You can always trust iMore. Our team of Apple experts has years of experience testing all types of technology and gadgets, so you can rest assured that our recommendations and critiques are accurate and helpful. Learn more about how we test. “Kensei” is a Japanese honorary title given to swordsmen of legendary skill. The word translates to “Holy Sword” and it is the relentless pursuit of being the best that iFi has translated into the masterfully crafted product that is the iFi Kensei. This is truly an audiophile’s tool, so without going into too much detail, this review will delve into more technical information than usual, while trying to keep it accessible. Bar iFi GO Kensei: price and availability (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) The iFi GO Kensei panel can be purchased from ifi-audio.com, Amazon and other online retailers such as Sweetwater for $449. Unlike the iFi Gold Bar, this is not a limited edition and will be around for a while, according to comments from an iFi representative on the iFi-sponsored HiFi User Forum. iFi GO Kensei Panel: Assemble and Install (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) Unboxing the Kensei is an experience. It is housed in a beautiful, eco-friendly, carved wooden box. You get two premium braided cables (USB-C, USB-C to Lightning with USB-A adapter) and a leather case. About the size of a USB stick, the GO Kensei’s panel is made from Japanese stainless steel and is deceptively heavy for its size. Its casing has beveled edges and looks great from all angles, although it attracts fingerprints like a magnet. The underside of the panel is beautifully engraved with the branding, but it’s on the front where it gets exciting. Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) On the front side you will find a panel with LEDs that indicate the volume level, audio format, frequency and sound effects. On the right side you will find the volume and settings buttons, as well as the IEMatch switch. The top of the device houses 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone outputs, while the bottom features a USB-C input that supports audio up to 32-bit/384kHz. The Go Bar Kensei does get a little warm during use, but it’s not uncomfortable. Although stainless steel is dense and has a good weight, it is a little soft when worn externally and will develop scratches and scuffs. iFi GO bar Kensei: Features (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) The GO Kensei panel uses a 32-bit Cirrus Logic DAC chipset with support for Hi-Res True Native® playback of music formats from MP3 to DSD256, PCM384 and DXD384. You also get full MQA decoding. The Kensei is full of high quality capacitors that provide a clean signal, reduce potential distortion, and have excellent noise reduction capabilities. You can read more about them here. iMore offers accurate advice and guidance from our team of experts backed by years of experience working with Apple devices. Find out more with iMore! The stars of the show are the four digital filters and two analogue modes. Modes and corresponding LEDs: Bit-Perfect (blue) I ran this with Sennheiser IE900 headphones and the sound was bright, sibilant-free and transparent. It gives you high definition or lossless audio as intended. Standard (red) had a “smooth” feel, with vocal warmth instead of brightness. The minimum phase (yellow) is warmer but has tight bass. If you are a basshead, this filter is for you. Use it with the XBass filter enabled and the K2HD filter activated and you’ll get amazing bass without losing midrange or vocal clarity. Gibbs Transient-Optimized (White) upsamples your audio to 352/384 kHz. Overall I would describe him as “energetic.” You will feel it across the entire frequency range. (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) The Kensei goes a long way to ensure that any headphones or IEMs you plug in are handled well with an IEMatch switch that reduces the output power for high-sensitivity IEMs like the Campfire Audio Mammoths I played with, and their Turbo mode that does the opposite and increases the gain by 6dB to drive power-hungry headphones like the HiFiMan Planar magnets I used. That’s not to say the Kensei doesn’t have enough power to handle what you give it: 477mW or 7.2V on the 4.4mm output and 300mW or 8V on the 3.5 S-balanced output. In terms of volume output, you can control the source audio from the Kensei in sync with the source device, or bypass the source device’s audio controls altogether. The downside to all this amazing power unleashed on your ears is that you’ll experience a fair bit of battery drain on your phones and tablets, since that’s what powers the Kensei via the USB-C port. Your laptops won’t be as noticeable since they have larger batteries and you can easily charge them while you listen, but that expense is there. There is no internal battery here, like in the iFi GO blu. iFi GO Kensei Panel: Sound Quality (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) “Sword Saint” produces a sound that is, in a word, “ethereal” yet rich. It’s all there. Sound quality from the 3.5mm and 4.4mm ports is simple, with great musicality. This transparent DAC/amplifier allows you to enjoy every nuance of the stereo image. Pair the Kensei with analytical headphones or IEMs and it’s like turning on a spotlight in a large space previously lit by a small 40-watt bulb. This is exactly what I experienced when I connected the Sennheieser IE900 headphones to the 4.4mm balanced output with a perfect digital filter. Listening to “The Violin Duel” from the Chevalier soundtrack was enlightening. You could hear artifacts and nuances that I had previously missed. Tension of the bow along the violin strings. The attack on the chord changes, whereas before I only really heard the attack in different parts. Same with Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” where the banjos and guitars still layered in the back were richly detailed. (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) When it comes to bass and sub-bass, the transparency really shows how the track was designed. The IE900 isn’t a bass-heavy headphone, but its 7mm dynamic drivers can energetically produce deep, dark bass with the help of PEQ or a digital filter setting, as was the case with iFi’s XBass activated filter. Skrillex’s “Mumbai Power” and “Start A Riot” from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack simultaneously growled and rumbled with such force and aggression that it made me make a “stinky face” while bobbing my head to that nasty bass and sub-bass. This led me down a rabbit hole where I sampled a dozen or so hip-hop tracks using this IEM/DAC filter combination. The important thing here is that the digital filters I mentioned in the features section can improve the sound of your music depending on what IEM or headphones you connect to the Kensei. For example, I used the $120 1MORE Penta Driver IEMs, which don’t have nearly the same level of transparency as the IE900, but with the K2HD, XBass, and XSpace filters activated, they open up and give a listening experience a little more than what their default setting offers. iFi GO bar Kensei: Competitions (Image credit: Fiio Audio) The GO Kensei Bar is unique in that it looks more like a collector’s edition DAC with an ornate box, accessories, and shape and finish. However, there are competitors at this price point with different feature offerings. Fiio makes great products, and the Q15 may be better suited for some people as it has a built-in IPS display and Bluetooth SoC, giving you access to high-resolution wireless audio. There is also the iBasso DC-Elite, which I tried unsuccessfully to get my hands on for a separate review. It has a feature set that is very similar to the Kensei and an attractive design. On paper it looks like a worthy competitor and is generally seen as a solid piece of kit. iFi GO bar Kensei: Is it worth buying? (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) You should buy the iFi GO bar Kensei if… You don’t need Bluetooth Do you like DACs with transparent sound? You don’t need PEQ You shouldn’t buy iFi GO bar Kensei if… Price is a concern Do you need bluetooth Do you want PEQ (Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong) The GO Kensie bar is clear but not harsh or too smooth. It pairs perfectly with music headphones, its digital filters give you more options when connecting it to a variety of headphones or IEMs, and its XBass Plus and XSpace analog processing modes breathe new life into the bass and sub-bass of open-back headphones. All while efficiently managing everything I put into it, even though it comes at the expense of your mobile audio source’s battery life. This DAC/amplifier will be expensive for the average music consumer. For audio enthusiasts, it’s feature rich and built like a tank, so it should give you years of listening pleasure on the go. Amazing sound and features! With its transparency, ability to enhance bass enjoyment, and balanced output, the GO bar Kensei is one of the best mobile DACs you can buy! Post navigation Navigating non-binary fashion in a binary world And one more thing… Goodbye iMore.