Forged for masters of audio.
Like a true Kensei, this GO bar is a skilful master of power and performance. Adorned with K2HD Technology and crafted from Japanese stainless steel, the Kensei represents the pinnacle of our refinement in the GO bar range.
K2HD Processing restores rich, natural harmonics to lifeless digital recordings. Its advanced high-frequency extension revives overtones beyond 22kHz, delivering audio quality close to the original master. We worked with JVCKENWOOD for 18 months to develop this product and bring their renowned K2HD Technology back to the forefront.
XBass+® delivers a deep, tighter bass sound. XSpace is the iFi analogue signal improvement circuitry to get that ‘music’ back outside of your head for much better headphone enjoyment.
As with many other iFi audio products, we’ve incorporated a custom OV Series operational-amplifier. This top-notch component contributes to the extremely low noise, low distortion (0.0001%) and wide bandwidth.
iEMatch adjusts levels for sensitive in ear monitors, all while making sure the source impedance seen by the headphone is low and the load seen by the amplifier is within normal design parameters. This means that iEMatch effectively removes IEM hiss and noise, without altering the sound of your music.
Turbo Mode provides an extra +6dB of gain to optimally drive your power hungry headphones.
Whether you’re commuting, working remotely, or traveling for pleasure, the GO bar Kensei offers a perfectly portable solution to elevate your headphone experience to heavenly heights. Kensei is a Japanese term that translates to “Sword Saint” in English, a title granted to the elite few who elevate the craft and artistry of swordsmanship beyond even that of the finest swordmasters.
Listen your way with four bespoke digital filters and two analogue processing modes, each designed to enhance different music genres. Bit-Perfect delivers natural tones, making it ideal for all genres. GTO enhances sound details and density, particularly suited for vocal tracks. Minimum Phase produces a warmer sound, blending the characteristics of Bit-Perfect and Standard, making it perfect for soul and jazz. Standard offers a tighter sound with controlled highs, ideal for pop music and movie OST. XBass+ boosts bass, while XSpace creates a spacious soundstage.
The GO Bar Kensei, crafted with Japanese stainless steel, offers maximum rigidity in a compact size (65 x 22 x 13.2 mm), similar to a USB flash drive. It’s the perfect travel companion for mobile, tablet, or MacBook Pro users. With USB-C connectivity for plug-and-play convenience, it delivers up to 477mW output power—10 times more than an iPhone 15. It features iEMatch for high-sensitivity IEMs and Turbo mode for power-hungry headphones, effortlessly driving a wide range of premium earphones and headphones.
Compared to iPhone’s USB-C to 3.5mm Adapter.
Connect to the GO bar Kensei via 3.5mm S-Balanced or 4.4mm Balanced headphone outputs.
iFi’s exclusive 3.5mm S-Balanced* technology cuts crosstalk and noise by 50% with regular single-ended headphones.
The GO bar Kensei’s DAC section features a 16-core XMOS microcontroller programmed by us to optimise sound quality and perfectly complement the 32-bit Cirrus Logic DAC chipset. A customised digital filter reduces pre-echoes and ringing, while the GMT (Global Master Timing) precision clock system ensures ultra-low jitter. It supports high-resolution audio formats: PCM up to 32-bit/384kHz, Native DSD256, 2x DXD, and full MQA decoding.
The GO Bar Kensei is designed to drive the biggest, thirstiest headphones on the market while also having the delicate touch necessary to power the most sensitive of IEMs. iEMatch fine-tunes the output level and removes potential background noise to ensure sensitive IEMs and headphones are perfectly paired with the Kensei.
Digital recordings can feel emotionally flat despite their clarity. Engineers at Victor Studio observed this gap between their original masters and digital sub-masters, prompting a quest for a solution. Through meticulous comparisons and human expertise, they developed K2 Technology. K2 Technology revives rich, natural harmonics in digital sound, adding an organic quality that breathes life into recordings. "The new K2 parameter values, selected by JVCKENWOOD and Victor Studio engineers, deliver the purest K2 effect, revealing the ideal 'K2 sound,'" said JVCKENWOOD.
At one end of the GO Bar Kensei is a USB-C input to connect your smartphone, tablet or laptop for a supercharged sound experience while at the other, a balanced 4.4mm output allows headphones equipped with a balanced cable to make the most of the GO Bar Kensei’s balanced audio circuitry.
The other output is a 3.5mm output channelling iFi’s ‘S Balanced’ technology, which cuts noise and crosstalk by 50% with regular single-ended headphone connectors.
The GO Bar Kensei comes with optimised internal circuitry to deliver next-level audio to impress even the pickiest of audio connoisseurs.
| DAC | Bit-Perfect DSD & DXD DAC by Cirrus Logic | |
| DIMENSIONS | 65 x 22 x 13.2 mm | |
| DNR | 108dB(A) / 109dB(A) (BAL/S-BAL) | |
| FORMATS SUPPORTED | PCM: 44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192/352.8/384kHz DSD: 2.8/3.1/5.6/6.1/11.3/12.3MHz DXD: 352.8/384kHz MQA: Full Decoder | |
| FREQUENCY RESPONSE | 20Hz - 70kHz (-3dB) | |
| Output Impedance | <1Ω (BAL/UnBAL)* | |
| SNR | 132dBA / 108dBA (BAL/UnBAL) | |
| THD+N | Balanced UnBAL | <0.002% (6.5mW/2.0V @ 600Ω) <0.09% (100mW/1.27V @ 16Ω) |
| Frequency response | 20Hz - 45kHz (-3dB) | |
| Power consumption | <4W max | |
| Dimensions | 65 x 22 x 13.2 mm | |
| Weight | 28.5g |