Blu Monday (& Tuesday)
Our new GO blu, pocket-rocket portable HD DAC/amp, is diminutive enough to take with you wherever you go! It gives you best sound from wired but the convenience of wireless as you no longer need to have a cable connection to your smartphone.
Whether you’re exercising at the gym with your Apple watch clocking your every step or catching up on your MacBook at your favourite coffee shop, the GO blu is the perfect companion.
It pairs wirelessly with your source device via Bluetooth with no need to worry about whether you’ve got the right cable for your Android or Apple device. Just pair … and GO!
Every day is a GO blu day!
Weighs only
That’s less than an AA battery!
Superior sound. Unbound.
Wireless headphones or earphones of any kind integrate Bluetooth processing, D/A conversion and amplification onto one, standard ‘off the shelf’ chip. There is a ceiling to the sound quality that can be achieved.
Team good corded headphones or in-ear monitors, with a separate, high-quality portable DAC/headphone amp, and your sound quality will beat any pair of wireless headphone or earphones hands down.
Using the GO blu means no compromise on sound quality.
Pair the GO blu to your Apple/Android. Connect your favourite corded headphones to the GO blu and then tuck it away – it’s so petite it will slip into your running gear or suit pocket. It’s also gorgeous enough to show off by leaving it on the table at your favourite coffee shop!
GO blu. Go beyond.
With its lightweight, soft-touch polymer enclosure (great for Bluetooth reception, unlike signal-blocking metal), copper-coloured trim and ChronoDial watch crown-style control, the GO blu is a pleasure to use wherever you go.
iFi has even incorporated a high-quality chip-based (CMOS-MEMS) microphone, enabling hands-free calls, voice chat for gaming and access to voice assistants such as Apple Siri and Google Assistant.
Further flexibility is provided by the USB-C charging port, which doubles as an audio input enabling USB connection from source devices that don’t offer Bluetooth connectivity. Hi-res PCM audio data up to24-bit/96kHz is supported when the GO blu is connected in this way.
HD Bluetooth 5.1
The way iFi implements Bluetooth is anything but ‘run of the mill’ and despite its diminutive size the GO blu is no exception.
The use of Qualcomm’s latest four-core QCC5100 Bluetooth processing chip ensures that every current high-definition Bluetooth audio format is supported.
- aptX Adaptive and aptX HD
- LDACTM and HWA/LHDC
- regular aptX and aptX Low Latency
- AAC
- SBC (plain vanilla Bluetooth)
This means that every possible source device is handled at the highest audio resolution its Bluetooth specification allows – no other pocket-size DAC/amp delivers such comprehensive codec support, or such high-quality sound over Bluetooth.
The GO blu is Bluetooth v5.1-compliant, ensuring the best possible range, stability and performance, and its ‘Bluetooth engine’ can be updated over the air.
*LDAC and LDAC logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation.
hour battery
That’s Paris to New York +
Three. Unique. Stages.
Bluetooth. DAC. Amplifier.
Most pocket-size Bluetooth DAC/headphone amps incorporate all-in-one ‘system on a chip’ solutions to deliver input processing, digital-to-analogue signal conversion and amplification. These are simple and cost-effective, but they cannot compare with expertly designed, individually optimised circuit stages when it comes to sound quality.
Uniquely for a device of this type and size, the GO blu’s clever design packs in separate Bluetooth + DAC + Amp stages, each engineered in distinct blocks to deliver the ideal combination of cutting-edge specification and superb sound. Others just don’t this level of execution.
The Bluetooth stage makes full use of Qualcomm’s latest four-core QCC5100 Bluetooth chip and supports every current high definition format.
This then feeds the DAC stage with a Cirrus Logic 32-bit DAC chip at its heart. This is coupled with a customised digital filter to minimise pre-echoes and ringing artefacts, and a precision clock system to ensure ultra-low jitter, thus reducing errors and distortion in the digital audio signal.
The amp circuitry benefits from symmetrical twin-mono signal paths and utilises iFi’s Direct Drive design concept – direct-coupled to ensure a clean signal path without distortion-inducing output coupling capacitors. The amp stage delivers up to 5.6V (twice the voltage of others) – considerably more power than other similarly sized devices – handling even relatively tough headphone loads with ease. To ensure signal strength suits the sensitivity of the connected headphones or earphones, auto-gain adjusts output up or down by 6dB.
Swiss Chronograph design & implementation
GO blu‘s ChronoDial is a masterpiece of precision engineering and, just like a Chronograph, it gives you precise, analogue volume control. You can use it to play, pause, and skip tracks forward and backwards and even activate the voice assistant on your Bluetooth-connected smart device. Here’s how it’s constructed:
- Brass supporting column with anti-corrosion
- Brass locking nut with anti-corrosion
- Precision 304 stainless steel bearing
- 304 stainless steel main dial with beryllium cobalt copper coating
- High-purity nickel push-button spring
- Precision CNC machined AL6063 aluminium push button
GO Balanced
Whether you use balanced or non-balanced headphones, you get the least noise and best channel separation for the most enjoyable music.
The GO blu boasts a Balanced 4.4mm output enabling headphones equipped with balanced connectivity to take full advantage of the GO blu’s balanced amp design.
In addition, the 3.5mm output benefits from iFi’s proprietary S-Balanced circuitry. This cuts crosstalk and related distortion in half when used with regular, single-ended headphone connections, this is especially beneficial with high-sensitivity in-ear monitors.
Both outputs are gold-plated to resist tarnishing and thereby maintain optimum contact quality.
X-factor. Inside and out.
With XBass to add back lost low-end grunt and XSpace to widen the soundstage, the GO blu is small on the outside but mighty on the inside. You will be immersed in its majestic musicality.
Even phone calls are ‘clear Voice capture’ using Qualcomm’s ANC technology. Clear, crisp and no annoying echo.
The X-factor doesn’t stop with the sound. The GO blu has a watch crown-style control and is made with hi-tech components. It weighs in at a super featherlight 26grams or 0.06lbs.
It will be your ‘go-to’ music device.
DACs convert digital information, stored or streamed by computers, into music we can hear through speakers or headphones.
Every device that’s a source of digital sound has a built-in DAC (TVs, games consoles, CD players, phones, portable music players etc). Dedicated external DACs sound much better than standard DACs used in digital devices such as phones.
aptX Bluetooth transmission is found in most Android phones, media players, Apple computers (macOS on iMacs and MacBooks) and on higher-quality Bluetooth headphones. It is not available on iOS (iPhones and iPads use Advanced Audio Codec).
AAC is one of the most commonly-supported Bluetooth codecs in the wireless headphone and speaker markets. It’s also the default audio compression codec used by Apple’s iTunes and YouTube and is supported across both iPhone and Android smartphones.
LDAC is an audio coding technology developed by Sony, which allows streaming audio over Bluetooth connections up to 990 kbit/s at 24 bit/96 kHz (also called high-resolution audio).
It is used in Sony headphones, smartphones, portable media players, active speakers and home theatres.
LDAC is a lossy codec which means is discards some of musical info to make the file smaller.
Whether you’re at home or out and about when making a voice call using a Bluetooth Stereo Headset or earbuds, background sounds such as annoying echo, ambient noise, road noise, and other people talking can make having a clear-sounding conversation difficult. The Qualcomm cVc (clear voice capture) noise echo cancelling and noise suppression technology is designed to transmit crystal clear voice quality when making calls.
HWA is Bluetooth® wireless audio powered by LHDC™ and used by Huawei. LHDC™ is codec developed by Savitech and stands for ‘low latency and high definition’ audio. Compared to standard Bluetooth®, it allows 3 times more musical date to be transmitted.
Gain is the amount of increase in audio signal strength. Gain is often expressed in decibels (dB).
