iFiGO blu – Portable Bluetooth 5.1 DAC/Headphone Amplifier with aptX Adaptive, LDAC, and 4.4mm & 3.5mm Headphone Outputs - Hi-Res Audio

I have owned this device for about a year now after previously owning other similar offerings from Fiio, iFi, and EarStudio. The first six months were spent paired with an iPhone and the second six months with a Samsung Z Flip 5 (more on that later).Fiio makes great sounding products but I wound up going with iFi again for this purchase for a few reasons: 1) There's a warmth to the sound from their devices that I always find myself coming back to, 2) they center their entire product design around a "no screen + analog controls" philosophy that on paper looks like a disadvantage compared to most competitors and their OLED displays but in reality it's a leg up (a screen means firmware is required and that means the device can brick) and 3) I find their X-Bass add-on to be a perfect feature for my own personal tastes.The bonus 4th item I would add to the above list after using this device for a while is perhaps it's unsung killer feature: unlike a lot of the "dongle with screens" everyone is throwing out there to get something out there in what is becoming a very hot product niche, iFi's Go Blu was clearly designed with a purpose in mind and that is to be the smallest, easiest to use, format agnostic and best sounding portable BLUETOOTH device out there. Yes, this will function over USB-C as a DAC and will sound great, but the bread and butter here is being able to work with any number of devices across any number of bluetooth codecs seamlessly. On this front I can say it succeeds in spades where all others have failed.I primarily use this between a desktop Windows machine with a Fiio BTR3 Pro bluetooth transmitter/receiver and my Samsung phone. It works with both flawlessly, but because of Apple's draconian insistence on using only their own proprietary bluetooth codec that prioritizes connection and latency over quality, you can't really flex the full specs of the Go Blu when paired with an iPhone unless you are connected to the phone as a dongle with a cable. Otherwise you're stuck at 16/44 in the SBC codec. Getting an Android phone that can match the GoBlu's 24/96 LDAC capabilities is where this really starts to shine. Pair it with high quality, lossless source material and only then do you realize just how high fidelity of a listening device this actually is.Thankfully, however, it is extremely forgiving on sources of lesser quality. It's not that 16/44 over SBC or even AptX sounds BAD, it's just that lossless at 24/96 over LDAC just sounds better in every way. I mainly listen using a pair of Fiio FD5's with their upgraded LC-RD Pro cable using the 4.4mm balanced plug. In all honesty even on direct A/B testing of the same song at the same time, I genuinely have a hard time hearing much of a difference between the 3.5mm unbalanced and 4.4mm balanced plugs featured on the GoBlu with regard to the Fiio earbuds.When using my Sennheiser HD660-S however, the story completely changes and the 4.4mm option adds a nice extra amount of sub-bass that is missing on the unbalanced option. And yes, it definitely has enough power to make those cans shine.Regardless of what I am listening with, I really love the X-Bass feature as it adds JUST enough bass to get a true sub-bass/woofer feeling with my FD5's and to add needed depth to the 660S's. It's usually the perfect amount of added bass when switching from listening to rock over to house music or hip hop. Never muddies things, either.Lastly, I will say that I absolutely love the volume knob iFi has come up with once I figured out the proper orientation to make it easy to use as it was intended: as a very precise, small-stepped way to increase the volume. It's great that this device always takes over the volume of whatever your BT source is and adds all the steps of precision as your primary volume control.I have spent a long, long time trying to piece together the ideal, portable, high quality listening setup for the way I listen to music today and I must say, I can't imagine anything else coming closer to checking basically every box as the GoBlu and Fiio FD5 pairing. Whether it's the Burr Brown circuitry or the insistence on bypassing any local Snapdragon on-chip Bluetooth and using their own internals even on low grade bluetooth codecs, there's just something about the iFi sound that is satisfying across the board for any type of music. It's also flawless in at the connecting/reconnecting game no matter how many devices you throw at it.There's a lot of great sounding options at this price point that you really can't go wrong with from purely a sound quality perspective. Where I think the iFi outshines all others is with its purposeful design toward doing one thing flawlessly and ensuring the longevity of the device by limiting exposure to firmware upgrades and the pitfalls of a screen-based device OS.Can't recommend this thing highly enough.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:The size is amazing. Using it with HD800s for gaming and films. Using wired with PC while gaming and listening to music and wireless while watching movies.Quality:I have schiit valhalla 2 and Bifrost. That I was using it against HD800s. Now that I have switched over to this tiny thing - I totally can not tell the difference. The other combo cost 1300 vs this one ~150. Also my room does not heat up as much 😀The bass is great even in wireless mode on my HD800s. Really satisfied with the quality.Bluetooth connectivity:Never had any issues with Bluetooth.Value for money:Money was not a problem for me. Just wanted to enjoy movies in wireless mode. Frankly, I do not think you are going to get anything better even with more money. iFi xDSD Gryphon probably has few things better than this one - but really hated the idea of having to connect two USB C cables.

Makes using your wired IEMs even more versatile and useful. The sound quality is very good even better if you use a wired connection.I've had no problems with the Bluetooth whatsoever. Connected Right away without having to do anything right out of the box. I did have to do two firmware updates which was easy enough you have to download them from their website "just scan QR code on back of device "and install their installation app. As many as said there is definitely a little bit of background noise but after I did the update it's not as noticeable. It drives my IMs very well I usually listen at about half to 3/4 volume without any problems. The bass boost and soundstage boost is really useful and sounds amazing. I would highly recommend getting the case with the clip to go with this it is very small and makes it much easier to handle. It comes with a charging cable but no cable for connecting to a device. Which at this price point it definitely should come with one. If you're looking for a Bluetooth deck this one is definitely worth it. 4 Stars for no case with clip and no cable for connecting to devices included.