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Comparison AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt vs AudioQuest Dragonfly DAC

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AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt
AudioQuest Dragonfly DAC
AudioQuest DragonFly CobaltAudioQuest Dragonfly DAC
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from $129.95 
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Available with ATH-MSR7 headphones.
Available with ATH-MSR7 headphones.
FeaturesDACDAC
Specs
Typeexternalexternal
InterfaceUSBUSB
Channels22
AudiochipESS Sabre 9601Texas Instruments TAS1020
Mac compatibility
DAC
DAC resolution32 bit24 bit
Max. sampling rate96 kHz96 kHz
Outputs
mini-Jack (3.5 mm)11
Added to E-Catalogseptember 2021december 2013
Glossary

Audiochip

Brand of the audio chip installed in the sound card.

The audio chip is one of the most important parts of a sound card, a kind of "heart" of the whole circuit, and it is on its characteristics that the sound quality and other capabilities of a particular model largely depend. Knowing the brand of the chip, you can easily find various information on it — official specifications, test results, reviews, etc. — and based on this, draw a conclusion to what extent this sound card is able to meet your requirements. Of course, for ordinary video cards (see "View") there is no need to delve into such details, but when choosing a gaming or audiophile model, they can be very useful.

DAC resolution

The bit depth of the digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) of the sound card. In this case, DAC refers to a part of the circuit that converts digital sound data (machine code) into analogue pulses that are fed directly to an external device — speakers, headphones, etc. The bit depth is one of the main parameters (along with the sampling frequency) that describes the quality of the DAC: the higher it is, the more reliable the sound will be reproduced, the less distortion will be introduced into it during conversion.

16-bit DACs usually have entry-level sound cards — this is enough for good sound quality. In other cases, 24-bit converters are most common, and even for advanced models, in particular gaming ones (see "View"), they are almost mandatory.
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