Hey hey my my. These past few weeks I've been taking a handful of dongle USB DACs out of their comfort zone: away from the desktop and into the street. Out of the blue and into the black.

My intent? To re-imagine Apple's 5th generation iPod Touch as a viable, 'audiophile grade' alternative to the likes of the Astell&Kern digital audio players, for which we need to improve their D/A conversion and headphone output staging. Think of it as rolling your own.

Despite the huge leap in GUI attractiveness and functionality made by iRiver in moving the AK100/120 to second generation models, the interfaces found on iOS-driven devices remain light years ahead of the DAP rivals. That and the iPod Touch bring streaming services like Spotify, Qobuz and Pandora into the game; the only audiophile-grade music player to do this to date is Sony's NWZ-ZX1 (AU$699).

What if one could append a suitably small DAC/headphone amplifier to the iPod Touch using Apple's Lightning-to-USB adaptor?

Trial and error has exposed a few USB DACs that play ball with the 5th generation iPod Touch and also those that don't.

Thirstier devices don't get time on the field. iOS red-carded both LH Labs' Geek Out and the Cambridge DACMagic XS for drawing too much power. It's a common iOS reaction to devices not intended by their designers for use as iPod/iPhone appendages.

Of those that did work nicely, the m2Tech hiFace DAC had an output impedance that proved too high for satisfactory headphone use (which defeats the intended purpose here) whilst the Resonessence Labs Herus had a terrific, punchy sound - considerably better than the iDevice's own headphone output - but the awkward bulkiness when piggybacking the iPod Touch kept it from universal acceptance.

My attention subsequently turned to AudioQuest's second generation Dragonfly. With little fanfare the all-new and improved model has been anointed with the perfunctory "v1.2" status. It has also seen a significant price drop: from US$249 to US$149. More for less - what's not to like?

AudioQuest's website copy expands on the changes:

The circuitry between the DAC chip and the analog output stage has been refined to create a more direct signal path, leading to even greater transparency and immediacy. Also, the DAC's power supply has been fortified, which gives the sound more "grip," and even greater dynamic contrast.

Having never heard the 2012 original for more than five minutes at shows, I'm unable to deny or verify such claims. What Hi-fi complained of a "slightly hard edge to the sound can become tiring" and called it "Not the last word in subtlety" before affording the original Dragonfly a Product Of The Year award.

I'm unwilling to throw either criticism in the direction of the updated version so it would seem AudioQuest have addressed these minor quibbles with the v1.2. Hats off.

With Macbook Air playing host, I found the Dragonfly v1.2's sound to be spacious and energized. Its ability to communicate the rhythmic bursts that puncture Peter Gabriel's "Kiss Of Life" is superb, especially when you step back to consider the cost of entry. That said, it falls short of the tonal mass supplied by the Schiit Bifrost Uber (reviewed here).

I'd also say that the Dragonfly v1.2 is creamier and more polished than the HRT microStreamer (US$189, reviewed here). This new version's overriding quality is smoothness in the treble.

How does the Dragonfly v1.2 compare to the Resonessence Labs Herus (reviewed here)? The latter is bolder, chunkier and more bombastic. If you want a DAC with a more agreeable sense of elegance in the treble, the AudioQuest is your guy. The Herus, whilst never nervy or tense, is more of a matter-of-fact straight talker. And whilst the Canadian also deals in higher PCM rates and DSD it's also US$200 more expensive than the more svelte Californian.

The DITA Audio The Answer IEMs really benefitted from the new Dragonfly's (presumably) improved treble although extending listening showed this pairing to a be little bass shy. The less fussy Cardas EM5813 Ear Speakers faired much better below the waist but crave a little more grit up top.

Full sized headphones like KEF's M500 (reviewed here) and Sennheiser's Momentum faired much better than both IEMs, both of which benefitted from the Dragonfly sounding FAR better than the Macbook Air's own 3.5mm output.

What Hifi said of the v1.2:

The original Dragonfly blew us away, but the v1.2 takes performance to a whole new level.

Their point speaks to mine: a DAC with the Dragonfly's performance at the Dragonfly's price point is as rare as rocking horse shit.