[maegnificant]

I would hope it’s not the case… and that everyone has learned their lesson from the travails that MQA has experienced…. From the limited reading I had done it seemed that they were looking to restore the richness to the sound in the playback, not at the encoding time, which is very different than MQA.

Oh yeah, but idk how this would even work. It reminds me of Sonys DSEE. No idea, just seems weird, the whole explanation page of K2HD.

 

[BS5711]

It reads like they somehow fabricate removed data above 20khz and add that to the end of the rest of the data.

How you create it from nothing with no way to know what was there is a mystery to me.

Does that matter when it is above the audible range which tops out at 20khz which is the reason the data is not there in the first place.

https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/k2technology/e/k2hd/index.html

 

[jsmiller58]

Sorry if this has previously been posted… In case this is useful for anyone, a quick how to video on the Kensei

 

[Billyak]

It reads like they somehow fabricate removed data above 20khz and add that to the end of the rest of the data.

How you create it from nothing with no way to know what was there is a mystery to me.

Does that matter when it is above the audible range which tops out at 20khz which is the reason the data is not there in the first place.

https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/k2technology/e/k2hd/index.html

That's what I could not understand. If it is part of the recording process to record from tape that is one thing. But to then magically reintroduce material that was taken away in the 16bit 44.1 conversion is another.

 

[iFi audio]

You can get more information here, but I am pretty sure the K2 HD tech was around before MQA, but that's another subject!

https://www.jvckenwood.com/en/technology/k2.html

Cheers!!

 

[wolfen68]

Being a Go Bar fan, I watch this product with interest and have two questions:

1. I get the impression this is an ongoing SKU and not a limited-edition release like the Gold Bar?

2. I look forward to impressions comparing the Kensei and Gold Bar!

 

[iscorpio71]

Looks great

But, after the Ifi Diablo misleading campaign... I don't trust the brand besides being way overpriced.

 

[iFi audio]

Just a note for Folks who are already in possession or have ordered your GO Bar Kensei.

Please take a moment and visit our download hub and then install the latest firmware version 1.05 as soon as possible. This firmware was released concurrent to the launch of the GO Bar Kensei and should be installed for the best K2 HD experience.

Simply click here and enter your information!

https://ifi-audio.com/support/download-hub/

Cheers!!

Bubba

 

[Digital Enigma]

The k2HD technology seems to be extremely niche.

ifi loves to over do the marketing so it could just be another addition to the spec list.

 

[OhmsClaw]

So the K2HD processing is a setting like XBass that can be turned on or off on device? Or am I misunderstanding what it is?

It looks like hardware upsampling with interpolation DSP. It's making more educated guesses for the instantaneous voltages of the PCM signal and forces all inputs to 352.8/384Khz

 

[Redcarmoose]

One board is the original GO bar and one is the GO bar Kensei. Can you tell the difference?

 

[easylive]

One board is the original GO bar and one is the GO bar Kensei. Can you tell the difference?

Yeah, there are not much changes, except the obvious 2caps more.. So only the K2HD added...

 

[Ichos]

Yeah, there are not much changes, except the obvious 2caps more.. So only the K2HD added...

And two clocks

 

[Redcarmoose]

Yeah, there are not much changes, except the obvious 2caps more.. So only the K2HD added...

Well, product encasement is a wild thing. Meaning there have been times when just changing the outer material affects the tone dramatically. Where the gold platted GO bar was made of copper (I have never heard it) but it was reported to sound different, and different in a good way. This stainless could very well add a different tone to the signal with the other improvements of power supply and clocking. The material adds isolation from waves passing through the device, but also different materials resonate at different frequencies. As such the aluminum frame of the Walkman 1A has one sound, a cleaner faster sound. The 1A also has a different brand of capacitors from the past flagship WM1Z.

But folks have tried to get the two (1A/1Z) to perform close to the same (with the same firmware) and there is always this distance. The 1Z is copper and gold platted too. Normally these copper or stainless steel materials will will imbue a blacker background offering more contrasts in the end.

 

[ClieOS]

Well, product encasement is a wild thing. Meaning there have been times when just changing the outer material affects the tone dramatically. Where the gold platted GO bar was made of copper (I have never heard it) but it was reported to sound different, and different in a good way...

If your are referring to GOld Bar, it does have 4 of those electrolytic caps instead of just 1 in regular GO bar or 3 in this new GB Kensei. Pretty sure those make more difference in sound than copper vs aluminum housing.

In another note, I'll more interested if there is a way to disable K2HD.