iFi GO link 2
Better sound - even from your work laptop
There’s no denying the fact that certain facets of consumer electronics get their corners cut. Fortunately, there are easy ways to improve some of that with simple add-ons. If you’re finding the wired sound out of your laptop or tablet to be a bit lacking, the iFi GO link 2 is a simple, easy to transport, way to improve things.
iFi GO link 2: what it is
Well, it’s a digital-to-analog converter (aka a DAC), albeit much simplified from the iFi Zen DAC 3 that we reviewed. So, without all of the buttons and knobs, how is it going to make your audio better? Basically, it’s all about the DAC chipset that is in the dongle. With it, it can take all of the high-quality, lossless audio that streaming services are serving up, and take and pump that right into your wired headphones.
Is it stuck in time?
That’s the other thing with our hardware - we’re used to being able to apply new updates and firmware to bring new functionality, right? How will that work on a small dongle like this? Well, no worries: the iFi GO link 2 brings the GO lineup into compatibility with the iFi Nexis app, which means you can apply firmware updates on the go, as well as fine tune what the DAC is doing to your audio files.
Wrapping things up
If you’re looking for an easy way to upgrade the sound output of anything with a USB-C port on it, the iFi GO link 2 seems like a very simple way to go about just that. Not only that, it’s actually very affordable as well. You can pick it up for just $59, directly from ifi-audio.com
Features
Plug-And-Play Performance: Instantly upgrades headphone listening from any USB device.
Smaller Than Ever: iFi’s most compact DAC to date — 8% smaller and 29% lighter
than the original GO link.ESS Sabre DAC Inside: Unlocks up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and native DSD256
audio.Dynamic Range Enhancement: Expands the gap between the quietest details and
the loudest peaks for greater contrast and impact.THD compensation: Lowers distortion by up to 62% compared to the original GO
link.iFi Nexis App Support: Selectable digital filters and over-the-air updating* via
mobile.S-Balanced Output: Reduces channel crosstalk by 50%, for cleaner audio
separation.