iFi Audio is looking to take your favorite pair of IEM (in-ear monitors) and turn them wireless so that you can use them while traveling or during downtimes without the need of running a wire to them. Because wires aren’t always friendly. This is all thanks to the company’s new iFi Go Pod. A wearable Bluetooth amp solution with multiple adapters for various connection types.
IEMs are most commonly used by vocalists and artists both in the studio and live on stage. Depending on the model, IEMs can deliver incredibly custom or flat audio to your ears and easily disappear from view compared to over-the-ear alternatives (cans). So why not also use them for casual listening as well?
The Go Pod is makes use of Bluetooth 5.2 and is capable of up to 32-bit/96kHz audio and has support for all of the popular Bluetooth formats. Such as LDAC (up to 990kbps bitrate), LHDC, 24-bit aptX HD, aptX, and more. It features two Cirrus Logic MasterHIFI 32-bit DACs on board to provide the digital to analog conversion and has plenty of power to feed any IEM model, automatically adjusting its mode depending on the impedance of the IEMs you have plugged in (16 ohms, 32 ohms, 64 ohms and 300 ohms).
So how does iFi make this possible? By making the Go Pod modular. Separating the amps from the dongles coming out of them (in the form of earloops). Allowing the user to swap them out to the connection type of their IEM model (ie, MMCX, Pentaconn, etc).
The model we have been testing comes with MMCX, 0.78mm, and Pentaconn adapters. This has allowed us to test them against a handful of IEM options, showing that there is a lot of versatility right out of the box. Although not everything will make a good pairing (but I will get to that later).
The amps come with a pair already attached, plus the two other adapter pairs to the side. Along with a USB-C cable to charge everything with and the charging case that stores it all (it also features Qi wireless charging support).
You can freely swap out the adapters as often as you want if you have different types of IEMs you like to listen to. No other configuration is needed. You just want to make sure you have normal in-ear design buds and nothing custom in shape (I will provide an example of what not to pair it with in a moment).
The presentation of the product is nice, with your typical travel/storage case that helps keep them charged (providing up to 30 hours of power in addition to the 7 hours of use per charge the buds offer). The case has a fun design and even offers small LED lights that spotlight the units within.
At first, the company will only be providing the Go Pod as part of a bundle. The company has carefully paired it with IEM brands and models that work well with it and will be selling the first 1,000 orders as such. This way the first impressions out there should be positive. When purchasing from IFi’s website, you can choose from the options in a drop-down list.
You’ll find brands like Craft Ears, Meze Audio, Westone Audio, and more. With a price that ranges between $799 and $1,399 (depending on the IEM model you choose). After reaching the 1,000 orders, the company will eventually (also) release the iFi GO pod as a seperate product, allowing users to find their own preferred match. And the option to only buy what you need if you already have your IEMs.
So once you have the desired earloop (adapter) attached to the amps, all you have to do is pop on your IEM buds and pair the Go Pod to your Bluetooth source (ie. phone, laptop, etc). From there they will operate like any other wireless earbuds.
The outside of the amp units contain a silver section split into two parts. The largest section is just a static space with a small status LED in the center. While the smaller section is a touch-sensitive button that controls what you are listening to depending on how you tap or hold it. Allowing you to play, pause, skip, and more.
You can even use them for taking phone calls since the Go Pod has a built-in microphone. Again, turning your IEMs into a normal pair of wireless buds (with good sound).
Performance
There is a lot of potential here and also a lot of trial and error to see what IEM models work best with this. Thankfully, we had a good start since the company sent out the Go Pod with one of its pairings. With it was the Craft Ears Aurum IEM (and this was a good match up). The Aurum IEM results in some decent frequency groups thanks to its many drivers.
We started out by testing the IEM as wired in their natural state. They sounded fantastic with a few discrepancies (but nothing is absolutely perfect). We then popped the buds off their wire and onto the Go Pod amps to see what changed. At first, it was quite noticable, but the Go Pod was connected to a laptop that only maintained AptX Classic in its connection for some reason (it’s Bluetooth 5.0 but we’ve had issues with that laptop not using codecs to their full potential).
So we switched to a USB DAC that offers Bluetooth and suddenly we were using LDAC and the audio was terrific. It still didn’t compare 100% to going wired, but it was still enough to say that it sounded better than most of the wireless earbuds out there. And that made for a good start.
We then moved on through a number of IEM options from companies like FiiO and Westone. The FiiO models sounded pretty good and so did the Westone. We even attempted to pair the Go Pod with affordable entry-level models from companies like KZ and RevoNext. Both of which resulted in an equally noticable performance both wired and wireless.
Then we started to experiment further with additional models that fell into the higher range of options looking for matches that didn’t work out so well. One of these was the Audeze Euclid planar magnetic in-ears. Although they still sounded pretty decent, it (noticeably) didn’t compare to their wired performance.
Again, they sounded pretty decent, but not on the level that it was worth breaking them from their wires on and off to take advantage of. You’d be just as impressed with pairing them to the FiiO models. So this made for a good example of a poor match (thus some options are definitely a miss).
That may have a lot to do with the fact that those IEM are planar magnetic, but we couldn’t prove that, thus it’s never been anything more than a loose theory. But we were able to re-produce the results with another planar magnetic option.
In the second planar test, we went with the Audeze LCDi3 Planar Magnetic in-ears. Which clearly are not meant to be paired to something like this based on their design (as you can see in the above image where our Senior Editor decided to take them for a spin). It doesn’t allow for the Go Pod to properly hide behind the ear, instead forcing it to hang out like a visual statement or awkward piercing. So no one is going to make this pairing, but it at least gave us a listen to another planar magnetic match since we didn’t have any other alternatives lying around.
The result was close to the same as the Euclid model, with noticeably less of an experience than going wired. So again, not every match is a good match. But for those that do match well, you can get some pretty good result.
Just keep in mind that you need to stick to normal in-ear designs and nothing unusual like the Audeze LCDi3. However, this does seem a bit obvious though so that shouldn’t be a problem. We just couldn’t resist the urge to have a little fun.
When the Go Pod does release by itself, allowing you to decide what it gets paired with, it will feature an MSRP of $399. Listings are already starting to pop up for it, so it might already be making its rounds to various retail companies.
Our Conclusion
It’s nice to be able to take your IEM wireless with a multi-fit approach like this. There are other options out there in the market, but it’s still a growing sector and those usually only offer one connection type based on the brand behind the product.
iFi did a good job in its pairings. At least, based on what we were able to hear from the Craft Ears connected. From there, we had some trial and error finding good matches. In almost all situations, the results were good. What matters is how good that “good” is and is it a worth bouncing them between wire and Go Pod every time “good” that contributed to our scoring of it.
If you buy one of their pairings, you can likely be sure that it is going to sound pretty good. They want you to be impressed, afterall. And we can personally say that the Craft Ears was a good pairing.
Since not all pairings are created equal, when the time comes that the company sells its Go Pod product by itself, it is important to read reviews from other users to see how it performs with your specific IEM model. This will help you determine if the Go Pod is a good fit for yours. This also prevents you from having to be the guinea pig. But if it does wind up being a good fit, you’ll likely enjoy it a lot.
| Our Rating | Average Price* $399 (solo) $799.00 – $1,399.00 (paired) |
*Average price is based on the time this article was published
Additional Images:
Specifications:
- Bluetooth Version: 5.2
- Bluetooth Codecs (supported): LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AptX Adaptive, AptX HD, AptX LL, AptX, AAC, SBC
- Bluetooth Chipset: Qualcomm QCC 5100 Series
- Auto Impedance Detection (ohms): 16, 32, 64, 300
- SNR: 32 ohm =/> 129dB (A) / 300 ohm =/> 132dB (A)
- THD+N: =/< 0.002% (1kHz/32 ohm)
- Frequency Response: 10Hz – 20kHz (-3dB) LDAC
- Battery: 180 mAh (charging case is 1500 mAh)
- Battery Life: 7 hours (additional 30 with case)
- Power Source: USB-C to USB-A cable (provided), Qi Wireless
Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
