Short answer
Both are dongles, $59 against $60.
The iFi GO link reaches 100 dB on 556 of the 567 models here, the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro on 554.
| Specification | iFi GO link | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 70 mW | 68 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 20 mW | 15 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 14 mW | 7.3 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 7.0 mW | 3.6 mW |
| Output impedance | 0.4 Ω | not published |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $59 | $60 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 556 | 554 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Balanced | iFi GO link | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | no separate rating | 4.4mm |
| Power into 32Ω | — | 170 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | — | 18 mW derived |
| Output impedance | — | not published |
| Output noise | — | not published |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | — | 563 |
Only the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro has a separate balanced rating from its maker; through it, it reaches 100 dB on 563 of the 567 models here. The iFi GO link may still have a balanced socket — its spec sheet simply gives no figure for one, so there is nothing to put beside it. Derived figures are worked out from the loads the maker did publish.
| Load | iFi GO link | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Published |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Published | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Derived |
Both makers publish a power rating. iFi GO link publishes at 32 Ω and at 300 Ω; Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro at 32 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.
So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 300 Ω only the iFi GO link figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.
2 headphones reach 100 dB on the iFi GO link but not on the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro — HiFiMAN HE-6se V2, HiFiMAN HE6 Remastered.
554 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.
Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
The widest gap on the list is the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X: iFi GO link has +8 dB of headroom there against +5 dB. 3 dB is about 1.9 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for iFi GO link and Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | iFi GO link headroom | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro headroom | iFi GO link hiss | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +27 dB | +27 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +7 dB | +7 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +16 dB | +16 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +14 dB | +11 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +8 dB | +8 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +8 dB | +5 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +3 dB | +0 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | -1 dB | -1 dB | not published | not published |
The Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro costs $1 more than the iFi GO link, and on these three axes the money buys nothing: among the 567 models here there is not one that the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro handles and the iFi GO link does not — not on power, not on the one-eighth rule, not on hiss. The traffic runs the other way: the cheaper iFi GO link drives 2 models to 100 dB that the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro does not.
Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.
Each in full: iFi GO link and Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro.