This review is for the AudioQuest Dragonfly "black." To disambiguate which DragonFly is which, you can read Audioquests's blurb:

• http://www.audioquest.com/dragonfly-series/

OK, disambiguation addressed, I'll start my review by saying that like most anyone who's ever bought a DragonFly, I bought mine to bypass my onboard sound processor because with earphones, the sound was polluted with noise.

What I knew but completely forgot was that a weak source component can cool down the sound, thereby making unbalanced/warm headphones/earphones sound flatter which is more to my liking.

This was the case with what I use, that being:

• Sennheiser HD 25-1 ii
• Sony XBA-H1 (the base model, that has only two drivers)
• Etymotic HF5

Of course the (DragonFly) Black brought out the warmth in the HD 25's and the XBA-H1's, my saying "of course" because those are known to have warm sound signatures.

What I didn't expect was for my HF5's to gain to much warmth as to lose some of their clarity.

My first reaction was to blame the Black for this and to resent AudioQuest for having "sold out" to the bass-hungry masses, and... that's still my reaction now. I still suspect AQ designed the Black with more warmth in response to customer feedback that the earlier DragonFly versions didn't bring out massive bass in the earphones that Apple includes with its iOS devices.

Also, my admittedly limited experience does include my beloved HT Omega eClaro, which I've reviewed on this site. I've long felt that the eClaro has a cool sound signature and I still do, so that's my point of reference.

Thus, my review is one of my griping about what I perceive to be the excessive bass delivery of the DragonFly Black.

As always, though, you gotta test drive it yourself to form an opinion. On that note- I'm in the Silicon Valley, so I suppose you can try mine if we meet at a Starbucks or something. No, not trying to sell mine, and if you want one, you can get a Black or a Red by ordering from Best Buy, so they're not hard to get.

DESIGN
Large, bulky, arguably overbuilt ear elements
Perfect for those with larger hands as the ear elements are easy to not only handle but also to remove from one's ears
Large ear elements may be problematic for those with smaller ears- may excessively contact outer ears
Cable does have some memory, but it otherwise easy to handle
Sturdy-feeling 90* 3.5mm jack with good strain relief
 
ACCESSORIES
Nylon pouch which is just a bit smaller than I'd like
6 ear fittings- S, M, L in both silicon and foam-impregnated silicone
Plentitude of ear fittings makes asymmetrical ear canals easy to fit
 
SOUND SIGNATURE
Depends on source device!
 
SYNERGY WITH SOURCE DEVICE
These seem to pair well with the (onboard DAC and AMP) headphone-out on my ThinkPad X220 with good detail and bass that's ample but reasonably controlled
They pair poorly with my SanDisk Santa Clip+ with which they have OK detail but excessive, poorly-controlled bass
These are much more source device-tempermental than my Etymotic HF5's, which seem to deliver a pretty consistent sound signature amongst my source devices
 
 
EDIT:
The more I listen through the headphone-out of my X220, the more I notice how distinct the bass guitar and background vocals are on my copy of Jimmy Hendrix' "The Ultimate Experience" (greatest hits). This reinforces my earlier impression that synergy is important with these and which makes them a "garbage-in, garbage-out" type of 'phone. FYI. YMMV. Etc.

The reason I went with the 8gb model was because I previously had another Clip+ that had compatibility problems with my storage expansion card, so I went with more onboard capacity.
 
Also problematic with my previous Clip+ was OS instability, causing me to return it. To this, I attribute poor quality control.
 
These are the reasons why I subtracted 1.5 stars.
 
It gets 3.5 stars because when it's non-defective, it works well; It's dirt cheap, it has a clear, uncontaminated sound quality, you can sync files with any software, it's tiny and virtually weightless making it ultraportable, it clips onto your person so you can wear it with workout clothes that typically have no pockets, etc.
 
So cheap and so good, there's nearly no reason to not try it at least once. Just go with the 4GB model.

WHERE THEY EXCEL
These work especially well for two genres, speed metal and classical music- two genres which you otherwise would not refer to in the same sentence.
 
These are great for speed metal as the bass attacks and decays so quickly that with these, blast (bass drum) beats sound like blast (bass drum) beats rather than a muddy, thudding rumble as they do with slower, warmer sound signatures.
 
They're great for classical or any acoustic music due to the forward and realistic presentation of the picking of string instruments.
 
These also work well for Home theater due to the different spacial presentations of sounds with vocals being in the foreground and non-vocals being in the background. This is perfect in scenes where the characters are speaking over a din of traffic noise or other non-vocal sounds.
 
KEEP THEM AT HOME
You can use them anywhere you want, but because their cable is thick, long and is terminated with a 1/4" jack, they aren't very portable. They also sound better out of a powerful stationary source component such as a stereo receiver or a computer soundcard than they do out of a smartphone- they sounded terrible out of my Samsung Galaxy S3. This is to say nothing of their open-air construction which gives you no sound isolation from your environment nor others in that environment any isolation from you. Last, they are so fragile that they wouldn't last long on the streets.
 
WHY I WANTED THEM
I got these because my only stay-at-home headphones were Sennheiser HD 558's which have a slow, warm, veiled sound which does poorly with speed metal.
 
COMPARISON WITH OTHER GRADOS
I was able to listen to these comparatively with the SR60's, SR80's, SR125's and SR325's.
 
I chose the SR225's because the SR60's and SR125's had noticeably less clear, less resolute sounds. The SR80's were so warm that they didn't sound like Grado at all but instead, they had the warm sound signature of my Sennheiser HD 558's. The SR325's had a sound which was more strident, more fatiguing than the SR225's in addition to their having a heavier physical (non-auditory) weight which caused them to be more uncomfortable than the SR225's. Anything above the SR325's was out of my price range, so I didn't even try them.
 
Also worth mentioning is that whereas the 60's and 80's had 1/8" jacks with a snap-on 1/4" adapter, the 125's and above came with a 1/4" jack. This is relevant as the 1/8" jack with a 1/4" adapter is fragile and if stepped on, probably will break and will have to be replaced whereas the latter is a lot more sturdy.

Contents
Sound Quality via Headphone-Out. 1file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911396
Headphone Driving Power. 2file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911397
Included Earphones. 2file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911398
Streaming Video Playback. 2file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911399
Fit & Finish. 3file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911400
Operating System & Applications. 3file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911401
File Synching. 3file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911402
Onoboard Storage. 4file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911403
Music Streaming. 4file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911404
Conclusion. 4file:///C:/Users/Bryan/Documents/Lo...onics/Audio/Walkman Review.docx#_Toc403911405
 

Sound Quality via Headphone-Out

I can compare the sound of my Z1000 to that of my 4^th-Generation iPod Touch with and without external amplification. My comparison headphones are Sennheiser HD 25-1 ii’s and my files are the same 320kbps MP3’s from my PC’s HDD.

 

Compared to the iPod’s headphone-out, the Z1000’s HO has a powerful, full-bodied, rich sound whereas the iPod Touch has a weak, anemic sound. The Z1000 can be likened to whole milk whereas the iPod Touch can be likened to fat-free milk; one is rich and satisfying whereas the other… isn’t.

 

When I plugged the Z1000 into a Fiio E11 external amplifier via a Fiio L5 line-out connector, the difference in sound was slight but insignificant and generally not worth the encumbrance of using the external amp.

 

When I plugged the iPod Touch into that E11 via a Fiio L3 LOD connector, however, the sound improvement was indeed dramatic. The E11 gave the music a generally more powerful, full-bodied sound that’s similar to that heard through the Z1000’s HO.

 

In short, the Z1000’s HO is nearly equal to listening to either the Z1000 or the iPod Touch’s LOD through the Fiio E11 external amplifier.

 

In conclusion, the Z1000’s HO approximates- even if it doesn’t match- the sound of an external amplifier well enough that the Z1000 by itself is a satisfying listening experience.

 

Headphone Driving Power

I don’t understand source output impedance or headphone input impedance at all. I’m hopeless. What I can tell you is that I plugged in some 600ohm-impedance Beyer Dynamic DT 880 and some 300ohm-impedance Sennheiser HD 600 headphones, though, and my Walkman Z drove both to louder-than-comfortable volumes. With the 880’s, the Z’s volume would be maxed out at what I could consider 60% of full listening volume for the 880’s with 100% being unbearable.

With the 300ohm Sennheiser HD 600’s, I got about the same result.

 

Included Earphones

The earphones that came with the Z1000 are pretty good. They are  warm, the mids are  rich and the treble is  smooth.

 

They are warm in that they make the music "fun;" my preference is a more neutral sound signature so I use the equalizer to reduce the bass to what I consider a more reasonable level- but still warm enough to be "fun."

 

They are rich in that their mids sound awesome when listening to groove metal, esp Pantera's "War Nerve." If you don't like this genre, listen to that track anyway as it brings out the best in these cans.

 

The treble is smooth in that it never takes on a harshness or fatiguing qualty as you may experience with Etymotics or Grados.

 

Overall, the sound is rich and smooth enough that it's easy to crank up the volume with these more than I ever do with my Etymotic HF5's.

 

Their design is asymmetrical which is meant to for the user to wrap the right ear element around the back of the neck, the benefit being that the user can remove the right ear element to hear ambient noise or talk to someone while leaving the left ear element in place, thus avoiding removing both ear elements to do either task. This design was new to me but I got used to it soon enough.

 

Streaming Video Playback

This device isn't very good for watching videos as it "skips” or “stutters” when streaming Netflix video via my home network’s server. I can’t blame my server because I’ve never had that problem with any other Android or IOS device, so Sony must've cut costs when they chose a GPU for this device. This should not matter for those who want to use this device primarily as a digital media player.

 

Fit & Finish

This is a luxury device. The plastics and the display surface used all feel smooth and well-built to the touch.

 

Operating System & Applications

The Z1000 has a lightly skinned or unskinned presentation of Android- I can't tell which, so it's probably the latter. My point of comparison is my Nexus 5 and Nexus 7, both of which run unskinned versions of Android.

 

I don't know if you're familiar with Android but the operating system comes with native applications including Email and Calendar applications. Many Android devices come with additional apps- "bloatware"- because apps as the OEM adds and those apps can be redundant. Samsung is notorious for this with its bloatware Samsung Calendar and Email apps along with multiple apps many users will never want to use.

 

I'm glad to say that the Walkman Z1000 comes with only two redundant apps that I'm aware of, Music Unlimited and Music apps which both compete with the native Google Music app. The rest of the apps are generally media-oriented non-redundant.

 

File Synching

You can use this device as you would any flash drive.

 

I have Windows 7 PC's so I use Windows Explorer, Windows Media Player or Sony's own "Media Go" software. Windows Explorer will allow you to move any kind of file onto the device- I think I migrated a Microsoft Office file just to see it it would work- but Windows Media Player will allow you to sync only MP3's, WAV's and Windows Media Audio files.

 

If you use Sony's "Media Go" software, though, you can sync FLACs onto the device.

 

I earlier said I use Windows 7 because I've never tried to sync files with a Mac, but given the openness of Android devices, I'm sure you can use Finder, iTunes or any other file syncing software therein.

 

One caveat for me has been that when I sync music files to the device, it doesn't always display the cover art. This has happened more with the OEM Sony music playback apps but it has happened with WinAmp as well. This bothered me at first but now I don't even notice or care.

 

Onoboard Storage

If you plan to keep music on the device, be advised that the OS and software occupy about 6GB of the storage, so the 16GB device will leave you with only about 10GB for media.

 

As has become increasingly normal with handheld devices, this device is “sealed” and therefore allows no memory expansion option.

 

Music Streaming

You can work around the storage capacity limitation by streaming music via WiFi.

 

For streaming music off my LAN's media server, I've used both the native Sony DLNA as well as a third-party media streaming app, Bubble UPNP.

 

For streaming radio, I've used iHeartRadio but any service will do.

 

Conclusion

The Sony Walkman Z1000 is a music-centric Android device which is evidenced by the absence of a camera and its mediocre video playback.

 

To the demanding listener, these omissions are worth it as the Z1000's headphone-out sound quality is warm, rich, black (clear, free of which noise) which is superior to the clear-but-anemic sound quality had from competing Apple handheld devices and the typically "dirty," distortion-contaminated sound of competing Android devices.

[size=medium]INTRO AND SCOPE OF THIS REVIEW[/size]
[size=medium]As your author, I am no audiophile and this is my second aftermarket soundcard after first trying an Asus Xonar Essence STX which I had problems with.[/size]
[size=medium]This review is about this card’s performance while listening to music through it from my Lenovo K330 desktop computer which itself has a noisy 7200rpm HDD.[/size]
[size=medium]My listening has been through Sennheiser HD 518 and Sennheiser HD 25 1 ii headphones.[/size]
[size=medium]I have made little use of this card and its software’s 7.1-channel Dolby Digital features while listening through headphones and no use at all of those features while listening through a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system as I have neither.[/size]
 
[size=medium]INSTALLATION[/size]
[size=medium]The eClaro came with an installation CD though HT Omega has driver downloads on their website. Unlike Asus’ Xonar STX support website which is riddled with bug patch downloads, HT Omega’s support site was neatly organized and easy to understand. Just select your OS and download.[/size]
[size=medium]Installation was a no-brainer and everything went almost smoothly. On my first attempt, the software’s display showed that it was done loading but then it froze so I shut down my machine first by selecting “shut down” and then, when my machine spent about five minutes in its “shutting down” screen, I forcibly shut it down by holding my case power button. After repowering my machine and then reattempting to install the software, the software installed quickly and then prompted me to restart. After the restart, everything has gone smoothly.[/size]
 
[size=medium]COEXISTENCE WITH PREEXISTING SOUNDCARD & DRIVERS[/size]
[size=medium]HT Omega recommends you both (1) disable your onboard soundcard and (2) uninstall any software and drivers for your existing sound software. Because I didn’t want to have to reinstall those drivers in the future, I didn’t uninstall anything and I’m glad I didn’t as I later (re)enabled those very devices and found that they coexist just fine with the HT Omega software. I can just enable or disable whatever sound device I want at any time.[/size]
 
[size=medium]HT OMEGA SOFTWARE[/size]
[size=medium]I found that if I leave the Headphone Properties in their defaults, I can use the HT OMEGA CLARO SERIES sound software to manipulate the sound.[/size]
[size=medium]However, if I change any of the settings in the Headphone Properties Window, I can still make inputs into the HT Omega Claro Series software but they don’t manipulate the sound.[/size]
[size=medium]If I just “Restore Defaults”, I regain control of sound through the HT Omega Claro Series Software.[/size]
[size=medium]Take your pick, use the Windows 7 volume control at 24 bit/192KHz or use the eClaro software. I’ve been using the former just because its volume is weaker so I have more volume increments to choose from to suit my sensitive, finicky hearing.[/size]
 
[size=medium]DOLBY SOFTWARE[/size]
[size=medium]Sorry to disappoint you, but I have little to say about the Dolby 7.1 software.[/size]
[size=medium]I believe the Dolby 7.1 effects are meant for movie-watching but I do little of that on my machine so I can’t comment with any useful depth about it.[/size]
[size=medium]I have sampled it and its options but for music I have found that it does little more than to produce a sense of depth. I suspect such options would be better exploited by people with headphones which produce a good soundstage such as the K701, the Sennheiser HD 558 and 598, etc. With the HD 518’s, though, I felt there was limited benefit. [/size]
 
[size=medium]SOUND[/size]
[size=medium]My reason for getting this soundcard in the first place wasn’t to upgrade my sound or anything like that. Rather, it was to escape from the “hissing” sound my onboard soundcard makes. With my onboard sound, I can turn off all music, and when I mute the sound, I get silence. When I unmute the sound- again, in the absence of any music- I get a ‘hissing’ sound that I can’t tolerate for long with nearly any genre.[/size]
[size=medium]I actually doubted that this soundcard could deliver clarity because it lacks the EMI shielding seen on competing soundcards. However, I got the clarity I wanted. My sophisticated test for clarity? I mute and unmute the sound in the absence of any sound, e.g. music. I can’t hear a distance between ‘mute’ and ‘unmute’ so it seems clear to me. The most analytical cans I’ve had on hand for doing so has been some Sennheiser HD 25 1 ii’s. I have no IEM’s to test the eClaro though I don’t doubt that some sensitive IEM’s would pick up the noise floor.[/size]
 
[size=medium]SYSTEM AND CASE INTEGRATION[/size]
[size=medium]The eClaro integrates into Windows 7 just fine.[/size]
[size=medium]What’s interesting is that HT Omega also furnishes you with the ability to connect the eClaro to your case’s front headphone port via a 10-pin connector.[/size]
[size=medium]I found that this 10-pin connector isn’t compatible with my case as my case uses a peculiar 14-pin connector with an odd pin arrangement. I tried connecting the two and got sound through the right channel only. It seems I’ll need some kind of convertor connector but for the time being, I’m not bothering with it as the eClaro’s 3.5mm headphone out works fine.[/size]
 
[size=medium]DRIVING POWER[/size]
[size=medium]I was told by HT Omega that “eClaro supports up to 600ohm headphone impedance by headphone output connector.” Wow. I had earlier assumed I would need to an external amp to run high-impedance cans but I guess not.[/size]
[size=medium]Curiously, the eClaro’s 600ohm driving power wasn’t displayed anywhere on the eClaro’s product description on HT Omega’s website! I told HT Omega they should change that if they want to compete more successfully with the Asus Xonar Essence STX and others in the eClaro’s product category.[/size]
[size=medium]EDIT:[/size]
[size=medium]I've used the eClaro with both DT 880 600ohm's and HD 600's (300ohm) and it drove both well enough that I couldn't listen to the 880's at more than approximately 60% of max volume without discomfort.[/size]
[size=medium]I'm told by HT Omega that it's only the eClaro's heapdhone port that's amplified, though, which is why they recommend you don't connect self-amplified speakers via the (amplified) heapdhone port. Speakers are to be connected only via the VGA port.[/size]
 
[size=medium]USE WITH SPEAKERS[/size]
[size=medium]Unlike the Xonar ST/X, the eClaro lets you listen via both speakers and headphones simultaneously. No need to toggle between the two.[/size]
 
[size=medium]HARDWARE DESIGN[/size]
[size=medium]A complaint I do have is that the 3.5mm headphone out and VGA-like D-Sub speaker out ports are very close together. When I have my HT Omega’s supplied 3.5mm headphone extension cable and their D-Sub speaker connectors connected simultaneously, they contact and push against each other, placing some stress on each other. I don’t know if this could cause loosening of one or both ports but it’s worth mentioning.[/size]
[size=medium]My Grado 3.5mm extension cable doesn’t contact the D-Sub connector, though.[/size]
[size=medium]What’s interesting about this card is that it doesn’t have or require a 4-pin power connector as does the Asus Xonar Essence STX, despite this card’s stated ability to power 600ohm headphones.[/size]
 
[size=medium]SUPPORT[/size]
[size=medium]As of this writing I’ve contacted HT Omega’s support at [/size][size=medium]help@htomega.com[/size][size=medium] several times and have gotten thorough and helpful responses the same or next day.[/size]
 
[size=medium]PROBLEMS[/size]
[size=medium]I’ve occasionally had a sound error that I can only describe as a “buzzing” sound in the middle of a track. Fortunately, it happens very seldom and randomly and is tolerable as it’s at the same pitch and volume as the track it occurred in. It’s not a high-pitched screech that some people describe having experienced with the Asus Essence Xonar STX.[/size]
 
[size=medium]CONCLUSION[/size]
[size=medium]It has faults but it works well and gives me the clear audio I wanted. [/size]
[size=medium]Its drivers and software have been so problem-free that I actually want to not try a different soundcard.[/size]
[size=medium]I was initially skeptical about the audio clarity this card could deliver given its absence of an EMI shield as seen on competing soundcards, but it delivers just fine which leads me to wonder if competing soundcards’ EMI shields are a placebo meant more to gain the confidence of consumers who think as I did or that those EMI shields compensate for some technical deficiency those cards have.[/size]
[size=medium]Regarding this card’s competitors, it seems to me that this card is very underknown and underrated. IMO HT Omega should do something about that but I guess they’re not too concerned.[/size]
[size=medium]I am comfortable recommending this card, esp. if you buy through Amazon or a similar retailer who has a lenient return policy.[/size]