DragonFly Cobalt
High-Performance Portable USB DAC: DragonFly Cobalt
With AudioQuest’s DragonFly USB DAC, music appreciation and exploration are limitless: Plug into an Apple or Windows computer or connect to an iOS or Android mobile device. Play YouTube or Vimeo videos. Go hunting on Bandcamp or SoundCloud. Explore playlists and podcasts on Spotify, Pandora, or Deezer. Stream high-res audio from Tidal or Qobuz. No matter the choice of sonic pleasure, DragonFly unravels the emotional expression and nuance that makes music and movies so enjoyable. Now, more than ever before, naturally beautiful sound is right at your fingertips—however you want it, whenever you want it. For easy reference, DragonFly’s LED changes color to indicate playback status or sample rate. Note: A red lens indicates that the device is in standby mode; purple indicates MQA playback.
Plays all music files: MP3 to MQA and Hi-Res
Compatible with computers, tablets, streamers, and mobile devices
Includes DragonTail USB-C Extender Cable (iOS mobile devices require Apple Lightning-to-USB adaptor)
Resolution up to 24-bit / 96kHz
DAC Chip ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip with minimum-phase slow roll-off filter for more natural sound
DragonFly Cobalt: Improved Performance, More Beauty!
Compared to previous models, DragonFly Cobalt incorporates some important new features, including a new, more advanced ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip with a minimum-phase slow roll-off filter for more natural sound; a more sophisticated Microchip PIC32MX274 microprocessor that reduces current draw and increases processing speed by 33% over DragonFlys Black and Red; and improved power-supply filtering specifically designed to reduce the WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular noise that plague mobile devices.
Cobalt’s precedent-setting performance is made possible by multiple significant upgrades:
New, more advanced ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip with a minimum-phase slow roll-off filter for more natural sound.
Microchip’s superb PIC32MX274 microprocessor draws less current and increases processing speed by 33%.
Improved power-supply filtering that specifically increases immunity to WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular noise.
Includes a form-fitting DragonTail female USB-A to male USB-C Adaptor.
All DragonTails use AQ’s Carbon-level USB cable.
AudioQuest, Gordon Rankin: A Beautiful Partnership
Like all previous DragonFly models, Cobalt uses Gordon Rankin’s precedent-setting StreamLength® asynchronous-transfer USB code. Further, in Gordon’s monoClock® technology, a single ultra-low-jitter clock generated from the ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip runs the ESS chip functions as well as all microcontroller functions. This superior clock enables DragonFly Cobalt to provide greater resolution and clarity than DACs with multiple clocks.
