iFi GO Blu

£199.00

Get ready to take superior sound quality with you on the go with iFi Audio’s Go blu portable HD DAC/amp. The GO blu is designed to be your lightweight companion, perfect for slipping into your pocket or bag to deliver seamless Bluetooth connectivity for the highest-quality audio experience no matter where you are.

Upon first opening the GO blu, I was impressed (and a little shocked) that such a small device boasts some big sound quality specs. The device is only a few centimetres in height and width and has a lovely, brushed copper design to it. The side of the device has a ‘ChronoDial’, designed to allow you to perfectly adjust your music’s volume, pause, play, and skip tracks, whilst also offering the option of activating the voice assistant of your core device.

On the base, there is a USB-C input for charging, or connecting a device via USB instead of Bluetooth. Then, on the top, there is a balanced headphone 4.4mm jack and a single-ended 3.5mm headphone jack. The GO blu is compatible with most wired headphones and earphones through one of the two jack options and it even has a CMOS-MEMS microphone built into the bottom so you can make the most of hands-free calls on the go too.  

So how does it work? The GO blu is designed to connect via Bluetooth to your device, which could be your phone, tablet, or laptop. Then, you just need to plug in your wired headphones to the GO blu and it provides you with excellent audio whilst allowing you to enjoy your music without being tethered to your device. As soon as I connected the GO Blu to my headphones, I was thrilled with just how lightweight it felt, something I’d want when going for a wireless catering device.

The GO Blu is only a remarkable 26 grams; however, it still boosted the audio quality of my music significantly – something I thought may be difficult when using wireless options as I assumed there would be more interference causing some sound quality to be lost. However, the GO blu has been built with a Qualcomm four-core QCC5100 Bluetooth processing chip which is designed to deliver high-definition Bluetooth audio across every device by providing exceptional range and connection stability to ensure top-level audio performance.

Having tested the GO blu for the last few weeks the superior sound quality and seamless connectivity really shine through. If it wasn’t for the superior sound, I’d have easily forgotten I was even using it as it was just so lightweight and added barely any weight to my headphone wire.  However, with such a small device that already has so many benefits, you’d be forgiven for thinking there must be some downside like poor battery life, but iFi Audio have even thought of this and in fact, the GO blu provides up to 10 hours of battery life. This means you can use the amp whilst on the move for hours at a time without worrying about recharging – perfect for adventures this summer if you ask me!

Ultimately, if you are looking to enjoy the benefits of amplified sound but love the freedom of remaining hands-free, then the iFi GO blu is a perfect choice. It’s small, and powerful and works to deliver superior sound quality for every listening experience.

Pros:

• Powerful sound quality packed into a tiny unit
• Super lightweight and intuitively designed
• Loaded with reliable Bluetooth connectivity to remain handsfree without sacrificing the music quality
• Great battery life

Cons:

• Wireless connectivity relates to the source device, rather than the earphones/headphones which still are required to be wired. This means it cannot be used with the common wireless earphones that many of us use for everyday listening. For those looking for superior sound quality and don’t mind using wired headphones connected to the GO blu rather than their device, this isn’t too much of an issue, but for the average user who doesn’t have or use wired headphones everyday, this may be a little inconvenient.