Another thing is power. GO Bar is more powerful on high and medium impedance loads, 9038SG3 wins big on loads from 20Ω down. In more practical words, GO Bar’s edge on mid/high impedance drivers proves useless (9038SG3’s power is enough for most drivers, and for those where it is not, GO Bar’s higher power is not enough either), while 9038SG3’s higher power on low and superlow impedance drivers allows translates in E1DA’s dongle being much more agile in driving certain “difficult” IEMs then GO Bar is.

The Dethonray Pegasus SG1 is unlike any other portable DAC/amp out there. Forgoing USB connectivity entirely, the SG1 is designed from the ground up to be Bluetooth only. Supporting the highest quality aptX HD and LDAC Bluetooth codecs, the SG1 brings the best wireless features to any pair of headphones. all are DACS, Amps, and preamps, meaning you can connect any of them to some active speakers like the Presonus Eris e3.5 via RCA to 3.5mm. Thanks for the comment. Hmmm... Wondering what the measurement equipment was for that graph and what signal level was being played? Is there a post referencing the graph about test conditions?There’s literally nothing about this DAC that justifies its price tag – in terms of sound or otherwise. Closing Thoughts The Go bar’s volume control works independently of its connected device, which is a pretty nice feature. The volume control is also quiet and precise, making it a pleasure to use. Conversely, you can also sync volume between the DAC and the connected device. At one end of the GO bar is an asynchronous USB-C input. At the other resides two headphone outputs: a fully balanced 4.4mm output enabling headphones equipped with a balanced connector to make the most of the GO bar’s balanced audio circuitry, and a 3.5mm ‘S-Balanced’ output which cuts noise and cross-talk by 50% with SE headphone connectors. Both outputs are gold-plated for quality and longevity. It’s specified capacitors from (among others) Panasonic and TDK. It’s significantly fettled the XMOS 16-core processor that first takes delivery of digital audio information via the USB-C input. It’s specified a hugely capable 32-bit Cirrus Logic DAC chipset.

GO Bar is superbly designed, solid, and – last in the list, but of course first for importance – sounds very well. My main application for XSpace are those original jazz masters from the 60ies where mixing tended to be executed by hard panning each instrument on a single channel only: crossfeed is almost magical in those cases.

The Bottom Line

Firstly, all of these DACS are Amp/DAC combos, meaning they share a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) AND an amplifier. the more DACS I demo (65+ at this point), the more I’m starting to really believe that there are almost no differences between them (at least not any that you can actually hear). To celebrate its 10th anniversary, iFi created an eye-catching special edition of the GO bar. Limited to 1000 pieces, the Anniversary Edition - or ‘GOld bar’ – replaces the standard version’s alloy enclosure with a copper chassis, further enhancing build quality and shielding, and smothers it in an 18ct gold plate. Power supply filtering is also further enhanced, ensuring the Anniversary Edition is truly the ‘gold standard’ among ultra-portable USB DAC amps.

Lastly, and definitely most brief, I did not hate the UA5. It has the most obvious digital sound of all the dongles, that Sabre sharp, accuracy at all costs, antiseptic sound. To be blunt, it’s not for me! However, I think it is an okay implementation. I watched a few movie trailers and had no problems. When I switched to something with an analog foundation - like basically any music, it left me digitally cold. It was a constant reminder that this is not real music, I had no desire to dig any deeper to listen. However, I did not hear any analog anomalies. It delivers circa half Watt into a 32Ω driver, which is really a lot in a sense, indeed overkill for most DD, BA or other technology IEMS out there, yet (!…) not enough for higher demanding planars, which require even more current and/or they require it at lower load impedance values.This one is slightly softer and not quite as controlled on the low end nor as sharp and detailed as the Gold Bar. Lows are certainly a bit more overpowering. You can tell this one is slightly more congested than the Gold Bar as well and even more U-shaped than the Gold Bar.

So is the iFi Go bar the new premium ultra-portable DAC/amp to beat? Well, read on, and I’ll let you know the scoop!Disclaimer: The iFi GO bar was sent to us by iFi Audio in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. The company gave no input regarding the content included in this evaluation. iFi Audio is a sponsor of Hifitrends. Build/Features GO Bar also has a +6dB High Gain mode. Unlike what happens e.g. on the GO Blu where gain selection follows an automatic system, on GO Bar it’s the user who has to manually set the device on High or Low Gain mode. The overall sound signature is very smooth, focusing on warmth and immersion at the expense of complete clarity and neutrality.