From the moment we introduced our latest DragonFly — DragonFly Copper, the sixth iteration of the award-winning portable USB DAC — fair and reasonable questions began forming in the minds of curious listeners:
- How does today’s DragonFly stack up against a newly crowded market of similar "dongle" DACs?
- What does DragonFly have to offer that others don’t?
- Why does DragonFly function as it does?
Some online commenters have framed that last question a bit differently: What's up with the USB-A plug? Doesn't AudioQuest know it's not 1999?
Also, among the particularly geeky: DragonFly natively plays resolutions up to 24/96 only?! Barf.
In his latest detailed exploration of DragonFly Copper's strengths and limitations, John Darko tackles all these questions and more. In doing so, he places Copper within an appropriate context, offers an accurate history of its gradual evolution, and exhibits an uncommon understanding and appreciation of its functionality.
(Of course we are pleased, but it's worth noting that we appreciate this depth of consideration for any audio product under review — including those from other manufacturers. This is world-class audio writing!)
About the crowded market of similar dongle DACs, one might point out that this is really nothing new. Not long after AudioQuest introduced the original DragonFly in 2012, AudioQuest launched an ad campaign addressing so-called "DragonFly killers." There were products inspired by DragonFly, informed by DragonFly, and some that simply stole from DragonFly. We ate them for lunch, according to the ads, against our more modest inclinations.
Along similar lines, Darko reminds his readers that dongle DACs tend to have short lifespans, and decides, "Whichever DACs I put up against the Copper today will likely be yesterday’s news well before the Copper is."
About DragonFly's distinctions, well, there is sound quality. Designed by Gordon Rankin, DragonFly is meant to deliver clean, clear, naturally beautiful and compelling sound — while never being unduly bright, edgy, or otherwise fatiguing. Beyond sound quality, DragonFly offers versatility: Yes, headphones can be plugged directly into it, and because it's compatible with Apple and Android mobile devices and puts very little stress on its host devices' batteries, DragonFly is truly portable.
But, as Darko points out, there are plenty of ways to use DragonFly at home, too — connected to an otherwise useful streamer whose own digital-to-analog conversion might be lacking; or into the USB port of a transport to create a high-performance CD source; or, via 3.5mm-to-RCA cable, from a laptop or iPad into a set of powered speakers or a complete audio system.
That last point goes some way toward addressing AudioQuest's odd fixation with thumb drives and Y2K. Yes, DragonFly has a USB-A plug at one end. It also comes with a DragonTail A-to-C adaptor that fits snugly, ensuring safe, secure connections. Darko refers to this as "the USB-A advantage."
Maybe don't knock it till you try it.
We haven't even mentioned that DragonFly is nice to look at, too.
Regarding DragonFly's 24/96 ceiling and its general lack of knobs and holes, Darko decides: "Copper isn’t the dongle DAC to buy if you’re shopping by feature count at €250. It stops at 24-bit/96kHz and has no 4.4mm balanced output."
Fair enough.
Darko knows the digital-audio landscape better than most. And with that knowledge, he concludes: "I really don’t care about the audible differences between a 96kHz stream and a 192kHz stream, not when DAC differences outweigh them: in function, connectivity, form factor, and looks. Give me a DAC that fits the job over a DAC that parades its spec sheet."
