AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt Review (Portable Headphone Adapter)

[eigenvalue]

There is panty of other manufactures without BS marketing and Scam products.
Why come back to the one manufacture that never delivered anything good and is clearly selling snake Oil?

Because of their immense popularity.

 

[Jimbob54]

Audioquest tries and fails... again.

As others have suggested, I suspect this is exactly what they were aiming for, especially if that THD is audible.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Is funny to see some YT reviewers like J Darko, really recommending this one, even my old Fio 1k for 20$ does better.

Darko’s entire purpose seems to be to regurgitate ad copy.

 

[calugg]

Thanks so much for this exquisitely timely review. I didn't like what I was hearing through my recently purchased Cobalt. So back it went. If I need a headphone amp, I can go get one. Live and learn.

 

[Count Arthur]

What mobile phone was it?

It was one of the cheap Motorola phones, I've had a couple, a G4 then a G5, I think.

Beyond texts and calls, I don't use a mobile much, so I've never bothered with the expensive ones. I do have an LG V20, which I bought to use as a music player, but I find it too big for everyday use.

My current everyday phone is one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/CUBOT-Mini...3MZK6/ref=dp_prsubs_1?pd_rd_i=B08QRXB4J1&th=1, it's tiny.

 

[AdamG]

Thanks so much for this exquisitely timely review. I didn't like what I was hearing through my recently purchased Cobalt. So back it went. If I need a headphone amp, I can go get one. Live and learn.

Welcome Aboard @calugg.

 

[LMDA1]

Clearly this was intended to be used alongside one (or several) Jitterbug adapters in order to maximize performance.

/s

 

[Jimbob54]

Clearly this was intended to be used alongside one (or several) Jitterbug adapters in order to maximize performance.

/s

I know you jest, but I believe the usb/usb c adapter (the dragon tail) I believe is meant to have the jitterbug properties. Or maybe its in the cobalt itself. Either way, doesn't help!

 

[bobbooo]

It was one of the cheap Motorola phones, I've had a couple, a G4 then a G5, I think.

Yeah they're 5 year old mid-rangers. Most modern flagship smartphones (or even many mid-rangers these days) will be audibly transparent.

 

[Count Arthur]

Yeah they're 5 year old mid-rangers. Most modern flagship smartphones (or even many mid-rangers these days) will be audibly transparent.

But oddly, many current phones don't have a headphone jack, so you have to use a dongle anyway. Or use wireless headphones, which aren't lossless and have their own issues.

 

[amirm]

Yeah they're 5 year old mid-rangers. Most modern flagship smartphones (or even many mid-rangers these days) will be audibly transparent.

Beside the obvious fact that almost none have headphone jacks now, even those that do run out of power easily blowing any claim of transparency to pieces.

 

[vlad335]

AudioQuest NightOwl was the worst performing of the 30 headphones in the 'A Statistical Model that Predicts Listeners' Preference Ratings of Around-Ear and On-Ear Headphones' paper, scoring even worse than the low anchor (Meze 99 Classics):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qpt8a5x26ydx5ul/Audioquest Nighthawk.pdf

So the Meze 99 Classics are not very good? I almost bought them as there are many reviews lauding them.

I have learned to never trust a reviewer on Youtube with affiliate links in the description.

 

[vlad335]

But for AudioQuest, i would say stop wasting your time with there scam products.

No no! Keep exposing them and others and make companies afraid of being exposed. That way we get better products!

 

[flipflop]

So the Meze 99 Classics are not very good?

Nope, they were chosen by Harman as the low anchor due to their poor measured performance and ended up second to last in the listening tests.

Oratory calculated their predicted preference rating to be 32: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ph7mas4rr3addi9/Meze 99 Classics.pdf
Note that this rating isn't directly comparable to the ratings of the rankings I posted, which are actual (and not predicted) ratings, but with a different scale.

 

[vlad335]

Nope, they were chosen by Harman as the low anchor due to their poor measured performance and ended up second to last in the listening tests.

Oratory calculated their predicted preference rating to be 32: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ph7mas4rr3addi9/Meze 99 Classics.pdf
Note that this rating isn't directly comparable to the ratings of the rankings I posted, which are actual (and not predicted) ratings, but with a different scale.

Wow! I can't find a bad review of these. Some are absolutely gushing.

I never bought these because I'm not a fan of how they look. Feels like i would have to wear an open shirt and 20 gold chains to complete the ensemble.

I'm afraid most of the audio industry is corrupt.

 

[norcalscott]

I wish I'd had this review a few months ago when a reddit user was dissing my LG G7 and telling me how much better his DF Cobalt was

 

[AdamG]

Wow! I can't find a bad review of these. Some are absolutely gushing.

I never bought these because I'm not a fan of how they look. Feels like i would have to wear an open shirt and 20 gold chains to complete the ensemble.

The audio industry is absolutely corrupt.

Winner winner Chicken Dinner!

 

[jtwrace]

Whoever designed the headphone amplifier in this product needs to go back to engineering school or pay attention to what the competitor is shipping. Actually he needs to do both.

Gordon Rankin of Wavelength is the designer.

The coolest feature that all DragonFlys share in common is their chief designer — Gordon Rankin. In 2010, AudioQuest teamed up with Gordon Rankin to design the original DragonFly — the first little “bug” to bring true high-performance sound to computers.

Gordon Rankin is the founder of Wavelength Audio, and the first designer to properly develop asynchronous USB for computer-based audio. A brilliant designer, Rankin is highly regarded among his peers and his designs have won numerous awards.

Today, all DragonFlys feature Gordon Rankin’s designs — however, he and AudioQuest have consistently improved each new iteration while incorporating sophisticated features into each successive model to enhance their overall value. In the next section, we’ll provide an overview of the most important differences setting each apart.

https://www.audioadvice.com/videos-reviews/audioquest-dragonfly-usb-dac-comparison/

 

[Jut1972]

Nope, they were chosen by Harman as the low anchor due to their poor measured performance and ended up second to last in the listening tests.

Oratory calculated their predicted preference rating to be 32: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ph7mas4rr3addi9/Meze 99 Classics.pdf
Note that this rating isn't directly comparable to the ratings of the rankings I posted, which are actual (and not predicted) ratings, but with a different scale.

Soooo... Not only did I buy a Cobalt I bought a pair of meze 99s.. And.. I love them.

 

[flipflop]

Soooo... Not only did I buy a Cobalt I bought a pair of meze 99s.. And.. I love them.

That's great. You might love them even more with the EQ filters listed in the bottom left of the Dropbox document I linked to.