iFi AUDIO GO LINK REVIEW

iFi Audio GO Link is a £59 DAC dongle designed to get the very best sound out of your Android or iOS phone. Oscar Stewart takes a listen.

iFi Audio launched in 2012, as a side company of Abbingdon Music Research. They quickly became known in the headphone world for making some excellent sounding headphone amps, DACs, and tweaks including a lovely valve buffer called the iTube. Fast forward to 2023 and iFi have released a plethora of products including affordable DAC/Amps, phono pre-amps and electrostatic energisers, to say they have come a long way is an understatement.

The GO link is one of their latest products, and at only £59 it promises to revolutionise the listening experience of those who use their smartphones for playback whilst on-the-go. Can it shake up the 3.5mm dongle market, or does it fall short?

FEATURES AND BUILD OF THE iFi GO LINK

The GO link is a very small device, with a USB-C connector on one end and 3.5mm jack housed in a small metal enclosure on the other. It comes with a lightning adapter for iPhones in the box along with a USB-C to A adapter too – this also allows you to use it with a PC. There is an LED indicator that changes colour depending on whether you are listening to PCM/DSD or MQA, and iFi Audio have gone to great lengths to get the best out of this little dongle.

The iFi GO link attached to a Pixel phone

Inside the GO link you will find an ESS ES9219MQ/Q DAC chip featuring 32-bit HyperStream III architecture, along with this iFi Audio have fitted its own dedicated clock circuitry using a specialised crystal oscillator. iFi Audio have also optimised the DACs performance by utilising some of the tech ESS built into the chip, something that is often overlooked by other brands.

Instead of letting the software control the volume, which can result in a loss of digital Bits (reducing the quality of the output), the GO links volume is all controlled internally at the DAC chip. This hardware-based volume control is another feature not commonly found on similar dongles.

So how about the build?

It’s a smart-looking dongle and fairly unobtrusive with machined aluminium housings protecting each end. Instead of housing the DAC circuitry at the USB end, you have a small block of aluminium where the headphone output is that handles all the audio processing.

Between the USB connector and the DAC housing is a short section of braided silver-plated copper, it’s very flexible making it easy to use on-the-go. The DAC section makes this dongle a little larger than some competitors, however, it is far from being big and still fits into your pocket easily when connected to your phone.

Attached and showing the 3.5mm headphone connection

The 3.5mm socket on this is nice and tight, there was no play with any headphone or earphone jacks I tested with it, and the USB-C connector was a good fit in my phone, even with its case on. The USB-C connector housing, though, may interfere with some more restrictive phone cases, but this is the only thing to look out for.

In use, the GO link uses 0.2w with no signal, and 1w at maximum, so it won’t drain your battery too quickly. Outputting 70mW @32Ohms and 14mW @300Ohms the GO link will drive pretty much any portable or semi-portable headphone to deafening volume.

SOUND OF THE GO LINK

Well, I’ve been using the GO link on my walk to work for a while now in place of my usual DAP, and I’ve yet to find anything negative to say about it. In addition, it was plug-and-play with my Pixel 6a with no faff. I will be honest, when using the GO link I haven’t actually missed using my DAP as the sound quality is simply sublime out of such a small little dongle that I could quite happily live with this for portable audio duties.

I have had a lot of experience with iFi audio products and the GO link follows their ethos well. It is a device that has a natural sound without any hint of “digital glare” that some often associate with ESS DAC-based products. In fact, if anything the GO link has a hint of warmth to its sound that makes listening to it completely fatigue-free. It imparts this warmth in a subtle way though, and it never sounds like it is intentionally colouring the sound.

The GO link delivers audio in a very effortless manner, it gets out of the way and just provides a healthy boost in power compared to most dongles, along with superior detail retrieval and sound quality.

DAC chip implementation is key, and iFi Audio have worked wonders in that respect here in reducing jitter and noise to the point that the GO link has a black background that is completely noise free. Pair this with sensitive earphones and you won’t get any hiss, yet plug in some Sennheiser HD-25’s and you won’t even need half the volume this can output to enjoy your music.

It has a natural sound that isn’t boring – put on your favourite tunes and the GO link doesn’t tone the music down, it doesn’t rob the sound of dynamics and it should have you tapping your feet and bopping along in no time.

A couple of shots inside the iFi GO link

In the audio world its easy to get lost in technical specifications, and chasing price tags, the GO link has made me stop thinking about those things and just enjoy the music. Yes, you may get more power out of larger external devices, and yes you may get a hint more resolution out of a pricier DAC, but at the end of the day does the GO link make me miss those things? No, it makes me want to listen to more music. I’ve paired the GO link with earphones ranging from £50 to £1399 and some easier-to-drive full-size headphones too and it has not disappointed once and has produced excellent sound with each one. As long as you use the GO link for what it is intended for (earphones and easier-to-drive full-size headphones) I cannot see anyone finding fault with it.

The iFi GO link is small and easily pocketable

This dongle has really surprised me! When I started out, we used to strap our music players to a cmoy or similar headphone amp and carry around a stack for better quality. Now, we have a £59 USB-C DAC/amp that quite possibly sounds better than those old stacks. For the everyday wired headphone user that commutes listening to music on their phone, do yourself a favour and get a GO link, it’s possibly one of the best headphone-related purchases you can make at the moment.

CONCLUSION

It may seem like a hugely positive review, but I cannot think of many headphone-related products for £59 that will bring this kind of improvement to your listening experience.

Don’t get me wrong, there is still a place for DAPs and desktop headphone amps. However, if you are looking for better sound on the go for a low price you really can’t go wrong with the GO link. It may not have a microphone pass-through for phone calls, but then again which audio-oriented earphones and headphones have a mic on them?

Overall, the GO link offers up a clean and detailed sound that is powerful yet smooth in its delivery.

Don’t be fooled by its size, it packs a punch.

This device is a huge upgrade over your phones internal headphone output, or standard 3.5mm dongle.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality:

Aluminium casings with a nice section of braided silver-plated copper cabling

It’s elegant yet well made.

Sound Quality:

Smooth, powerful, and engaging

Detailed yet never harsh

Value For Money:

Extremely good value for money

We Loved:

Low cost for real-world audible improvement in a small package

We Didn’t Love So Much:

No microphone pass-through

Price:  £59

Elevator Pitch Review: If you listen to wired headphones on the go, or at home, do yourself a favour and grab a GO link. It will elevate your listening experience without breaking the bank and you’ll be surprised at how big the sound is from such a small device.

Oscar Stewart

SUPPLIED BY iFi 

Gear Used: Pixel 6a / 64 Audio A6t (IEM) / Westone W80 v2 (IEM) / Simgot EA500 (IEM) / Meze 109 Pro (Headphone) / Sennheiser HD25-1 II (Headphone)

Technical Specs

Input: USB-C

Formats: DSD 256 / 11.3MHz / DXD 384kHz / PCM 384kHz / MQA (possibly no longer relevant)

DAC: Bit-Perfect DSD & DXD DAC by ESS

Headphone: 3.5mm

Output Power: ≥1.5V/70mW @ 32Ω; 2V/14mW @ 300Ω

Output Impedance: <0.4Ω

SNR: ≥125dBA (2.05V)

DNR: ≥122dB(A) @ 0dBFS

THD+N: ≤0.004% (1.27V @ 32Ω)

Frequency response: 10-80kHz(-0.5dB)

Power consumption: No Signal ~0.2W / Max Signal ~1W

Dimensions : 135 x 12.6 x 7.6 mm (5.3″ x 0.5″ x 0.3”)

Cable length: 60mm (2.8″)

Net weight: 11g (0.4oz)