The High End Show is always a fun time for hi-fi enthusiasts. Bringing together the crème de la crème of premium audio under one roof, the expo always delivers a wealth of sonic treats.
And despite changing location to Vienna, from its traditional Munich, this year’s show was no different. Our team on the ground saw everything from swish new premium B&O speakers to chic new CD systems from Ruark.
But for me, there was one shining star that attendees may have missed, due to its pocket-sized nature – the new DragonFly Copper from AudioQuest.
Why am I choosing a tiny mobile DAC / headphone amp over the sea of premium separates and speakers at the show as my highlight? The answer is a simple one; I’ve got history with the DragonFly.
The dalliance started in 2012 with the launch of the original DragonFly DAC. Though I grew up with hi-fi and continued to enjoy it as a young adult, the DragonFly was the first piece of audio hardware I reviewed as a journalist. As the saying goes, you always remember your first.
But that's not the main reason I remember the unit so fondly; it was also a top performer that genuinely revolutionised how I listened to music on the go at the time.
People may not remember it, but 2012 was a pretty dire time for mobile audio. I know that because I also reviewed mobile phones during the period and can personally confirm their audio quality was pretty poor.
I loved my Nexus 4, but, like nearly all of the phones at the time, its audio was sub-par, even with a decent pair of wired cans attached, and it wasn’t alone. Pretty much every laptop, tablet and mobile device you could use as a source didn’t cut the sonic mustard back then.
So having this tiny, affordable USB dongle that, to put it bluntly, just made things better, was a lifesaver – especially for a 20-something who regularly had to take red-eye flights across the pond for work.
We may be used to the idea now, with other players, including iFi, releasing a steady stream of similar products, but the DragonFly was the first properly good mobile DAC I experienced.
Which is why it has a room reserved in my memory palace, and I was genuinely a little sad when the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt DAC went out of production and was removed from our best DACs guide earlier this year.
It’s also why I was elated to see it return at High End Vienna and can’t wait to get a unit in for review and see if the new Copper lives up to the DragonFly’s legacy.
If even a smattering of the firm’s performance claims – which range from improved current efficiency to significantly meatier output power – ring true, then we could be in for quite the treat.
MORE:
These are the best portable music players
We rank the best wired headphones
Our top picks of the best headphone amps
