iFi GO blu – Portable Bluetooth 5.1 Headphone Amplifier with 4.4mm & 3.5mm headphone outputs
| Dimensions: | 5.5 x 3.4 x 1.3 cm; 130 Grams |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Abbingdon Music Research |
| Dimensions: | 5.5 x 3.4 x 1.3 cm; 130 Grams |
| Origin: | China |
| Reference: | Blu |
Ich habe mir diesen DAC fr einen etwas unkonventionellen Einsatz gekauft. Ich verwende ihn in Kombination mit meinen Sennheiser Momentum 3. Wer nun denkt: das macht keinen Sinn Jein. Mein Problem bei allen Bluetooth Kopfhrern: sie sind mir zu leise. Ich habe einige DAC s schon durch. Der IFI hat mit Abstand die beste Leistung, liefert ein super Klangbild und die Bluetoothverbindung ist stabil. Ich verbinde meine Sennheiser via Kabel mit dem IFI. Dieser verschwindet in jeder Hosen- Hemd- oder Jackentasche. Die Lautstrkeregelung ber das Drehrad ist genial. Ich kann diesen DAC zu 100 % weiterempfehlen natrlich auch fr seinen eigentlichen Zweck: kabelgebundene Kopfhrer drahtlos zu nutzen. Leistung ist fr die allermeisten Kopfhrer gengend vorhanden.
me enjoy loud music so this is a joy to use. is simple i like i
Super Kauf, absolut empfehlenswert. Nutze sie zur Zeit mit den Sennheiser IE600, tolle Kombi!
With phones nowadays not including a headphone jack I needed something small and portable that I could plug my headphones in and connect to my phone. This device hasn’t disappointed and is tiny to slip into my pocket along with whatever else happens to be in there. The battery life is great and lasts multiple days without needing a charge and the connection and sound quality is great. It did cost a pretty penny but I’m very satisfied with i
Barato no es pero es super portable, da un boost muy bueno a tus audfonos yo lo uso mucho en mi auto. Tiene una forma magistral de separar los instrumentos lo disfrute mucho en grabaciones en vivo, no sent tanto el cambio con msica electrnica. Algo que no me gusto es que no se apague solo despus de un tiempo de no usarse el indicador LED es muy pequeo y es fcil olvidar que no lo apagaste
Price is high and imo a bit overpriced for what it is but overall a solid Bluetooth DAC.
I don’t believe in blended reviews so I am giving this 5 stars overall and then breaking it down.
Performance: 5 Stars I used this unit with HiFi Man Sundara headphones and the setup is a musical dream. I can honestly say it is the most I’ve enjoyed music since college with the benefit of being able to go anywhere via bluetooth. If you aren’t aware of the Sundara cans I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Support: 0 Stars The Go Blu unit I’m reviewiong was bought through headphones.com; it went bad in less than 8 weeks. As it was outside the 30 days, headphones.com said to start a ticket with ifi, which I did. However, I was shocked to find out that I was expected to pay shipping and handling for their defective unit. When I incredulously asked them if they didn’t even pay shipping to have it repaired they actually had the gall to say “they would be taking a loss if they provided shipping”. Hey, what about MY loss? At best, I would be losing time, energy, the cost of shipping and handling (and in my case 20 minutes each way to the post office), with no guarantee that they would even fix the unit. After all, that might cut into their profit margin! I can honestly say that I have never had a vendor refuse to pay shipping back to the company for a defective unit within warranty.
I believe this is a balanced review. Electronics are a crapshoot so it is vital to have good support if something goes wrong, right? Now that you have the whole picture you can decide if this is for you. Are you feeling lucky?
Listening to music is great, this just made it even better. The added clarity and the very sizable boost with the implication makes this an enormous bang for the buck even at the price that it is. Maybe I haven’t tried enough other products to be able to compare it to, but as a standalone item it really changed how I listen to music.
In un certo senso questo DAC si posiziona all’opposto del QUDELIX: e’ estremamente semplice e pratico da usare, non e’ sofisticato,
non dispone di equalizzatore parametrico, ha una ricezione BT di media portata (pochi metri), il suo utilizzo in cablato (non via BT) e’ incerto, ma vince alla grande come qualit e potenza del segnale audio.
La rotella analogica di regolazione del volume e’ un plus che non ha prezzo, che fa guadagnare molti punti alla sua usabilit.
I 3 preset di equalizzazione (bassi, alti, bassi+alti) sono il minimo sindacale, tuttavia sono efficaci e pratici.
Che dire ? In poco tempo ha soppiantato gli altri DAC che ho per la sua usabilit e qualit sonora.
Non dispone di clip per l’aggancio, ma ho rimediato alla grande comprando su Amazon un case in pelle (bellissimo) che ti consente di trasportarlo al collo come fosse una collana.
La qualit costruttiva, le finiture e l’estetica sono TOP.
Il costo e’ elevato, ma la qualit’ si paga.
This thing is amazing. Paired with my 7Hz Timeless, AKGs, AT 50s, or Airpods Max – it is rich and clear connected LDAC or AAC. It can drive all of those headphones with no issue. The sound quality is even better with it cabled into the source. I am blown away, especially for the size, it is RAD.
I love this little GO device. I have been waiting for a combined bluetooth/DAC package from iFI. I have been a fan since I took to streaming home digital audio to an iFi hi-res over bluetooth and then through an external DAC. That was the solution to my problem after my Apple TV failed and Apple discontinued digital output from the new models.
I would use it for home audio, but I use it with wired earbuds (Bose QuietComfort). It is all about the sound. Wired sounds better than wireless earbuds I tested. But the wire is an annoying tether. GO lets me untether from the play device (iPhone, laptop, whatever) and leave the GO and Bose module in my pocket. The GO DAC sounds way better than an iPhone 11 DAC. There might be a difference from (say) a Dragonfly II or my old Lavry Black, but if there is, it is below my threshold of concern. The sound quality difference relative to straight Airpods is dramatic for uncompressed source material. Or for anything. I even use it for audiobooks since the Bose are quieter and more comfortable than Airpods, even if I have to wear a wire.
Ich bertreibe nicht wenn ich behaupte, dass diese kleine Teil mein Leben zum positiven verbessert hat.
Seitdem der vollkommen sinnbefreite Trend des klinkenlosen Smartphones beinahe unumgnglich ist war ich auf der Suche nach einer zufriedenstellenden Lsung meines first world problems.
Ich versuchte mehrere bluetooth und “true wireless” bluetooth in ears, die mich im Endeffekt alle kalt lieen und mich als mchtegern Audio-Enthusiast nicht wirklich langanhaltend begeistern konnten.
Ursprnglich auf der Suche nach einem kleinen Stack oder Dac/Amp Kombo fr mein Schlafzimmer um auch im Bett mit Kopfhrern wie Sennheiser 6XX, AGK 7XX, Beyerdynamics MMX300 zu hren, bin ich jedoch auf dieses kleine Teil gestoen.
Es kann die genannten Kopfhrer zufriedenstellend betreiben und ist fr mich gerade in Kombination mit den Sennheiser IE 300 zum daily driver geworden.
Ich verlasse das Haus seitdem nicht mehr ohne meinen GOblu und IE 300, diese Kombination harmoniert in meinen Ohren wirklich wundervoll.
Seit kurzem habe ich das Kabel der Kopfhrer durch Tripowin Kabel erneuert, die leider mit einer Zange und etwas Fingerspitzengefhl modifiziert werden mussten, was die ganze Geschichte jedoch um einiges aufwertet. Link zum Kabel : https://smile.amazon.de/gp/product/B07ZQD2Z5H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Leider schwankt der Bluetoothempfang teilweise von fabelhaft bis miserabel..
Manchmal liegt das Handy noch im Wohnzimmer und ich bin in der Kche mit dem GOblu und habe keinerlei Qualittsverlust oder Verbindungsabbrche. Aber auch manchmal liegt der GOblu in meiner linken Hosentasche und das Handy (Mi11 Pro9) in der rechten Hosentasche und es kommt regelmig zu kurzen Verbindungsabbrchen, die sehr rgerlich sind, gerade wenn man unterwegs ist oder auf dem Fahrrad sitzt und den Hrgenuss dann doch etwas trben.
I can’t stress just how tiny this Go Blu device is, it’s so small that it fits in the Blessing 2 case with the IEM’s and the cable! That’s really convenient for those who plan to travel with this device. However, that wouldn’t mean much if the sound was poor, right? Well, the Go Blu has nice power, enough to power virtually any IEM and a lot of over ear cans. The addition of XBass and XSpace also allows you to slightly tweak the sound of your headphones. For my Blessing 2’s, I put on XBass and it really fills out the low end while the mids and highs continue to sound great. Only gripe here with the Go Blu is that it doesn’t not come with a clip to attach it to your shorts/pants. I had to buy one separately for $30.
Great lightweight product with power and simplicity. Surprisingly useful as long as you don’t need extended bluetooth range.
Well, as time pases, we must “upgrade” phones, and LG stopped making the V line, so no more new phones with wired high resolution audio. That forces us to the Blutooth audio arena, and to be honest, doesn’t matter how much you pay for a Bluetooth device, or high end headphones with blutooth, the sound is pathetic when compared with a wired conection.
To my surprise, that issue has been solved with this tiny mighty ifi go blu receiver. The device itself is tiny, you can just hang it from the cable and it will not fall. And boy does it pack a punch!, it connects to my Oneplus 9 Pro without any issues, and the audio is superb. It can even be used for movies and videos, as the audio is synchronized in real time, no delay whatsoever. I use this mostly with my Campfire Audio Andromedas, and they sing beautifully with this ifi receiver, doesn’t matter if i use the Balanced or he standard 3.5mm connection, the result is always powerful beautiful sound, no dtistorion, no limit, nothing. Battery life is also phenomenal.
The only thing i’m still wondering what they did not included on this device is a clip, cause is so lightweigt, that with a clip could be hung from anything, your shirt, the sleeve, the belt etc. Even better would be a shorter 4.4mm Blanced cable to MMCX in the form of necklace, so we can wear this thing hanging from the cable up to our chest.
I do recomend this device, it is not very cheap, but it delivers a lot more than much more expensive devices, while staying on the portability side.
Har liknande spelare sedan tidigare, men denna blev favoriten. Man slipper instllning i appar och den lter riktigt bra. Liten och ltt men robust byggd med kvalitetsknsla. Anvnder iPhone.
Har ven kpt till original skyddet. Njd med allt hr.
This is a game changer. It’s size and power are simply amazing The sound quality is very good. BT is great and is King here.
This basically turns your favourite IEM into a bluetooth wireless device that sounds way better than any true wireless earphones. Nice set of features and really small but well built. The volume knob is fantastic.
Pequeo y robusto. No entiendo los comentarios sobre la fragilidad. La terminacin es espectacular, la calidad de los materiales es muy buena. La calidad de DAC excelente. Muy sencillo de utilizar y de incorporar al sistema de sonido. Adems totalmente portable.
I love the the xbass and xspace button, the design, and the sound but the build quality is not great after only a few months the 4.4mm jack on mine has some dead spots and I have to twist the connector to find a spot where it will work. I would love If they made like a pro model that was a inch or so longer with a bigger battery, more power, and gorilla glass sides with wireless charging(not necessary but would be nice)
I have tried a few similar devices in the past and was only impressed by the audio labs mdac nano in terms of sound quality. Unfortunately it was seriously let down on build quality.
The ifi Go Blu ticks all the boxes. Even my son who produces music at a professional level was blown away by the sound quality.
Build is a work of art and hardly put them down since they arrived. I have Grado 325s and RS2Es which it drives with ease and makes them sound better than ever.
Finally I have a wireless solution for music!
This little, portable, bluetooth DAC/Amp truly delivers a very good sound for what it is. I was a bit blown-away by it as I was not expecting much. I paired with a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X headphones and, playing from good source material, the two sound really quite good together. I’m impressed! If you have a need for a small device in this price range with good quality sound for your portable audio needs, you won’t be disappointed.
Prodotto fantastico.A parte l’estetica,davvero bello e minuscolo, il piccoletto fa il suo dovere in modo egregio. Dico solamente che ascoltando le cuffie con il GoBlu tutta un’altra storia.Pu benissimo sostituire un ampli/dac da tavolo anche pi costoso. Non solo suona bene…ma anche decisamente forte. Assolutamente consigliato se vi piace ascoltare musica (non MP3) con ottime cuffie. Compratelo senza pensarci.
Full features WITHOUT depending upon an app! Two output jacks 4.4mm Balanced and 3.5 Unbalanced. Microphone for phone calls… 10-hour battery life… I just wish it had a clip to hang onto my workout gear.
Love the sound robustness and device lightness. Super portable with and excellent bright and wide response sound.
I Had these for couple of weeks now.
I love the warm sound signature of these, they do add that flavour on your headphones.
I tested them with my Drop Pandas (I know not needed but just for curiosity) and compared to the headphones normal sound signature, the headphones sound more warm and slightly better tonally balanced with these.
I tested with AKG K712 Pro also and they have plenty of power to drive them, I keep the power at 70% and it is already high enough volume for me with these headphones.
They have some connectivity issues right now with my MacBook Pro Intel 2020 release. Sometimes it gives error that there are no control on the device, I guess may be it is bug with Macbook because I did not face this issue with Windows or Android phones. But still worth to mention.
The xBass and xSpace are very subtle, they do not make much difference compared to the Hip-Dac.
It’s not perfect:
Ultra Sensitive IEMs over balanced will have a tiny amount of amp gain hiss, but it’s extremely low on Shure 5xx, and 8xx IEMs that I have.
It’s absolutely amazing:
The Senni Hd800, Denon 9200, LCD1 all drive rather well with this, smaller than a zippo, amp. It’s bass mode is what most recordings need to sound correct with headphones.
The Abyss Diana Phi:
The DPhi is a headphone that wants really high voltage, and this little guy can do enough to make take BT to about its limit. You’ll run out of volume on classical music, but for most pop, or movies, it’s enough to be very good. Just not close to a desktop amp replacement like the iFi Diablo.
Runtime:
On IEMs, 18 hours is easy.
50mm to sensitive planers 7 to 8 hours.
The $4k and up heads it’s around 3 hours at near max.
Bluetooth:
You’ll want to make sure your devices can use LDAC over AdaptX (you can force this on most Android devices in dev options). With Apple devices, you are SOL because AAC BT is absolutely garbage. That’s a Apple problem that they will never fix. If you want good BT sound, you can’t use an Apple product.
Specs worth mentioning:
It’s stupid light and you’ll want to 3d print a clip, or buy a case. It’s perfect for turning extremely good headphones into an unsurpassed BT headset.
The Mic:
It’s good for a BT headset. It is better than most other expensive BT headphones. But it’s not as good as a boom style mic off a turtle beach, or Plantronics headset. It’s better than most gaming BT mics.
Outstanding portable amp – paired easily with all my apple products through blue tooth – sound amazing through my B&O wired over ear headphones and Grado open over ear headphones.
I love this bluetooth dac/amp. The bluetooth signal is strong. The base boost is ideal imo. The fact that it has a balanced output is icing on the cake.
My focal elegials sound so full and detailed on this thing as well as my IEMs. All genres of music are completely enjoyable and fun. Nice work IFI!
Enough juice to even push hd800s hd600 like its nothing.
I like to pair it woth my ie900 for portable use.
Clean and powerful sounding dac/amp.
Yes it is pretty expensive but my Btr5 and qudelix are going into drawer after listening them for hours
Lo estoy usando con un audfono senheiser HD 599 y me gusta mucho como suenan. Sin embarg Respecto al sonido, no noto una diferencia muy relevante a tener conectados los audfonos directo a la entrada del telfono. El nico beneficio fue el conectar por Bluetooth sin perder calidad de audio.
Me sorprendi. En primer lugar, por su pequeo tamao, pero gracias a su diseo interior es sumamente potente y podr mover audfonos de 300 Ohms, sino es que ms.
Su enfoque est en el Bluetooth, y en ese sentido es compatible con prcticamente todos los codecs. Yo lo he estado usando con LDAC con la opcin de alta calidad de audio y vaya, le da una textura y riqueza a la msica, ligeramente clida y disfrutable. Adems, tiene un par de opciones para modificar el audio resaltando el bajo, pero de una manera sutil y agradable, o ampliar la sensacin de 3D.
Este es mi segundo producto iFi y estoy muy contento. Me hubiera encantado que decodificara MQA, pero creo que no le hace falta, pero al conectarlo por USB a la computadora hubiera sido agradable tener esa opcin.
El firmware se puede actualizar por medio de una app y un celular, las instrucciones estn en la pgina oficial de iFi. Pero vale la pena hacerlo, porque al menos al momento de escribir esto, ya se puede habilitar un modo de filtro de paso bajo.
Otra cosa importante para m es que tiene un micrfono, algo que he terminado usando bastante, porque mayormente lo he usado con unos AKG K553 MKII que no tienen micro en el cable, y con este DAC ya puedo hacer y recibir llamadas sin tener que quitarme los audfonos, usando el mic del iFi Go Blu 😉
Non immaginavo niente di simile,ti apre una immensa sensazione che neanche ti immaginavi, moltiplicando l’ascolto come mai!!!
It’s amazing how much battery life and power this little guy has. Compared to my Zen Dac V1 the sound quality is almost equal but has a little less detail overall and notable less impact in the low end. It’s not nearly as bloaty and mushy as the hip dac V1, so that’s great. Listen to it all day on the go, very satisfied.
This item was purchased for my wife who is hard of hearing. We have a good Sony TV but even then, she cannot pick up certain tones. At times, I have trouble too, such is the poor broadcast quality of some channels. We have linked the Ifi Go Blu via bluetooth connection to the TV itself. This works very well as we have utilised a pair of high quality wired IEM’s connected to the Go which picks up those missing tones. Also, the volume is strong enough to be connected to the TV with lots to spare. We had ordered other units which just weren’t loud enough. The Go is good quality and doesn’t distort the sound. We’ve had the unit for about 3 months now without any issues.
I’ve bought I fi a number of times which have always been excellent and this is no exception, nicely packaged, easy to use within minutes the sound is rich and clear, it’s a lovely neat size ideal for in home and out and about or exercising.
If you want to buy a well engineered long lasting piece of British equipment then look no further, I’ve never had any reason to complain and will always buy again, recommended
I bought this for Working From Home but also for portable use.
I have a few High End headphone setups in my home (DCS Bartok, Matrix Element X) but I can use my Meze Empyrean headphones which can work from anything since they have such a low power requirement.
Those headphones sounded lovely out of my tablet with a Dragonfly Cobalt for portable use but I can tell you that this thing IMHO is better than the Cobalt and wireless too.
The xBass and xSpace filters are quite nice too but I tend to leave them off. The xBass one is great for dance music though.
Really impressed with this.
I personally cannot hear the hiss that some others have reported so it’s possible this was an issue with earlier versions.
I am listening to high Res music via Roon however and so the source may be cleaner than some other setups.
Very impressive for the price.
A great item. Turns your favourite headphones or IEMs into Bluetooth devices. The ifi unit is better than most because of its great sound quality and the ability to drive full size headphones. It even has a balanced output: I use my big Sennheisers with it, works ok just don’t expect miracles from a small battery powered device. Brilliant with IEMs and efficient headphones like the AKG K371s I’m using in the photo.
Recommended if you stick with efficient ‘phones.
If you love music and stream everything, then get this tiny but mighty gadget. Improves sound quality and increases achievable volume in your (wired) headphones. The little box synched immediately via Bluetooth to my iPhone and the magic started in seconds of turning it on. Wow!
Perfetto x usare le mie cuffie e iem con cavo in movimento
Great portable complement to the Hip Dac and Zen Dac V2 that I already enjoy in combination with different sound signature headphones: Sennheiser HD650, Meze 99 Classics, Philips Fidelio X3, Audio Technica ATH-M50X
Have some problems when pairing under win10 might be Bluetooth drivers…
And about battery it a bit too early to say something.
Perfect when I pair on samsung galaxy s20 ultra and Audio-technica ATH-G1.
After having to return my fiio btr3k due to a faulty power button i decided to try this out and so glad i did!
it’s quite a bit more expensive than the fiio offerings but what you get is a more solid build which has a more stripped back feature set i must admit but you get better sound quality and some nice features like the bass and space effects which can help some iems sound better in those frequencies. The volume wheel is really nice too and it’s very easy to setup and get going. Balanced 4.4mm connection sounds good and you definitely notice the difference in volume between that and the 3.5mm.
I had such high hopes for this Bluetooth DAC/amp! It’s built well (maybe a tad too much plastic for my taste), is small and very portable. The volume wheel works well and has enough resistance that it’s fairly unlikely to crank the volume in your pocket. The 4.4mm port was going to give a strong competitive edge to the BTR5. It had everything going for it.
The problems
– Will not work with iPhone 13 Pro as a usb-DAC. Tried every different adapter and cable and got the same “accessory uses too much power” notification so using this as a usb-DAC with iPhone is out, leaving only AAC via Bluetooth (meh).
– Bluetooth connectivity is weak. For both AAC on iPhone and LDAC on Sony Walkman ZX507, the range was only a few feet before skipping and stuttering started to occur.
– Terrible for IEMs. It did not matter the source nor the IEM nor the port (3.5 or 4.4) – it was unlistenable for me. Not because of the amp-hiss that some claimed tho! It was the sibilance – which truly was terrible.
The good
– Form factor is nice – very portable.
– Battery life.
– Sound quality with LDAC is top notch.
– Amazing with headphones. I absolutely hated this thing with IEMs, but it ran my Z7M2s and Sivga Robin’s perfectly. I listened for hours and loved every bit of it.
All in all – was a great fit for my headphones, but pretty much useless to me for IEMs – hence the 2 stars.
Klanglich und Qualitt einfach Top. Wer keine APP braucht sowie ich einfach nur Klasse!
I looked at everything currently available including the UP5, ES100, BTR5, etc. On paper the iFi Go Blu looked to be the best in terms of raw performance, and in reality it does not dissapoint. I use this a both to enable portability when I’m at home, and to drive IEMs when I’m out (Fiio FH5). It can drive most of my headphones through the balaced outpu including Sundara, HD 560s, Hd58x, Akg k702. OK, it won’t drive the T50RPs, but they are extremely inefficient. Is it as good as a decent desktop amp? Hell no, but it’s the best Bluetooth experience I’ve had to date, and it is certainly good enough to be very enjoyable. I tend to push my headphones, but I still find I get > 8 hours playback on a single charge. It looks and feels premium, and I love the volume dial. Please note, it doesn’t have a companion app with lots of configurable settings, eqs etc, but I like things that just work without having to fiddle with them. On the rare occasion I feel the need to EQ, I use Wavelet, so don’t feel I’m missing out on anything. A1 product, that I highly recommend. P.S. Made by a British company.
Es impresionante lo que un articulo de su tamao puede hacer, amplifica auriculares un poco demandantes (250 ohms como a un 80 %), los iems los maneja muy bien con un ruido de piso casi imperceptible. La calidad de audio es muy buena para el tamao que tiene este dispositivo, dudaba del hype que vi en redes y videos pero realmente es un muy buen juguete.
Es extremadamente compacto, mas de lo que imaginaba, es un poco mas pequeo que una caja de cerillos y repito, la potencia como su calidad de audio esta a nivel de equipos de mayor tamao.
El unico “problema” que he tenido es que no lo he podido usar como usb dac con un iphone ya que me dice que no puede cargar el equipo aunque se supone que esa no es su funcin, con un ipad funciona sin ningun problema (lo probe con un ipad pro 2018), fuera de eso su uso por bluetooth es sencillo y muy practico de llevar.
Great sound
Very long battery life, even using LDAC.
Very small and light.
Awesome volume control.
Pairs very quickly with phone.
The Go Blu is my now go to DAC,amp. My BTR5, Audiolab Nano, Ear 100, Earmen Sparrow and Dragonfly Red are all in the drawer.
Just buy it.
Connectivity wise I did have a bit of hassle paring with my Huawei Mate 20X but at the third attempt it connected and has done so automatically ever since, my iPhone connected no problem. I took a stroll around my flat leaving the phone in the corner of the living room and the Bluetooth connection was flawless throughout with no loss of quality, I don’t have a big flat though so if you’re in a four storey mansion don’t expect the same result. So far no hangs, drops or interference so all good on that front.
Overall I’m really impressed with the Go Blu and can see my Hip DAC becoming a part time option now, my original intention was to only use the Go Blu on my travels and while out walking but it’s so damned good it’s certainly going to get used at home too. My only real gripe is the price of 199 but iFi have explained that because of it’s small size the component technology involved was expensive hence the price. Saying that as DAC’s go and their current prices this probably isn’t extortionate and on par with similar although the Go Blu has much better performance than it’s peers in my view.
For a Bluetooth DAC this is an exceptional piece of kit and compares extremely well with wired options, I’m impressed.
Small and classy, (the picture on the box it came in is bigger than the actual amp!) Quick to connect and start up, with a subtle and responsive volume wheel, independent of a mobiles clunky controls.
A definite jump forward in quality in compact build, portability and improved resolution.
I have way too many Headphones and players, (the result of a continual search for the right listen). This amp has clarified the merits of each of them and so suit which listening choice and particular situation. Plus one less lead…
No quibble on the price either as it’s worth the money. However my paranoia would like a twist lock jack connection with this tiny expensive piece dangling from my headphones.
Definitely recommend.
This thing sounds fantastic, it has a neutral/warm sound that is very pleasing. I am a big fan of this type of device, I’ve been using a BTR5 and ES100 for about a year and both are excellent gadgets but, the Go Blu is addictive, I’ve been listening to even more music than I usually do and I listen to a lot. It doesn’t seem to be coloring the music it is doing something that sonehow makes it just a little more interesting and engaging. I have zero skill in describing sound so will leave that to others.
I use this type of device heavily, I sometimes had to top up the BTR5 battery. I ordered the Go Blu as soon as I saw it, if it was a different manufacturer I probably would have waited but I like IFI gear and felt confident it would be decent. It is tiny, when I got my es100 I was amazed at the small size and light weight, the Go Blu is a little smaller, smaller than a Zippo and very light. It feels and looks light good quality, you have to bear in mind that these devices cannot be milled from a block of aluminum, they have to be plastic or they just won’t work but, some effort has been made to make it attractive and pleasant to handle.
I am impressed with the battery runtime, the specs say 10hrs which is perfectly reasonable yet, using LDAC I get 13 to 14 hours of near constant play. This is using pretty efficient IEMs but it is very good.
This is not a Qudelix or ES100 type device, I don’t think IFI is attempting to compete for the type of person who enjoys the extensive phone app and extra functionality that is a very big part of the appeal of those devices. There is no phone app. They did not forget one, as far as I know there isn’t one under development and I can’t blame them, if you’re into making hardware, why would they want the hassle of maintaining an app for years? Also why do what another company is doing really well and has lots of content customers? Why not do something different for those who like bluetooth DAC/amps but aren’t interested in tinkering with phone apps, for people who don’t want to have to open an app to make use of their device. I never bother with the app for the BTR5, I used it exactly how I use the Go Blu.
The Go Blu is very simple, you switch it on and it instantly connects to your phone, you set the volume, you start listening. There is a stepped digital volume knob, inset into it is a button you can use to pause/play/skip fwd/skip back. There is a button to activate the bass boost, the spacial effect and activate both together. There are some small led indicator lights. First time you use it, you get the hang of it, it is very easy to use. There is a power button too.
IFI bass boost is great, it somehow seems to restore bass that should be in the music. Most of the time it sounds great, occasionally it isn’t that subtle. I am not not sure about the spacial effect yet.
It uses all the bluetooth codecs, with a spare phone I have for music it uses a codec I hadn’t even heard of but is apparently very good. I use LDAC with my Sony phone. NB. This is a shorter range bluetooth device, what that means is that your phone or DAP needs to be within a few metres, the distance varies depending on the type of media you’re playing but to keep it simple, have your phone on you or within 4 metres in the same room. There have been many devices of this type that have much longer range and it seems that extended range has become an expectation for many people. Some people like to put there phone down and go and do stuff in other parts of their home while they listen to music streamed from their phone. I have never had this expectation and when I first heard people complain about shorter range on the BTR5 I wondered if they had misunderstood what the device is for. I have no idea why the range is shorter though, I imagine that increased range uses more power. If that is the case I would prefer that battery runtime be prioritized so I can listen for longer, that seems more important for a DAC/amp. It is no hardship for me to have my phone on or near me when I use devices like this.
I’m really happy with the Go Blu. I knocked a star off value for money because it is a bit of a luxury product. I didn’t need it, I have three other devices that perform the same functions though, don’t sound as good. Like many of the best things in life it is completely unnecessary and that is what makes it so appealing.
Some thought has been put into this device. It everything you need in one neat package. The sound from such a small device is superb and in my ears with the same headphones gives the chord mojo/poly a battle especially with those devices being significantly more expensive. Thank you iFi absolutely superb. An absolute bargain for the money. A brilliant company at that with excellent customer service thanks for everything.
Very impressed. Very small and light and sounds better on Bluetooth than my outgoing ifi hip dac dose wired to my phone.
Have used to connect my phone with Bluetooth to my car stereo input and cannot tell the difference between this and the CD player.
Great as well is that it turns off when it loses Bluetooth connection after a minute or so, so don’t need to worry about it going flat in the car.
Definitely recommend, sounds miles better that plugging into the headphones jack and a lot wired dacs
Es ideal para toda clase de auriculares ya que podr moverlos sin problema.
No es barato pero la su calidad lo vale.
Muy buena compra.
Das Antennendesign ist die groe Schwche vom GO Blu. Apple-Bluetooth-Kopfhrer funktionieren in der gesamten Wohnung, egal wo das iPhone liegt. Der GO Blu verliert schon nach 3 Metern (im gleichen Raum) die Verbindung, wenn man ihn falsch hlt”. Zeigt das hbsche gebrstete Blech nach oben/auen gibt es kaum Empfang. Will man sich halbwegs frei bewegen ist es von Bedeutung, wie herum das Gert in der Hosentasche liegt. In der geschlossenen Hand tragen bringt auch keine Freude.
Mir fehlt ein integrierter Klipp, um das Teil an der Kleidung anzuheften. Das wrde auch die Empfangsthematik entschrfen.
USB-Betrieb funktioniert leider nicht am iPhone, da der GO. Blu zu viel Strom verbraucht.
Super finde ich, dass das Gert whrend der Nutzung geladen werden kann. USB-Kabel mit Strom rein und raus wie es beliebt, bringt den Betrieb nicht durcheinander.
Das eingebaute Mikrofon taugt sehr gut zum telefonieren.
Die beiden zustzlichen Klang-Modi empfinde ich als nutzlos.
Der Akku hlt den ganzen Tag durch. Die versprochen zehn Stunden Spielzeit erscheinen also glaubwrdig.
Die Taste im Lautstrkeregler hat einen seltsamen Druckpunk, lsst sich aber noch gut bedienen.
The usability of the Go Blue is great too. Very fast to turn on and off. The long press is only a second or so. Controls are very intuitive (unlike the BTR5 which is pretty fiddly).
I was surprised how small it is. It’s a lot smaller than it looks in the pictures.
Device battery status is also shown on the iPhone which is a big bonus too.
I’ve yet to do in-depth listening and compassions but love what I hear so far. I will share an update once I have done.