iFi Audio GO Blu Air trip to the Ashmolean Museum

I had an excellent day yesterday at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, where I saw the Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood Exhibition of Radiohead artworks.

The point of this piece, however, is to discuss both the exhibition and highlight the capabilities of the iFi GO Blu Air that I received a month ago.  The iFi GO Blu Air is a Bluetooth Dongle for smartphones; it’s tiny (and just 31g) and slips easily into your pocket.  This iFi GO Blu Air is an upgrade to the iFi GO Blu.

The iFi GO Blu Air allows those who prefer their wired in-ear monitors or headphones to have the flexibility of Bluetooth in-ears whilst decoupling the phone from the wired bit. I am in this camp. The joy of having optimal LDAC Bluetooth (for all that means) with my preferred wired in-ears gives me the flexibility to do all the phone things on the move, such as scanning train tickets, finding music, and adjusting volume, without the need for wired tethers in my pocket.

The iFi GO Blu Air is a simple Bluetooth dongle that connects easily to my Pixel 8 smartphone.  It features the XBass and XSpace digital signal processors, which enhance low frequencies and the soundstage, respectively.

My iFi GO Blu Air trip started on the train with a pair of Campfire Audio Alien Brain in-ear monitors with a 4.4 mm balanced jack. Pairing was simple, and the Air slotted into my trouser pocket and was, for the rest of the trip, forgotten, with me adjusting the phone’s volume control as needed.

The Alien Brain monitors are premium five-driver in-ears that feature a dynamic bass driver and four balanced armature drivers for the mids and treble.  I find the Brains have excellent separation and imaging generally with a decent headphone amplifier, like a Chord MoJo 2 or the iFi Audio iDSD Valkyrie flagship amplifier. The pairing for this trip seemed ideal as I warmed up for the Radiohead experience with Amnesiac on Qobuz, still Radiohead’s best album alongside Kid A.

The Ashmolean exhibition celebrates the collaboration between Thom Yorke (largely) with the artist Stanley Donwood, which began in 1994 when the band was developing their second album, The Bends. This exhibition marks 30 years since the release of the breakthrough album in 1995.

Performance

How did the GO Blu Air fare on the road with the rather sensitive Alien Brains? Suppose I say that I forgot I was using it with my phone, which was constantly emerging to pay for coffee, show tickets, and listen to the exhibition’s app-based commentary. In that case, I think that sums it up: 30-odd grams in weight is nothing really. My car key is bigger and heavier, I’m sure.  LDAC on the move gives you the confidence and assurance that you’re getting as good as you want. At the end of the day, you’re just tuning into your own reality, away from the hustle and bustle, the staging, and the dynamics, and other critical listening is really pretty irrelevant. However, at least when you can relax with your seat on the train and achieve the best in-ear fit, there is stunning depth and presence in this arrangement.

One thing I do know is that the improvement on the Campfire 1 V wired dongle is tangible (the GO Blu Air offers almost 3 times this in balanced connection), although I had to switch to the ‘unbalanced’ 3.5mm jack cable to accommodate the dongle.  Switching back and mucking around with XBass and XSpace is always fun for a bit of spicy listening, but it’s just ‘set and forget’ in my view.  The one phone call I had with the GO Blu Air was crisp and easy.

Battery

Having had the GO Blu Air on fairly heavy rotation, I neglected to charge it up, so on the train, I had just 30% battery.  Fortunately, I had an almost empty power pack (that I’d also neglected to charge!).  Hooking this up in my pocket boosted my battery to 90% plus after an hour or so, and I easily achieved 6 hours of constant listening without any issues on the round trip.

GO Blu Air v GO Blu

There’s nothing in it, let’s be honest about it.  Maybe the Air has a little more in it sonically, but what that is, I can’t put a finger on it. Indeed, the new Magnetic clip is excellent and feels solid; the extra £50 in your pocket with the Air is well worth considering.  I’m using the Air daily now, and I’m impressed with its ease of use and battery power. I’ve had a bit of background hiss, which is a function of the Alien Brains over the Air.

This is What You Get

And what of the Exhibition itself, titled This is What You Get? If you like Radiohead, modern art, and noodling notebooks, then this is your bag; it was mine.  The Canvases in the main room were absolutely stunning.  The Audio commentary, featuring Adam Buxton, was excellent and made you stop and think.  I’m a single ear merchant when it comes to commentaries like this, and it was a good experience.  Personally, I’d have liked more Kid A – Amnesiac material there, but I suppose I had that in the PC-based Kid A Mnesia Exhibition a few years ago.  I’ll probably go back next time I’m in Oxford, but I would absolutely recommend the sumptuous (and expensive!) catalogue that accompanies the exhibition.

iFi Audio GO Blu Air – Overall

I’m quite a fan of the iFi Audio GO Blu Air, which offers me the flexibility I want with my smartphone and allows me to use decent IEMs properly every day. I loved the original GO Blu and at fifty pounds cheaper, this has to be even more Outstanding!

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