AudioQuest DragonFly - Audio MIDI Setup and Format

5
Setting up the “Audio MIDI
Setup” so computer audio
plays through DragonFly.
Open the “Applications”
folder, and then the
“Utilities” folder.
Within Utilities, double-click
to open “Audio MIDI Setup.”
Within the “Audio Devices”
panel, click on “AudioQuest
DragonFly.”
Use the “Format” drop-down
menu to choose a sample
rate … most likely 44100.0 Hz;
please read the following
explanation.
Why is “Format” important?
CD’s are 44100.0 Hz.
Compressed MP3 and AAC music les and
audio streams are typically encoded at
three dierent quality levels - 128kbps,
256kbps (iTunes Plus) and 320kbps - and
most often reconstructed as 44100.0 Hz les.
Many music downloads and CDs ripped
as Apple Lossless or FLAC files are
reconstructed to 44100.0 Hz.
If you have higher resolution les, it is
important to choose the correct higher
sample rate in order to maximize the
benet of those les, and to direct the
information to whichever of DragonFly’s
two dedicated “clocks” is optimized for
that sample rate.
Some programs (such as NPR) use
48000.0 Hz. These 24-bit/48000.0 Hz les
can sound amazingly close to higher
sample rate les.
Some “high-res” files use 88200.0 Hz
because it is a multiple of the CD standard
sample rate.
Some “high-res” files use 96000.0 Hz
because it is a multiple of the sample
rates used on DVDs, Blu-rays and in the
computer world.
DragonFly’s illuminated dragony lights
up in dierent colors to indicate status or
sample rate:
Red: Standby Green: 44100.0 Hz
Blue: 48000.0 Hz Amber: 88200.0 Hz
Magenta: 96000.0 Hz