At a look

Knowledgeable’s Score

Execs

  • Excellent audio efficiency
  • Helps a lot of the high-res audio codecs, together with MQA
  • Contains adapters for USB-A and Lightning connections

Cons

  • USB-C connector is perhaps too giant to slot in most Android telephone circumstances
  • Construct high quality isn’t stellar
  • Solely helps 3.5mm headphone jacks

Our Verdict

The iFi Go Hyperlink is a steal, a stellar piece of substances that delivers a really high-res audio expertise at a knockout worth.

The iFi Go Hyperlink is a bargain-priced moveable USB DAC and headphone amplifier that punches to this point above its class you’re compelled to surprise how the corporate has managed to ship such an important machine for simply 60 bucks.

When you’ve got wired headphones, there’s not a music supply in your telephone or pill that received’t be improved in some significant means by utilizing this DAC and bypassing your machine’s built-in digital-to-analog converter.

It’s exhausting to consider the iFi Go Hyperlink sounds this good and prices so little.

The iFi Go Hyperlink is sufficiently small to slot in your pocket, and low cost sufficient that you simply received’t freak out if you happen to lose it when you’re on the highway.

iFi Go Link
The iFi Go Hyperlink has an LED indicator that glows completely different colours in accordance with the sort of bit stream it’s decoding.

James Barber/Foundry

The iFi Go Hyperlink measures 5.75 inches from nostril to tail, and its connector cable is 2.8 inches lengthy. The DAC/amplifier unit is simply 1.75 inches lengthy, and your complete unit weights lower than half an oz.. This can be a actually tiny piece of substances. It has a single 3.5mm headphone jack.

The packaging and promotional materials say the Go Hyperlink comes with a USB-C to USB-A adapter, however they don’t announce that iFi has determined to additionally embrace a USB-C to Lightning connector within the package deal. The corporate assured me that iPhone customers ought to look forward to finding the adapter within the package deal even when the location they order from doesn’t announce the actual fact.

There’s a 32-bit ESS Know-how Sabre HiFi ES9219MQ/Q DAC inside, and iFi credit that half’s Quad DAC+ and Time Area Jitter Eliminator applied sciences, together with devoted clock circuitry that makes use of a specialised crystal oscillator, for delivering “ultra-low distortion, wonderful readability and spectacular dynamic vary.”

iFi Go Link package

The package deal doesn’t announce it, however there’s a Lightning adapter included with the iFi Go Hyperlink DAC/headphone amp.

James Barber/Foundry

The ES9219MQ/Q DAC can course of PCM streams as much as 32-bit/384kHz, DSD to 11.2MHz (DSD256), and it delivers full assist for the MQA format. An LED on the DAC modifications colour primarily based on the audio stream it’s processing, glowing inexperienced for PCM 44.1/48/88.2/96kHz, cyan for DSD 64/128, yellow for PCM 176.4/192/352.8/384kHz, blue for DSD256, and magenta for the MQA renderer.

Most costly DACs will glow completely different colours for the varied resolutions inside a selected audio format, however I’m impressed {that a} DAC at this worth has any sort of indicator gentle.

Listening to Chic on the iFi Go Link

The iFi Go Hyperlink’s playback high quality is gorgeous for a tool this small and this cheap.

James Barber/Foundry

I made a decision to select one tune for particular comparisons between an array of music sources and landed on the 2018 remaster of “Good Instances” by Stylish, a legendarily well-recorded 1979 observe written and produced by band leaders Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. It’s accessible as a high-resolution observe on numerous music providers, so it appeared like an important check. Plus, listening to “Good Instances” 25 occasions in a row is a supremely pleasurable expertise.

I used an iPhone 13 Professional Max and a OnePlus 10T Android telephone for playback. Each units had been updated with the present variations of their respective working methods. To maintain within the spirit of a $59 dongle, I used my pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones, that are nonetheless the most effective wired headphones underneath $250, although they promote for lower than $100.

I began with Qobuz, which is streaming a 192kHz model of the observe. I first plugged in by way of Apple’s Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter after which switched to the iFi Go Hyperlink utilizing the included Lightning to USB-C adapter. The outcomes had been startling. The soundstage widened, the legendary Edwards bass half crammed out and dominated the observe, whereas Rodger’s era-defining guitar half sparkled.

The actual shock got here when evaluating the iFi Go Hyperlink to iFi’s $599 Gryphon xDSD DAC and listening by way of the Sony headphones. There was definitely an enchancment with the Gryphon, but it surely wasn’t practically as pronounced as you’d suppose with a DAC that prices ten occasions as a lot. To be honest, the Gryphon is loaded with options the Go Hyperlink doesn’t have, and the hole between the 2 DACs was way more noticeable once I switched to my Focal Celestee over-ear headphone, which prices roughly ten occasions as a lot because the Sony MDR-7506.

iFi Go Link with Lightning adapter

Even with an added Lighting adapter, the iFi Go Hyperlink DAC appears impossibly small.

James Barber/Foundry

That brings up the use case for this machine. Should you’ve invested in high-end headphones, you desire a high-quality DAC and headphone amp to drive your buy. What iFi has made right here is an entry-level DAC for people who find themselves simply inquisitive about higher-resolution audio or not but capable of make an funding in high-end audio gear.

“Good Instances” is streaming in high-res lossless at Apple Music, and the development was simply as pronounced when switching from the Apple adapter to the iFi Go Hyperlink because it had been with Qobuz.

When listening to an MQA Grasp streaming from Tidal by way of the Apple dongle, the observe had strong bass, however there was a determined harshness within the strings and vocals. Switching the Go Hyperlink, the general sound was dramatically improved, however I most well-liked the outcomes I acquired from Qobuz and Apple Music. That’s usually not the expertise I’ve had with MQA streams performed by way of high-end DACs, so I’d attribute this extra to the actual limitations of the Go Hyperlink than to the MQA tech.

The actual check got here when listening by way of Spotify, which nonetheless streams its music in less-than-CD high quality virtually two years after they promised a lossless possibility was coming quickly. Stylish sounded horrible with the Apple adapter: brittle and skinny. The nice information is that the Go Hyperlink’s DAC sanded off these sharp edges and gave at the very least some further physique to the tracks.

iFi GoLink plugged into Android phone

The bottom of the iFi Go Hyperlink’s USB-C connector is simply too extensive to make use of with many Android telephone circumstances.

James Barber/Foundry

The USB-C connector on the iFi Go Hyperlink has a really extensive base, one thing that prompted an issue with the case on my OnePlus 10T telephone. The connector acquired lower than midway into the port earlier than it was blocked by the case, which I needed to take away. I count on that will probably be an issue with fairly just a few Android telephones and circumstances, so be ready to cope with the problem.

The Tidal MQA stream of “Good Instances” sounded decidedly higher when streaming from the Android. There was nonetheless extra depth to the low finish and a wider soundstage when utilizing Qobuz or Apple Music. The expertise was similar to the one I had with the service when utilizing my iPhone.

I’ve by no means used my Android telephone with a USB-C headphone adapter, so I didn’t examine the expertise throughout my testing, however I can report that the iFi Go Hyperlink considerably improved my Spotify expertise.

Can you purchase a greater moveable DAC? Sure, however I feel you’re spending greater than $200 to get one thing like an AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt, a Questyle M15, or the iFi Go Bar. You possibly can learn my evaluations of every of these units on the previous hyperlinks. All of them supply extra options, similar to extra detailed details about the decision of the stream. A few of them require adapters to be used with the iPhone, which makes for a extra difficult and ponderous expertise.

It’s exhausting to consider the iFi Go Hyperlink sounds this good and prices so little. The dongle has the precise adapters to be prepared to make use of proper out of the field and with no matter supply you need. It’s so small that it’s barely noticeable when plugged in between your telephone and your headphone cable.

Should you’re paying $20 a month for HiFi Plus at Tidal, you’re in all probability additionally investing in high-end headphones, and also you would possibly need to think about a extra feature-laden DAC. All that stated, you possibly can’t go improper at this worth. The iFi Go Hyperlink did an particularly spectacular job of enhancing the sound of a low-res Spotify stream. Anybody inquisitive about high-res audio can get a unbelievable introduction with a really small funding. Severe headphone aficionados in search of a low-cost backup DAC to tackle the highway will probably be effectively served, too. The iFi Go Hyperlink is a unbelievable worth.


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