iFi's New 'GO link Max' is the Dongle Your Dusty Old Wired Headphones Were Waiting For
In this AirPods-dominated era, wired headphones are fighting back.
iFi has announced a follow up to its tiny and popular GO link dongle, introducing a new and upgraded version it is calling the GO link Max. Like the GO link that came before it, the new GO link Max dongle is incredibly easy to use and requires no additional software or set up to get going. It is, simply, plug-and-play.
The British brand is riding a wave of rediscovered interest in wired headphones: after an AirPods-dominated past decade, they’ve become more common to see in towns and cities worldwide with people opting for cables over the convenience of Bluetooth headphones. Whether it’s down to style or simply because wired connections sound better, an appreciation for all things retro or a testament to the reliability of a wired connection, if you’re interested in plugging in to many modern devices you’ll probably need something like this.
The dongle – or, digital-to-analogue converter (DAC), to better describe it – allows you to connect your wired headphones over USB-C to any device without a traditional 3.5mm stereo port, one that many devices today have dropped (most notably smartphones). The Go link Max acts as a power amplifier of sorts and, depending on the requirements of your headphones (known as impedance), can output up to 241mW to drive your listening device. The dongle delivers louder, punchier sound with minimal distortion owing to how iFi has designed its device, one the brand describes as “purer audio [with] wider dynamic range.”
iFi’s GO link Max is “designed to make your music sound clearer, richer, and more immersive than ever before,” the brand said in its press release, “transform[ing] the way you hear your favourite tracks, bringing out every detail and making it feel like you’re hearing them again for the very first time.”
Though small and conspicuous, there’s a lot going on inside the GO link Max and the device in fact features not one but two DACs internally, set up to both “physically and audibly” separate the left and right audio channels. iFi claims this separation was designed to improve listeners’ immersion in their audio, with “where instruments and vocals come to life with crystal-clear stereo positioning.” The brand further claims that listening to music on headphones coupled with the GO link Max is “akin to being at a live concert, where you not only hear but ‘see’ the instruments laid out across the stage in front of you.” The GO link Max also supports some hi-res audio formats, including PCM 384kHz and DSD 256, ensuring users can experience their music in the highest possible quality.
The iFi GO link Max is available now via the brand’s website and select retailer partnerships, priced at £79 GBP / $79 USD / €79 EUR / $119 CAD.
