AudioQuest DragonFly® Cobalt

Super-premium sound, everywhere

You might think awesome sound quality is hard to achieve on the go. If so, we'd like to present the handy AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC/headphone amp. It's roughly the size of a thumb drive, and it plugs into your phone or computer to deliver premium, high-precision sound. AudioQuest's highly successful DragonFly models put the USB DAC category on the map, and the Cobalt looks to be the best one yet. It makes for an easy and very effective upgrade to your portable or desktop listening setup.

I received a sample of the Cobalt, and shared my listening impressions in the video above — including how it compares to the DragonFly Red and DragonFly Black v1.5. I actually own the latter, and often use it to audition the latest and greatest headphones. It slips right into my laptop bag, and its sound rivals that of some popular (non-portable) desktop DACs out there. And the Cobalt sounds even better — more spacious, with more realistic dynamics and better imaging.

AudioQuest's fastest, best-sounding DragonFly

AudioQuest loaded the Cobalt with a brand new high-performance USB microcontroller that increases processing speed by 33% (over the DragonFly Red and Black). Faster processing means less extra noise, and ultimately less distortion.

This chip also reduces power consumption. That's important if you're listening on the go, because the DragonFly draws its power from your connected mobile device or computer. So you can enjoy the upgraded sound without sucking your phone or laptop's battery dry.

A better internal DAC

AudioQuest also replaced the DAC found in previous DragonFly models with an improved 32-bit ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M processor. This high-performance DAC chip features slow minimum-phase filtering for AudioQuest's most nuanced, dynamic sound yet. And it is one reason why this compact DAC/amp can perform at the level of much larger components.

The DragonFly Cobalt also features the same headphone amp as the DragonFly Red, which I've found gives even hard-to-drive headphones plenty of volume and punch. (I've even driven some super-sized, power-hungry planar magnetic over-ears with that built-in amp.) And the 64-bit digital volume control offers super-precise sound level adjustment with no loss of detail.

Enjoy high-res USB audio

The DragonFly Cobalt is designed make everything you listen to sound better. So even the compressed audio you get from MP3s, Spotify®, Apple Music®, or YouTube videos will get a sonic boost. But if you have a high-resolution music collection, or stream lossless music from Qobuz or TIDAL, you can really hear what the Cobalt can do.

This DAC will decode high-resolution music files up to 24-bit/96kHz resolution, which is better than CD quality, and it also offers full MQA support. There's little to no fuss as you switch from one file type to the next or one music service to another. The dragonfly-shaped logo on the DAC's exterior even lights up and changes color to verify the resolution of the incoming signal.

For headphones or speakers

Plug your headphones directly into the DragonFly's stereo 3.5mm mini audio output jack for high-energy private listening. You can also use an optional stereo mini-to-mini cable or mini-to-RCA adapter to feed a line-level signal to a pair of powered speakers, power amplifier, or receiver.

Compatible with most phones and computers

The DragonFly Cobalt can plug directly into the USB port on a computer, but there are several ways to connect to other devices. AudioQuest includes a DragonTail USB-C adapter that will connect to the USB-C port on a newer computer, phone, or tablet.

For older Apple devices, AudioQuest recommends using the Lightning-to-USB 3 Camera Adapter. We also offer a DragonTail micro USB adapter and a DragonTail USB extender separately. All of these flexible adapters offer a little slack, so it doesn't put much strain on your device's port.