DragonFly Red stopped working


I often use an Audioquest DragonFly Red connected to a MacBook Pro for audio at work and with an iPhone/iPad when traveling. Sometimes I connect headphones and sometimes a separate powered speaker... long story long, a few weeks ago I noticed a sound similar to a CD skipping interrupting the sound when the output was through the DragonFly that resolved but with the crappy non-DAC audio quality when either the headphones or speaker was connected to the headphone jack of the laptop. I tried updating the firmware to the DAC and now get no sound at all from the DAC...dead silence until I remove it from the USB port or change to another output.  Making things even more strange, when I connect the DragonFly to an iPhone using the camera adapter I get the sound with the incessant skipping noise again. 

Anyone else have this or similar issues? Is the device just dying and need to be replaced? I actually contacted audioquest customer support and they offered to replace it for just the cost of shipping, but in the meantime while I await the necessary paperwork, I thought I'd reach out on here and see if anyone had ideas worth trying that might actually fix the problem. Is it possible this is an issue with software no longer being compatible after apple's automatic updates and wont be resolved with a new unit?
ethos123
Also, if this is a problem that a new replacement doesn't solve or it recurs with the new one, what similar product would you guys recommend? Good sound is important of course, but portability like these USB stick DACs or similar is key. Thanks
Got nowhere in terms of just fixing it or determining if it was hardware of the device or software related, but I was pleasantly surprised that they would replace it for just the cost of shipping... just not sure whether that will actually fix the problem or it’s software/compatibility issue and I’ll pay shipping fees for nothing
My Dragonfly Red is basically falling apart but still (somehow) works.
Granted, I use it almost everyday connected to my iPhone 8 and driving Cardas A8 IEBs and am constantly putting it my pocket on the train.


I had the same problem with my Dragonfly Red. My laptop recognised it, but would not play anything. Audioquest were disinterested and unresponsive, so now have a bit of junk. Won't buy another Audioquest product.
I had a Dragonfly Red that I use with my laptop to listen with headphones thru and it started getting an intermittent connection. Tried different USB connections but it was clearly the AQ unit. AQ replaced it without question but I have since moved to the Cobalt and have no issues since the year I've had it.