Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt £269
Once upon a time, the idea of spending more than £250 for a USB stick would have been considered foolhardy. But then the Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt came along. And, with this Award, has made it three Best Buy wins in a row.
There are elements here that are shared with the multiple Award-winning Dragonfly Red, including the 2.1v headphone output, bit-perfect digital volume control and MQA renderer; but there are upgrades, too. An advanced ESS ES9038Q2M chip promises a more natural sound, while the PIC32MX274 microprocessor increases processing speed by 33 per cent. Also included is a Dragontail USB-A (female) to USB-C (male) adaptor for use with the growing number of electronics with connectivity for the latter.
The most substantial upgrade for us, though, is the performance. Lines are drawn round the edges of each instrument, with detail on offer to complement the cleanliness and military precision.
The Cobalt isn’t necessarily concerned with polishing your music; bedroom recordings can still sound intimately lo-fi, purposefully screeching treble remains uncensored, and grisly riffs still drag their knuckles along the floor.
Timing is greatly improved, with beats locking in like puzzle pieces, so much so that it can sometimes leave its sibling, the Dragonfly Red, feeling a tad lazy. The Cobalt’s hard work is also heard as it belts out grand dynamic shifts before donning its reading glasses to contour those more diminutive quivers.
If you loved the Dragonfly Red as much as we did and you’re looking to make the next step up without compromising on size or form, the Cobalt represents something of a no-brainer.