AudioQuest updates its DragonFly preamp/converter

The growing interest in streaming and digital music has created a subset of tech companies aiming to improve audio quality. We’ve seen multiple Kickstarter projects promising better performance for digital tunes. The latest product announcement isn’t from another new kid on the block; it’s from AudioQuest, which debuted its first digital-to-analog DragonFly gadget back in 2012.

The company has launched new versions of its DragonFly converter/preamp that it says have better signal-to-noise ratios and cut battery consumption compared with the original model. The DragonFly Black and DragonFly Red are compatible with both Apple and Android computers, although use with mobile devices requires an additional adapter for the USB connector. The DragonFly Black costs $99, while the beefier DragonFly Red runs $199.