the cheap apple dongle.

Any advice/comments would be appreciated!

I don't know the answer to your first question. My best answer/guess is that even if the headphones are double-amping the output from the DFR, it's still the output from the DFR rather than some other device. Does that make sense (I'm kinda sleepy and I can't tell if what I'm writing makes as much sense as what I'm thinking)? The only way it'd be truly "negating" the DFR is if the headphones are receiving a digital signal (i.e., Bluetooth).

As to your second question: in a lot of metrics, the DFR actually measures worse than the Apple dongle, despite costing some 20x more. Google "audiosciencereview audioquest dragonfly" to see what I mean. As far as I know, ASR has only measured the USB-C Apple dongle, but I assume the Lightning one is similar. Anecdotally, using lowish impedance 'phones, I could not hear any difference between the DFR and the headphone output on my 2014 MacBook Air, but the MacBook actually sounded better than the DFR with high impedance headphones. Unfortunately, my DFR broke, so I can only go on memory. I used to like and recommend the DFR, but I think there are probably much (much, much) better bargains out there these days.

But whether or not I recommend the DragonFly or if it measures better or worse is kinda beside the point. What matters is whether or not you can hear a difference and/or enjoy using it.

 

[spacecowboy2050]

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated!

 

[sebek]

Has anyone compared DFR with a FiiO BTR5? Which is better?

Does the DFR have problems with sensitive IEMs? Does Jitterbug make sense, does it improve the sound in any way?

And can it easily drive headphones like HD58X and AKG K701?

I can get it used for 80 € or through an exchange with IEMs that I use little.

 

[1-MiC]

I had used it to drive my K7XX quite often. I enjoyed the sound. Using my phone I couldn’t max the volume without distorting but that was VERY loud. Using my laptop I never even got close to maxing the volume so no trouble there.

 

[megabigeye]

Has anyone compared DFR with a FiiO BTR5? Which is better?

Does the DFR have problems with sensitive IEMs? Does Jitterbug make sense, does it improve the sound in any way?

And can it easily drive headphones like HD58X and AKG K701?

I can get it used for 80 € or through an exchange with IEMs that I use little.

I got the BTR5 as a replacement for the DFR after the DragonFly broke, so I never had a chance to compare them side by side. From memory, though, I thought they sounded pretty similar. Both have worked well with my Westone UM Pro 50, 45Ω and 117dB@1mW.

What's your intended use? On the go? Wired? Connected to your PC? Feeding another amp?
If you're going to use it on the go, commuting, etc., something Bluetooth like the BTR5 is a much better option. Even though they're both tiny, when they're wired to your phone they're kinda a PITA to put in your pocket. My DFR was constantly coming unplugged from my phone while I was out and about. I haven't even bothered with the BTR5 because there's really no point. Bluetooth sounds very, very close to wired, and it's way more convenient. Also, the DFR will drain a phone; BTR5 will drain a phone's battery really quickly if it's in charge mode.
If you're gonna use it wired connected to a PC, something like the DFR would probably be the better option since it won't have a battery that you have to worry about. I'm not 100% on this, but I'm pretty sure once the battery on the BTR5 goes the whole thing is useless.
The DFR would also be better if you're using it to feed another amp, since the BTR5 doesn't output 2V from single-ended and using the 2.5mm output will likely cause a short within the BTR5.

That all said, unless there's some feature that you're absolutely married to, there are probably better options than either. The Tempotec Sonata HD Pro gets very good reviews and costs a fraction of the DFR. The Qudelix 5K costs about the same as the BTR5, but I think it has a better battery life and allegedly sounds just as good. Also, I find the FiiO apps to be annoyingly bad; I assume the Qudelix app is better since the Radsone app is so good.

Hope this is all useful to you.

 

[sebek]

I got the BTR5 as a replacement for the DFR after the DragonFly broke, so I never had a chance to compare them side by side. From memory, though, I thought they sounded pretty similar. Both have worked well with my Westone UM Pro 50, 45Ω and 117dB@1mW.

What's your intended use? On the go? Wired? Connected to your PC? Feeding another amp?
If you're going to use it on the go, commuting, etc., something Bluetooth like the BTR5 is a much better option. Even though they're both tiny, when they're wired to your phone they're kinda a PITA to put in your pocket. My DFR was constantly coming unplugged from my phone while I was out and about. I haven't even bothered with the BTR5 because there's really no point. Bluetooth sounds very, very close to wired, and it's way more convenient. Also, the DFR will drain a phone; BTR5 will drain a phone's battery really quickly if it's in charge mode.
If you're gonna use it wired connected to a PC, something like the DFR would probably be the better option since it won't have a battery that you have to worry about. I'm not 100% on this, but I'm pretty sure once the battery on the BTR5 goes the whole thing is useless.
The DFR would also be better if you're using it to feed another amp, since the BTR5 doesn't output 2V from single-ended and using the 2.5mm output will likely cause a short within the BTR5.

That all said, unless there's some feature that you're absolutely married to, there are probably better options than either. The Tempotec Sonata HD Pro gets very good reviews and costs a fraction of the DFR. The Qudelix 5K costs about the same as the BTR5, but I think it has a better battery life and allegedly sounds just as good. Also, I find the FiiO apps to be annoyingly bad; I assume the Qudelix app is better since the Radsone app is so good.

Hope this is all useful to you.

Thanks, very helpful.

I would use it mainly at home and with my smartphone.

I am looking for a second device with a normal 3.5 mm output.

Tempotec Sonata HD Pro is my first option, then I found this opportunity on the DFR and thought maybe it has more power to drive over ear headphones and maybe a better SQ.

 

[bmoregnr]

I like the Lotoo PAW S1 driving Etymotics a lot more than the DFR. The S1 does not have the bright/glassy coloration of the DFR while also being more open/natural. I also like the volume on the unit over needing the iPhone volume with the DFR. I don’t use the EQ modes but they are there if that matters to you.

 

[megabigeye]

Thanks, very helpful.

I would use it mainly at home and with my smartphone.

I am looking for a second device with a normal 3.5 mm output.

Tempotec Sonata HD Pro is my first option, then I found this opportunity on the DFR and thought maybe it has more power to drive over ear headphones and maybe a better SQ.

Oh right. I forgot you said 80€. That seems like a decent price. I'm on my phone right now, so I can't (or, uh, I'm too lazy to) look up power specs for the Tempotec or your headphones.
Also, for what it's worth, I never found the DFR to be bright, or "glassy," or whatever other descriptors for hot in the treble. I thought it sounded pretty good/neutral.