iFi UP Travel Max Adds Bluetooth To Wired Sources

October 30, 2026

A favourite old music player does not have to become useless when your headphones go wireless. iFi has announced the UP Travel Max, a £129 Bluetooth adapter that can send sound from a wired source to wireless headphones, or work in reverse to feed a wired system.

Its folding 3.5mm plug tucks away for carrying. For a starter HiFi setup, the interesting bit is the ability to keep using equipment you already own rather than replace it simply because its connections are different.

Quick Reference

Product: iFi UP Travel Max Bluetooth transmitter and receiver
Price: £129 on iFi’s UK website; check delivery timing before ordering
Connections: 3.5mm plug, USB-C and Bluetooth 5.4
Battery life: Claimed 10 hours; weight: 25.7g

Send Sound Or Receive It

In transmit mode, the adapter takes audio from a 3.5mm headphone socket or USB-C source and sends it to Bluetooth headphones. That could make an older portable player useful with your current headphones, provided the connections are compatible.

Switch to receive mode and it takes Bluetooth audio from a phone, feeding a wired AUX or line input through its 3.5mm connection. Your amplifier still powers the speakers: the UP Travel Max is an adapter, not a speaker amplifier.

Check What Your Headphones Support

iFi lists aptX Lossless, LDAC and several other Bluetooth codecs. Both ends of the link must support the codec you want to use; the adapter cannot give every pair of headphones lossless playback.

Two pairs of headphones can connect for shared listening. Auracast broadcasting is also supported for compatible receivers, with setup through iFi’s Nexis app. Auracast is not a feature every Bluetooth headphone has, so check before buying it for a group.

What The Terms Mean

Transmitter: Sends audio to another device.

Receiver: Accepts audio sent wirelessly.

Codec: The method used to encode and decode digital audio.

AUX input: A wired input for an analogue audio signal.

Auracast: A Bluetooth broadcast system that compatible devices can tune into.