AudioQuest DragonFly Black - USB DAC/Headphone Amp

The DragonFly Black is the most affordable member of AudioQuest's DragonFly family of USB DACs — thumb-drive-sized devices that bypass the compromised audio circuitry built into computers, phones, and tablets to deliver cleaner, more detailed sound to headphones, powered speakers, or a full hi-fi system. It sits below the DragonFly Red (which adds a higher-performance DAC chip, a more powerful headphone amplifier, and greater output voltage) and the flagship DragonFly Cobalt (which adds dedicated noise-dissipation filtering). The DragonFly Black represents AudioQuest's entry point into purpose-built digital-to-analogue conversion — and for a great many listeners, it represents the single most audible upgrade available for the price.

Why a USB DAC Matters

Every device that plays digital audio — laptop, phone, tablet — contains a built-in DAC. It has to: the speakers or headphone output need an analogue signal, so the digital data must be converted somewhere. The problem is that in most consumer devices, the DAC is an afterthought. It shares circuit board space with WiFi radios, Bluetooth transmitters, processors, and power-management circuits, all of which generate electrical noise that degrades the audio signal. The headphone amplifier driving the output jack is typically minimal, optimised for low power draw rather than sound quality, and the output stage is compromised by the need to fit within a device designed primarily for other tasks.

The DragonFly Black plugs into a USB port and takes over the entire audio chain — digital reception, conversion, amplification, and volume control — in a purpose-built, audio-optimised circuit. The host device simply sends digital data over USB; the DragonFly handles everything else. The result is a cleaner signal path, lower noise floor, more accurate timing, and a headphone amplifier designed specifically to drive real headphones rather than simply make sound come out of a socket.

ESS Sabre 9010 and Minimum-Phase Filtering

At the heart of the DragonFly Black is the 32-bit ESS Sabre 9010 DAC chip — a high-performance converter from the same family used in dedicated CD and Blu-ray players costing considerably more. The 9010 employs a minimum-phase digital reconstruction filter, which concentrates all of its time-domain ringing after the impulse rather than splitting it before and after. This matters because pre-ringing (where the filter produces output before the signal arrives) is perceptually unnatural — it creates a subtle sense of artificial hardness that linear-phase filters can introduce. The minimum-phase approach trades mathematically perfect frequency response for a more naturally detailed, dynamically expressive sound that better preserves the transient character of the original recording.

The analogue circuits following the DAC chip are direct-coupled — there are no coupling capacitors or other extraneous components in the signal path between the ESS converter's output and the 3.5mm jack. Every component in the signal path introduces some distortion, however small, so AudioQuest's approach is simply to use as few as possible.

Streamlength Asynchronous USB and monoClock

The USB interface is built around a Microchip PIC32MX microcontroller running Streamlength — a proprietary asynchronous USB audio protocol developed by Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio, who has been AudioQuest's digital design partner since the original DragonFly. In asynchronous mode, the DragonFly commands the timing of data transfer rather than accepting whatever the computer sends. This is critical because timing errors in digital audio — jitter — directly affect sound quality, smearing detail and collapsing the sense of space and dimensionality in the music.

The Microchip controller draws 77% less power than the Texas Instruments chip used in the earlier DragonFly v1.2, and 95% less than the most efficient XMOS solutions. This dramatically reduced power consumption is what makes the current DragonFly Black viable with smartphones and tablets, which cannot supply the USB current that earlier models demanded. The controller uses 32-bit architecture and supports firmware updates via AudioQuest's free Desktop Device Manager, so the DragonFly can evolve as USB audio standards and capabilities develop.

The clocking system uses what AudioQuest calls monoClock — a single ultra-low-jitter clock generated from the ESS DAC chip that runs the headphone amplifier and all microcontroller functions. Most portable DACs use multiple clocks for different subsystems, and the interactions between those clocks introduce noise and timing uncertainty. By deriving everything from one master clock, the DragonFly eliminates inter-clock interference entirely. The implementation is a Hybrid-PLL (phase-locked loop) design that AudioQuest states performs equal to or better than many discrete clock systems found in larger, more expensive DACs.

Headphone Amplifier and Volume Control

The DragonFly Black's built-in headphone amplifier uses a 64-step analogue volume control. When connected to a computer or mobile device, adjusting the host's volume slider controls the DragonFly's onboard volume through proxy — the host sends a digital command, but the actual volume adjustment happens in the analogue domain inside the DragonFly, preserving maximum resolution at all volume settings. This is a significant distinction from simply turning down the digital level before conversion, which reduces bit depth and throws away musical information at lower volumes.

The maximum output is 1.2V RMS — enough to drive all preamplifier and integrated amplifier input circuits, and sufficient for a wide range of efficient headphones. AudioQuest positions the DragonFly Black as best suited to headphones with sensitivities above approximately 95–100 dB/mW. Into these loads, transients remain fast and dynamic contrasts are preserved with appropriate weight. With more demanding, lower-sensitivity headphones that require higher drive voltages, the DragonFly Red's 2.1V output and ESS headphone amplifier with bit-perfect digital volume control offer greater authority and dynamic range.

Two Output Modes

The DragonFly Black operates in two modes depending on how you use it. Connected directly to headphones or powered speakers, it functions in variable-output mode — the host volume control adjusts the output level. Connected to a preamplifier, integrated amplifier, or AV receiver input via a 3.5mm-to-RCA cable (such as AudioQuest's own Golden Gate or Evergreen 3.5mm-to-RCA variants), you set the host volume to maximum for a fixed 1.2V line-level output, and control listening level from the amplifier as normal. In this configuration, the DragonFly Black serves purely as a high-quality external DAC, and its performance is limited only by the quality of the downstream amplification and speakers — not by the headphone amplifier's output capability.

MQA Rendering

All current-production DragonFly models — Black, Red, and Cobalt — function as MQA Renderers. When an MQA Core signal is provided by a compatible application (such as Tidal, Audirvana, or Roon), the DragonFly completes the final unfolding stage of MQA decoding, delivering the sound quality of the original studio master recording. The LED indicator glows purple during MQA playback. While MQA's commercial future has been the subject of industry discussion, the rendering capability is present via firmware and costs nothing additional — it is simply part of the DragonFly's feature set.

Compatibility and LED Indicator

The DragonFly Black is compatible with Apple macOS (10.6.8 and later), Windows (7 and later), and Linux computers, as well as iOS devices (using Apple's Lightning-to-USB 3 Camera Adapter or, for USB-C iPads and iPhones, a USB-C adapter) and Android devices running Lollipop 5.0 or later (using AudioQuest's DragonTail USB adapter or any compatible OTG cable). No drivers are required on any platform — it is genuinely plug-and-play. For Android devices, AudioQuest recommends verifying USB audio host-mode support with the manufacturer or by running a USB Host Check application, as not all Android manufacturers fully implement the USB audio specification.

The dragonfly-shaped LED on the top of the unit changes colour to indicate the incoming sample rate: red for standby, green for 44.1kHz (CD standard), blue for 48kHz (video/broadcast standard), amber for 88.2kHz, and magenta for 96kHz. During MQA rendering, the LED glows purple. Files recorded at sample rates above 96kHz will play — the host device's software downsamples them before sending to the DragonFly. For best results with high-resolution files, AudioQuest recommends downsampling to a mathematically related rate (for example, 192kHz files played at 96kHz) to avoid complex resampling calculations that can degrade sound quality.

Build and Accessories

The DragonFly Black is housed in a zinc alloy case with a soft-touch matte-black finish and gold lettering. The USB Type-A connector is gold-plated, and the connection between the plug and the case is solid with no flex — the DragonFly will not be the weak point if it is wiggled while plugged directly into a laptop port. A protective plastic cap covers the USB connector during transport, and a leatherette travel pouch is included. For laptops where the DragonFly's width blocks adjacent USB ports, AudioQuest's DragonTail USB-A extender cable provides a short, flexible standoff.

Choosing Between Black, Red, and Cobalt

AudioQuest's own description of the DragonFly family is straightforward: “Black is beautiful, Red is more beautiful, and Cobalt is most beautiful.” In practical terms, the DragonFly Black is the right choice for listeners using efficient headphones (in-ears, most on-ears, and many over-ears) or feeding a separate amplifier, where the 1.2V output is more than sufficient. The DragonFly Red steps up with the higher-performance ESS 9016 DAC chip, an ESS headphone amplifier with bit-perfect digital volume control, and a 2.1V output that can drive more demanding headphones with greater authority. The DragonFly Cobalt adds the ESS 9038Q2M flagship DAC chip, dedicated power-supply noise-dissipation filtering designed to combat WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular interference, and a slightly smaller case — it represents the state of AudioQuest's current DAC engineering in portable form.

For many listeners — particularly those connecting to a hi-fi system via the 3.5mm output, or using reasonably efficient headphones — the DragonFly Black delivers a transformative improvement over built-in audio for a fraction of the cost of a traditional separates DAC. It is the entry point, but it is not a compromise: the same Streamlength asynchronous USB platform, the same direct-coupled analogue output topology, and the same MQA rendering capability run through all three models.