iFi Go bar / 10th Anniversary Limited Edition
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iFi Go Bar 10th Anniversary Review
Last year iFi released a new dongle called the Go Bar, and to celebrate their 10th anniversary announced a 1000-unit limited edition many of us have since dubbed the ‘Gold Bar’ for obvious reasons.
The regular Go Bar has a significant USD $329 pricetag, but this limited edition version increases that to USD $499, making it the most expensive USB-C dongle on the market I believe.
So what are the differences? The gold version features a gold plated solid-copper chassis that doubles the weight, but provides superior shielding that could result in better sound, and also boasts extra power supply filtering capacitors.
Does the Gold Bar’s performance match its’ extravagant appearance? Read on to find out.
Packaging
The USD $499 iFi Go Bar 10th Anniversary comes in a small cardboard box, and inside is a warranty card & instruction manual, USB-C to USB-C cable, USB-C to Lightning cable, USB-A to USB-C adapter, and finally a small leather travel pouch.
Sadly the leather pouch lacks cutouts for the output jacks & USB-C connector, so you can’t keep the 10th Anniversary inside it while it’s connected – making it a lot less useful, particularly since the 10th Anniversary’s mirror finish shows scratches easily.
Features & Ergonomics
The Go Bar 10th Anniversary uses an unnamed Cirrus Logic DAC to deliver a hefty 475mW of output power to its’ 4.4mm balanced jack. PCM files up to 384 kHz & DSD up to DSD256 are supported, but where the Go Bar really shines is in features: For starters there’s a built-in IEMatch switch which effectively lets you change the dongle’s sensitivity level to potentially pair better with some IEMs.
Then there’s 4 different digital filters & two analogue filters: XBass which is a bass boost, and XSpace which expands the soundstage. Finally there’s a Turbo mode that adds 6db of extra gain for harder to drive IEMs or headphones. The sample rate is also shown via series of LEDs.
Ergonomically, one glance at the 10th Anniversary tells you this is very different to every other dongle. The gorgeous gold finish is exclusive to the limited-edition model (the ordinary Go Bar is plain black) and it looks & feels incredible.
The downside is the weight – because the chassis is pure copper that’s gold plated, at a staggering 63.9 grams it’s twice as heavy as most dongles, though this heft creates a feeling of luxury in the hand.
Sound Performance
I tested the Go Bar with a USB-C iPhone 15 Pro & M1 Macbook Air, using Noble Audio Spartacus IEMs.The first thing you’ll notice is how high the 10th Anniversary’s noise floor is – loud enough you can hear the background hiss during quiet passages in music. Engaging the built-in IEMatch switch can alleviate this to some extent, but if you’d find it distracting I’d recommend a different dongle.
The good news is the 10th Anniversary’s presentation is somewhat unique among dongles. The tonality is very warm, with very elevated levels of bass and sub bass in particular. This is a very analogue sound, and treble is also somewhat muted to almost provide an R2R feeling of softer transients that are less likely to fatigue you during long listening sessions.
I would almost liken the 10th Anniversary tonality to one leaning towards vintage speaker systems, and genres like rock music tend to be especially well-suited to this kind of sound. Bass texture in particular is very impressive, though being slower and somewhat looser than other dongles this more organic sound comes at the expense of detail retrieval to a small degree.
However dynamics are impressive, and the soundstage is impressively wide though not quite excelling in depth to the same degree. If you’ve ever heard Sony’s WM1Z digital audio player you may notice similarities here, and I can’t help but wonder if the 10th Anniversary’s pure copper chassis may be partly responsible as the WM1Z is clad in copper too.
Dongle Comparisons
Luxury & Precision W4 (USD $449)
In many ways the W4 is the antithesis to the 10th Anniversary – prioritising technical performance over tonality. Tonally it delivers a very “hi-fi” flavour that feels more neutral, and even slightly clinical at times. Whereas the 10th Anniversary is considerably warmer and more bass-driven.
The W4 has a much quieter background, with higher resolution, better separation & cleaner imaging, and a wider & deeper soundstage.
Cayin RU7 (USD $289)
The RU7 is a lot closer to the 10th Anniversary tonally, in fact it’s even smoother with a significantly thicker, fuller midrange whereas the 10th Anniversary can feel more raw by comparison – though that suits certain genres better.
The RU7’s midrange resolution is particularly impressive, treble isn’t as dark though it isn’t quite as bright as the W4 either, and note weight is even more impressive on the RU7. These two dongles actually share a lot in common, feeling a lot closer to one another than the W4 does to the 10th Anniversary.
Penon Tail (USD $74)
The Tail has a lower noise floor than the 10th Anniversary, and also emphasises the upper midrange & treble more to help it sound more neutral.
However the 10th Anniversary has that warm analogue tonality some will prefer, along with greater bass quantity and a more prevalent sense of fullness, though the Tail’s soundstage may be a little wider but also slightly shallower. The 10th Anniversary is far more coloured, but also more musical and engaging.
Conclusion
The iFi Go Bar 10th Anniversary is somewhat unique among dongles, and I’m always more inclined to review products favourably that demonstrate uniqueness.
It looks & feels different to everything else out there, though its’ substantial weight does render it less practical for portable use. However it feels like a premium device bristling with features, and also happens to sound quite distinctive.
Sonically the Gold Bar is reminiscent of Sony’s famous WM1Z, with a warm bottom-end focused sound that’s pleasingly analogue in its’ timbre. Background noise is higher than that of its’ rivals, though that can be mitigated with the built-in IEMatch switch which effectively lowers the noise floor.
Cost & limited availability count against the 10th Anniversary, with its’ price creeping towards that of a decent DAP that’s likely to sound better. However if it’s definitely a dongle you need, the Gold Bar is absolutely worth demoing if you get the chance.
