<\/p>\n But for me, there was one shining star that attendees may have missed, due to its pocket-sized nature \u2013 the new DragonFly Copper from AudioQuest<\/a>.<\/p>\n Latest Videos From 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\u2019ve got history with the DragonFly.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t alone. Pretty much every laptop, tablet and mobile device you could use as a source didn\u2019t cut the sonic mustard back then.<\/p>\n So having this tiny, affordable USB dongle that, to put it bluntly, just made things better, was a lifesaver \u2013 especially for a 20-something who regularly had to take red-eye flights across the pond for work.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n 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<\/a> and was removed from our best DACs<\/a> guide earlier this year.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also why I was elated to see it return at High End Vienna and can\u2019t wait to get a unit in for review and see if the new Copper lives up to the DragonFly\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n If even a smattering of the firm\u2019s performance claims \u2013 which range from improved current efficiency to significantly meatier output power \u2013 ring true, then we could be in for quite the treat.<\/p>\n MORE:<\/p>\n These are the best portable music players<\/a><\/p>\n We rank the best wired headphones<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.whathifi.com\/media\/img\/WHF_logo.svg\"){kind=logo}
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