darascal

Thanks buonassi & sorry for the late reply, I hadn't noticed your post. AQ says "the combination of an iOS device and ... standard CCK and DragonFly... causes a clicking in the background of the music. Neither we nor Apple have been able to determine why that is" So it sounds like it wasn't fixed, but perhaps some OS or firmware update serendipitously resolved it.

Are you loving your new speakers? I read Steve Guttenberg's review - intriguing. Sounds like a cool, compact system, but why the Sys? The Bifrost Multi seems like a lot of Dac for the speakers! As I mentioned, I paired my A5's with the Modi Multibit and it kicks butt! Anyway, let us know how it all sounds when you get all the pieces together.

So was this fixed in the "original" CCK (the one w/o charging capability) on Apple's or AQ's side? I'm contemplating buying it again (I bought it a while back, but exchanged it for the 3.0 because of the constant pops/clicks. Trying to gauge if it's worth the risk to try it again - I like the lighter, more minimal form-factor.

Save your money and buy the A5's! They're SO much better than the A2's. That being said I recently bought the Modi Multibit for my A5's and MY! What a DAC for $250 - huge improvement. But seems like it'd be overkill for the A2's.

The iPhone buttons don't work on my Sennheiser PX 100 IIi, when played through the DF Red via USB3 adaptor (works fine through the dongle plugged directly in my iPhone 7). I was curious if the USB3 update would resolve this, but no dice. Anyone have headphones with iPhone buttons that work through the USB3? I'm wondering if this might be fixable through a future update, or if this problem is in the nature of the design.

LOL!

Um. LFD does not stand for "LaFlor Dominicana" - that, I believe, is a cigar brand, and was a joke. LFD stand for "Low Fuzzy Distortion" (a phenomenon first described by one Dr. Malcolm Omar Hawksford in an AES paper). I own LFD Integrated Zero Mk.III and I LOVE it. Best-sounding solid state amp I've owned. However, LFD is not in the $1K neighborhood - I believe their current offerings start around $4,500 (US). I managed to snag mine @ $1600 (US), but that was years ago, and a rare find - I'll never let it go! If you can find one in this price range, jump on it! FWIW, Sam Telling of Stereophile called the Zero Mk.III LE (back in 2/08) the best integrated amp he'd ever heard: http://www.generubinaudio.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/lfd.pdf

Cool. The 2017 version has remote, headphone jack & phono output to boot!

I have the Rega Brio R and I love it. Right around $1000 new. https://www.musicdirect.com/integrated-amp/Rega-Brio-Integrated-Amplifier?utm_source=googlepepla&utm_medium=adwords&id=63027564162&gclid=Cj0KEQjwt6fHBRDtm9O8xPPHq4gBEiQAdxotvGLmfMBLmXwt-Pxv9ghJ5RBe1l9XyS7ldThMaxT6nFMaAk7n8P8HAQ

Miguelito, I got constant pops and clicks on the CCK2 I bought - though it was mostly audible during softer musical passages, and so returned it and bought the CCK3. AQ describes the problem as rare, but from the number of posts I've read regarding this problem, I am suspicious that it is common perhaps to the point of being a "feature"! A streamlined CCK2-type design as the one Gonzbull is pursuing might be nice for errands around town where charging is not a crucial (or even possible), and mobility is key, not having to deal with the bulky, goofy-looking 3, with its now superfluous lightning connection. But a price tag over 3x the cost of the original 2 gives me pause!

Interesting. Pricey! Probably USB2, since 3 is usually specified if it's 3. Let us know how it goes. I liked the simple look of the Apple CCK2 I bought - couldn't tolerate the pops & clicks in the background. I agree the CCK3 is bulky, but it has the great advantage of allowing charging the iPhone 7 while listening.

Good to know. It's a fussy little gadget.

bmwr75 - sounds like you got someone who wasn't familiar with the product. That is its purpose - to charge via lightning while providing usb connectivity. Works fine for me, but I have a 7.

Check your MIDI settings - probably you iMac is set to 96k hz (magenta). I'm not sure what the max sample rate of the iPad is - might be 44.1k (green). I use Audirvana +, which overrides system settings & changes sample rates based on the sample rate of the file. If I set my sample rate to 96k in MIDI, and Audirvana plays a 44.1 file, Dragonfly changes from magenta to green. Btw, if you have not already experimented with alternate music players (i.e., other than iTunes), you owe it to yourself to give them a try. The Dragonfly will easily reveal the differences in sound quality.

Thanks Donzauker. The posts I read were regarding sound quality before and after the update, with a few people reporting the sound seemed less bright and and full after the update. http://www.head-fi.org/t/805832/new-dragonfly-black-and-red-discussion/2940