The GO Blu feels like a premium product worthy to stand with other more expensive portable DACs. iFi does a great job of packing more tech and features into the Blu than any other portable DAC at this size or price. As if 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm unbalanced headphone outputs weren't enough, the GO Blu gives users the option to go completely wireless. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.1, the Go Blu is packed with all the standard and hi-res codecs that you can shake a stick at: AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX LL (Low Latency), LDAC, and LHDC/HWA. Even some top-of-the-line wireless hi-fi solutions don't have that range of compatibility. On top of that, you can even connect via USB-C for 24/96 playback. It's incredibly versatile and capable of basically any situation you find yourself in.
The battery life is equally impressive. We're getting the listed approximate 8 hours, which is great for a full day of listening. The power output is respectable on the GO Blu, providing enough juice for most headphones and IEMs. It delivers up to 5.6V, but keep in mind that larger, full-size headphones or ones with specifically high power requirements will not work optimally. Overall, it shouldn't be an issue for most users looking to spend a couple hundred on a device like this. You're probably not going to want to pair it with your $4000 flagship headphones anyway.
The LED on the top of the GO Blu next to the headphone outputs offers a great amount of information for a single light as well. For Bluetooth, it will flash blue and red when the GO Blu is in pairing mode, flash blue when it is awaiting connection, and green when it is connected. The sound enhancement button also has its own set of LED indicators, showing yellow when XBass is activated, light blue when XSpace is activated, and white when XSpace and XBass are activated together.
The thing that makes this device so distinctive on the market is the inclusion of a built-in microphone. Since streaming high-resolution music is becoming more common on things like smartphones with apps like Tidal and Qobuz, it makes sense to have a portable DAC/Amp that works in the voice functionality of your phone too. Of course, having a microphone on an audiophile-grade device like the GO Blu isn't going to give you magical studio-grade microphone quality, but it's clear enough as anything else out there. Having that functionality included in the device is nice, without having to disconnect or deactivate a setting every time someone calls you. It's cool. It works. There's no DAC/Amp out there like it.
