Do I need a Dragonfly as an Endpoint?

[Bill_Janssen (Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)]

George, let me ask again, what makes you wonder if you need a Dragonfly as an endpoint? Or any other change? Did someone say that to you? Are you hearing things you don’t like? In what way do you think your current sound quality could improve by making some changes?

In general, the thing that makes the most difference is your speakers and how they interact with your room. Some simple changes to the room itself can produce dramatic improvements in perceived sound. You might want to read this thread for a bit:

Opinions - Component Upgrading - Which First?

First order of business: What does your room look like? What can be done to improve the listening area? Speaker placement is crucial here, both in relation to nearby walls, but also in relation to you as a listener. 2nd order would be to look for other speakers in case the ones you have are not the ones your ears like. Changing DAC will have no effect on the issues you describe. People might tell you otherwise, but what will truly make a difference is the room and the speakers.

Roon also supports DSP processing which can tailor the sound coming through your system to match the room. There’s more on that here:

A guide how to do room correction and use it in Roon

I have experimented with REW (Room EQ Wizard) and room correction, and how to apply it in Roon, and decided to write a guide about it. This is what produced best result for me (I sit in a small room with concrete walls), but the way I did it should work well in bigger rooms and for different walls as well. This guide assumes you have a 2.0 or 2.1 system, and works best if you have a specific listening position and you sit in the middle of the sound, with an equal distance to left and right speak…