---
product_id: 141591198
title: "AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC + Preamp + Headphone Amp"
brand: "audioquest"
price: "€ 335.62"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
category: "Audio Quest"
url: https://www.desertcart.it/products/141591198-audioquest-dragonfly-cobalt-usb-dac-preamp-headphone-amp
store_origin: IT
region: Italy
---

# ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip 24-bit/96kHz native resolution USB Type A wired connectivity AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC + Preamp + Headphone Amp

**Brand:** audioquest
**Price:** € 335.62
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🎶 Unlock the sound you’ve been missing — portable audiophile power in your pocket!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC + Preamp + Headphone Amp by audioquest
- **How much does it cost?** € 335.62 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.it](https://www.desertcart.it/products/141591198-audioquest-dragonfly-cobalt-usb-dac-preamp-headphone-amp)

## Best For

- audioquest enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted audioquest brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Hi-Res Audio on the Go:** Supports native 24-bit/96kHz resolution and plays all music formats from MP3 to MQA for ultimate versatility.
- • **Compact Yet Rugged Design:** Pocket-sized powerhouse built like a tank, wrapped in a velvet carrying case for premium protection and style.
- • **Studio-Grade Sound Anywhere:** Experience pristine, natural audio with the ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip and minimum-phase slow roll-off filter.
- • **Seamless Mobile Compatibility:** Plug-and-play with iOS and Android devices (adapters required), perfect for your mobile lifestyle.
- • **Elevate Every Listening Moment:** Unlock hidden details in your music and gaming audio for an immersive, front-row experience.

## Overview

The AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt is a compact USB DAC featuring a high-performance ESS ES9038Q2M chip, delivering native 24-bit/96kHz resolution and broad format support including MQA. Designed for professionals and audiophiles on the move, it offers robust build quality, seamless compatibility with iOS and Android devices, and enhances audio clarity and detail for music and gaming alike.

## Description

desertcart.com: AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt USB Digital-to-Analog Converter : Electronics

Review: Great little DAC - I will start this review by saying that I am not an audiophile. I very much enjoy good music and high quality audio, but I think that spending upwards of 1000 on a product that gives you an extra 5% performance is silly. So when I found the Dragonfly DAC in a variety of Audiophile magazines I was intrigued. The Audioquest DrogonFly DAC is a very interesting device. Much smaller and more portable than a standard DAC, but supposedly built with the same high fidelity bits you find on much larger tabletop DACs even including a headphone amp and an analog volume control. In my findings, this DAC performs admirably. The speakers I'm powering are a pair of Paradigm Shift A2s. In terms of build quality this thing is built like a tank. I have a large number of thumb drives (Although no waterproof/tough style drives) and this thing feels far more solid and robust than any of them. The included cap is nice, although like most thumb drive style caps it's quite easy to lose. The packaging that it comes in is very nice and indicates some serious thought was put into the product. It's shipped in wrapped in a velvet-esque carrying case, inside high density foam in a double cardboard box. I'm fairly certain you could drop this thing out of the delivery vehicle on a freeway and run it over a couple of times and it would still be in perfect condition. I've put it through the ringer with a large variety of music from pop streamed at 128kbps from Spotify, to classical 192/24 FLAC files. In all counts the DAC has impressed. I found it nice and neutral, just like a good audio device should be with no particular character other than very clean precise music. Coming from an onboard soundcard (albeit a decent one on a very high end motherboard) there was a world of difference. As cliche as it is, I heard details I'd never heard in a variety of tracks and everything I listened to seemed much more precise. I also enjoyed enhanced soundstage that was helpful in FPS games to more accurately locate the location of enemy footsteps. I have two complaints, both of them fairly minor. First and foremost, The connector worries me. I work as a Custom installer doing audio systems, and one thing I've learned in my work is never trust a mini-jack. The connectors are flaky at best and it's worrisome to see it included on a $200+ piece of equipment, especially one where it's likely to be plugged and unplugged on a regular basis. That being said, the build quality is fantastic, the thing feels like a tank, so although I'm wary of the connector, until I get evidence to the contrary I have no reason to believe it will be damaged. My second complaint is that with my initial unit, there was a fairly serious issue whereby the USB connector seemed to not make contact unless there was a significant amount of pressure on the DAC. I believe this was either an early production issue, or possibly just my sample, however it was extremely annoying. At best, my sound would cutout every time the pressure on the DAC was released, and at worst, it would make horrible popping noises that sounded as though they were desperately trying to blow my speakers. The constant pressure required on the USB ports on my computer worried me with regards to longevity. After some fairly substantial searching I was unable to find many similar complaints online, so I must assume that it was either limited to a very small initial run or people aren't speaking up. Given that this is the internet I'm forced to conclude the former. That all being said, after a couple weeks of searching to see if I could possibly resolve the issue through software, I contacted the company and they informed me it was a defective unit that should be RMA'd. I live in northern California near the Oregon border and after sending it out the new unit arrived within a bit less than a week. Given my difficulty tracking down similar issues with other purchasers, I believe this was a short term problem and I believe any currently selling models are well past having this issue. The replacement unit they sent me works perfectly and I've had 0 issues with it at all. Overall I have been very pleased with this DAC and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for good, portable, reasonably priced sound.
Review: What’s Old is New Again. - What’s Old is New Again. All the reviews out there in the blogosphere/vlogosphere that tout the Dragonfly Cobalt and its ability to enhance your listening experience are overwhelmingly positive, so you can certainly look up any of those reviews from an expert’s point-of-view. But from an Average Guy’s view (like me), I can definitely hear the difference when using this device. I tend to listen to music in my car more so than any other place. And, for that, I usually stream music via my phone (desertcart Music HD) through the car’s AUX port. I have been doing this by simply taking a high quality 3.5mm audio stereo cable with two male heads and plugging one head into the AUX port and the other into the phone’s headphone jack. I own an LG G8 Thinq (the last flagship phone LG made in 2019 prior to exiting the smartphone segment; and this phone features that rare headphone 3.5mm headphone jack). Back then (and even today in late 2021), that in-phone DAC was generally regarded as the best by quite a margin (the phone’s max sample rate output is 24-bit / 48 KHz). Meanwhile, I own a 2014 BMW 3 Series and I have done lots to improve its musical components. I’ve upgraded my amplifier (Up7BMW) and all speakers/A-Pillar tweeters (FOCAL brand). And, I purchased an Equalizer app on the Google Play Store. Still, wanting higher fidelity, I then purchased the Dragonfly Cobalt DAC. Immediately, even with all of the upgrades that I’ve invested into my car’s sound system, I could hear a musical boost. And when I play my favorite songs, old and new, the enhanced fidelity peels back all of these musical elements that I had never really noticed before (a more pronounced drum beat; the sliding of the fingers along the neck of a guitar; the raw emotion of a singer’s voice; better defined strumming from a generally-hard-to-notice acoustical guitar, etc… - what audiophiles would describe as neutrality). I’ve read various articles stating that listening to your radio does sound muddy, which it does. You can (and I can) hear a difference when playing a CD. But, adding a good DAC takes it up one notch further, and you feel like you’re right there in the front row of a concert or at the recording studio itself. Now, your listening experience may differ because not everyone “hears” the same or perhaps as well. So, if seeing a number helps you to visualize improvement (although “seeing-is-believing” is different than “hearing-is-believing” in this case), here’s what I’m seeing with my LG G8 ThinQ. Without the Cobalt, the phone’s DAC can stream music at up to a sample rate of 24-bit / 48 khz, which is pretty good. I know this because with desertcart Music HD, you can press the music quality “badge” to bring up this kind of info. Now, with the Cobalt plugged in, the output increases to 24-bit / 96 khz. I’ve read that the max output, though, would be 24-bit / 192 khz, so let’s quickly talk about that pinnacle of sound quality for a second. The only way of possibly getting there from my readings (and I’m sure there are other ways that I haven’t discovered yet) is by subscribing to Tidal’s HiFi Plus Tier (which is their top tier) AND also downloading onto your phone an app called USB Audio Player Pro (also known as UAPP). Somehow – and I profess my ignorance on this as I’m not a sound engineer – this app plus the Dragonfly Cobalt plus its ability to play well with Tidal (the technical term sound engineers use is “unfolding”) allows access to that 24-bit / 192 khz musical experience Anyway, as you’ll already know, the Dragonfly has this helpful light that defines the quality of the music you’re hearing. Unfortunately though, unless you’re paying $240 a year for Tidal’s top hi-res tier, that light then also gives you a sense of FOMO. I pay $80 a year for desertcart Music HD (as I am already an desertcart Prime member). Now, for just $80 a year and despite not being able to reach that 24-bit / 192 Khz threshold, I can still attain musical nirvana. So, desertcart Music HD is totally worth it. And the Dragonfly Cobalt, IMHO, is totally worth it too. But, as with all things subjective (like hearing), your mileage may vary. Will this be worth it to you? In this case, there are four things that you’ll want to consider A) Can you hear the difference? Again, some of us have better hearing than others. If you can’t hear much the difference between music over the radio and music on a CD, then you probably won’t hear much of a sonic upgrade here. B) How many hours a day will you use this? That is, why purchase a pricey doodad if you’re only going to use it now and then? It’s kind of the same in-your-head argument when you think about joining a gym or subscribing to Disney+. C) Think about your music source. The idea of a DAC is to allow it to further “unwrap” the audio file to allow for that richer listening music (again, using that term “neutrality”). But, if you’re listening and happy with Spotify Free or any other lossy music tier (usually the free ones with possible ads), those files won’t have much to reveal anyway. The entry point at which to consider whether to invest in a DAC or not is when you are subscribing to a hi-res music service (i.e.: Quboz; desertcart Prime HD; Tidal Hi-Fi; etc…). D) Finally, think about the equipment that will be outputting your sound (e.g. earphones, earbuds, speaker systems). If they are of low quality, then a DAC probably won’t do much. And keep in mind that this DAC would also probably cost MORE than most run-of-the-mill earphones, earbuds, speakers). Oh, I do want to bring up one thing if you subscribe to desertcart Music HD. I saw on their FAQ page that desertcart Music HD is not always reliable in giving max audio quality if it doesn't sense a super-fast internet connection (or maybe if a lot of subscribers are trying to stream hi-res music at the same time – let’s call it ‘congestion’), so I’ve seen the light turn both powder blue (denoting a bitstream of 96 KHz) as well as cobalt blue (denoting a bitstream 48 KHz for the same song during different times of the day, but never below that number if you’ve set songs to play at HD or better quality). In fact, on its FAQ page, it does say, “For streaming, the current source file quality may change due to varying network conditions.” So, if you’re subscribing to desertcart Music HD and see this happening, it’s not the Cobalt malfunctioning. Finally … here’s a question you’ll want to ask yourself and a suggestion. Have you looked at the THX Onyx? It is also a very well-regarded DAC and probably a 2nd place runner-up if you read the various reviews out there about DACs (with the Cobalt being the consensus winner when talking about power/portability). However, at the time of this writing, the Onyx is currently on sale for $150 (down from about $200, and can be found here on desertcart or on Razer.com). Hmmm… $150 for the Onyx vs $330 for the Cobalt? That does make the Cobalt a tougher sell, actually. Again, the only real downer here is the price. $330 seems pricey, even though it’s a svelte yet powerful top-of-the-line product. If you are willing to consider really good dongle DACs with perhaps less of a svelte/compact form factor that cost just half as much, you may also want to check out these very worthy alternatives, also found here on desertcart. - THX Onyx, $150 - Helm Bolt DAC, $150 - Astell & Kern USB-C Dual DAC Cable, $100 In the end, the Dragonfly Cobalt is a 5-star product (although I’m not convinced that it’s $150 better than the THX). I’m very happy with this product. If you tend to listen to music quite a bit to complement your day, then investing in a really good DAC like the Dragonfly Cobalt makes for a solid purchase decision. Good luck on finding what suits you best.

## Features

- Native Resolution up to 24-bit / 96kHz
- DAC Chip ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip with minimum-phase slow roll-off filter for more natural sound
- Plays All Music Files: MP3 to MQA and Hi-Res
- Compatible with iOS Mobile Devices (requires Apple Lightning-to-USB adaptor) and Android Mobile Devices (requires USB adaptor)
- Dimensions: 57mm (l) x 19mm (w) x 12mm (h)
- Connectivity technology: Wired
- Connector type: USB Type A

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN | B07T3HSD9Z |
| Best Sellers Rank | #34,640 in Industrial & Scientific ( See Top 100 in Industrial & Scientific ) #45 in Signal Converters |
| Brand | AudioQuest |
| Brand Name | AudioQuest |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 4,636 Reviews |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00092592098398 |
| Included Components | DragonTail |
| Interface | USB |
| Interface Type | USB |
| Item Dimensions L x W | 6"L x 2"W |
| Item Type Name | DAC |
| Item Weight | 4.2 Ounces |
| Manufacturer | AudioQuest |
| Material Type | default_no_selection_value |
| Mounting Type | Usb |
| Number of Channels | 1 |
| Number of Pins | 4 |
| Product Dimensions | 6"L x 2"W |
| UPC | 092592098398 |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Warranty Description | 1 Year |

## Product Details

- **Brand:** AudioQuest
- **Interface Type:** USB
- **Mounting Type:** Usb
- **Number of Channels:** 1
- **Number of Pins:** 4

## Images

![AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC + Preamp + Headphone Amp - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61egruTjOGL.jpg)

## Available Options

This product comes in different **Color** options.

## Questions & Answers

**Q: i know these DACs are mainly for high end headphones , but anyone know if it will make a better (or slightly better) audio on $10 -$30 earphones?**
A: The answer is that it might make a big difference, but you won't know until you try.  I have a $3000 headphone amp coupled to a $15000 DAC.  I normally use them with headphones in a price range from $1000 to $4000, for which both components, independently make a huge difference.  Now for the surprise:  I have a pair a cheap, no-name headphones -- the only name on them is "digital."  That speaks volumes.  On those cheap headphones, the headphone amp makes a totally unexpected, MONUMENTAL difference.  My point is that you never say "never."  That said, I recommend that if you're considering investing $300 in this device, you should consider investing in better headphones.  Look at the less expensive models from Grado, for example.

**Q: What's the difference between red and black?**
A: In performance, both models incorporate the 32-bit ESS Sabre DAC chip, the 9010 in Black and the higher-performance 9016 in Red. While the Black uses the same headphone amp and analog volume control found in previous version, the new Red includes the latest ESS headphone amp and a bit-perfect digital volume control that resides on the 9016 DAC chip itself. In power the Black puts out 1.2 volts: enough power to drive all preamplifier input circuits and a wide range of efficient headphones. The red with its higher 2.1-volt output will be compatible with a wider range of headphones, including power-hungry, low-efficiency model.

**Q: Can you still use inline headphone controls when using the dac with an iPhone?**
A: No you cannot nor can you use the mic in the headphones for making or recieving calls ...luckily you do get notification ...and you can just pull the lightning connector to answer the call ..using iphone in normal manner ..i  had this exact Q  after recieving my unit ..

**Q: I have powered speakers that I plug into my laptop 3mm headphone jack. Can I use this product to get more volume & better audio quality**
A: That's what I use the Dragonfly (Black) for. I expected a subtle improvement, but found it to be night and day! The cheapo DAC and output stage circuitry that's built into the laptop was really limiting the sound quality.

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great little DAC
*by C***N on June 3, 2013*

I will start this review by saying that I am not an audiophile. I very much enjoy good music and high quality audio, but I think that spending upwards of 1000 on a product that gives you an extra 5% performance is silly. So when I found the Dragonfly DAC in a variety of Audiophile magazines I was intrigued. The Audioquest DrogonFly DAC is a very interesting device. Much smaller and more portable than a standard DAC, but supposedly built with the same high fidelity bits you find on much larger tabletop DACs even including a headphone amp and an analog volume control. In my findings, this DAC performs admirably. The speakers I'm powering are a pair of Paradigm Shift A2s. In terms of build quality this thing is built like a tank. I have a large number of thumb drives (Although no waterproof/tough style drives) and this thing feels far more solid and robust than any of them. The included cap is nice, although like most thumb drive style caps it's quite easy to lose. The packaging that it comes in is very nice and indicates some serious thought was put into the product. It's shipped in wrapped in a velvet-esque carrying case, inside high density foam in a double cardboard box. I'm fairly certain you could drop this thing out of the delivery vehicle on a freeway and run it over a couple of times and it would still be in perfect condition. I've put it through the ringer with a large variety of music from pop streamed at 128kbps from Spotify, to classical 192/24 FLAC files. In all counts the DAC has impressed. I found it nice and neutral, just like a good audio device should be with no particular character other than very clean precise music. Coming from an onboard soundcard (albeit a decent one on a very high end motherboard) there was a world of difference. As cliche as it is, I heard details I'd never heard in a variety of tracks and everything I listened to seemed much more precise. I also enjoyed enhanced soundstage that was helpful in FPS games to more accurately locate the location of enemy footsteps. I have two complaints, both of them fairly minor. First and foremost, The connector worries me. I work as a Custom installer doing audio systems, and one thing I've learned in my work is never trust a mini-jack. The connectors are flaky at best and it's worrisome to see it included on a $200+ piece of equipment, especially one where it's likely to be plugged and unplugged on a regular basis. That being said, the build quality is fantastic, the thing feels like a tank, so although I'm wary of the connector, until I get evidence to the contrary I have no reason to believe it will be damaged. My second complaint is that with my initial unit, there was a fairly serious issue whereby the USB connector seemed to not make contact unless there was a significant amount of pressure on the DAC. I believe this was either an early production issue, or possibly just my sample, however it was extremely annoying. At best, my sound would cutout every time the pressure on the DAC was released, and at worst, it would make horrible popping noises that sounded as though they were desperately trying to blow my speakers. The constant pressure required on the USB ports on my computer worried me with regards to longevity. After some fairly substantial searching I was unable to find many similar complaints online, so I must assume that it was either limited to a very small initial run or people aren't speaking up. Given that this is the internet I'm forced to conclude the former. That all being said, after a couple weeks of searching to see if I could possibly resolve the issue through software, I contacted the company and they informed me it was a defective unit that should be RMA'd. I live in northern California near the Oregon border and after sending it out the new unit arrived within a bit less than a week. Given my difficulty tracking down similar issues with other purchasers, I believe this was a short term problem and I believe any currently selling models are well past having this issue. The replacement unit they sent me works perfectly and I've had 0 issues with it at all. Overall I have been very pleased with this DAC and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for good, portable, reasonably priced sound.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What’s Old is New Again.
*by H***C on December 23, 2021*

What’s Old is New Again. All the reviews out there in the blogosphere/vlogosphere that tout the Dragonfly Cobalt and its ability to enhance your listening experience are overwhelmingly positive, so you can certainly look up any of those reviews from an expert’s point-of-view. But from an Average Guy’s view (like me), I can definitely hear the difference when using this device. I tend to listen to music in my car more so than any other place. And, for that, I usually stream music via my phone (Amazon Music HD) through the car’s AUX port. I have been doing this by simply taking a high quality 3.5mm audio stereo cable with two male heads and plugging one head into the AUX port and the other into the phone’s headphone jack. I own an LG G8 Thinq (the last flagship phone LG made in 2019 prior to exiting the smartphone segment; and this phone features that rare headphone 3.5mm headphone jack). Back then (and even today in late 2021), that in-phone DAC was generally regarded as the best by quite a margin (the phone’s max sample rate output is 24-bit / 48 KHz). Meanwhile, I own a 2014 BMW 3 Series and I have done lots to improve its musical components. I’ve upgraded my amplifier (Up7BMW) and all speakers/A-Pillar tweeters (FOCAL brand). And, I purchased an Equalizer app on the Google Play Store. Still, wanting higher fidelity, I then purchased the Dragonfly Cobalt DAC. Immediately, even with all of the upgrades that I’ve invested into my car’s sound system, I could hear a musical boost. And when I play my favorite songs, old and new, the enhanced fidelity peels back all of these musical elements that I had never really noticed before (a more pronounced drum beat; the sliding of the fingers along the neck of a guitar; the raw emotion of a singer’s voice; better defined strumming from a generally-hard-to-notice acoustical guitar, etc… - what audiophiles would describe as neutrality). I’ve read various articles stating that listening to your radio does sound muddy, which it does. You can (and I can) hear a difference when playing a CD. But, adding a good DAC takes it up one notch further, and you feel like you’re right there in the front row of a concert or at the recording studio itself. Now, your listening experience may differ because not everyone “hears” the same or perhaps as well. So, if seeing a number helps you to visualize improvement (although “seeing-is-believing” is different than “hearing-is-believing” in this case), here’s what I’m seeing with my LG G8 ThinQ. Without the Cobalt, the phone’s DAC can stream music at up to a sample rate of 24-bit / 48 khz, which is pretty good. I know this because with Amazon Music HD, you can press the music quality “badge” to bring up this kind of info. Now, with the Cobalt plugged in, the output increases to 24-bit / 96 khz. I’ve read that the max output, though, would be 24-bit / 192 khz, so let’s quickly talk about that pinnacle of sound quality for a second. The only way of possibly getting there from my readings (and I’m sure there are other ways that I haven’t discovered yet) is by subscribing to Tidal’s HiFi Plus Tier (which is their top tier) AND also downloading onto your phone an app called USB Audio Player Pro (also known as UAPP). Somehow – and I profess my ignorance on this as I’m not a sound engineer – this app plus the Dragonfly Cobalt plus its ability to play well with Tidal (the technical term sound engineers use is “unfolding”) allows access to that 24-bit / 192 khz musical experience Anyway, as you’ll already know, the Dragonfly has this helpful light that defines the quality of the music you’re hearing. Unfortunately though, unless you’re paying $240 a year for Tidal’s top hi-res tier, that light then also gives you a sense of FOMO. I pay $80 a year for Amazon Music HD (as I am already an Amazon Prime member). Now, for just $80 a year and despite not being able to reach that 24-bit / 192 Khz threshold, I can still attain musical nirvana. So, Amazon Music HD is totally worth it. And the Dragonfly Cobalt, IMHO, is totally worth it too. But, as with all things subjective (like hearing), your mileage may vary. Will this be worth it to you? In this case, there are four things that you’ll want to consider A) Can you hear the difference? Again, some of us have better hearing than others. If you can’t hear much the difference between music over the radio and music on a CD, then you probably won’t hear much of a sonic upgrade here. B) How many hours a day will you use this? That is, why purchase a pricey doodad if you’re only going to use it now and then? It’s kind of the same in-your-head argument when you think about joining a gym or subscribing to Disney+. C) Think about your music source. The idea of a DAC is to allow it to further “unwrap” the audio file to allow for that richer listening music (again, using that term “neutrality”). But, if you’re listening and happy with Spotify Free or any other lossy music tier (usually the free ones with possible ads), those files won’t have much to reveal anyway. The entry point at which to consider whether to invest in a DAC or not is when you are subscribing to a hi-res music service (i.e.: Quboz; Amazon Prime HD; Tidal Hi-Fi; etc…). D) Finally, think about the equipment that will be outputting your sound (e.g. earphones, earbuds, speaker systems). If they are of low quality, then a DAC probably won’t do much. And keep in mind that this DAC would also probably cost MORE than most run-of-the-mill earphones, earbuds, speakers). Oh, I do want to bring up one thing if you subscribe to Amazon Music HD. I saw on their FAQ page that Amazon Music HD is not always reliable in giving max audio quality if it doesn't sense a super-fast internet connection (or maybe if a lot of subscribers are trying to stream hi-res music at the same time – let’s call it ‘congestion’), so I’ve seen the light turn both powder blue (denoting a bitstream of 96 KHz) as well as cobalt blue (denoting a bitstream 48 KHz for the same song during different times of the day, but never below that number if you’ve set songs to play at HD or better quality). In fact, on its FAQ page, it does say, “For streaming, the current source file quality may change due to varying network conditions.” So, if you’re subscribing to Amazon Music HD and see this happening, it’s not the Cobalt malfunctioning. Finally … here’s a question you’ll want to ask yourself and a suggestion. Have you looked at the THX Onyx? It is also a very well-regarded DAC and probably a 2nd place runner-up if you read the various reviews out there about DACs (with the Cobalt being the consensus winner when talking about power/portability). However, at the time of this writing, the Onyx is currently on sale for $150 (down from about $200, and can be found here on Amazon or on Razer.com). Hmmm… $150 for the Onyx vs $330 for the Cobalt? That does make the Cobalt a tougher sell, actually. Again, the only real downer here is the price. $330 seems pricey, even though it’s a svelte yet powerful top-of-the-line product. If you are willing to consider really good dongle DACs with perhaps less of a svelte/compact form factor that cost just half as much, you may also want to check out these very worthy alternatives, also found here on Amazon. - THX Onyx, $150 - Helm Bolt DAC, $150 - Astell & Kern USB-C Dual DAC Cable, $100 In the end, the Dragonfly Cobalt is a 5-star product (although I’m not convinced that it’s $150 better than the THX). I’m very happy with this product. If you tend to listen to music quite a bit to complement your day, then investing in a really good DAC like the Dragonfly Cobalt makes for a solid purchase decision. Good luck on finding what suits you best.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 100% worth the price - instant audio clarity/detail increase.
*by S***. on January 21, 2026*

Instant increase in audio quality. I could not stop listening to music the first time I plugged this in. I am not an audiophile nor will I pretend to be... But everything just sounds... Better? More detailed? For $99, the audio quality on. my desktop gaming PC became more refined and well worth the cost of this little DAC. Definitely recommend. Plug and play, driverless (which is a big deal to me). Works with 3.5mm audio so very standard and easy to use.

## Frequently Bought Together

- AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt USB Digital-to-Analog Converter
- AudioQuest DragonTail USB-A > USB-C High-Performance USB-A (Female) to USB-C (Male) Extender
- Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter

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*Product available on Desertcart Italy*
*Store origin: IT*
*Last updated: 2026-05-06*