Hi list
Due to an earlier discussion on this list I recently researched portable digital to analogue converters. As a result I just bought a Dragonfly 1.2 USB DAC from Audioquest and I am really blown away with the sound. At £130 its not particularly cheap although it would not be considered expensive for DACs. Its really a mini high-quality sound USB card - hardly bigger than a USB stick. All it has is a standard USB connection at one end and a 3.5 headphone/line-in jack at the other. Its designed primarily with portable computers like Macs, laptops, etc, in mind. It plays files up to 24 bit 9600khz. It is simple to use and has no controls at all. Its job is just to pass the purest source audio from your digital files to your analogue headphones or speakers and what a difference it makes! I tried it with an old Samsung netbook and played high-quality MP3s and M4As. For test listening I used a pair of Bowers and Wilkins P7 headphones which are at the audiofile end of the portable spectrum and retail in the UK at around £260. Ive never heard them sound so good. As you would expect the detail and transparency were superb but what really struck me was how incredibly natural the sound was. I tried everything from Hugh Laurie and The Hot Club of Cowtown to various rock and a range of electronica. The music was always vibrant and precise with a real feeling of solidity and presence. From bass to treble the reproduction was amazing. I tried it with my Koss Porta Pros too which are a relatively cheap headphone and while nothing like the P7s there was a massive improvement to their normal sound. I cant wait to try it with some 24-bit files. The only regret is that they dont work with iPhones or a lot of android devices as the USB power draw is too high for such devices. Still, the difference it makes is stunning, and Im much more likely to drag out that old netbook just for sheer listening pleasure. I honestly never thought MP3s could sound so good. John
