iFi GO link: power output and what it will drive

The iFi GO link is a USB dongle at $59. It delivers 70 mW into 32Ω and 14 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 236 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.

Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 459 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 94, only marginal on 3 and not enough power for 11. Power is published at 32Ω, 300Ω; the rest of the table is derived from those figures. Output noise is not published, so the hiss estimate cannot be run.

Specifications

What it actually puts out

TypeUSB dongle

Price$59

Power into 32 Ω70 mW

Power into 150 Ω20 mW

Power into 300 Ω14 mW

Power into 600 Ω7.0 mW

Output impedance0.4 Ω

Output noisenot published

Comfortable headroom on 459 of 567 headphones (81%) · short of power on 11

Provenance

Where these numbers come from

The manufacturer publishes 70 mW into 32Ω, 14 mW into 300Ω. The rest of the table is worked out from those.

Derived rows hold output voltage steady, as an amplifier does (method).

Source: ifi-audio.com.

Load	Power	Status	How it was arrived at
32 Ω	70 mW	Published	the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load
150 Ω	20 mW	Derived	worked out between two published loads, holding output voltage linear between them
300 Ω	14 mW	Published	the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load
600 Ω	7.0 mW	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters

Matching

Against 40 well-known headphones

Easiest to hardest to drive, with headroom at a 100 dB SPL peak.

Headphone	Impedance	Sensitivity	Needs	Headroom	Verdict
Shure SE846	9 Ω	114.0 dB/mW	0.04 mW	+27 dB	Comfortable
64 Audio U12t	12.6 Ω	108.0 dB/mW	0.16 mW	+22 dB	Comfortable
Shure SE215	17 Ω	107.0 dB/mW	0.20 mW	+23 dB	Comfortable
Moondrop Aria	32 Ω	107.1 dB/mW	0.19 mW	+26 dB	Comfortable
Audeze LCD-X 2021	20 Ω	103.0 dB/mW	0.50 mW	+19 dB	Comfortable
Truthear Hexa	20.5 Ω	103.1 dB/mW	0.49 mW	+20 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser IE 200	18 Ω	101.6 dB/mW	0.69 mW	+18 dB	Comfortable
Sony MDR-7506	63 Ω	106.0 dB/mW	0.25 mW	+22 dB	Comfortable
Meze 99 Classics	32 Ω	103.0 dB/mW	0.50 mW	+21 dB	Comfortable
Focal Clear MG	55 Ω	104.0 dB/mW	0.40 mW	+20 dB	Comfortable
Philips SHP9500	32 Ω	101.0 dB	0.79 mW	+19 dB	Comfortable
Focal Utopia	80 Ω	104.0 dB/mW	0.40 mW	+19 dB	Comfortable
Meze Empyrean	32 Ω	100.0 dB	1.0 mW	+18 dB	Comfortable
Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020	9 Ω	94.0 dB	4.0 mW	+7 dB	Enough
Etymotic ER2SE	15 Ω	96.0 dB/mW	2.5 mW	+11 dB	Comfortable
AKG K371	32 Ω	99.1 dB/mW	1.2 mW	+18 dB	Comfortable
Audio-Technica ATH-M50X	38 Ω	99.0 dB/mW	1.3 mW	+17 dB	Comfortable
Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X	48 Ω	100.0 dB/mW	1.0 mW	+17 dB	Comfortable
Audeze LCD-2 Classic	70 Ω	101.0 dB/mW	0.79 mW	+16 dB	Comfortable
Grado SR80x	38 Ω	98.0 dB/mW	1.6 mW	+16 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser HD 560S	120 Ω	100.8 dB/mW	0.83 mW	+15 dB	Comfortable
HiFiMAN Edition XS	18 Ω	92.0 dB	6.3 mW	+8 dB	Enough
HiFiMAN Arya Stealth	32 Ω	94.0 dB	4.0 mW	+12 dB	Comfortable
Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed	13 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+5 dB	Enough
Audeze LCD-5	14 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+5 dB	Enough
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)	250 Ω	102.0 dB/mW	0.63 mW	+14 dB	Comfortable
HiFiMAN HE400se	25 Ω	91.0 dB	7.9 mW	+8 dB	Enough
HiFiMAN Sundara	32 Ω	92.0 dB	6.3 mW	+10 dB	Comfortable
Dan Clark Audio Stealth	23 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+7 dB	Enough
Fostex T50RP MK3	50 Ω	92.0 dB/mW	6.3 mW	+9 dB	Enough
AKG K702	62 Ω	92.9 dB/mW	5.1 mW	+9 dB	Enough
ZMF Verite Closed	300 Ω	99.0 dB/mW	1.3 mW	+10 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser HD 650	300 Ω	97.8 dB/mW	1.7 mW	+9 dB	Enough
Sennheiser HD 800S	300 Ω	96.8 dB/mW	2.1 mW	+8 dB	Enough
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω)	250 Ω	96.0 dB	2.5 mW	+8 dB	Enough
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X	470 Ω	98.0 dB/mW	1.6 mW	+8 dB	Enough
ZMF Atrium	300 Ω	96.0 dB/mW	2.5 mW	+7 dB	Enough
Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC	50 Ω	88.0 dB/mW	16 mW	+5 dB	Enough
Sennheiser HD 600	300 Ω	91.8 dB/mW	6.6 mW	+3 dB	Enough
HiFiMAN Susvara	60 Ω	83.0 dB	50 mW	-1 dB	Not enough

Noise

Will it hiss?

The manufacturer does not publish an output noise figure for this source, so there is no hiss estimate here. If you have a measured figure, the hiss calculator takes it.

Damping

Output impedance and the one-eighth rule

At 0.4Ω output impedance, the one-eighth rule says this source suits headphones of 3.2Ω and above. 1 of the 567 models here falls below that. The one model below that line is the Symphonium Titan, and the mismatch tilts the frequency response audibly rather than subtly.

Check any pair.

Cheaper

The cheapest thing here that does the same job

Nothing cheaper in this database does everything the iFi GO link does. Of the 280 sources here, not one at a lower price will reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches and stay inside the one-eighth rule wherever it does. That is a plain result and it is not the usual one — most of the catalogue has something cheaper that matches it.

It is worth knowing how that was counted. iFi publishes no noise figure for this one, and an axis nobody published is an axis nothing had to match. The result above rests on the figures that exist.

This counts the headphone output only; inputs, converters, the volume control and the build are outside it.

Alternatives

Compared with its closest rivals: vs FiiO KA13 · vs FiiO KA3 · vs Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro · vs Tempotec Sonata BHD Pro.

Compare any two or match your own headphones. Every iFi source here.

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iFi GO link: power output and what it will drive

What it actually puts out

Where these numbers come from

Against 40 well-known headphones

Will it hiss?

Output impedance and the one-eighth rule

The cheapest thing here that does the same job

Other dongles at a similar price

Tempotec Sonata BHD Pro

Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro

ddHiFi TC35Pro (Mountain2)

Hidizs SD2

iBasso DC03 Pro

Truthear SHIO