Yakovox iFi Audio GO Blu
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Built to GO
With its lightweight, soft-touch polymer enclosure (great for Bluetooth reception, unlike signal-blocking metal), copper-coloured trim and watch crown-style control, the GO blu is a pleasure to use wherever you go. GO blu¡®s ChronoDial is a masterpiece of precision engineering and, just like a Chronograph, gives you precise, analogue control. You can use it to adjust volume, play, pause, and skip tracks forward and backwards and even activate the voice assistant on your Bluetooth-connected smart device. GO blu's chip-based CMOS-MEMS microphone enables hands-free calls and access to voice assistants such as Apple Siri and Google Assistant. Battery life up to 8 hours will vary based on use, volume level, and power draw of headphones. 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 to 24-bit/96kHz is supported when the GO blu is connected in this way.
Super Sound
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.
Not the GO blu.
Uniquely, for a device of this type and size, the GO blu¡¯s clever design packs in separate Bluetooth, DAC and amp stages, each engineered in distinct blocks to deliver the ideal combination of cutting-edge specification and superb sound.
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. GO blu is Bluetooth v5.1-compliant, ensuring the best possible range, stability and performance. Making full use of Qualcomm¡¯s latest four-core QCC5100 Bluetooth processing chip, every current high-definition Bluetooth audio format is supported, including aptX Adaptive and aptX HD, LDAC and HWA/LHDC. Other codecs covered include regular aptX and aptX Low Latency, AAC and SBC (the ¡®plain vanilla¡¯ Bluetooth codec). And when you want to go wired, just use the USB-C connection and enjoy High-Res USB audio too, with PCM audio up to 24-bit/96kHz. The Bluetooth/USB stage 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 balance of power
The Go blu amplifier stage benefits from symmetrical twin-mono signal paths and utilises iFi¡¯s Direct Drive design concept. It incorporates circuit components of a quality not commonly found in a device of this kind. This means ultra-low distortion across the entire signal bandwidth. The sound is purer, clearer and more naturally expressive. The amp stage delivers up to 5.6V ¨C considerably more power than other similarly sized devices ¨C 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.
The X-Factor: Sonic Tailoring
Further sonic tailoring is provided by two user-selectable features familiar to users of other portable headphone amps from iFi. The first is XBass, a sophisticated form of ¡®bass boost¡¯ that enhances low frequencies without muddying the midrange, particularly useful with earphones and open-back headphones that may lack deep bass. The second is XSpace, a setting designed to compensate for the ¡®in-head localisation¡¯ effect that can occur when using headphones to listen to music that was mixed using a pair of speakers, effectively widening the headphone soundstage to deliver a more spacious and speaker-like experience. Both these optional settings operate entirely in the analogue domain rather than messing with the digital signal via DSP (Digital Signal Processing) and may be switched in or out of the signal path.
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 Pentaconn 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.
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