You’ll find plenty of Bluetooth transmitters on Amazon that will let you connect your wireless headphones or earbuds to an airplane’s seatback entertainment systems, but few do double-duty as a Bluetooth receiver, and I’ve yet to find one that offers the sheer number of codec choice as Ifi’s new Up Travel.
At $99, the Up Travel is among the pricier options for this kind of device, and probably not the right option if you just need simple connectivity. However, if you’re passionate about wireless audio quality, it could be money well spent. Inside the tiny, flip-open enclosure, which works like an automotive key fob, Ifi has used separate chips for Bluetooth transmission and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) functions, plus there’s a dedicated clock circuit, which can often be the weakest link in a digital audio signal path.
You can use the dongle as a transmitter (taking an analog signal and sending it wirelessly to your headphones) or as a receiver (sending wireless audio to a hi-fi system or car audio system from your phone). In both cases, you can choose from a big list of high quality Bluetooth codecs:
- SBC
- AAC (receive only)
- aptX
- aptX HD
- aptX LL (low latency) (transmit only)
- aptX Adaptive
- LDAC
- LHDC/HWA (receive only)
Switching codecs is easy. A dedicated button cycles through the list, with a color-coded LED confirming which one is active (yellow for AAC, light blue for LDAC, dark blue for aptX, etc.) The same button can also be used to alter the sample rate of the DAC: 44.1-48kHz or 88.2-96kHz.
When using the Up Travel as a transmitter, you can still use voice applications like calling or Zoom, using the dongle’s built-in microphone. It has Qualcomm’s cVc technology — the same algorithms used on a wide variety of wireless headphones and earbuds to minimize background sounds when you talk.
Like other options such as the AirFly Pro, you can connect two headphones or earbuds to the Up Travel for simultaneous listening. The Ifi Nexis app can be used to access customization options and update firmware.
The only downside, relatively speaking, is battery life. Ifi rates it about 10 hours, which is less than you’ll get from similar devices. You’ll also need to buy a dual-prong adapter in case you end up on a plane with one of these older audio interfaces.
You can buy the Up Travel at ifi-audio.com.