iFi audio GO bar Portable USB DAC and Headphone Amp

Treat yourself to a high-quality headphone listening experience while commuting, traveling, or simply at work with the GO bar Portable USB DAC and Headphone Amp from iFi audio. The durable alloy case weighs only 1 ounce, features physical buttons for easy use, and provides a balanced 4.4mm headphone output and a 3.5mm output for unbalanced headphones. The USB Type-C port supplies the unit with power and allows you to connect to computers and mobile devices. Use the supplied USB Type-C cable to connect to Android devices and compatible tablets. A USB to Lightning cable is supplied for iOS devices, and a USB Type-A adapter lets you connect to computers.

XMOS 16-Core Chip for Hi-Res Audio

• This low-latency XMOS microcontroller has greatly enhanced processing power. Compared to eight-core chips, this 16-core IC delivers double the clock speed (2000 MIPS) and four times the memory (512kb), as well as SuperSpeed USB standard.
• iFi™ s in-house digital development team has programmed the XMOS firmware to optimize sound quality and ensure a perfect partnership with the 32-bit Cirrus Logic DAC chipset used in the GO bar.
• The GO bar supports hi-res true native playback of all music formats from MP3 to DSD256, PCM384, and DXD384.

Full MQA Decoding

• MQA delivers the sound of the original master recording. The master MQA file is fully authenticated and is small enough to stream or download. The GO bar adopts MQA technology to receive and decode MQA audio and provide master-level sound.

2 Analog Processing Modes

• XBass+ “ an analog bass boost to add back lost bass response for more accurate reproduction of the original file
• XSpace “ a holographic sound field to open up your music to give you the spaciousness of a live concert

Alloy Case with Intuitive Controls and 2 Headphone Jacks

• 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 colored LEDs provides a handy guide to the format and sample rate of the digital audio currently playing and tells you whether XBass+ and/or XSpace are engaged.
• At one end is an asynchronous USB Type-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: iFi s S-Balanced technology cuts crosstalk and noise by 50% with regular single-ended headphones.
• Turbo Mode increases the volume gain by 6 dB for use with less sensitive headphones.
• The iEMatch setting reduces the output level so that even the most sensitive in-ear monitors (IEMs) can be matched to the GO bar.

4 Digital Filtering Options

• Bit Perfect‹ “ No digital filtering, no pre or post ringing‹
• Standard “ Modest filtering, modest pre and posting ringing‹
• Minimum Phase‹ “ Slow roll-off, minimum pre and post ringing‹
• Gibbs Transient Optimized “ Minimum filtering, no pre-ringing, and minimum post ringing‹

Balanced Circuitry and GMT Clock

• The GO bar™ s analog circuitry features a balanced design with a symmetrical twin-channel output stage.
• This topology reduces noise and crosstalk in the signal path by fully separating the left and right channels.
• Extensive jitter-eradication technologies are applied to the digital stage, including iFi s GMT (Global Master Timing) femto-precision clock and intelligent memory buffera total systematic digital solution that solves jitter once and for all.

TDK, muRata, and Panasonic Capacitors

• TDK C0G (Class 1 ceramic) capacitors offer high stability and low losses for resonant circuit applications.
• Getting ever closer to the theoretical ideal of pure, frequency-constant capacitance, these capacitors reduce capacitor-induced distortion to vanishingly low levels.
• Control-type, low-ESR, high-Q, multilayer capacitors from Murata are also employed. The ESR control aspect provides impressive noise suppression.
• Panasonic OS-CON caps totaling 5410uF give very-low equivalent series resistance (ESR), excellent noise reduction capability, and frequency response characteristics. In addition, OS-CONs have a long lifespan and its ESR changes little even at low temperatures since the electrolyte is solid.
• Tantalum capacitors are another example of the select components used in the GO bar. These polarized electrolytic capacitors have superior frequency and stability characteristics, giving them a super high volumetric efficiency.