Hear Detailed Hi-Fi Audio Wherever You May Roam: Stainless-Steel iFi GO bar Kensei DAC/Headphone Amplifier Drives Sensitive 'Phones and Decodes DSD256, 32-Bit PCM, and Full MQA

Experience your music in extraordinary fidelity wherever you may roam with the iFi GO bar Kensei. A combination DAC, preamplifier, and headphone amplifier, this compact device supports up to DSD256, 32-bit/384kHz PCM, and full MQA — making high-resolution a reality whether you’re listening at home or on the road. Housed in a Japanese stainless-steel case for superb rigidity and EMI shielding, GO bar Kensei touts two headphone outputs — 4.4mm balanced with symmetrical twin-mono output stag and 3.5mm S-balanced — as well as a USB-C input. Also onboard: JVC’s K2 HD Technology, which extends bits, expands bandwidths, and corrects waveforms to enhance every note you hear.

Measuring just 0.5 x 0.9 x 2.6 inches (HWD) and weighing a scant 2.3 ounces, GO bar Kensei nonetheless manages to contain an ultra-low jitter clock and an audiophile-minded power supply that makes its size-belying performance possible. Four digital filters plus iFi’s XBass+ and Space analog processing modes allow you to tailor everything to suit your ‘phones. Speaking of the latter, iEMatch and Turbo mode await to match with your sensitive or demanding ‘phones. An engraved wooden presentation box, Lightning-to-USB-C cable, USB-C OTG cable, USB-C adapter, and leather travel case come standard.

“Utilizing its USB-C connection for both power and hi-res file playback, iFi Audio’s stunning portable delivers a superb performance to headphones, whether IEMs or conventional over-ear designs, via its 3.5mm/4.4mm outputs. Key to this is the GO Bar’s high-quality hardware engineering, and the integration of JVCKenwood’s K2HD processing to revive the natural sound of digital recordings.”
—EISA Award, 2024-2025, Best Compact DAC