Yet another dongle DAC? Oy. Enter the iFi GO blu Air—a 5 cm, 30-gram portable that clips to your belt, bag, or jacket like it’s moonlighting as a Fitbit. The pitch is clear: Bluetooth freedom with wired headphone performance, minus the pocket-dragging bulk. Unlike no-name USB dongles flooding Amazon, iFi has pedigree here, with proven portables like the GO Link Max and GO Bar Kensei already winning over audiophiles.
The GO blu Air trims that DNA down for everyday carry—small, light, and made for IEM users who don’t want to drag a lab instrument through the subway. The only reason to haul something big and bulky, like the iFi Valkyrie, is intimidation; swing it like brass knuckles, because the muggers and platform pushers don’t give a damn what DAC you’re running.
On paper, the GO blu Air checks the right boxes: a Cirrus Logic DAC with twin-mono amps, iFi’s XBass and XSpace flavoring, Bluetooth with hi-res and low-latency codec support, balanced and single-ended outputs, a built-in mic, and a ChronoDial for volume and playback.
The detachable magnetic clip saves you from the indignity of a dongle flapping off your phone, and 10 hours of battery life—topped up via USB-C—means it won’t quit before your shift does. At $129, it’s hardly a shakedown, but it’s not exactly a budget coup either. The real test is whether the sound and usability hold up to iFi’s reputation for portable gear that actually delivers.
iFi GO blu Air: Twin-Mono DAC, Balanced Outputs, and Hi-Res Bluetooth in a Compact Dongle
The trick to squeezing real hi-fi into a clip-on dongle isn’t voodoo—it’s what iFi has done inside the GO blu Air. They lean on a triple-stage Bluetooth architecture built around Bluetooth 5.2, which keeps the connection stable and power draw low while you’re on the move.
Most dongles make a single chip do everything—reception, DAC, amplification—and then wonder why the sound’s lifeless. Not here. iFi splits the workload stage by stage, like a miniaturized full-size hi-fi.
The Qualcomm QCC5144 handles Bluetooth reception, the Cirrus Logic MasterHIFI DAC takes care of natural tonality and high-res output, and a twin-mono amp follows, pushing up to 256mW cleanly through either the 4.4mm balanced or 3.5mm single-ended S-Bal outputs. That decision to offer both outputs is a quiet but major win: balanced keeps IEM crosstalk under control, single-ended keeps things universally compatible.
As usual, iFi loads the board with high-end discrete components—TDK C0G and muRata multilayer caps, plus custom OV Series op-amps with ultra-low distortion (0.0001%). Tiny package, serious engineering, zero compromise.
The magnetic clip is rock-solid—no fiddling, no sagging—and yes, if G-d forbid you lose it, you can still stash the GO blu Air in a button-down pocket or the chest pocket of a chore coat without feeling like you’re carrying a lab instrument.
A 450mAh lithium-polymer battery paired with efficient internal design delivers roughly 10 hours of continuous playback. Enough to get you from Newark to Toronto to Halifax and back without hunting for a charger—or questioning why you bought yet another dongle DAC.
Music is personal, and the GO blu Air lets you shape it without ever opening an app. XBass gives the low end a little lift—handy if your open-back headphones feel thin or you just want a touch more punch. XSpace widens the soundstage, giving tracks some extra breathing room.
Both tweaks are handled by straightforward circuitry and toggled with a single button. Cycle through them individually, or stack them if you’re feeling ambitious—because why not squeeze every last drop out of a 5 cm dongle DAC? Do they work? Yes. Are they always “good”? That depends—and heavily so on your headphones or IEMs. We’ll get into that later.
iFi GO blu Air Specs: Everything the Head-Fi Crowd and Neckbeards Will Obsess Over
Specs time, fellow gear nerds—strap in. The GO blu Air runs a Qualcomm QCC5144 for Bluetooth 5.2 reception and plays nice with nearly every codec under the sun: LDAC, LHDC/HWA, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX, AAC, SBC. If your source supports it, this dongle will handshake like a pro.
Output? You get both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended S-Bal. Don’t expect to drive a 600Ω dynamic like a full-size amp, but it’s far from a toy: the balanced output delivers ≥262mW into 32Ω and ≥52mW into 600Ω, while the 3.5mm S-Bal output gives ≥165mW into 32Ω and ≥14mW into 600Ω.
Total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) is essentially invisible at ≤0.009% (balanced, 600Ω), the signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range (SNR/DNR) is excellent at ≥110dBA, and the output impedance is under 1Ω—so your sensitive IEMs stay happy and tonally honest.
Physical size? Tiny—53.5 x 33.7 x 19.5mm, 31g. Clip it on your belt, forget it’s there, and revel in the fact that someone actually engineered a small-ass device that doesn’t make you choose between convenience and real power.
Did it perform—or disappoint? We gave it every chance. The GO blu Air got paired with the Meze 99 Classics, Grado SR80x, Meze Audio 105 Silva, and Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X. Sources? Everything from a battle-scarred iPhone X to a shiny iPhone 14, a MacBook Air, and even a Samsung S23, because if it can’t handle that lineup, what’s the point of calling it portable?
Listening
Right out of the gate, the GO blu Air was a bit of a pain in my massive hands. The pairing, power, mode buttons, and volume dial are all on the small side, which had me grumbling more than once—but eventually, I got the hang of it. The volume dial syncs with your phone’s control, though it’s a bit crude—good luck figuring out exactly how many steps there are.
The magnetized clip? Rock-solid. It gripped my Taylor Stitch shirt jackets and OJAI jacket like it meant business, and handled my jeans and sweatpants just as firmly. Perfect for those pre-dawn runs when you’re juggling coffee, keys, and a dongle DAC without wanting to lose anything over your shoulder.
Build quality is solid, and I can’t help but enjoy peeking inside the case at the electronics. You can almost hear iFi bragging through the screws: “Look at all this we crammed in here.” And believe me—it’s tiny. Tiny enough that without the magnetized clip, it’d vanish into the ether faster than a suspect in a crime scene.
The GO blu Air is noticeably lighter than the GO Bar Kensei and GO Link I also own. It doesn’t have that “I’m worth every penny” heft of its bigger siblings, but the support for aptX HD, LDAC, AAC, and aptX Adaptive? That’s a rare trick at this price. No tether snarling around your phone, laptop, or tablet—that alone is a win. For someone like me, shoving an iPhone into a hoodie pocket barely big enough for one device, this little clip-on is a revelation. Wireless earbuds? Not my thing. I still run wired IEMs, and this keeps them fed, charged, and out of the way.
Because sitting at my desk at home reviewing a portable Bluetooth dongle DAC felt… weird (my local coffee shop in Asbury Park has become way easier as a workspace—sharing isn’t always caring at home; I like being left alone to write while the dog naps at my feet), I grabbed the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X and Meze 105 Silva to give the iFi a proper real-world spin.
With my ever-expanding bag of cans and a rotating cast of dongle DACs, I inevitably end up in conversations with the regulars and baristas. Somewhere along the way, I’ve become the unofficial Frasier Crane of the place—analytical, opinionated, and probably talking about things most of them don’t fully understand—or care about. I’m fun at parties. Maybe.
Nick Cave’s “Avalanche” became something of a personal anthem after some very poor life choices and months of therapy had me isolated from the world—your mind wanders in those moments when your freedom has been stripped away and his voice proved to be always calming.
The tonal balance of the Beyerdynamic and Meze is markedly different, but the track highlighted key aspects of the iFi GO blu Air’s sonic character.
The tonal balance leans dark, sure, but clarity, detail, and note weight don’t take a hit—especially on better, less chaotic recordings. Cave’s vocals don’t need padding, but that growl doesn’t respond well to thin amplification. An amp has to be firm, stick to the lines, and avoid wandering into a coloring spree.
The Meze 105 Silva are slightly warm in the lower mids, yet I was pleasantly surprised: focus was tight, bass lines hit cleanly, and the piano had convincing weight. Not bad at all for inexpensive cans paired with a tiny dongle DAC. Makes you wonder why anyone spends three figures more if they’re not chasing brand prestige over performance.
Pivoting to the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X, they lean more toward neutrality with a hint of warmth and rather sharp, precise lines. Cave’s voice didn’t have the same lushness as the Romanian cans—German starkness versus Baia Mare romanticism—but the iFi made me hear these headphones in a new light.
They’re closed-backs, so they don’t naturally have the openness of the Meze 105 Silva, yet the GO blu Air managed to open them up a bit—maybe a slight exaggeration, but noticeable.
Vocals, including Cave’s, had more width and depth, though not true spaciousness. The XSpace tweak works as advertised, adding a subtle sense of air, but it’s not some revolutionary transformation. Subtle, effective, and enough to make you appreciate what the DT 770s do without completely rewriting the sonic map.
From a power perspective, I had to grab an adapter to toggle between single-ended and balanced outputs—and the difference was obvious. Stereo separation got a touch wider, and I never needed to push past 50% volume to get enough punch. Single-ended? Forget headphones over 600 ohms—they’ll leave you wanting.
Push the volume too far, though, and treble hardens like asphalt while the bass loses its grip. Bass notes are surprisingly solid across most genres—as long as you’re not tempting fate with your eardrums. Crank it, and the iFi won’t save you from your own idiocy. Consider it a tiny lesson in hubris, delivered in hi-res.
Switching to jazz for a few listening sessions—Kenny Drew Trio, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, and Donald Byrd—all highlighted a few things. The iFi is surprisingly adept with vocals (don’t expect poor recordings to suddenly become reference-level), handles horns well, and delivers strong piano and bass. Percussion is quick, detailed, and has some punch, though it doesn’t quite hit the trifecta that its pricier siblings manage.
The GO Bar Kensei, for comparison, adds more texture and a higher level of resolution—so while the blu Air impresses for its size and price, the big sibling still holds the upper hand when it comes to subtlety and musical nuance.
Listening to a mix of Bob Seger, Beastie Boys, King Princess, and Lana Del Rey drove the same point home: solid pacing, not earth-shattering bass impact, but very good at separating vocals and instruments—definitely not a one-trick pony. Vocals remain a clear strength.
Billy Joel’s “Turn the Lights Back On” put the blu Air on display: the upper bass and lower mids give his voice a touch of warmth without bloat, while the piano has ample tonal weight, feels proportional within the soundstage, and never comes across etched or overly sharp on top. It’s subtle, balanced, and convincing—proof that this little dongle DAC isn’t just throwing numbers at your headphones, it actually understands the music. Small package, serious chops.
The Bottom Line
At $129, the iFi GO blu Air is a masterclass in squeezing serious hi-fi tech into a tiny, clip-on package. Triple-stage Bluetooth, a Cirrus Logic MasterHIFI DAC, twin-mono amplification, balanced and single-ended outputs—all in something you can forget is in your pocket. It sounds better than its size implies: clear, detailed, with vocals that sing and instruments that stay distinct, even if bass isn’t earth-shattering and XSpace isn’t a miracle worker. Usability is solid, the magnetic clip is rock-steady, and swapping between outputs is straightforward.
Pros:
- Tiny, lightweight, and pocketable—clip it, forget it.
- Triple-stage Bluetooth 5.2 keeps connections stable and power use low.
- Cirrus Logic MasterHIFI DAC with twin-mono amplification delivers clarity, detail, and convincing note weight.
- Balanced (4.4mm) and single-ended (3.5mm S-Bal) outputs provide flexibility for IEMs and most over-ears.
- XBass and XSpace tweaks work subtly; XSpace adds a touch of air without going overboard.
- Magnetic clip is rock-solid and versatile for jackets, jeans, or hoodies.
- Vocals shine, piano and horns are well-rendered, percussion is quick and detailed.
- Battery life matches specs—up to 10 hours—if you’re not cranking the volume all day.
- $129 price point offers solid value for tech, usability, and sound.
Cons:
- Small buttons and dial can be fiddly, especially for large hands.
- Single-ended output struggles with headphones over 600Ω.
- Bass impact isn’t earth-shattering; high volume can introduce treble harshness and loosened bass.
- Doesn’t achieve the resolution, texture, or overall refinement of pricier iFi siblings like the GO Bar Kensei.
- XSpace isn’t a game changer—subtle improvement only.
Where to buy: $129 at Amazon
Related Reading:
- IFi GO Bar Kensei Review: Can This Dongle DAC Slice Its Way Through The Competition?
- IFi GO Bar Dongle DAC: On The Road Again…
- Campfire Audio Relay Review: Compact Dongle DAC Delivers Big Power And Sound
- The Best Portable DACs, Dongles & DAPs From CanJam London 2025
