British audio specialist iFi seems to be on a miniaturization mission, with a new “super affordable” GO Link portable DAC about the size of a regular USB stick.
It’s getting hot on a palm-sized heel iFi UnoThis new dongle-style headphone amplifier connects to your Mac, PC, or smartphone via USB-C with a 3.5mm headphone input on the other end.
As well as allowing you to enhance your sound and listen to high-resolution audio, it also doubles as a 3.5mm adapter, making it especially handy for those with devices that don’t have one. headphone output (we are looking for you, iPad tenth generation).
Perhaps even more useful is the GO Link’s very small price tag, with the unit available from today, December 5, costing just £59 / $59 / AU$87.
Despite its low MSRP, it seems to be a fairly comprehensive product, supporting high-resolution music files up to 32-bit/384kHz, DSD up to 11.2MHz (DSD256), and MQA – format used by Tidal’s HiFi Plus.
Inside the GO Link’s lightweight magnesium-alloy housing is a DAC chip from ESS Technology’s Saber HiFi series, a Quad DAC+ and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator technology, along with iFi’s dedicated clocking circuitry to reduce distortion and boost boost. dynamic range.
There’s a flexible, polymer-insulated 6cm cable that connects the Go Link’s USB-C connector and the DAC to reduce strain on the device’s ports, while the unit comes with a wide selection of adapters including USB-A and AppleLightning’s connector.
Analysis: iFi’s tiny DAC is the perfect backup for on-the-go audiophiles
The travel-friendly DAC is the perfect gateway for high-resolution audio – a way to upgrade your mobile listening experience, but options often go beyond the word “portable” or comes with some sort of concession on the audio delivery.
Despite the starting price and small size, there doesn’t seem to be much compromise with the Go Link on both fronts. Well done, iFi…
You see, GO Link’s headphone amplifier offers a gold-plated 3.5mm socket that incorporates iFi’s noise-reducing S-Balanced profile, easily bypassing the built-in headphone output. best smartphone, tablet or computer. This boasts 70mW/1.5V output power into 32 ohms, ramping up to 2V with higher impedance headphones – plenty to promote the audiophile category of headphones. Meze Audio lyricsmaybe) and headphones (let me nudge you towards Campfire Audio’s Trifecta) with which GO Link can work well, while minimizing your connected device’s battery drain. Win win!
And as well as powering your wired headphones, the 3.5mm analog output can be used to connect preamps or built-in amplifiers or powered speakers.
The proof is in the pudding, of course, and we’ll reserve a full verdict until we get our hands on the GO Link and hear how it sounds, but if it’s working properly with the spec sheet Its technical, iFi seems to have released the DAC to beat for on-the-go audio enthusiasts.
In the meantime, you can learn how to up your audio game with our current list of Best portable DAC.
