IFi Audio Unveils Bluetooth Travel DAC And Go Pod Air For Turning IEMs Wireless

Forbes

15-05-2025

The iFi UP Travel is a tiny Bluetooth transmitter and receiver with support for most Hi-Res ... More Bluetooth audio codecs. This little gadget can boost the audio quality of in-flight entertainment, car stereos or laptops.
iFi Audio is an innovative and high-performance brand and has launched two innovative new products today. The first is the iFi UP Travel Bluetooth DAC and the second is the Go Pod Air wireless adapter for converting in-ear monitors into high-end wireless earphones.
iFi UP Travel is a transmitter and receiver unit for headphones that brings Hi-Res Bluetooth connectivity to cars, in-flight entertainment systems or just about any other audio system.
Travel-minded from the ground up, the UP Travel is small enough to fit into a pocket and weighs a mere 25g, even though it has a battery a 10-hour life to keep working across the Atlantic Ocean.
Two pairs of headphones can share the UP-Travel's output for watching movies, listening to playlists or catching up on Podcasts, all without the hassle of syncing screens or settling for lower sound quality. At the heart of the UP Travel is Hi-Fi-grade architecture; instead of a System-on-Chip, iFi uses finely tuned and independent audio stages to extract better sound quality.
A flip out 3.5mm connector turns the UP Travel on and it can be used as a Bluetooth transmitter or ... More receiver with support for all the high-end Bluetooth audio codecs.
Key features of the UP Travel include Bluetooth connectivity, Hi-Res Bluetooth streaming to AUX inputs, a Cirrus Logic DAC, dual Bluetooth headphone pairing, built-in microphones with cVc noise and echo suppression and a 10-hour battery life from a single charge.
The UP Travel is compatible with a range of devices and has a 3.5mm connector that flips out when needed. It also has one-touch pairing for Bluetooth devices. The connector folds back into place and automatically switches off to save power.
The device has easy one-flick switching between transmitting and receiving modes. With TX mode, users can upgrade their in-flight entertainment audio using high-quality Bluetooth codecs aptX or LDAC.
The UP Travel can plug into the 3.5mm audio output of a laptop for high-end Bluetooth streaming, making it suitable for video calls or catching up on Podcasts. UP Travel can upgrade a car audio system by switching to RX mode and plugging into the car's AUX input. Offering Hi-Res Bluetooth streaming with codecs including SBC, AAC, aptX (Classic, Low-Latency, Adaptive), LDAC and LHDC/HWA, UP Travel can improve a car stereo's sound quality.
The UP Travel can plug into the AUX input of a car stereo so it receives audio streamed over ... More Bluetooth from a smartphone or other device.
Built around a Qualcomm QCC51xx series Bluetooth chipset, the UP Travel also has a Cirrus Logic MasterHIFI DAC, as found in some of iFi's award-winning portables. Completing the design is a bespoke clocking circuit to keep all the individual components working together in sync.
The design of the UP Travel enables quick switching between various codec choices. A built-in microphone at the base works with Qualcomm's cVc noise and echo suppression technology to produce clearer phone calls.
Compatible with the iFi Nexis app—available on both iOS and Android devices—the UP Travel can have additional features unlocked with the app, as well as personalizing settings and applying any future firmware updates.
The iFi UP Travel is available from ifi-audio.com now and is priced at $99 / £99 / €99.
The iFi GO Pod Air loops can turn high-end in-ear monitors into Hi-Res Bluetooth earphones with ... More support for codecs like aptX Adaptive and LDAC.
iFi's second new product announced today is the GO Pod Air, a compact and affordable device that can turn wired earphones—such as IEMs—into Hi-Res Bluetooth wireless earphones thanks to audiophile-grade architecture.
While Bluetooth True Wireless Stereo earbuds are the most popular way for people to listen to music on the go, many audiophiles prefer to listen to wired IEMs. To solve this conundrum, iFi has made a device that can turn a pair of IEMs into Hi-Res Bluetooth wireless earphones with touch controls and noise-free calls.
Despite their small size, each GO Pod Air has balanced amplification and intelligent impedance matching to suit almost any pair of IEMs with support for digital music files up to 24-bit/96kHz. Cirrus Logic DAC chips power the sound and everything packs away into a small case for maximum portability.
The GO Pod Pro from iFi Audio stow away in a storage case for charging. The system also includes ... More touch controls and microphones for making phone calls.
Unlike most wireless earbuds, which rely on a single chip for connection, conversion and amplification, the iFi GO Pod Air uses true Hi-Fi architecture. Each Pod includes a Qualcomm QCC514x series chip just for Bluetooth reception. The digital signal is then sent to a Cirrus Logic MasterHIFI DAC before being boosted by a balanced amplification stage backed up by a dedicated clock for perfect sync between the components.
Each Pod weighs just 10 grams and the storage case is 40% lighter than iFi's first-generation GO Pod and is nearly 20% smaller. iFi offers a selection of interchangeable ear loops to suit almost every type of IEM and includes 2-pin and MMCX loops as standard. T2, A2DP and Pentaconn loops are also available separately.
The iFi GO Pod Air's intelligent impedance matching works at three different settings—16, 32 and 64Ω. Simply connect the IEMs, place the Pods in their charging case for a moment and the system automatically detects the impedance and adjusts everything to the best match.
The iFi GO Pod Air can fit IEMs with two-pin and MMCX connectors and other connectors are available.
With a comprehensive suite of Bluetooth audio codecs—including SBC, AAC, aptX (Classic, HD, Adaptive), LDAC and LHDC/HWA—the iFi Go Pod Air can work with any phone, tablet or transmitter.
Each Pod has intuitive and responsive touch controls for controlling calls, music and volume levels. There is also support for voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant. When making phone calls, the GO Pod Air can pick up the user's voice with dual microphones and Qualcomm's cVc echo and noise suppression technology cleans things up.
The GO Pod Air is IPX5 rated, providing protection when out running in the rain, commuting during a downpour or sweating it out at the gym. The touch controls can be disabled to avoid unwanted commands. The iFi GO Pod Air has up to seven hours of playback from a single charge, plus the travel case extends this to a total of 15 hours.
The iFi GO Pod Air is available from ifi-audio.com and priced at $249 / $249 / €249.
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