In Barn for Review: AudioQuest DragonFly Copper USB DAC

I don’t typically highlight packaging but in this case I made an exception.

Outside and in because it made me smile. Twice.

The new AudioQuest DragonFly Copper USB DAC is, as DragonFly owners already know, more than a DAC as it can also drive your headphones while its internal volume control allows it to function as a preamp too if so you choose.

I could open a DragonFly Museum–Copper, Cobalt, Red, Black

The very first DragonFly v1.0 from AudioQuest hit the hifi scene hard in 2012, followed by the Black and Red in 2016, the Cobalt in 2019 which gets us to the present day with the recently released Copper. I’ve been using one DragonFly or another on my desktop to send its analog out to my ADAM A3X powered speakers and when I travel with headphones since the beginning, V1.0, and remember being asked what it was from interested headphone listeners at airports. “It makes music sound better” was my standard line. Because it does.

These days you can fill the bed of a small pickup truck with dongle DACs from different manufacturers sporting all kinds of stuff like tiny tubes and R2R DACs. Basically every audiophile buzzword buzzing around digital audio now comes in dongle size. And why not—the yogurt aisle at the ShopRite is about 30 ft. long. Don’t even get me started on shampoo.

the dragonfly on the DragonFly changes color based on the sample rate of the incoming music—red (standby), green (44.1kHz), blue (48kHz), yellow (88.2kHz), and light blue (96kHz)

The new DragonFly Copper comes with a number of new and improved features and I’ll let AudioQuest list ’em:

2x greater output power
25% lower current draw
High-conductivity copper-plated case for improved RF-noise drainage

Another change finds the newer ESS ES9218 DAC chip inside Copper where the Cobalt runs on the ESS ES9038Q2M. Why the change? I’ll let DragonFly designer Gordon Rankin take over from his Q&A with AQ’s Senior Director of Engineering Garth Powell:

One of the biggest requests we received from customers was for more headphone power, so we approached ESS and they delivered the ES9218 — an integrated DAC/headphone combo. This gave us two times the headphone power of any previous DragonFly and lots of nice digital filters that we used in Cobalt.

Summing up, Copper offers more power for your ‘phones, uses less power doing its thing, and offers improved imperviousness to RF noise. Speaking of noise, Copper is also compatible with the AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ Data & Power Noise Filter ($69,95) that offers further isolation from deleterious noise trying to sneak in. Or so the company claims.

In terms of using a DragonFly, you just stick the USB side into your computer, tablet, or phone (Copper comes with the DragonTail A to C Adaptor so you can connect via USB-A or USB-C) and connect your audio device to its 3.5mm jack. Volume is controlled via whatever app you choose to use and you’re off to the races.