AudioQuest has updated the Dragonfly USB DAC and dropped the price at the same time. Now in v1.2 form the USB stick size Dragonfly has seen circuitry changes designed to make the signal path between DAC chips and analogue output stage more direct, and the power supply has been “fortified” to give the converter “more “grip," and even greater dynamic contrast.” I reviewed this truly tiny converter shortly after its original launch and got excellent results with all but the internal volume control so it’s a little disappointing that this side is not mentioned in the release for v1.2. The fact that you can use volume control within the PC means that’s not a big issue however. More exciting is the drop in price to £129 (€149), a near halving of the £219 asked for the v1.0. This presumably a response to competition in the USB DAC stakes where there are several strong offerings at under £200. The QNKTC at £110 and ifi’s iDSD at £165 both look very interesting, albeit in a less compact form than the Dragonfly which is impossible to beat if portability is a requirement.
I asked AQ’s Rob Hay how they had managed to cut costs so dramatically and he explained that there are a number of factors. The biggest is that they are selling a lot more units than expected and that designer Gordon Rankin’s work is being applied to other forthcoming products, which means that the design cost per unit of all products is reduced. The new build is also less expensive thanks to the simplification aspect and drops in component prices. Rob also mentioned that the bespoke USB plug and 3.5mm output jack will be used on other forthcoming products which helps spread costs. It will be interesting to see what shape these parts take at CES next month.
Dragonfly v1.2 spec
USB Stick-Size Digital-Audio Converter
Plays All Music Files: MP3 to High-Res
Drives Headphones Directly
Variable Output
Drives Powered Speakers or Power Amp
Fixed Output Feeds Preamp or Receiver
Asynchronous Transfer Ensures Digital-Timing Integrity
Dual Fixed-Frequency Master Clocks Enables Optimal ‘Clocking’ (Digital Timing) for All Sample Rates