NEWS
8 HI-FI WORLD SEPTEMBER 2019 http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk
CHASING THE DRAGONFLY
The dedicated carry around both smartphone and purpose-designed personal music player.
For the rest of us, just a smartphone. Thankfully, there’s a decent compromise. This is
the smartphone DAC/headphone amplifier, designed to plug into your device’s USB port
(Lightning, if you’re Apple). Among the better-known of these bus-powered devices are
Audioquest’s DragonFly Black and Red (£69 and £149 respectively).
Now there are three – with the launch of the £270 DragonFly Cobalt. Its DAC chip is
a ESS ES9038Q2M – a 32-bit Sabre 32 ‘reference DAC’ found in upmarket portable players.
The minimum-phase, slow roll-off filter, reckons Audioquest, results in “naturally-expressive
sound that is always emotionally engaging and never fatiguing”.
Other features of the MQA-ready Cobalt include firmware upgradability, Android/
iOS compatibility and filtering that makes the Cobalt immune to RF noise from the host
phone’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular sections. It’s supplied with a DragonTail female USB-A
to male USB-C Adaptor.
Contact: Audioquest, 01249 848 873. http://www.audioquest.com/dacs/dragonfly/dragonfly-cobaltMINDING THE GAP
Denon’s DRA-800H ‘network receiver’ blurs the distinction between conventional
hi-fi gear and home cinema. It’s two-channel (subwoofers are catered for), has an MM
phono stage and boasts a hi-res AK4458 DAC for external digital sources. There is a
DAB+ tuner and VHF/FM too.
The DRA-800H makes provision for ‘Zone 2’ listening and supports the
networked audio and HDMI connectivity of modern home-cinema gear. The former
will pull music off DLNA servers and USB storage devices as well as services like
Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Prime, Pandora and Internet radio. Making this possible
are Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
Five HDMI inputs (and one output) allow the DRA-800H to be used as an AV switching centre; it supports cutting-edge technologies like 4k,
HDR and HDCP 2.3. Naturally, audio is extracted so you can enjoy it through your speakers; thanks to ARC, TV sound will be transformed!
Other features include 100 watts per channel, Bluetooth, tone controls, switching for two pairs of speakers, a headphone socket and the
ability to be controlled by voice through Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri. Quite a package for £599.
Contact: Denon, 02890 279830. http://www.denon.co.uk
EXPENSIVE BUS RIDE
Kimber Kable’s ‘Select’ Universal Serial Bus (USB) cables are aimed at “fans of computer audio aiming to get the very best out of their systems”.
The shielding is bonded to the ‘entry-level’ (£562.50 for 0.5m) Select USB-Copper’s connector shell with silver foil and is fashioned from silver-
plated copper with low-density PTFE insulation; pure copper conductors, meanwhile, are used for power and ground.
A rung up the ladder is the Select USB-Hybrid (£750 for 0.5m) that uses pure silver with a low-density PTFE insulation for the all-important
data lines. Power and ground are
however copper.
Topping the trio is the £1,250 (0.5m)
Kimber Select USB-Silver which employs
pure silver conductors throughout.
All are available in lengths from 0.5m
to 3m, terminated with USB connectors
(Type A, B or C) to meet your needs.
Contact: Russ Andrews, 01539GIN MADE ME DO IT...
Melco has just announced its ‘Melco Intelligent Music Library’, a comprehensive search tool that enables users of its
digital music libraries to find tracks for playback on any network music player or connected USB DAC. It includes a
‘metadata engine’ (SongKong for Melco) and uPnP server (MinimServer with Intelligent Browsing).
Melco has designed these software elements to integrate closely with each other; “the separation of metadata
structure and uPnP server is the root cause of most problems experienced by users trying to find music on their
servers” Melco explain. MIML is available as a firmware update for existing kit like the N1A, N1Z and N1H libraries
and is also installed as standard on the new two-box N10 (£6,750) and one-box N100 (£1,800) models.
Finished in black, these space-efficient servers are complemented by the D100 audiophile CD loader/transport
(£899) and E100 3TB audiophile storage drive (£899).
At the time of writing, Melco’s Summer Gift Promotion is attempting to lure potential customers with goodies
like iPods, 12-month Tidal and Qobuz accounts, Red Letter Day gift vouchers, Buffalo Technology 6TB drives...and gin.
Contact: 07899 896848 (ADMM, UK distributor); melco-audio-masters.com