[icestrok]

It is really unfortunate as well as mysterious for iPhone 13 and probably 12 too, Don't own any of those but I tested with iPhone SE (2020) and Go Bar works fine without any problem. Even connect with Hiby R2 a tiny DAP with a tiny battery and Go Bar works like charm.

IMHO, PAW S2 is not worth it in front of Go Bar if you look at the power figure, features, and the Price difference @ HPZ India.

HPZ is exactly where I’m looking at , they have go bar and ru 6 around the same price and s2 about 4k cheaper, that difference is nullified because I’ll have to get the cables as well.
It’s good to know it works with an SE, this means at the worst I could probably get it to with with 12 mini. The pro models are out of the question at this point I guess, must be some apple mumbo jumbo with their walled garden. I’m too invested in that ecosystem for an easy way out. I’ll probably end up getting the go bar.

 

[skeeb23]

I just finished up my review of the Go Bar!

I'm really digging on the ifi gear. Not too into the whole MQA thing, but there is plenty of other things going on in this device to like!
This also makes me want to get into some more sensitive IEM's to test things out further.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

I just got my iFi Go Bar the other day and it sounds amazing. I just have the problem that if I use the thing on my iPhone, the connection just randomly drops after anywhere between 2 to 30 minutes of listening.

When I am using the included Lightning cable or the FiiO LT-LT1 I had lying around, when the connection drops, the phone continues music playback and still recognises the Go Bar that is plugged in, there is just no sound. I get the sound back if I reconnect the device or select another song on Apple Music that has a different samplerate (i.e. going from 44.1kHz to 96kHz).

When I am using the included USB C to USB A Cable with the Apple Camera Connection Kit, it exhibits the same behaviour, just whenever the connection drops, I get the popup that the accessory draws too much power. When using this connection method I sometimes get that message when I plug the device in which is usually fixed by reconnecting it.

Could this be related to the issues others reported that are caused by some capacitance tolerances on some of the caps?

Hi - open up a support ticket with us about this, and our team will be able to advise you better: https://support.ifi-audio.com/

Your unit is not a Gold bar, correct?

Hi, long time lurker here. Im hoping to get into your world at some level. I thought about buying a dap but decided against it. Always have to carry two phones with me (for work), so I can’t imagine a dap as well.

So I was looking at portable dac’s. I narrowed it down to lotoo paw s2 and Ifi go bar (not the gold one). The s2 is marginally cheaper here (India).

Now my fear with both is, looking at the comments here, they have issues with iPhones. I have 13 pro max as a daily driver and 12 mini for work/backup. This kinda has me freaking out. We also have dragonfly cobalt/red here, ru6, the other ifi products, fiio q3, moonriver etc. I’m a bit lost in this world, I heard some flac from a friend , and I was just blown away.

I’m also looking for IEM’s, and I’m sorry, I do struggle a bit to identify what IEM can be driven by what dac on my iPhone 13 pro max.
So far I’ve shortlisted 3, fiio fa9, mext mk2, ca andromeda.
If someone could help me make a choice, that would help a lot.
I’ll be reposting this on the s2 thread, I hope it’s not breaking any rules , if it is, please do remove the duplicate one.

The iPhone issues are not widespread in comparison to the ownership base of the Go Bar.

Bar. From personal experience, I have a 13 Pro Max and have had zero issues with my unit, which is the same as everyone else gets.

Keep in mind a couple of things I noticed to help you along with your learning curve:

1. When you're just starting, I would not stress about DACs. A DAC's implementation is more important than the chip itself.
2. A DAC is not responsible for the "drive" on an IEM or headphones. It's the amplifier. A DAC is only responsible for translating the 0s and 1s to what first part of what you hear.
3. Any of those IEMs will do fine with your iPhone. See what sound signature you like best while just enjoying them with you're phone starting out, and then get a DAC/AMP in the future to start seeing how things scale.
4. Do not worry about balanced vs single-ended stuff when you are a beginner.
5. I encourage you to try a few things out if you have a HiFi store near you - it takes some time to identify your preferred sound signature.

I just finished up my review of the Go Bar!

I'm really digging on the ifi gear. Not too into the whole MQA thing, but there is plenty of other things going on in this device to like!
This also makes me want to get into some more sensitive IEM's to test things out further.

Thanks so much! Great review!

 

[skeeb23]

I just got my iFi Go Bar the other day and it sounds amazing. I just have the problem that if I use the thing on my iPhone, the connection just randomly drops after anywhere between 2 to 30 minutes of listening.

When I am using the included Lightning cable or the FiiO LT-LT1 I had lying around, when the connection drops, the phone continues music playback and still recognises the Go Bar that is plugged in, there is just no sound. I get the sound back if I reconnect the device or select another song on Apple Music that has a different samplerate (i.e. going from 44.1kHz to 96kHz).

When I am using the included USB C to USB A Cable with the Apple Camera Connection Kit, it exhibits the same behaviour, just whenever the connection drops, I get the popup that the accessory draws too much power. When using this connection method I sometimes get that message when I plug the device in which is usually fixed by reconnecting it.

Could this be related to the issues others reported that are caused by some capacitance tolerances on some of the caps?

I want to add also, what streaming service are you using? In my review and testing time I had this issue with Tidal only. I only noticed this though when I was switching from a different service to Tidal.
With Amazon music, I didn't have that problem. I'm trying to find out myself if this is possibly a software bug or just bad luck.

 

[Yashin]

Hi - open up a support ticket with us about this, and our team will be able to advise you better: https://support.ifi-audio.com/

Your unit is not a Gold bar, correct?

I already opened up up a ticket and I was just told to return it to the original seller after confirming it still does not work on current firmware. Support wasn't quite what I had hoped for, but don't want to derail this thread.

However I don't think I will get another one, as I don't wanna risk getting a dud again, after getting two different portable dac/amps beforehand and both of them failing on me. I will probably go to a local HiFi Store which won't take quite as long to do something about dud units, I am kinda done ordering these devices online with long waiting times to get refunds or replacement units.

 

[Yashin]

I want to add also, what streaming service are you using? In my review and testing time I had this issue with Tidal only. I only noticed this though when I was switching from a different service to Tidal.
With Amazon music, I didn't have that problem. I'm trying to find out myself if this is possibly a software bug or just bad luck.

I was using Apple Music and Youtube. Both of them exhibit the same behaviour of the connection re-establishing when switching sample rates. Works consistently, also while switching between apps. I.e. listening to 96kHz music in Apple Music when the playback stops and then switching to a youtube video which is playing back at probably 44.1 or 48kHz and vice versa. Also the fact that with the official Camera Connection Kit it tells me about the power draw, it seems like it is not a bug specific to an app.

 

[ashleydoormat]

Hi all, I just got my Go Bar gold and am wondering what's the default volume when I plug in to a new device? I don't like the fact that I cannot see the current volume on the device and don't want to be surprised by a full blast volume whenever I plug in to another device.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Hi all, I just got my Go Bar gold and am wondering what's the default volume when I plug in to a new device? I don't like the fact that I cannot see the current volume on the device and don't want to be surprised by a full blast volume whenever I plug in to another device.

The Go Bar automatically sets it on a low volume.

 

[laleeee]

Today i received too

 

[laleeee]

Why don't working the volume control in the USB Audioplayer Pro ? It's a little bit annoying

 

[ashleydoormat]

The Go Bar automatically sets it on a low volume.

Thanks for getting back to me. I noticed that when I plugged in to my macbook pro and my android tablet. I've now turned on the turbo mode to drive my Final E5000 with delicious bass and dynamic using the 4.4mm output. It's a really nice little gold 'nugget' I would say. Not really a gold 'bar' imho haha.

 

[archigius]

Hi guys, has anyone compared the Go Bar and the Xduoo link2 bal?
I own the latter and although I find pretty decent, it lacks dynamics compared to my Fiio M11. In order to check if the problem was the output power, I plugged the Xduoo into my Fiio A5 and dynamics were back. The timbre was still very slightly aggressive on top for my taste (I think it the M11 has a lovely AKM DAC), but overall it was a great improvement. So I suspect that the much powerful Go Bar could have the dynamics I'm missing with the Xduoo.
Any opinion would be appreciated.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Thanks for getting back to me. I noticed that when I plugged in to my macbook pro and my android tablet. I've now turned on the turbo mode to drive my Final E5000 with delicious bass and dynamic using the 4.4mm output. It's a really nice little gold 'nugget' I would say. Not really a gold 'bar' imho haha.

Glad you love it! Enjoy!

 

[sahmen]

So for someone who owns a Cayun RU6, what might be the draw or the appeal of the Ifi Gold Bar?

 

[ekjellgren]

How much better is the gold version?