When we received the news for the portable iFi Go Link late last year, we were promised a digital-to-audio converter (DAC) that would deliver “supercharged” sound at a “super-affordable” price. The idea of supreme sound for a minimal financial outlay always sounds like the stuff of dreams, but those dreams can often turn into nightmares if you realise you’ve bought a cheap piece of tat that offers few discernible benefits and then breaks three minutes after you get it out of the box.
Still, there are some DACs that, rather than being chunky desktop units or even bulkier headphone models, manage to marry slimline designs with value for money and discernible improvements in your source’s audio performance. Just look at the ultra-compact, Award-winning AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC, or the equally impressive Astell & Kern AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable for proof that size doesn’t always equal sonic supremacy.
