REVIEW

So how about the build?

It’s a smart-looking dongle and fairly unobtrusive with machined aluminium housings protecting each end. Instead of housing the DAC circuitry at the USB end, you have a small block of aluminium where the headphone output is that handles all the audio processing.

Between the USB connector and the DAC housing is a short section of braided silver-plated copper, it’s very flexible making it easy to use on-the-go. The DAC section makes this dongle a little larger than some competitors, however, it is far from being big and still fits into your pocket easily when connected to your phone.

The 3.5mm socket on this is nice and tight, there was no play with any headphone or earphone jacks I tested with it, and the USB-C connector was a good fit in my phone, even with its case on. The USB-C connector housing, though, may interfere with some more restrictive phone cases, but this is the only thing to look out for.

In use, the GO link uses 0.2w with no signal, and 1w at maximum, so it won’t drain your battery too quickly. Outputting 70mW @32Ohms and 14mW @300Ohms the GO link will drive pretty much any portable or semi-portable headphone to deafening volume.

Sound Of The Go Link

Well, I’ve been using the GO link on my walk to work for a while now in place of my usual DAP, and I’ve yet to find anything negative to say about it. In addition, it was plug-and-play with my Pixel 6a with no faff. I will be honest, when using the GO link I haven’t actually missed using my DAP as the sound quality is simply sublime out of such a small little dongle that I could quite happily live with this for portable audio duties.

I have had a lot of experience with iFi audio products and the GO link follows their ethos well. It is a device that has a natural sound without any hint of “digital glare” that some often associate with ESS DAC-based products. In fact, if anything the GO link has a hint of warmth to its sound that makes listening to it completely fatigue-free. It imparts this warmth in a subtle way though, and it never sounds like it is intentionally colouring the sound.

The GO link delivers audio in a very effortless manner, it gets out of the way and just provides a healthy boost in power compared to most dongles, along with superior detail retrieval and sound quality.

DAC chip implementation is key, and iFi Audio have worked wonders in that respect here in reducing jitter and noise to the point that the GO link has a black background that is completely noise free. Pair this with sensitive earphones and you won’t get any hiss, yet plug in some Sennheiser HD-25’s and you won’t even need half the volume this can output to enjoy your music.

It has a natural sound that isn’t boring - put on your favourite tunes and the GO link doesn’t tone the music down, it doesn’t rob the sound of dynamics and it should have you tapping your feet and bopping along in no time.

In the audio world its easy to get lost in technical specifications, and chasing price tags, the GO link has made me stop thinking about those things and just enjoy the music. Yes, you may get more power out of larger external devices, and yes you may get a hint more resolution out of a pricier DAC, but at the end of the day does the GO link make me miss those things? No, it makes me want to listen to more music. I’ve paired the GO link with earphones ranging from £50 to £1399 and some easier-to-drive full-size headphones too and it has not disappointed once and has produced excellent sound with each one. As long as you use the GO link for what it is intended for (earphones and easier-to-drive full-size headphones) I cannot see anyone finding fault with it.

This dongle has really surprised me! When I started out, we used to strap our music players to a cmoy or similar headphone amp and carry around a stack for better quality. Now, we have a £59 USB-C DAC/ amp that quite possibly sounds better than those old stacks. For the everyday wired headphone user that commutes listening to music on their phone, do yourself a favour and get a GO link, it’s possibly one of the best headphone-related purchases you can make at the moment.