audioquest DragonFly Cobalt

audioquest DragonFly Cobalt

The DragonFly Cobalt, the new audioquest flagship DAC, brings everything music lovers around the world have come to expect from the award-winning DragonFly family - beautiful, seductive sound, of course - and removes blurs and veils that you don't notice until Cobalt has removed them.

How is this possible? Just like the critically acclaimed DragonFly Red, the Cobalt features a 2.1-volt level-capable output to power virtually any headphone, and bit-perfect digital volume control for an outstanding signal-to-noise ratio. It works seamlessly with Apple and Android devices and is an excellent low-cost MQA renderer.

The advanced performance of the Cobalt is based on several critical upgrades:

• New, advanced DAC chip ESS ES9038Q2M with minimal phase filter (slow roll-off) for more natural sound.
• Superior Microchip PIC32MX274 microprocessor for reduced power consumption and 33% faster processing speed.
• Improved power supply filtering specifically designed to reduce WLAN, Bluetooth and smartphone noise.
• With custom-fit DragonTail adapter from USB A jack to USB C jack. All DragonTails use AQ-Carbon-quality USB cables.

AUDIOQUEST AND GORDON RANKIN: A WONDERABLE FRIENDSHIP
As in previous DragonFly models, Cobalt uses Gordon Rankin's groundbreaking asynchronous StreamLength® USB code. In addition, Gordon's monoClock® technology allows the ESS chip functions and all microcontroller functions to be controlled by a single extremely low jitter clock signal generated by the ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip. With this superior clock, DragonFly Cobalt offers more resolution and transparency than DACs with multiple clocks.

WHY „SLOW ROLL ?”
The new flagship of ESS, the DAC chip ES9038Q2M, works in the Cobalt. The chips used in the DragonFlys Black and Red are unbeatable for their price, while the minimal phase filter with slow roll-off in the 9038 provides a naturally expressive, emotionally stirring and fatigue-free sound - a great combination of warmth and attention to detail, which we find equally exciting and reassuring.

KILLING THE NOISE
In Cobalt, we apply our current research and development findings in the field of noise suppression to create a power supply filter specifically designed to reduce the increasing levels of WLAN, Bluetooth and smartphone interference. Successfully addressing these interferences is critical to maintaining detail at the lowest frequencies, especially when it comes to high-res audio - and especially when using portable audio devices such as DragonFly.

BITPERFECT Loud Gain Control AND 2.1-VOLT OUTPUT
The Cobalt features the ESS Sabre 9601 headphone amplifier and the bit-perfect volume control that provided the unique combination of performance and musical control in the DragonFly Red. This solution ensures maximum fidelity, exciting dynamic contrast and an excellent signal-to-noise ratio. Thanks to the 2.1 volt output, Cobalt and Red can be used with a variety of headphones, including power-hungry models with low efficiency.

FIRMWARE UPGRADABLE
The firmware of the DragonFlys Black, Red and Cobalt can be upgraded via our free Device/Desktop Manager. In today's fast-paced digital world, the longevity of HiFi components is becoming increasingly rare - in every price segment. AudioQuest believes that today's digital devices should evolve with technology and provide music enjoyment for many years to come. You can also use our Device/Desktop Manager to find out the serial number and software version of your DragonFly and make sure it's up to date. Click here to download the latest Device Manager for your operating system.