Stupendous-Sounding AudioQuest DragonFly Red USB DAC/Headphone Amp Decodes MQA, Has 32-Bit SABRE DAC, Drives Almost Any Headphones, Works with Apple and Android
Playing music on your computer, laptop, stereo, smartphone, tablet,
or powered speakers becomes exponentially better, more authoritative,
and stunningly lifelike with the groundbreaking AudioQuest DragonFly Red DAC/headphone amplifier. Among the most exciting audio products in recent memory – and named The Absolute Sound's Product of the Year Award (Budget Component), Stereophile's Product of the Year (Digital Component and Budget Component) What Hi-Fi's Product of the Year (USB DAC), and Computer Audiophile's DAC of the Year – DragonFly Red sets new
benchmarks for how much performance, portability, and flexibility is
possible from an asynchronous USB DAC. Offering tremendously enhanced sound, higher value, and significantly lower power consumption than the
original award-winning DragonFly for a lower price, DragonFly Red even works with Apple and Android phones and tablets when paired
with a simple adapter. Most importantly, this versatile DAC improves everything – detail, transparency, immediacy, richness, tone –
associated with your music. MQA decoding ability, ideal for TIDAL listeners, is also part of its feature set. And Red plays everything from MP3s to
24-bit/96kHz high-resolution files with spectacular simplicity and ease
of use. Lest we forget, it doubles as a serious headphone amplifier and comes with our 100% Money-Back Satisfaction Guarantee.
“In my desktop system and through headphones, the Red upped the ante in every sonic criterion.”
—Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound
"DragonFly Red and Black are the finest examples of everyman
hi-fi to ever grace these pages. Their value quotients explode the dial."
– John Darko, DigitalAudioReview.net, Knockout Award
DragonFly Red: Stupendous Sound, a Better DAC, and a More Powerful Headphone Amp
For just a little bit more money than its very good sibling, Red gives you a lot more naturalism,
dynamics, grip, and power. Featuring a high-end 32-bit ESS 9016 Sabre
DAC and a 2.1-volt output, Red can drive almost any headphone –
including hard-to-drive, low-efficiency models – and comes with more
muscle and torque than its standout sibling, Black. Red also includes a
cutting-edge ESS headphone amplifier. The upshot: Red produces cleaner
and clearer sonics along with wider soundstages, superior instrumental
separation, greater depth, lower-level information retrieval, and
stellar balance. Operating without compromising the original signal, a
bit-perfect digital volume control ensures optimal fidelity and
signal-to-noise ratio. Like Black, Red is upgradeable and ready for
future developments via complimentary desktop applications.
"The Red has more in reserve, and is thus able to sound both cleaner and more exciting, especially when playing complex recordings. That's as true as when driving headphones as it is when connected to a main system."
-Hi-Fi News, Outstanding Product review
“There’s no better ambassador for high-end audio.”
—Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound, 2017 Golden Ear Award
Apple and Android Compatibility: Simple Adapters Required for Use
DragonFly Red and Black require simple adapters to work with Apple and
Android devices. For use with Apple iOS, you'll need Apple's
Lightning-to-USB camera adapter. For Android, a Made for Android (OTG)
adapter, such as the AudioQuest DragonTail USB Adapter, is required.
"The days of using a separate digital audio player are circling the drain because of the new AudioQuest DragonFly Red and DragonFly Black. It simply doesn't make sense to carry an extra player with limited storage and connectivity when one has access to all the music ever made and excellent sound quality by using an iPhone and AQ DragonFly."
– Computer Audiophile, Product of the Year Award (DAC of the Year)
"Both of AudioQuest's new DragonFlys offer high value and high sound quality – and I'm more than a little excited at the prospect of the upgradability of their software. Very strongly recommended."
– Art Dudley, Stereophile