Print Email RSS RSS  Share del.icio.us Facebook Twitter
AudioQuest Takes Off with DragonFly DAC USB Stick
The digital audio converter can plug into any computer’s USB port.
image
August 13, 2012 | by Rachel Cericola

For a lot of you, the computer has become an audio hub. Some people use computers as a main source of music, while others store everything they’ve got on that connected hard drive. Some even use a PC or Mac for all of their video needs.

It’s nice to have that one device multitask. However, computers aren’t known for producing the best sound. That’s why AudioQuest has the DragonFly USB stick. Looking a lot like a thumb drive, this stick plugs into the USB port on your PC or Mac. From there, the magic of AudioQuest can make some beautiful music through headphones, powered speakers, or even a full-on audio rig.

The DragonFly has an audiophile-grade 24-bit ESS Sabre chip and a 2-volt output to drive all of your goodies. Other features include a 64-position (computer-controlled) analog volume control and dual clocks for a native resolution up to 24-bit/96kHz.

AudioQuest says that the DragonFly can also do music on the fly, since it measures a mere 19-by-12-by-46 mm. It’s shipping now, with an MSRP of $249.



Rachel Cericola - Contributing Writer
Over the past 15 years, Rachel Cericola has covered entertainment, web and technology trends. Check her out at www.rachelcericola.com.



Article Topics
What's Related
Popular Tags
Social Bookmark   less


Comments (3) Most recent displayed first.
Posted by Sumflow  on  08/17/12  at  06:26 PM

Why does Audioquest say to by-pass the analog volume control built into the Dragonfly Dac, and use the iTunes digital control that loses resolution instead?

http://www.musicdirect.com/documents/pdf/AAQDRAGONFLY.pdf

Posted by Dale Thorn  on  08/13/12  at  03:49 PM

I have the Dragonfly USB DAC (and “headphone amp”). It’s just an incredible thing to have - small enough to take everywhere, and you can have the best possible computer sound anywhere there’s a computer USB port. Highly recommended.

And BTW, the display in color is beautiful, especially at 96 khz.

Posted by Sumflow  on  08/13/12  at  03:26 PM

How do you setup the Mac computer’s audio out to use an external DAC on everything by default?



Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.