The introduction of the first Dragonfly back in 2012 was an interesting move by cable manufacturer AudioQuest. That was followed up by the Black 1.2 that I reviewed in August 2015. See the link in the top right corner. In 2016, two new models were introduced, the Black 1.5 and the red, both in review here. The previous models have become rather popular, but they had one real shortcoming, power consumption. This rendered them useless with smartphones while the compact size and the software controllable analog volume control would have made them ideal for portable use. The two new Dragonflies, the Black 1.5 and the red, consume far less power. I used a simple USB voltage and current meter to measure the current. The old Black 1.2 measured at 0.05 amps, where the new Black 1.5 measured at 0.01 amps, most of the time, with short peaks up to 0.02 amps. The red measured a constant 0.02 amps. How accurate this simple and cheap measurement device is, I don't know. But the difference between the old and the new Dragonflies should be 78% according to AudioQuest, and these measurements seem to confirm this. As did connecting the DAX to my iPhone 6 using the camera adapter cable. Whether Black 1.2 gave a warning on the iPhone screen that it couldn't be used due to high power consumption, the other two worked flawlessly. According to information from AudioQuest, this is the result of a better microcontroller. Both new models have the same shape as the old one, and the new Black 1.5 can be distinguished from the 1.2 version by its Gold College USB connector, Gold lettering instead of silver, and the Dragonfly Black 1.5 imprint on the rear. The red has a shiny red finish and the Dragonfly red imprint on the rear. They both still do 24bit 96kHz as a maximum, just like the 1.2. This must be a deliberate choice since the ESS Saber DAC chip used support up to 32bit 384kHz and even DSD. My guess is that it has to do with power and heat. Both Saber DACs offer the ESS time-domain jittery limiter that made the Saber chips so popular. There are differences too. One of the reasons that the Black 1.5 consumes even less power than the red is that the output voltage is 4.8 dB lower at 1.2 volts. That's still enough to properly drive the average headphones. My AudioQuest Nighthawk headphone and Sony MDR EX700 in it is both played louder than I found comfortable. The red produced slightly over 2 volts. You can skip the tech by going to the time code above. Since the Dragonflies cannot be opened, at least I don't know how, I have to trust the manufacturer's information. That states that the Black 1.5 uses the ESS Saber 1910, a 32bit DAC chip that as I mentioned before is limited here to 24bit 96kHz by the microprocessor that precedes it. Like the old Black, it also uses a digitally controlled analog volume control. This means that when you change the volume on your computer or smartphone, this is digitally communicated with and executed by the Black. Furthermore, the 1910 chip is set to a minimum-faced digital filter. The red uses the ESS Saber 1916 DAC chip that is of even higher spec, having lower noise and distortion. That's also measurable when implemented in the Dragonflies. The signal to noise of the Black 1.5 measures at 9070 dB while the red measures 112 dB. And for instance the quantization noise is 94.7 to 96.5 dB. That's all nice, but is it audible? The volume control in the red is digital using 96bit precision. Also new on both DACs or review here is that the firmware can be updated. I'm not sure whether I like the Black 1.5 over the 1.2. I find them not sounding identical, but they are in about the same class. It's not amazing that for 99 euros you now buy a DA converter that outperforms a 500 euro DAC of, say, 10 years ago. The Black 1.5 has the advantage of consuming less power and therefore can be used with portable devices. But especially in portable use, the red sounds a lot better. I know it costs twice as much, but you could also say it only costs 100 euros more. The red is more capable of driving headphones and NES and funny enough that became most clear when using a set of affordable Argon EP1 NES costing 49 euros. Connecting to my set 3, the differences between the new Black and the red were smaller but still were the 100 euros. In set 2, the differences were bigger, but to be honest I would not choose the red for my set 2. It belongs in my set 3 and there it performs so nicely that I will use it as one of my references. Again, audio quest has improved the Dragonfly DAC, but this time the progression comes in two stages. A new Black that offers about the same audio quality as the Black 1.2, but with a lower power consumption. And the red that has almost the same low power consumption and can also be used with smartphones. But also has an improved sound quality. I would go for the red and if you doubt, do realize that the original Black at introduction will set you back to 49. Developments go quick and I will do my best to keep you informed. So subscribe to this channel, follow my Facebook or Google Plus page or my Twitter account. You can also post questions but please don't ask me for buying and fines. If you have my questions video to find out why the link is in the top right corner. You find more information below this video in YouTube. If you like this video please give the thumbs up and tell your friends on the web about it. I am Hans Beekhuyzen, thank you for watching and see you in the next show or on the AGBproject.com. And whatever you do, enjoy the music.