iFi Audio - GO blu (Unboxed)

Pros -
1. Drives IEMs easily and headphones upto 80 ohms open up and shine with this little fellow. You would have to listen at 60-70 % volume only.
2. The DAC mode makes it the best one to be paired with Apple Music now that it gives high res 24/196 through its USB C output (iPhone 15 and after). Shines on Tidal and Apple Music in high res.
3. The iFi Nexis (the latest app) replaces iFi Gaia app for easily updating the firmware of the device making it a breeze to catch up with the latest.
4. The brushed golden metallic finish on the front and top is luxurious. The volume rocker is a beaut in itself - with fine precise clicks and a button embedded - makes it a delight for those needing fidget tools like me !

Cons - None !

Conclusion - The ONLY DAC-Amp you require for your AUDIOPHILE needs. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Given that I had seen photos of the Go Blu prior to holding it, I couldn’t have been more surprised upon actually unboxing it and doing so. The Go Blu is truly tiny; its footprint is barely bigger than a matchbox or ½ a Zippo Lighter. It also weighs in at just 26g, lighter than a regular AA battery.
Though it is small in stature, the iFi Go Blu is no slouch in power and features. The conspicuous rotary dial in the top clicks reassuringly and can be turned for volume control, or pressed in various ways to play, pause, skip tracks or access your phone’s voice assistant. And I read about this dial somewhere that it is made like a swiss watch with bearings and exotic materials and what not. Highly sophisticated and it handles comfortably with nice clicks. The polymer front plate which feels and looks like copper helps with Bluetooth reception. My only complaint here is the black rubberised plastic casework makes the unit feel flimsy with its seam running longitudinally.
Underneath the volume dial is a settings and Bluetooth function button, which can be pressed to cycle through various sound effects: XBass, XSpace, the two combined, or off entirely. When you do so, an LED on the top of the Go Blu glows yellow to signify you’re listening using XBass, light blue for XSpace, white for the two combined, or off when no profile is deployed.
Next to this LED, you get balanced and unbalanced headphone jacks. There's also an LED for battery status – you can get up to 10 hours, so when it’s flashing green, you’re good, yellow and you should think about charging, and red, you really need to charge.
The USB C port doubles as an audio input, enabling USB connection from your source device. Hi-res PCM files up to 24-bit/96kHz (Why not 192?) are supported when the Go Blu is connected in this way.
The Go Blu supports Bluetooth 5.1 and every current Bluetooth audio format is supported, including aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX Low Latency, LDAC, LHDC (Didn’t work for me), AAC and vanilla SBC.
For a device of this size and type, the Go Blu features distinct Bluetooth, DAC and amp stages, each engineered in separate blocks.
I used the Go Blu with Truth ears Hexa, Blessing 3, and Meze 99 Neo all with 4.4 mm connections. The sound is incomparable with any other DAC in wired or wireless. Pure bliss!!!! It drives all the drivers with ease.
Pairing is a breeze. I used BT with UAPP to take advantage of the iinternal DAC of the phone. When connecting to my phone (OP 13 ) , there’s a tone to confirm successful pairing and a voice to announce the audio file type you’re listening to (in this case, the voice simply says ‘LDAC’).
Norah Jones “I’ve got to see you again”, Mark Knopfler “ Two pairs of hands” & “Mr Solomon said”, JJ Cale “My Gal”, all sound as the original artist intended us to hear. What a sound stage!!!!! The guitar is sensitively strummed and central vocals are crisp and emotive as occasional keys sparkle through the easy treble and a soft, bass guitar reminds us that the low-end is also being held in check.
When using DACs to improve the sound quality of music, Bluetooth puts the cat among the pigeons since its delivery is yet to catch up with wired listening for a truly high fidelity sound. However, when portability is paramount and convenience is key, you cannot currently better the iFi Go Blu. It can Hi-Fi your phone’s sound with very little effort or added weight in your pocket or strain on your wallet. It can sit in the tiny watch pocket of your jeans, I Highly recommend it. It doesn’t have a display or even an LED to show the sampling rate… But what the heck… It sounds beautiful…..

It's amazing highly recommend thanks team hpz.

Perfect detail retrieval with excellent pleasant and pleasing sound with a touch of warmth.. Loving it with my Etymotic ER2XR iems.. Go blue has got massive power.. added features like xbass and xspace are cherries on the top.. I always play my apple music with xbass on, it sounds fantastic.. A fully worthy purchase for ₹17k. I don't regret.. Thank you hpz for the offer..

Unbelievable warm music

IFI blue is good but nothing extraordinary. It's quite less powerful than the 1st hipdac.
But I do enjoy it.

I always craved for audio gears which are as portable as they could be for my evening walks. This dac fits easily in my jeans watch pocket.

Unlike the other bt dacs, this one has no screen and no app. However, the minimal and Intuitive approach is what i always gravitated towards like the feedback from the volume knob and the distinguishable button placement.

It sounds relaxed but doesn't miss out on details. I really can't comment on the technicals because I don't own a flagship iem yet but I love the subtle sub bass boost that the xBass gives. Works well with my simgot ea500.

Some reviews did mention about the noise floor on the 4.4mm termination, tbh, I didn't notice any. Could be because my iems aren't very sensitive.

The bitrate is limited to 24-bit/96khz which is a mild disappointment. Also, the pricing could've been better because it's a simple dac which works well but definitely not a jaw dropping one for sure.

I must say I am pleasantly surprised ,I liked about this product are the excellent sound quality and battery life is excellent.

Fun Listening on go blu

This is a very high class DAC with both pentacon (4.4) and S- (3.5) balanced output options. Very user friendly and plug-and-play Bluetooth pairing. Pretty smooth, hardly any disturbance in connection.
Good quality speakers/ earphones really blossom. I listened through smartphone streaming and now trying full OS (windows 11, Realtek audio). The difference is noticeable. Full OS has much more resources.