Reddit mentions of AudioQuest - DragonFly Red USB DAC/Headphone Amplifier

I've been researching portable dac/amps and here are a few to check out.

Fio K1- Its one of the most popular and well reviewed portable dacs at the moment. 24-bit/96khz dac/amp that is supposed to be well balance with a low noise floor for about $40.

Dragonfly Red / [Dragonfly Black] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F7L3I14/ref=dp_sp_detail?psc=1) . All the reviews and impressions I've read for these devices are that the Black not bad, but Red completely blows it away in terms of sound quality but is also about double the price at around $200.

SMSL IDEA / Sabaj Da2 - Made by the same factory and using the same chipset under different brand names. These have also been getting rave reviews due to being sub 100 dacs but have the sound quality of much more expensive dacs. Also both come with usb-c otg cables. Both seem to be more favorited than the Dragonfly. Both can be found on amazon with the IDEA being a little more expensive than the Da2.

Things to keep in mind are that there are some glitches when some of theses are connected to android phone which have work arounds.

*Hissing or screeching when plugging into phone: Start music first and then plug in dac. Changing the usb mode to midi works for some people as well.

To take full advantage of have a usb dac alot of people recommend this app: USB Audio Player PRO

Also the inline remote controls and mic on headphones won't work with these.

If you want portability, the the Cyrus Soundkey or Audioquest Dragonfly red are your options. I use the Soundkey, and it's brilliant. The soundstage and clarity is vastly improved. Then again my daily drivers are the Audio-Technica ATH M40X. For a DAC + amp, then the Teac AI-101DA. It's a bit pricy, but however it's a good DAC amp. I don't have it, but I have heard mostly positive reviews on it, also Zeos, our legend, has reviewed it himself. If you are on a tight budget, well the FiiO - E10K Olympus, has got you covered. It's a really good amp+DAC for the money. A lot of positive reviews. If you are gaming, the Senhiser GSX 1000 is there. What I she said in here are the best in each section.

Links:

Cyrus Soundkey: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B073RFVHVY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520720112&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=cyrus+soundkey

Audioquest Dragonfly red: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01DFMV4NQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1520720178&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=cyrus+soundkey&dpPl=1&dpID=41JaKxrUrfL&ref=plSrch

Senhiser GSX 1000: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LDTP484/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520720216&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gsx+100&dpPl=1&dpID=41ermQbCqAL&ref=plSrch

Teac AI-101DA: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00UGYFWQC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520720282&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=teac+ai-101da&dpPl=1&dpID=41dClv7EX-L&ref=plSrch

FiiO E10K Olympus: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00LP3AMC2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520720327&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=fiio+e10k&dpPl=1&dpID=41Taa5DTsKL&ref=plSrch

By the way. If you want, buy a fucking pair of Audio-Technica ATH M40X: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HVLUR54/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1520720404&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=audio+technica&dpPl=1&dpID=41gFqXe5oBL&ref=plSrch

Zeos found the M40X'S brilliant.

I hope I helped you out, if you have any queries, reply to this comment. Good luck in finding what you want.

Try this - you're sneaking in $1.25 under budget too.

Not to my knowledge, but you can just use something like this or this and attach one of these or these and use it like that.

Like what other redditors have said, the problem is gonna be your source, not the vehicle. I'd reccomend looking for a portable external DAC/Amp. For example I use an audioquest dragonfly red but that might be a little overkill for you. Try looking into the black version it's a little cheaper, or maybe check out some options from Fiio. Dont worry if it says headphone amp, itll still function just fine for loudspeaker applications.

Stuff that's decently large (for a 1080 h264 encode, around 15-30GB) marked with FLAC or AAC audio generally have the most you can get out of anime. FLAC is a "lossless" codec, meaning you're getting non-destructive compression. Of course, that also depends on if someone tinkered with it before it was a FLAC, but it's not too big of a deal with anime. I forgot to mention Massdrop x Sennheiser PC37X by the same company. I haven't listened to them before, but I think they would be good since they use similar drivers to the HD600 series. Cheaper at $150, has a mic. I don't like how they look but I wouldn't care if it sounds good.

You won't need an amplifier for the PC37X bc they are much easier to drive at just 50 ohms instead of 300 on the 6XX, but you should still look for a DAC if your onboard audio chipset isn't great. Most people recommend the Dragonfly I think (I haven't tried this).

Here are a few lists to look at and learn some more about how this stuff works:
(https://midination.com/headphones/best-studio-headphones-under-100/)
(https://midination.com/audiophile/best-budget-dac/)

I use the Audioquest dragonfly red when I’m on the go and I’ve been pretty happy with it. It’s the same price as the stack I listed above but it’s portable af. It literally is the size of a flash drive. The stack I listed above will sound better, but it won’t be portable.

AudioQuest - DragonFly Red USB DAC/Headphone Amplifier https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DFMV4NQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ck0pDbM4F037D