• 1 Post
  • 11 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
cake
Cake day: November 10th, 2023

help-circle
  • Its the analog output stage, not the chip that is in it that makes the difference. The engineering that goes into the analog output and the signal path after the chip in the analog stage will make two DACs that have exactly the same chip sound different from one another!

    This is apparent on iFi products, like the Gryphon and the Diablo. They both use a Burr Brown chipset, yet they sound different, with the Diablo having wider and deeper soundstage, better bass extension with cleaner notes, not to mention higher output power and a blacker background with sensitive headphones. Measures better too, with higher dynamic range, THD/N and SNR, leading to cleaner sound with larger differences between the softest and loudest notes.

    The power supply is important too, this determines the noise floor of the DAC, and a lot more. The power supply filtering and the quality of components used there is another factor separating the cheap from the more expensive DACs, but I think its secondary to the engineering that goes into the analog output and how the chip is incorporated into the analog stage.


  • I’m posting this part of my reply for others as well, since I don’t want others to think the Go Bar is unusable with sensitive headphones! It is usable, as my experience shows:

    I have tried the IEMMatch feature, and it works well actually. if I set it to 3.5, it lowers it enough that I can still hear the hiss, but at the 4.4 setting I can only hear the hiss if I really listen for it. Unfortunately, it steals a little bit from the low end and bass, which is weird… It certainty doesn’t affect the quality of the sound at all, its just the Andromeda headphones, they are known to have a change in frequency response based on output impedance of the source. I’ve long heard this with my ears, and then I later saw a graph on Crinacle in their IEM frequency response database for Andromeda 2020’s (the model I have) where they measured with a standalone IEMMatch, and indeed there is more bass roll-off… These headphones are picky!

    The Andromeda’s like more power than you would think… They sing when given some good juice! Also, the features like the filter settings and the X Bass and X Space are amazing to have. Buying the DDHifi TC09S Nyx USB C to C cable really did help too, so for others this is actually a solution. You will still hear a hiss between songs, but during music playing it will be absent, it is so low you won’t hear it in quiet passages. I would say that this is a great pairing because the quality of the Gold Bar is amazing, and the Go Bar isn’t supposed to be *that* far behind, and the Andromeda’s can take advantage of that quality. The soundstage is so vast, that when watching movies you can hear as though you are listening to a surround sound system. When listening to music the sounds come from behind you, in front of you, to your sides, all around! You can hear every last detail too, things I’ve never heard before in music I’ve been listening to all my life!

    I have been planning on buying custom Campfire Supermoon’s sometime too, and those are quite insensitive planar IEMs (15.5 Ohms, 94 dB @ 1 kHz: 54 mVrms). The Gold Bar should be a decent pairing with those beasts, I hope!

    I know that its almost impossible, or it may actually be impossible to design a headphone amplifier with both high output power and a low noise floor for super sensitive headphones! It really is one or the other, either you design an amplifier for sensitive headphones that has lower output power, or you design a powerful amp and it will have a higher noise floor. Personally, I bough the Gold Bar for its quality, which is unsurpassed by cheaper, less powerful amps with a lower noise floor, so I’m OK with the hiss, especially since I’ve found a way to make it better with a better USB cable! Also, I am thinking of buying an iDefender and trying an external power source for the DAC to give it clean power when its hooked into my laptop. that should also help!


  • Hey, thanks for the comment! I am enjoying the device greatly! Its a critical part of my standard audio stack whether I’m listening on my laptop or my smartphone. DDHifi TC09S USB cable -> iFi Gold Bar -> ALO/Campfire Audio SXC8 4.4mm MMCX cable -> Campfire Andromeda. All I might change is an upgrade to custom Campfire Supermoon’s for much better fit and a different sound with a deeper, more present low end. Though there will be no change in DAC!

    I was toying with the idea of selling the Gold Bar and buying a Mojo 2, but after reading and watching some opinions, I can see that when placed against the Gold Bar (not the Go Bar), some prefer the Mojo 2, but more seem to prefer the Gold Bar, even preferring it to $2000 DAPs! Hearing all that, and knowing if I sold it that there would be absolutely 0 chance of ever replacing it I’d be a fool to get rid of such a unique and wonderful device!

    Noise floor aside its perfect. And the noise floor I’ve found a way to minimize with the USB cable I’m using. I know almost everyone says USB cables can’t make any difference unless they are defective, and I would have agreed in the past, but I believe in the scientific method, and testing out a hypothesis with an experiment and then trusting experimental evidence. It may not make a difference you can hear on other DACs, but on the Gold Bar it does.

    Thanks for passing on this info to your development team! I have previously reported this to you via support, but I’m really glad your active in the community on these forums and others. It shows a unique care and interaction with your customers, and that right there makes me more of a fan of your products! Thanks for making good stuff with excellent support, and taking care of your customers!


  • Air Motion Tweeters are excellent! I only have Kanto TUKs currently, they are not the most expensive speakers, but for my small space they are the perfect active speakers. They have AMT tweeters and the well extended treble is excellent! Female vocals, strings, horns, all cone through with a little extra something. They can move so much air that some people complain that they are too hot, but for me they are perfect, and they might be the ticket for you too!







  • If you can force yourself to yawn 10 times, then it will not only open your sinuses, but it will completely change your mental state and break you out of any negative loop you may be in! I read a research paper on it once, but I’ll be damned if I can find it…

    Its hard for the first 2-3 times, then becomes easy! Give it a try, changing your mental state will totally make your tunes sound better!



  • An Apple dongle DAC will never be able to properly render Tidal at MAX quality (24bit 192khz) with justice! I know people sing the praises of the Apple dongle, but I’ve personality A/B tested it using 7hz Timeless IEMs and Campfire Andromeda IEMs (so high end gear, high end enough you can easily hear the differences between DACs).

    The test was between the Apple dongle, the Belkin Rockstar+Charge dongle ($30) the KOKKIA USB C to 3.5mm DAC ($25), the Luxury and Precision W2 ($300) and the iFi Gold Bar (only 1000 ever made, hard to price, but upgraded Go Bar, $400)

    Easy to hear the difference between the DACs! The Apple dongle sucks! Sorry, no other way to put this… The clear winner between the cheaper DACs was the Belkin Rockstar+Charge dongle, by far! It has been my solid recommendation for a long time now to anyone contemplating or who has an Apple dongle to upgrade to the Rockstar from Amazon immediately for a 100% improvement in sound quality (at least)!

    Out of all of them, the Gold Bar took the cake easily, though no surprise there with it’s upgraded internals and gold RF shielding. Otherwise I usually recommend the Luxury and Precision W2. Its a real champ for the price and most don’t need more. Still a dongle though.

    Since then I’ve gotten an iFi XDSD Gryphon, and THAT is the winner, and what I use for my desktop setup! Its Bluetooth as well, with a Burr Brown chipset, so an amazing sound, and you can stream LDAC if you so choose. Or use SPDIF, or have true line-out!