[ClieOS]

...

BTW any info about Astell & Kern stuff?

My impression / experience with all A&K stuffs can almost always sum up to be "overpriced + underperforming". Unless you have already tried that specific model of A&K first hand and like it, my general recommendation is that you will find grass is greener on the other side.

 

[rocketron]

I have owned 3 AK products and only kept 1.
The AK PEE51 isn’t a bad dongle at all.
I preferred it to the W2 and S2.
I had the Go blu but returned it because of the Bluetooth range and hissing.
Have these two issues been addressed now with firmware updates?

I only as ask the Go blu is on sale at a discount at one dealer.
I quite liked the sound.

 

[ClieOS]

...
I had the Go blu but returned it because of the Bluetooth range and hissing.
Have these two issues been addressed now with firmware updates?

Not really.

 

[rocketron]

Not really.

Thank you.
The IFI Go blu is on sale at Richer sounds.
£149 down from £199.
Out of stock but can be bought though there phone sales line.

I shall try one again.

 

[rkw]

I shall try one again.

Now I'm confused. If your complaints from the first time haven't been addressed, why would it be acceptable the second time?

 

[rocketron]

Now I'm confused. If your complaints from the first time haven't been addressed, why would it be acceptable the second time?

Because I liked the sound.
I will only use it S|E this time so will have less hiss.

 

[XmarX]

Thank you.
The IFI Go blu is on sale at Richer sounds.
£149 down from £199.
Out of stock but can be bought though there phone sales line.

I shall try one again.

Please report back if you are successful as I'm from the UK too (east midlands).

 

[rocketron]

Please report back if you are successful as I'm from the UK too (east midlands).

Ordered yesterday though there phones sales.

 

[sh4dow]

First of all, thanks a ton for this thread! Having recently bought my second mobile device that doesn't have a headphone jack, it's become too much of an annoyance to ignore. And I want to be able to use my headphones while charging...

Something that I think would be wonderful for the first posts is sorting both lists by how much you would recommend them.
Also, based on my Google searches, it might be worthwhile to refer to the "Radsone ES100" as "EarStudio ES100" (or at least "Radsone EarStudio ES100" consistently).

 

[ClieOS]

First of all, thanks a ton for this thread! Having recently bought my second mobile device that doesn't have a headphone jack, it's become too much of an annoyance to ignore. And I want to be able to use my headphones while charging...

Something that I think would be wonderful for the first posts is sorting both lists by how much you would recommend them.
Also, based on my Google searches, it might be worthwhile to refer to the "Radsone ES100" as "EarStudio ES100" (or at least "Radsone EarStudio ES100" consistently).

In the past, I had ranked IEM, earbuds and portable amp, etc in list. The common problem is people just read the list itself and ignore all the detail in between. My conclusion is, never makes any multi-item review/impression too easy to read because in the long run easy becomes lazy. Those who spent time reading through often is the one benefited the most.

 

[RHMMMM]

I ordered both and will compare and report back. Me, without ever using one of these, would say that the SQ is most important. I have never used one of these devices, so I may have a different opinion after trying them both!

Reporting back after a week and a half with both the BTR5 2021 and Go Blu. I received both on the same day and by far my favorite has been the Go Blu. For me, sound quality and simplicity are at the top of the list and while the BTR5 has a lot of great features and nice build quality, I found myself gravitating much more towards the Go Blu for the volume wheel integration with the native iPhone volume as well as the more overall pleasing sound. My primary use case for this is just casual listening around the house or on long walks outside.

I initially had some issues with using the Go Blu with and my iPhone 13 Pro Max with an OTG cable but upgrading the firmware to the latest from iFi solved that issue. I was able to accomplish this 100% from my iPhone using the iFi GAIA app and downloading the updated firmware and unzipping it on the phone.

 

[rocketron]

Please report back if you are successful as I'm from the UK too (east midlands).

Received the Go blu this morning and very happy with it.
I must of had a Friday afternoon unit with the first one.
Shall post some pictures tomorrow.

 

[ballog]

Reporting back after a week and a half with both the BTR5 2021 and Go Blu. I received both on the same day and by far my favorite has been the Go Blu. For me, sound quality and simplicity are at the top of the list and while the BTR5 has a lot of great features and nice build quality, I found myself gravitating much more towards the Go Blu for the volume wheel integration with the native iPhone volume as well as the more overall pleasing sound. My primary use case for this is just casual listening around the house or on long walks outside.

I initially had some issues with using the Go Blu with and my iPhone 13 Pro Max with an OTG cable but upgrading the firmware to the latest from iFi solved that issue. I was able to accomplish this 100% from my iPhone using the iFi GAIA app and downloading the updated firmware and unzipping it on the phone.

@RHMMMM I have the original BTR5 which is the only bluetooth dac/amp available in my country (price is around $100). Do you consider the SQ of the Go Blu over the BTR5 (assuming its almost the same sq as the 2021 model) would justify the price jump (around $250 import for me).

 

[RHMMMM]

@RHMMMM I have the original BTR5 which is the only bluetooth dac/amp available in my country at around $100. Do you consider the SQ of the Go Blu over the BTR5 (assuming its almost the same sq as the 2021 model) would justify the price jump (around $250 import for me).

It’s very subjective. The BTR5 had great sound - it was very clear, clean and detailed but a little too neutral for my taste. I was able to make the BTR5 sound more pleasing by adding a slight custom EQ. Since you already have one, I would suggest simply trying that and putting any additional $ towards maybe another new different DAC or something else you’ve been wanting to try.

 

[marekm]

Improvement in SQ is indeed subjective, but loss of BT range (if you switch to Go Blu) is a fact.

I want my Qudelix 5K back