iFi Audio GO link Max Portable USB DAC

When it comes to listening with headphones, modern portable devices such as smartphones are riddled with compromise. Many don’t have a headphone socket at all, and even the best adapters are severely limited in their output volume.

With the GO link Max, you can take the power back with up to 241mW of output, which is around 5 times more power than the headphone socket of a MacBook Pro.

More output doesn’t just mean more volume, though. With the power of the GO link Max behind them, your headphones can articulate fine detail and definition in a way that’s simply not possible with a standard headphone output.

The GO link Max is our smallest and most portable balanced DAC yet.

The GO link Max’s balanced circuitry extends the interference elimination technology typically found in balanced audio cables, to the entire audio system.

Our proprietary S-Balanced technology brings this same advantage to the 3.5mm port, providing a superior single-ended experience exclusive to iFi. Every listener, regardless of their headphone choice, benefits from balanced design.

With both options available in the GO link Max, you can enjoy crystal-clear detail and channel separation today and still be ready for tomorrow’s upgrades.

At the beating heart of this pocket rocket lies a pair of the renowned ESS ES9219 Sabre DAC chips.

With a DAC chip dedicated to each channel, each instrument is clearly separated and defined. Shut your eyes and you will feel the band playing on stage in front of you, with each musician precisely positioned.

We then push performance further by adding some in-house tech of our own, to ensure elimination of jitter and distortion for crystal clarity and refined musicality.

Playlists will pull you in like never before, and you can look forward to moreish music that gives you that ‘just one more song’ feeling every time you listen.

The Sabre DAC’s Dynamic Range Enhancement (DRE) allows for greater contrast between the loudest and quietest sound.

Every crescendo rings louder and every intimate moment of quiet sits more peacefully, filling your listening sessions with the life, energy and immersion your music deserves.

With the GO link Max, we push this further, combining DRE with our own developments and enhancements. The result is an exceptional +6dB of additional dynamic range.

To your ears, this effectively doubles the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds, so you can feel the soaring highs and deepest lows in your music, perfectly presented.

Gain Control, Lose Nothing. Digital volume controls are the hidden enemy of modern Hi-Res audio. When you lower the volume on a phone, tablet, or computer, the output is lowered artificially by reducing data sent to the DAC – resulting in a significant loss of audio quality. While many dongle DACs accept this trade-off, at iFi, we don’t settle for less – even in our most accessible product.

The GO link Max features a hardware-based volume control that overrides this typical behaviour. When you adjust the volume on your device, the change occurs directly in the DAC chip. This ensures that maximum detail is retained, and you can enjoy the full richness of your Hi-Res music at any volume.