On a 2017 Remaster of “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac it was easy to hear the analogue timbre of this track. Yes, there was – on the absolute scale – that hint of the treble character change that might be associated with the lossy wireless transmission. Yet to hear it, you would need to directly compare the sound of the GO pod to a wired connection with a player at least as good, as the first, AKM-based, version of the FiiO M11. And you would need to use a revealing IEMs, like Andromedas for example. On the other hand – it’s not that the treble is muffled or obviously changed in character. What I mean is that if there’s anywhere any noticeable difference that would reveal we’re using a wireless transmission – it will be in the higher registers. And I wouldn’t see it as a fault of the pods themselves but rather a something associated with the lossy compressions on the codecs side. It also won’t be noticeable on every track. Because, for example, Portishead “Roads” sounded very open and the way it actually should, with very good rendition of both vocal and the aura around it.
What is also quite astonishing is that when we pair the GO pods with any sensible IEMs (not necessarily expensive, just good ones), we can talk about the sound using terms more usually associated with the wired desktop systems and not wireless audio. Even the soundstage that with TWS usually leaves a lot to be desired suddenly emerges almost from nowhere. It just completely different new level for a wireless setup. And yes, I do count in some of the over-the ear bigger Bluetooth headphones.
The overall tonality is just half step towards the airy side. Lower registers have full extension, but you need to consider the fact that bass doesn’t manifest itself all the time, it’s not that kind of tuning, if we can talk about it in those terms. Bass is more on the contoured and controlled side. And even when paired with the rich-sounding Supermoons – the sound was open and crisp. Yet I feel this combination was far better than with Andromedas and would gain wired appeal overall. It’s simply because the general sonic traits of GO pods and the green IEMs from Campfire Audio were actually too similar, pushing the sound too much towards monitoring side of things.
As for the filter settings, I believe that there are two options that most people will find appealing. One will be the “slow roll-off/linear phase” setting and the other will be the “bit-perfect” setting. One comment here: the latter will deactivate the remaining two sliders in the Gaia app (fast or slow roll-off and minimum or linear phase settings). Bit-perfect will generally sound more intimate, more focused and will have a slightly better lower end. While using the digital filtering will give you more expansive sound with wider and bigger soundstage. I would also say that the fast roll-off with linear phase is somehow the opposite to the bit-perfect setting. Those differences are not day and night, yet they are noticeable enough for them to allow you to fine-tune the sound. Especially with multi-armature sensitive and precise IEMs that are sensitive to subtle changes. And that’s why this possibility should be viewed as quite a serious advantage of the iFi Audio’s wireless solution.
iFi Audio GO pod – conclusion
This one will be brief. If you have a good IEMs and want to go wireless with them: look no further. There are minor gripes like the size of the case, but that’s really all. From the everyday use perspective, the pods work great. And so is the sound. No wonder that the GO pod received EISA Award. It’s in many ways a ground-breaking product, which is really well though-out. Highly recommended.
Price: 399 USD/399 Euro
Product website: https://ifi-audio.com/products/go-pod/