Description
ifi GO Bar Gold USB DAC Limited Edition
To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we’ve created an eye-catching special edition of the GO bar, the ifi Go bar Gold!
Limited to 1000 pieces, the 10th Anniversary Limited Edition GO bar is smothered in show stopping gold-plate and boasts:
- A copper chassis for enhanced build quality and shielding
- Enhanced power supply filtering
- A weight of 64g, 40g more than the original
The GO bar 10th Anniversary Limited Edition is truly the ‘gold standard’ among ultraportable USB DAC/headphone amps.
The ifi GO Bar Gold is a high-performance compact DAC that performs way above what its modest dimensions would suggest.
The GO bar is our top-of-the-line ultraportable USB DAC/headphone amp.
Whether you are commuting, working remotely or at your desk or simply travelling for pleasure, the GO bar is the perfectly portable way to make headphones sound heavenly.
Connect to your laptop, MacBook, tablet or smartphone or any other digital device with a USB port for sensational sound at home, in the office, or on the move.
Accessories include a leather travel case and a Lightening to USB-C, no need to buy a Camera Connection Kit, plus a USB-C OTG cable and a USB-C to USB-A adapter.
Small. But mighty.
The DAC section of the GO bar uses a powerful 16-core XMOS micro controller to process the audio data received at the USB input. Our in-house team has programmed the XMOS firmware to optimise sound quality and ensure a perfect partnership with the GO bar‘s 32-bit Cirrus Logic DAC chipset.
A customised digital filter minimises pre-echoes and ringing artefacts. Our GMT (Global Master Timing) precision clock system ensures ultra-low jitter.
- Ultra-res PCM up to 32-bit/384kHz via USB
- Native playback up to DSD256
- 2x DXD
- Full MQA decoding
External affairs
The GO bar’s smart alloy case sports physical buttons for precise volume adjustment plus controls to select between various sonic tuning options. A column of coloured LEDs provides a handy guide to the format and sample rate of the digital audio currently playing, and whether XBass+ and/or XSpace are engaged.
At one end is an asynchronous USB-C input and at the other a pair of headphone outputs.
- 4.4mm fully balanced output – headphones with a balanced cable/connector can benefit from the fully balanced circuitry of the GO bar
- 3.5mm S-Balanced output – our S-Balanced tech cuts crosstalk and noise by 50% with regular single-ended headphones.
Balance of power
Despite its diminutive size, the GO bar’s analogue circuitry sports a balanced circuit design with symmetrical twin-channel output stage. This reduces noise and crosstalk in the signal path by fully separating the left and right channels. This is usually found in larger and more expensive amplifiers.
The circuitry is packed full of high quality discrete components and special attention has been paid to power supply filtering too, dramatically reducing signal noise introduced through the USB input.
Purity and power
The amp’s design combines sonic purity with power.
- 475mW into 32 ohms
- 7.5V into 600 ohms
No headphone amp of such a diminutive size can match the GO bar’s ability to drive tricky headphone loads or work with a wider variety of headphones.
The GO bar also incorporates two power tuning technologies:
- iEMatch – attenuates power to suit high-sensitivity headphones and IEMs, it removes background noise and increases usable volume range
- Turbo – ramps up the gain by 6dB to satisfy more power-hungry headphones
*Please note that the GO bar may not work with iPhones up to and including 6S when the phone battery is low (<30%).
Specifications ifi Audio GO Bar
| Input | USB C | |
| Formats | PCM DSD DXD MQA | 44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192/35 2.8/384kHz 2.8/3.1/5.6/6.1/11.3/12.3MHz 352.8/384kHz Full Decoder |
| DAC | Bit-Perfect DSD & DXD DAC by Cirrus Logic | |
| Headphone Output | BAL 4.4mm/UnBAL 3.5mm | |
| Power Output | Balanced UnBAL | 475mW@32Ω; 7.2V@600Ω 300mW@32Ω; 3.8V@600Ω |
| Output Impedance | <1Ω (BAL/UnBAL)* | |
| SNR | 132dBA / 108dBA (BAL/UnBAL) | |
| DNR | 109dB(A) / 108dB(A) (BAL/UnBAL | |
| THD + N | Balanced UnBAL | <0.002% (6.5mW/2.0V @ 600Ω) <0.09% (100mW/1.27V @ 16Ω) |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz – 45kHz (-3dB) | |
| Power Consumption | <4W max. | |
| Dimensions | 65 x 22 x 13.2 mm (2.6″ x 0.9″ x 0.5”) | |
| Weight | 28.5g (1.0 oz) | |
| Warranty period | 12 months |
Darren T. (verified owner) –
Item arrived the day after ordering. Hooked it straight up to my iPhone 12 via the supplied lightning cable and the sound via the 4.4mm balanced output is absolutely fantastic. Extremely smooth across all frequencies with no artefacts. The go bar produces a wide soundstage and the x-bass and x-space options are quite subtle but very effective. Power output is exceptional driving both my Sennheiser IE600 IEMs and Denon AHD900 headphones to more volume than I will ever need. For sure this is the best DAC dongle I’ve heard to date by some margin. 10/10 to Richard @ Audiologica for communication and customer service
Roy Lovie (verified owner) –
Great service from Richard.. highly recommended *****
Amanda (verified owner) –
Excellent experience, with helpful communication all the way. Would definitely buy from Audiologica again. Thank you!
Michael C. (verified owner) –
Working with Richard to get this limited edition piece was great. He cares about his customers and he runs a business focused on their needs.
Rainer L. (verified owner) –
Good not thin sounding device. Easy to handle. Definitely worth the money and wait time. Had some wait time for deliver, but Audiologica give me good information about it.
David (verified owner) –
Just as advertised! Even feels good.
Heinrich (verified owner) –
Excellent experience. Richard has helped me to make sure I get a compatible unit for my phone. Product is great, service is even better!
Bernard (verified owner) –
The hifi GO Bar Gold is an impressive little DAC/AMP. It offers superior sound to the DragonFly Cobalt and is much better made (my Cobalt fell apart after relatively light use), justifying its price. Excellent service from Richard.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Probably the best portable DAC so far.
John WALKER (verified owner) –
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Smooth and thoughtful service throughout the purchase and delivery process. Great experience and would buy from them again.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Fantastic service
Carl (verified owner) –
Paul (verified owner) –
Wonderful little Gold Bar! Stunning sound. Excellent customer service when I telephoned to enquire about the product. Received very promptly.
Paul C. (verified owner) –
Excellent service, great communication and super-fast delivery.
PETER OXENVAD (verified owner) –
Great service – Thank You