[Ultrainferno]

I got my DragonF's in Munich, look forward to testing them
 

 

[morgul]

​From my own experience, sound quality was broadly similar but I preferred the more open sound of the Black over the thicker sound of the HA-2.  The Dragonfly's portability is leagues ahead and the Black also wakes from sleep properly, whereas the HA-2 always required me to unplug and re-insert the lightning cable.

That's interesting because the HA-2 is more expensive, especially here in France, but I feel more attracted by Oppo Ha-2 than dragonfly red (or black). I guess you had to unplug and replug when the device had gone to sleep, could you detail in which cases it happened ?

 

[0rangutan]

That's interesting because the HA-2 is more expensive, especially here in France, but I feel more attracted by Oppo Ha-2 than dragonfly red (or black). I guess you had to unplug and replug when the device had gone to sleep, could you detail in which cases it happened ?

​It happened every time that I left music not playing on my iPhone 6 for more than a few minutes (precise length unrecorded).  I would wake my phone (pressing home button) and click play, only for the sound to come out of the phone's speaker.  I would need to unplug and re-plug the cable for the iPhone to re-detect the HA-2.   I may have been doing something wrong but I couldn't find a fix for this and it really detracted from my enjoyment of the device. 

 

[brent75]

How does black and red compare to an Oppo HA -2 in terms of sound quality?

I owned the HA-2 previously, and own the Red now. I actually prefer the sound of the Red -- doesn't feel as harsh/sharp in the upper registers (to my ears).
 
Separation on both is nice. If you're into bass boost that's nice to have b/c it's not an absurd increase like some dac/amps out there. But I personally don't like to use bass boost, and just want it to be there regardless.
 
The reason I moved on from HA-2 was not only because of sound, but because at $300 I wanted it to REALLY perform. I came to realize that for my needs, the $300 price point was sort of a no-man's land. And that I personally either needed to move up to the Mojo, or down to something else. My reasoning: I'd be willing to go up in price and put up with a clunky device to to strap to my player and continually have to recharge it if the sound was to die for. (the HA-2 didn't have that sound). Otherwise, I felt I could drop down in size/price and increase the convenience factor with options like the Red.
 
I'm happy to report that I've achieved the 2nd one, and that I actually happen to like the sound even better than my HA-2. It seems more "fun" to me.
 
*Forgot to add -- I too was super annoyed with constantly having to reconnect my iPhone to my HA-2. It felt like it was dropped constantly.

 

[0rangutan]

  *Forgot to add -- I too was super annoyed with constantly having to reconnect my iPhone to my HA-2. It felt like it was dropped constantly.

 
Glad that its not just me!

 

[morgul]

   
Glad that its not just me!

Yes that seems very annoying, as I project to use it mostly at my work's open space, I wouldn't like that issue. Also the dragonflys are much cheaper, I'm very tempted !

 

[zolom]

It's not so much the dragonfly. DACs like the fiio k1 do not have an internal volume control,so as long as they are being powered by your device, they are simply set to ON. The dfr has a, I believe, 64 step internal volume control. Android doesn't access said volume control so I'm guessing that using default Android drivers the volume is set to low. If I'm using an Android based player I connect an amp to get the desired volume. Not optimal,no, but the quality is still there. This will have to do until an update hopefully changes this. d that the Black does n

 
Is the Black more compatible with android phones?
 
Did someone try playing Spotify on an S7 (edge) via the Black?

 

[Ultrainferno]

Both are as compatible, it's the output that's different

 

[Torq]

I picked up the Red version this weekend and so far am very impressed; it's very smooth, carries extremely good detail, seems nicely balanced from a frequency range perspective with no particular emphasis or de-emphasis anywhere, is doing an impressive job with my various IEMs (ER-6 excepted) and is generally both enjoyable and engaging to listen to.
 
I would say I prefer the output of the Dragonfly to my AK120, particularly into my SE846 (I've never cared for the AK players with that headphone).  I'd put it pretty close to the SE output on the Onkyo DP-X1 also.
 
It has more than enough power for any of my IEMs and did a very listenable job of driving LCD-2.2c, HE-500 and HD800S.  For sure those last three fair much better with more power on tap, but I wouldn't be at all upset to spend an evening listening to one of those via this little thing,  That said, I look at the Dragonfly as something I'll use purely when traveling.  And for trips where I have company (and therefore much less alone-time to listen to music in) it'll be VERY nice not to have to "lug" the AK120, Mojo, portable battery and so on along.
 
Works flawlessly from my iPhone 6S, various iPads, and with my Retina MacBook and Retina MacBook Pro (yeah, I know ... I take the smallest/lightest I can get away with for any given trip).  And it's even quite useable with the phone in my pocket while walking ... though typically I use Bluetooth for that sort of listening.
 
Very happy with it, especially at the price.

 

[gavinfabl]

The DFR is really lovely. I just wish there would be a fix for volume when not using UAPP on an android device. Just not loud enough. I will be writing my review soon and will test it against the iPhone 6S, Huawei P9, LG G5 , Samsung S7 and HTC 10. I am holding off my review as the HTC 10 hasn't arrived yet. It's due any day. I have the other phones ready to test.

 

[officerdibble]

FWIW - I had a reply back from AQ support relating to the Red only working (100%) with UAPP on the Galaxy S6. 
 
AQ reply:
 
"These are issues that are not a fault of the DragonFly Red.  Unfortunately there are some limitations inherent with the Android OS and also what the phone manufacturer has enabled on the device.  We are aware currently though of the low volume that seems to be only with Samsung devices.  We are in contact with Samsung concerning this but we have to wait for them to provide an update to their devices to remedy the issue.  Hopefully Samsung will release a software update soon to remedy the low volume.  As for certain streaming services not all can output through the USB Host port.  Tidal as far as we have seen is the only streaming service to allow USB Host output but only through USB Audio Player Pro integration."
 
One unhappy AQ customer - In my humble opinion they did not make these limitations clear enough... I will be unlikely to purchase from them again and could not recommend to any Android users as compatibility appears to be a lottery unless you are happy with UAPP.

 

[tommo21]

  FWIW - I had a reply back from AQ support relating to the Red only working (100%) with UAPP on the Galaxy S6. 
 
AQ reply:
 
"These are issues that are not a fault of the DragonFly Red.  Unfortunately there are some limitations inherent with the Android OS and also what the phone manufacturer has enabled on the device.  We are aware currently though of the low volume that seems to be only with Samsung devices.  We are in contact with Samsung concerning this but we have to wait for them to provide an update to their devices to remedy the issue.  Hopefully Samsung will release a software update soon to remedy the low volume.  As for certain streaming services not all can output through the USB Host port.  Tidal as far as we have seen is the only streaming service to allow USB Host output but only through USB Audio Player Pro integration."
 
One unhappy AQ customer - In my humble opinion they did not make these limitations clear enough... I will be unlikely to purchase from them again and could not recommend to any Android users as compatibility appears to be a lottery unless you are happy with UAPP.

 
Well that seals it for me....I'm returning my DF Red, since I can't get it to work with my Nexus 6p, So it's not only a Samsung problem...and when it don't work with the barebones Android, this advertising of it working on most android phone is utter BS. When limited to a 3rd party app to get it to play local files and Tidal it's not good enough. I'm gonna find me a small amp instead.

 

[iKhaos]

   
Well that seals it for me....I'm returning my DF Red, since I can't get it to work with my Nexus 6p, So it's not only a Samsung problem...and when it don't work with the barebones Android, this advertising of it working on most android phone is utter BS. When limited to a 3rd party app to get it to play local files and Tidal it's not good enough. I'm gonna find me a small amp instead.

Before you do, could you try something?
 
Go to settings > about phone > and hit 'build number' 7 times.
Go to developer options, scroll down to 'Select USB Configuration' and select 'Audio Source.'
Does this make any difference? I've got a Nexus 6P too and am just curious to see if this fixes the problem.

 

[tommo21]

  Before you do, could you try something?
 
Go to settings > about phone > and hit 'build number' 7 times.
Go to developer options, scroll down to 'Select USB Configuration' and select 'Audio Source.'
Does this make any difference? I've got a Nexus 6P too and am just curious to see if this fixes the problem.

Hi! Already tried this....didn't work
 
Same low volume...

 

[iKhaos]

  Hi! Already tried this....didn't work
 
Same low volume...

Ah, that's a real bummer. I was really interested in the Dragonfly Black.
Thanks a lot for trying it though!