In the past few weeks, iFi has been busy at the high end, rolling out a trio of new DACs and the flagship iDSD Phantom, but it’s also paying attention to the other end of the market with the new GO link 2. Most phones and laptops today can stream lossless music, yet still don’t sound great out of the box, and this tiny USB DAC is meant to sit between your device and your wired headphones to quietly handle the audio work instead.

The GO link 2 is a follow-up to iFi’s original GO link dongle from 2022. It plugs into a USB-C port on your phone, tablet, or laptop, bypasses the device’s built-in audio circuitry, and sends a cleaner, higher-quality signal to your headphones.

Physically, it’s a small in-line DAC “brick” with a short cable and a USB-C plug on one end, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the other. iFi includes adapters for USB-A and Lightning in the box, so you’re covered whether you’re using a Windows laptop, an older desktop, or an iPhone with a Lightning port.

This second-generation model is even more portable than the original: iFi says the GO link 2 is 8% smaller and 29% lighter, so it takes up slightly less space dangling from your phone or living semi-permanently on your laptop.

Under the hood, the GO link 2 uses an ESS Sabre DAC chip, the same family as the original model, aimed at delivering decent performance while keeping power draw low enough for mobile use.

On the format side, it covers most of what you’re likely to throw at it:

• PCM up to 32-bit/384kHz
• DSD up to DSD256

MQA decoding is not supported, but that’s less of a concern now that Tidal dropped MQA in mid-2024 in favor of standard hi-res FLAC streaming. For services like Apple Music, Qobuz, Tidal’s current hi-res tier, and Spotify’s planned Lossless option, the GO link 2 has the necessary format support.

Like previous compact iFi DACs, there’s a color-changing LED on the device to show what kind of audio stream you’re playing (for example, different colors for PCM vs DSD, and different sample rates). It’s a small thing, but handy if you like to know at a glance whether you’re actually getting hi-res output from your streaming app.

The GO link 2 is more of a refinement than a complete redesign. The headline changes are about noise, distortion, and a bit of extra control:

• Dynamic Range Enhancement: iFi says the GO link 2 increases the gap between the quietest and loudest parts of your music, so soft details and big peaks are more clearly separated.
• Lower distortion: total harmonic distortion is said to be reduced by up to 62% compared with the original GO link.
• Reduced crosstalk: the new S-Balanced 3.5mm output aims to cut crosstalk between left and right channels by around 50%, which should help with stereo separation.

The GO link 2 also includes iFi’s Time Domain Jitter Eliminator and dedicated clock circuitry, a combination designed to help with timing accuracy so transients and rhythm don’t smear together as the signal is converted from digital to analog.

None of these features are especially flashy on their own; together they paint a picture of a dongle that’s meant to be a bit quieter, a bit cleaner, and a bit more controlled than the first-gen version.

One of the bigger functional changes is software support. The GO link 2 is the first model in the GO link line to work fully with the iFi Nexis app.

On Android, the app lets you:

• Choose between two digital filters – linear and hybrid
• Apply firmware updates over the air
• Adjust some settings, including a software volume control

The Nexis support means you don’t need a computer to keep the DAC’s firmware up to date. That’s useful if iFi decides to tweak filters, add small features, or fix bugs down the line.

There is a catch: at launch, the Nexis app is Android-only, so iPhone users miss out on the software customization side, even though the DAC itself still works fine with iOS via the Lightning adapter.

The GO link 2 is clearly aimed at people who:

• Already use wired headphones or IEMs
• Stream from services that offer lossless or hi-res audio
• Don’t want to carry a bigger, battery-powered DAC/amp or upgrade their phone just for better sound

It’s also an affordable option if you have a work laptop with mediocre headphone output and you’d rather not deal with larger desktop gear.

That said, this is still a 3.5mm-only DAC. If you need a balanced 4.4mm output or more power for demanding over-ear headphones, iFi’s own GO link Max (priced at $79 at Amazon) and other higher-tier devices are the more obvious step up.

Technical Specifications:

• Hi-Res support: PCM 384kHz, DSD256.
• DAC chipset: Bit-Perfect DSD & DXD DAC by ESS
• Headphone output: S-Balanced 3.5mm.
• Output power (RMS): ≥1.59V/79mW @ 32Ω; ≥2.0V/14mW @ 300Ω
• Output impedance: <0.4Ω.
• Signal-to-Noise ratio: ≥125dBA (@2.05V).
• Dynamic range: ≥125dBA (@ 0dBFS).
• THD+N: ≤0.0015% (1.27V @ 32Ω).
• Frequency response: 10Hz-80kHz (-0.5dB).
• Power consumption: No signal ~0.2W; Max signal ~1W.
• Dimensions: 137 x 12 x 7.6mm.
• Net Weight: 7.8g.

The iFi GO link 2 is available now on Amazon at a price of $59. At that level, it’s positioned as an inexpensive way to try an external DAC without committing to a larger, more complex setup.

In short, the GO link 2 doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. It takes the original idea, a small, plug-and-play dongle to get better sound from everyday devices, and tightens up the design with a smaller body, lower noise, and the addition of app-based controls for Android users.

Related Reading:

• iFi’s New NEO & ZEN Boxes: Three Different Ways to Modernize Your Digital Setup
• The iFi iDSD Phantom Wants to Replace Your DAC, Streamer, and Headphone Amp
• iFi GO Link Max: This Tiny Device Makes Your Headphones Sound Five Times Better
• Fosi Audio Just Launched Two Game-Changing DACs — One Mounts to Your Phone, the Other Powers Your Console
• Astell&Kern Just Launched a $450 Pocket DAC — And a Pair of Earbuds Tuned by a Grammy Winner