This beautiful and capable pocket-sized DAC and headphone amp is the ideal way of getting audiophile music on the go. The iFi GO Bar is small but incredibly powerful, able to drive all types of headphones and IEMs.
The GO bar is not the first USB DAC/headphone amp with a compact size, but its specification is is pretty impressive. It’s capable of playing most hi-res audio formats and has sonic tuning facilities that iFi claims are second to none. Meanwhile, the iFi GO bar’s amplifier stage is the most powerful for its size.
The GO bar can also fully decode hi-res MQA files as used by Tidal. This means that the complete ‘three unfold’ decoding process is performed internally, as opposed to just the final unfold in the manner of an MQA ‘renderer’. This makes the GO bar a great choice for subscribers to Tidal’s ‘HiFi Plus’ tier where the Tidal Masters music can be found.Matthew Seed Photography
The amplifier design combines sonic purity with a lot of power. With an output of 550mW and 7.5V , iFi claims that no other headphone amp of such small size can match its impressive ability to drive the trickiest of headphones – that’s enough current drive for 16Ω headphones and sufficient voltage to drive 600Ω headphones.
With such a variety of digital streaming platforms, file types, headphones and earphones to choose from, not to mention music styles and recording qualities, the GO bar’s suite of sonic tuning options is useful for ensuring optimal sound and iFi claims it is unique in a DAC/headphone amp of this type and size.