Ed Selley
Hi-Fi Editor
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- Jun 26, 2003
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I use a Audio Quest Dragonfly Black with a Fujitsu laptop connected to a Denon AVR X6200W in my home cinema. I use Foobar for FLAC playback and WASAPI to bypass Windows audio re-sampling. I find the Dragonfly Black does an excellent job. I've always been impressed with the quality and lack of noise in the signal.
Nice to see Audio Quest are still developing their DAC product line. It's a shame the Cobalt can't handle 192 kHz. Not for quality, but simply because quite a lot of commercial Hi-Res material is available up to that frequency, and it would avoid user confusion. Personally, I'm happy with 16 bit, 44.1 kHz from a quality perspective.
Regards,
James.
Could I ask you a question please? I have a Fiio DAC/amp and a decent set of headphones with which I use with a laptop to listen to music on through Amazon Music HD (via usb). I’ve only just bought them and have no prior experience of such things but will the laptop be effecting the audio output to the Fiio? I have adjusted something in the windows sound settings specifically for the Fiio so that the music on Amazon now shows as playing at the correct sample rates, it was initially locked at 16 bit and 44.1 kHz, but is there something else that I should be doing?
That should be enough, sometimes you need a specific driver from Fiio's website to enable the Dac function on Windows, check the product page for your Fiio.
Could I ask you a question please? I have a Fiio DAC/amp and a decent set of headphones with which I use with a laptop to listen to music on through Amazon Music HD (via usb). I’ve only just bought them and have no prior experience of such things but will the laptop be effecting the audio output to the Fiio? I have adjusted something in the windows sound settings specifically for the Fiio so that the music on Amazon now shows as playing at the correct sample rates, it was initially locked at 16 bit and 44.1 kHz, but is there something else that I should be doing?
By default, Windows re-samples all audio before outputting it via its inbuilt sound-system (this is called shared audio mode). This is because you may have multiple audio sources, which use different bit rates and sample frequencies that need to be combined before they can be output through the audio system. Windows uses 16 bit, 48 kHz audio by default (not 41.1 kHz used by the music industry). Everything is either up-sampled or down-sampled to fit (using dithering).
Note: Even if you configure Windows to the same bit rate and sample frequency of your music source - it will still re-sample, so that it can mix audio sources together before outputting then via the Windows sound-system (because it is still operating in shared audio mode even if you are only playing a single source).
Some dedicated audiophile applications such as Foobar, allow you to by-pass the default Windows sound-system handling, and output a bit-for-bit audio stream at the native sampling frequency from sources such as FLAC files (this is called exclusive audio mode - because only one application at a time can control audio).
WASAPI (Windows Audio Session API) permits developers to interact exclusively with audio in it's native format. An alternative to WASAPI is ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) protocol. They both seek to do the same thing - which is to bypass Windows shared audio mode. I had great success with WASAPI in Foobar, so never bothered investing any time playing with ASIO
I don't have any experience of Amazon Music HD. But a quick 'Google' search reveals that it does *not* natively support WASAPI or ASIO. On the Steve Hoffman Music Forums there is a discussion about using JRiver to achieve this, but it's a red-herring.
If you want to use exclusive audio mode to achieve the best (native) sound quality, Tidal may be a better streaming option, as it supports WASAPI natively.
If you have a collection of FLAC files you want to play, Foobar is great, but getting Foobar and WASAPI setup with a USB based DAC can be quite challenging, so I would only attempt this if you are a fairly technically advanced PC user.
Regards,
James.
Nice review.
I owned the Cobalt for a while not too long after release, had to return first unit as it had a loose headphone jack which appears to have been an issue with early models. Replacement model was far better but still had a little wiggle on the headphone jack.
Sound wise I found the Cobalt a little harsh at times, seem to struggle with passages of music with increased treble, some guitar laden music for example. I'd find that it was a little piercing to these ears. That may have just been a personal thing for me though.
Be aware however that I had issues when trying to playback hi-res files direct through Android, the sample rate of Android is limited and as such I would get a clicking noise on tracks every few seconds.
I bought McCol's Cobalt through AVForums, and have been very happy with sound quality. No clicking noises with Tidal Hi-Res through my Android phone and tablet, thankfully.
I can understand why some people prefer the Red, but I currently live with both and I find the Red a bit too Hi-Fi ish in pushing the sound towards the listener. The Cobalt has a more relaxed and natural presentation to me.
it’s nice to see a proper review with actual measurements to back it up rather than the AVForum’s usual 8/10 (or occasional 9/10).Here's a review with some actual measurements and direct comparisons with DF red and black that is rather less flattering: MEASUREMENTS: AudioQuest Dragonflies Reviewed! Dragonfly Cobalt, Red, and v1.2.
Here's a review with some actual measurements and direct comparisons with DF red and black that is rather less flattering: MEASUREMENTS: AudioQuest Dragonflies Reviewed! Dragonfly Cobalt, Red, and v1.2.
it’s nice to see a proper review with actual measurements to back it up rather than the AVForum’s usual 8/10 (or occasional 9/10).
HB
A superb DAC and excellent with Tidal Masters via iPadPro. Killer combination. Sounds even better then my previous £1,500 SONY TAZH1ES - HEADPHONES DAC.AMP.
Was this a side by side comparison.A superb DAC and excellent with Tidal Masters via iPadPro. Killer combination. Sounds even better then my previous £1,500 SONY TAZH1ES - HEADPHONES DAC.AMP.
It was a side by side comparison. I found the TA to be disappointing via USB from iPadPro.Was this a side by side comparison.
With what headphones
Better in what way? Staging and imaging, tone, extension, detail, sub bass, mid bass, lower mid range, high mid range or treble
I am not in any way disputing your opinion but I am keen to understand and have a point of reference here