Mobile Hifi is typically dominated by compromise. You have to give up something to take your music with you. We usually give up sound quality for the convenience of mobility. Even with mobile amps and DACs you need some pocket real estate to take them with you. A lot of people look to Bluetooth headphones for their on-the-go solution. They are small, don’t have cables, and don’t need any extra gear to listen to. While there are a lot of pretty good Bluetooth IEMs out there, most of them won’t compare to what you may be used to with your Desktop or Home Headphone setups. So how do you get the convenience of wireless but with the fidelity you crave, enter the iFi Go Pod and Meze Advar combo. These Advars are identical to the wired ones, instead of connecting a cable you connect the Go Pod, an over-the-ear device that houses the Bluetooth, Amp, and DAC to run the Advars. The Go Pod can be paired with a number of IEMs, for our review we used the Advars.
Unboxing and Set Up
IFi Audio and Meze both have some of the best packaging on the market, and opening both feels like a premium product, the retail price of this kit is $1,068.00 U.S. (at the time of writing on sale for $899.00) so the premium feel is warranted. After Opening each device you just need to connect the left IEM to the left Go Pod and Right to Right. Next, pick the earpieces that fit best and tap on Go Pod to turn it on. You can then open your Bluetooth settings and pair, they should be listed as Go Pod in your phone.
The case is as premium as I have seen for a set of Bluetooth IEMS. With a geometric exterior and solid feel in the hand. The interior is lined with velvet to keep your IEMS scratch free. When you open the lid a a pair of lights will eliminate the interior so you will have no trouble using these in the dark. Holding the Go Pods in place while charging a pair of strong magnets. It takes a decent amount of shaking to knock them out of place but not so strong removing them is a chore. To save battery the LEDs will turn off after 60 seconds, so you don’t need to worry about draining the case battery if you left it open on your desk or nightstand. I will say a downside of the case is size. This is not nearly as pocketable as a pair of AirPods.
Convenience
If you are looking at Bluetooth IEMs, there is a good chance you are interested in them because of their convenience over traditional headphones. using these as your day-to-day headphones is as easy as any cheap set of Bluetooth headphones. They have good battery life, and in our testing, we got almost the full 7 hours they advertise. Be advised that your listening volume can affect the battery life. Something I really like about these that others may not is the electronics are actually hung over your ear, and rest behind your ear. You don’t have all the weight and bulk of the electronic in your ear. It also means you can adjust the IEM itself without bumping any of the controls which are on the Go Pod itself.
Speaking about the controls, they are simple to get the hang of, as well they are very responsive. Taping to pause, double tap to skip, Tripple tap to go back, hold Left Pod for volume down, and the right for volume up. You can also activate your voice assistant by tapping and then holding either. I found the touch controls easy to use, without being finicky or overly sensitive. The input delay is very minimal and not enough to be noticeable.
I like to test the range of Bluetooth devices as being untethered is largely the point. I was able to walk approximately 75′ away from my phone, an iPhone 14 Pro, before losing any connection. This was an open space distance so if you add in walls or doors you will likely see somewhat less distance. I would imagine in most scenarios you won’t be more than a couple of meters from your phone in most scenarios. However, if you take these to the gym you won’t need your phone in your pocket to enjoy them.
Sound Quality
You will have to, for now, make one concession with the Go Pods. That is High Res Audio. As of right now, Bluetooth does not support High Res audio, though it does not seem that far off with some advancements with LDAC, Sony’s own codec, allowing up to 990kbps, though that is much less than HI Res of 9216kbps. Mind you it is much higher than MP3 Bitrate. The Go Pod supports LDAC as well as LHDC/HWA*, aptX Adaptive, aptX, AAC, SBC. Connecting to my Fiio M9 with Flac files I was able to use the aptX codec which supports 16 and 24 bit-depths at 44.1, 48, and 96 kHz sample rates.
I listened to an all-time favorite, “Good News For People Who Love Ban News” by Modest Mouse. “The View” is a heavily layered track with a light guitar, mellow drumline slap bass as well all sorts of background synths. Hearing every single aspect of this with space around the instruments is blissful. Isaac Brocks’s voice is nice and neutral, with all the texture you expect. The overall sound is very balanced, the high notes don’t take over and the bass is not muddy. I could stand to have a bit more bass but these are IEMs and have an appropriate amount. The mid-range is well-represented and rich. The whole frequency response comes through fairly evenly. The Advar measures fairly flat with a smooth curve in the lower frequency to a dip at 1K and a little boost around 6k. The 5db boost in the treble isn’t wildly noticeable though the top shining a bit helps with clarity and detail.
Next up was Taylor Swift, “The Last Time” from Red, with Gary Lightbody. This is an incredible duet and one of my all-time favorites. A low piano starts the song, then behind the light vocals is a distant snare roll. Layering as the song progresses with the guitar and the kick drum starts. The song builds to a perfectly timed crescendo for the chorus, with both artists singing. You get both voices beautifully, as well as all the instruments. Detail is available in spades. This is one of those songs that will reward you for listening with your full attention.
Up Next was Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, OP 49, as performed by, the Philidelphia Orchestra with Eugene Ormandy. Perhaps the most famous and exciting pieces of orchestral music ever created, the Go Pods and Advars had a lot to live up to. With over 20 different instruments to highlight, detail is paramount. I was not disappointed listing to one of my favorite pieces by Tchaikovsky. While the battery of cannons did not have the punch that a set of loudspeakers can deliver, I think that is an unfair expectation of IEMs. That said, the brass finale was still incredible and I loved every second of it. The entire song was enjoyable, from the low tones of the double basses and oboes to the high clashes of cymbals.
Daft Punk’s Discovery made an appearance as well. With fast punchy tracks, it is an excellent test of the Go Pods and Advars. One more time is a super bassy track with faster mid tones layered on top with tambourines and maracas added in throughout. In the front are the heavily-tuned vocals and synths, creating a very dynamic track. Leading straight into Aerdynamic, with a super funky rhythm and heavy kick drum, once again an extremely dynamic track with the distorted guitar playing super high notes, that slam straight into the synths and the bass line. Keeping all of this separated and crystal clear is a task that the Go Pods and Advar handled with ease.
I am overall very pleased with the sound quality of the setup. The balance of the Advar helps the Go Pods shine though. They provide clean power, with no artifacts or noticeable distortion at the levels I could comfortably listen at. The Advars are a touch warm which is a Meze signature, though I would say these are less warm than typical Meze Headphones and lean more towards balanced. The Advar is also a very comfortable IEM, as I have come to expect from Meze. The total package is something I could live with as my endgame IEM setup. The nice thing is if I want to listen to Hi Rez audio I can pop the Go Pod off and connect the Advar to my DAP with a cable. So unlike Airpods or similar products, I am not stuck with wireless. If I forget to charge them they aren’t useless. Also if you decide you want to, you can upgrade to a better IEM and keep your Go Pod to use with the new ones. You aren’t trapped in a single-use product. Also, it’s inevitable that the batteries in the Go Pod will quit taking a charge, but your headphones can pop off and be put on a new set or just use the cable. You aren’t out of your money altogether.
Specs:
| Auto impedance detection | 16Ω / 32Ω / 64Ω / 300Ω |
| Total Harmonic Distortion | + Noise ≤0.002% (1KHz/32Ω) @ (20-20KHz) |
| Output Max power | 120mW@32Ω; 4V@300Ω 16Ω： ≥0.98V/60mW 32Ω： ≥1.96V/120mW 64Ω： ≥2.77V/120mW 300Ω：≥4.0V/53mW |
| SNR | 32Ω ≥ 129dB (A) / 300Ω ≥ 132dB (A) |
| THD+N | ≤0.002% (1kHz/32Ω) |
| Bluetooth version | Bluetooth 5.2™ |
| Bluetooth codecs | LDAC*, LHDC/HWA*, aptX Adaptive, aptX, AAC, SBC |
| Bluetooth chipset | Qualcomm QCC 5100 Series |
| Frequency response | 10-20 kHz(-3dB) LDAC |
| Dimensions (GO pod) | 43.5 x 16.4 x 9.5 mm 1.7″ x 0.6″ x 0.4″ |
| Dimensions (Charging case) | 116 x 76 x 38.5 mm 4.6″ x 3″ x 1.5″ |
| Net weight | GO pod 12g (0.42 oz) Case 126g (4.44 oz) |
| Power System | 5V/1A or 5V/2A Qi certified charger |
| Battery | GO pod 180mAh Charging case 1500mAh |
Pros:
- High-Quality Sound
- long battery life
- premium case
- interchange IEMs
- upgrade path
- good touch controls
Cons
- Case is large
- bulkier than all-in-one wireless buds
Conclusion
The Go Pod as a stand-alone product is $399.00, which may seem expensive for a Bluetooth device. You can entire Bluetooth headphones for less, however, the Go Pod is a top-of-the-line product in this market. You are not buying a regular consumer device. This is more than that. You are buying a high-end DAC, Mobile Amplifier, and Bluetooth transceiver. Think of it the same way you would buy an external DAC/Amp for your wired headphones. When Paired with the Advar IEMs you have a premium sound device. It is unfair to compare this kit to your average Bluetooth headphones. It is hard to recommend these to someone simply looking for an Airpod replacement, however, for someone who takes their music seriously but wants to cut the cable the Go Pod is probably my best recommendation. There really isn’t another product like it on the market right now. You can pair it with dozens of different IEMs and have zero cables. They are comfortable, easy to use, and have a battery that will last a workday if you toss them in the case for a bit during lunch.
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Disclaimer: Ifi Audio provided Hifi Chicken with a Go Pod, and Advar Kit for the purpose of review, iFi Audio nor Meze nor any other affiliate paid in part or full for this review.