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Two gifts under $100 for the audio enthusiast

The Audioquest Dragonfly USB DAC has just been reduced to $99 online; readers can also get a good deal on the Logitech UE Smart Radio.

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
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Ty Pendlebury
2 min read
Audioquest

Forget Black Friday, the best deals can crop up at any time, and today we're looking at two great audio products recently reduced to just $99: the Audioquest Dragonfly and the Logitech UE Smart Radio.

Last year, the Audioquest scored raves with its Dragonfly USB DAC/headphone amp -- or soundcard to the rest of us. This is a compact USB key which includes an onboard amp and originally sold for $249. But now that a new 1.2 version is out, outlets like Amazon are selling off the old version at a bargain price-- just $99.

The Dragonfly control has an analog volume control that is determined by your PC's volume knob, and the inset dragonfly changes color depending on the sample rate being played back -- up to 24-bit/96KHz. The DAC (Digital Audio Converter) is an ESS Sabre and is usually reserved for more expensive products such as the Oppo BDP-105 ($1199).

Based on the Audiophiliac's testing the Dragonfly works better as a DAC than as a headphone amp, so while it will work with in-ears you may want to consider either connecting the Dragonfly straight to your stereo/speakers, or hookup a dedicated amp such as Schiit's Asgard 2.

Logitech

Also marked down quite heavily is Logitech's UE Smart Radio which is available for the gift-friendly price of $99. The Smart Radio has received some tweaks from the original Squeezebox Radio including an onboard battery and an ability to switch between the simpler UE interface and the original Squeezebox one.

If, like myself, you have a wireless music system based on Squeezebox then this portable music player is a no-brainer at this price. Just be mindful that both of the above products likely are at runout prices so you should get in before they indeed run out.