AudioQuest Dragonfly Black Portable Headphone Amplifier/DAC

$220

Description

USB DAC + Preamp + Headphone Amp

From MP3 to MQA and High-Res: Naturally Beautiful Sound at Your Fingertips—
Whenever and Wherever You Want It

DragonFly Black, the most affordable model of the award-winning DragonFly family, has been praised by Darko.Audio as “the quintessential everyman hi-fi product,” while its more sophisticated sibling, DragonFly Red, combines significantly improved performance with still exceptional value. The ESS 9010 DAC chip in Black and the higher-performance 9016 chip in Red employ minimum-phase filtering for naturally detailed sound.

While DragonFly Black uses a high-quality headphone amp and analog volume control, DragonFly Red includes a more advanced ESS headphone amp and a bit-perfect digital volume control that resides on the 9016 DAC chip itself—a sophisticated implementation that gives Red a unique combination of power and grip over the music. DragonFly Black outputs 1.2 volts—enough power to successfully drive all preamplifier input circuits and a wide range of today’s efficient headphones. With its higher 2.1-volt output, DragonFly Red is compatible with a wider range of headphones, including power-hungry, low-efficiency models.

ENCLOSURE AND ACCESSORIES

Black soft-touch finish with gold lettering | Protective endcap | Leatherette travel pouch

NATIVE RESOLUTION

Up to 24-bit / 96kHz

OUTPUT

1.2 volts - Direct-coupled, medium output: More than enough power to successfully drive a wide range of today’s efficient headphones. When used as a line-level device (volume set to 100%), DF Black’s 1.2 volts provide enough power to drive all preamplifier, integrated amplifier, or receiver inputs.

HEADPHONE AMP - Texas Instruments TPA6130

MICROCONTROLLER

Microchip PIC32MX270

Extremely low power consumption with 32-bit architecture and the option for software upgradability (via AudioQuest’s free Desktop Device Manager).

DAC CHIP - ESS ES9010 with minimum-phase fast roll-off filter

VOLUME CONTROL - Analog Volume Control

DESKTOP/PC COMPATIBILITY – Apple OS 10.6.8 and later | Microsoft Windows 7 and later | Linux (no technical support provided)

MOBILE COMPATIBILITY – Apple iOS 5 and later (requires Apple Camera Adapter; Lightning to USB 3 recommended) | Android 5.0 and later (requires micro-USB DragonTail, USB-C DragonTail, or other USB adaptor for Android devices)

MQA RENDERING

UPGRADABLE FIRMWARE

MONOCLOCK TECHNOLOGY - In Gordon Rankin’s monoClock® technology, a single ultra-low-jitter clock generated from the ESS DAC chip runs the headphone amplifier, as well as all microcontroller functionalities, enabling DragonFly to produce greater resolution and clarity than DACs that employ multiple clocks.

DIMENSIONS - 12mm (h) x 19mm (w) x 62mm (l)