[emrelights1973]

The range i need İs around 1m…. this İs a pocket device

that is normal

 

[marekm]

Poor BT range is not a "battery issue", it is a "poor design issue": poor design, i.e. wrong BT antena size, poor antena placement, unwanted shielding by other elements, etc.

With a bit of luck, we will soon see Go Blu V2, just like Zen DAC V2 and ZEN Blue V2 (nomen omen advertised as having improved BT range)

Beta testers pay twice

 

[marekm]

that is normal

No it is not. This is a substandard result. By far the worst of all BT receivers available on the market today.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

I have brought the IFi go blu, and is working ok and I am using at the moment with a pair of focal utopia.

The good:
- It makes any wired headphone wireless
- It’s musical and a very forgiving sound
- It has a good amount of detail and credible texture
- Has bass boost and 3D
- It’s small and light
- Great Looking product
- Gives 24bit 96khz on Mac connected by usb-c (tested with roon)
- Good battery life
- Ok price

The bad:
- Wireless range nothing special, expected a lot more than what I get
- Wired usb IOS support not present and limited to lesser quality acc wireless stream (why IFi????)
- No high res support on iOS
- No DSD or MQA
- Volume needs a lot of rotation up or down
- Sound is not fast and dynamic, it’s a soft presentation.
- No clip in the box

For the price is a very interesting product a lot better than I expected, but also very limited for iOS users and that for me is the biggest disappointment.

Other than that is a great gadget but will need to buy another dac to have hi-res on iOS.

Thanks for the feedback! What issues are you experiencing with iOS Support on wired? Can you provide your phone and OS? It should have been fixed in a recent firmware update but we will double-check for you.

Has anyone used this with an Apple Watch? I often walk without my phone as I have a cellular watch and want to resurrect my IEMs. I've been spoiled by the convenience of my AirPods but this looks like a great way to up the sound quality with wired IEMs.

I have not seen anyone here use it with a watch, but, in this day and age if it supports two way BT, why not?

I think many seem to have misunderstand that some of us just want to listen to our GO Blu from 10 meters away all the time - that's far from the true. BT range is an immediate representation of BT signal strength - but BT signal strength actually come with two components - how far it can reach (*distance), and how clear it is in a particular distance (*SNR). Taking cellphone tower for an example - when you have full bar of signal, you get 4G LTE+; but when you have one bar, you only get a crawling 3G / H+ speed. Even if you are technically still connect to the network, we are talking about the difference with a smooth vs. barely working Netflix experience here. So what does that has to do with GO Blu? Well, it is about LDAC, LHDC and aptx Adaptive (*especially the upcoming 24/96 variance) - these are highly compressed codec that required more BT bandwidth than your normal aptx, AAC, and SBC, and that's the reason why these codec provide better SQ. Even on the best of condition, for an example, LDAC 990kbps is pushing the limit of transmission for BT in close distance on a normal range BT device. So for any less-than-normal range device, even in close distance, the transmission can easily get interfered because of poorer SNR. That's why BT range is important - not because we really need the distance, but because we need a strong signal strength to get a stable and high quality listening experience.

As far as I understand, a stronger signal means a faster battery discharge? For all people, not only for those who cover BLU from smartphone with their mighty body. Thanks but no)
My bt-signal was interrupted only a couple of times, in mode of LDAC better quality only, in public transport, in rush hour.

Yeah my experience of walking through the city during rush hour in London it hasn’t cut out on me once.

I understand it’s an issue. Just not one some of us are experiencing.

Thanks all for your feedback! We understand where you are coming from and are listening. currently don't have any other updates than that!

 

[purplesun]

A short feedback on my 1-week experience with this BT dongle so far.

Pretty stable playback on LDAC within 5m to my android phones (pixel 3 or XZ1 compact). Versus about 10m of signal reliability for the Qudelix 5k. IMO, it's about the same connection reliability as the Hiby WH2(LDAC) or FiiO FW1(AptX) TWS in-ear earphones.

As for the SQ, I was hoping to get IFI's nano BL's SQ which I really like. The IFI-family sound signature is there, but it lacks the oomph of the nano BL with larger soundscapes. Subjectively, I think prefer Go BLU's SQ over the Q5k's SQ and, definitely, over the 2 TWS earphones mentioned earlier. The Go BLU is like having a mini Ibasso DX160-sounding BT dongle.

In summary, I would say the Go BLU does not possess the best Bluetooth functionalities - but it's a decent enough BT player with a well-tuned SQ.

 

[docentore]

The range i need İs around 1m…. this İs a pocket device

that is normal

No, it is BT receiver not limited to be pocketed. It is not sold as "pocket device for mobile phone connection only, please keep the range within 1m".
It is sold as portable BT receiver.
1m range is laughable by all means and substandard.

I use it with my PC during work and in the evenings while watching TV with Android box. In first case I can't make 3 steps away from the laptop, in 2nd I need to have clear path (1.5 metres) between GO blu and the tv box.

 

[marekm]

If Go Blu was a car, they would have to issue a recall to fix the BT range

But its not, so they can focus on back patting with the "happy with 1m range" users

 

[Luckyleo]

No it is not. This is a substandard result. By far the worst of all BT receivers available on the market today.

Solution… Dont purchase this.

 

[marekm]

Solution… Dont purchase this.

Very good advice, albeit too late for me

Will pass it on, however, to whoever is still undecided

 

[papachigly]

I've been using the iFi audio GO blu via bluetooth from a Laptop at 1 metre in general. I sometimes go to the kitchen which is 3 meters away and the signal holds true (no walls so a clear path). I've been using aptx (classic) so it's not the most demanding of signals I guess, but for my current uses (tv shows and occasional music listening) it does me just fine. I am interested if my newly purchased 1 Mii B03 Pro will send a strong enogh signal (aptxHD) so I can wonder about the house. It does claim to do so. I'll post my results here once tested.

 

[docentore]

Solution… Dont purchase this.

Great advice. Not too smart, but works I suppose - don't buy ifi GO blu if you're looking for BT device with decent Bluetooth functionality. And if you don't like noise and humming in your IEMs.

Any advice for people who bought it? Shouldn't we be raising any issues with the product on official product thread, so: a) manufacturer knows they released flawed device (or unfinished product) and need to do address theese issues; b) warn potential buyers that this product, as it stands right now has huge flaws.

If Go Blu was a car, they would have to issue a recall to fix the BT range

But its not, so they can focus on back patting with the "happy with 1m range" users

Well, if everyone was fanboy life would be so much easier for ifi. But there are also users like us, who are expecting working product, especially considering the pricepoint.

 

[ClieOS]

I do suggest those who are really bothered by the weak BT range, try downgrading your codec might help to increase stability, i.e If you are on LDAC 990kbsp, try LDAC 660kbps (*SQ prioritized -> Best Effort)

 

[animalsrush]

Curious whether engineers didn’t test codec effect on range.. anyway I have made peace with range now I know it’s limitations.. will test it out during my upcoming long haul flight. The only reason the sound signature is so good. The hiss is still a bother but I think a software gain switch can easily fix it unlike BT range which may be hardware specific

Personally I still think this is a wonderful product even with its shortcomings..

 

[docentore]

I do suggest those who are really bothered by the weak BT range, try downgrading your codec might help to increase stability, i.e If you are on LDAC 990kbsp, try LDAC 660kbps (*SQ prioritized -> Best Effort)

Thanks. Phone range altough is not perfect can be managed by me, I can put both devices in near pockets. Issue lies with Windows10 laptop - I see no way to change the codec or bitrate from default aptX or the Android box - this defaults SBC for some reason, hence I've added external aptX-HD transmitter - again, no way to selct the codec or bitrate.

Curious whether engineers didn’t test codec effect on range.. anyway I have made peace with range now I know it’s limitations.. will test it out during my upcoming long haul flight. The only reason the sound signature is so good. The hiss is still a bother but I think a software gain switch can easily fix it unlike BT range which may be hardware specific

Personally I still think this is a wonderful product even with its shortcomings..

It is lovely sounding device I can admit it. Only because of the performance and overall sound signature I haven't ditched it yet. Really keep my fingers crossed for ifi to fix these issues.

 

[Luckyleo]

Great advice. Not too smart, but works I suppose - don't buy ifi GO blu if you're looking for BT device with decent Bluetooth functionality. And if you don't like noise and humming in your IEMs.

Any advice for people who bought it? Shouldn't we be raising any issues with the product on official product thread, so: a) manufacturer knows they released flawed device (or unfinished product) and need to do address theese issues; b) warn potential buyers that this product, as it stands right now has huge flaws.



Well, if everyone was fanboy life would be so much easier for ifi. But there are also users like us, who are expecting working product, especially considering the pricepoint.

I think IFI is aware of the issues you, and others have brought up. It seems that they are following this thread very closely. Again, different people have different use cases for this item, and it appears that it isn't the right choice for all our needs. If you have already purchased I'm sure you can sell it for a fair price in the forums. Anyway, I know it's frustrating when you spend your hard earned $$ and find out it's not your thing. Hope things work out for you. Good luck!