More to that, when we use both the GTO and the K2HD:
“The GTO filter will upsample to 192kHz as opposed to 384kHz; this is because K2HD works up to 192kHz. K2HD will then handle waveform revision processing after the GTO filter has up-sampled and changed IR characteristics.”
In the sentence quoted above lies probably the most important information regarding the whole K2HD process – please notice the “waveform revision” phrase. It means that the K2HD actually alters the signal using a set of parameters that have been somehow predefined:
“The K2 parameters within the Kensei are specific to the unit, and have never been used before. As JVCKENWOOD’s have stated, this gives the Kensei the „original ideal „K2 sound.””. If you wish to complete an A/B comparison to hear difference that K2HD makes without any other digital filtering, we recommend trying the Bit-Perfect option on the Kensei, as this is a NOS filter.”
This is where I need to chime in and comment in a bit more elaborate than usual way. First thing that needs to be addressed here is that the fact that the K2HD operates on the waveform (or, to put it bluntly, changes it) should not be seen as something in any way detrimental here as it might appear to some purists. And also, should be understood in the bigger scheme of things. For example – there’s a big uproar against digital filters nowadays without even understanding what they actually do. And before anyone starts that “filterless” or “signal purity” or any other “as-short-as-possible-signal-path” crusade let me just give you one example of how things really are. And why – at the end of the day – it really doesn’t matter that much.
When you listen to your favourite vocalist voice reproduced by your audiophile equipment consider this: that signal representing human voice has been altered, changed, filtered or pick-your-least-favourite-term-here at least dozen times. First in the microphone, which itself acts as a filter, then at the various stages of amplifying that small signal, and quite possibly altering it in some fancy box full of tubes with many potentiometers at it fascia which has been put into the signal chain on purpose to modify dynamics and add some harmonic “richness”. I won’t even delve upon what happens in the mixing or the mastering stages. But finally, I will mention this: in your usual two-way speakers, before that signal is actually transformed from electrical energy into a soundwave there are so many filtering (and also distortion-causing) mechanism at play that most wouldn’t even want to imagine.
The second thing that I would like to emphasize here is that K2HD technology is something that is actually derived from the studio world. Finally, you can always turn it off, so nobody forces anyone to the one-and-the-only was of listening to the music. We will get back to whether (and how) it works later on, but just let me finish this digression by stating that inclusion of the JVCKENWOOD technology in the GO Bar Kensei should be seen as one of the most interesting new features in the dongle world altogether.
As for other new aspects of the Kensei – I believe that one that warrants attention is the new placement of status diodes and their descriptions. It is much easier to read now. And, obviously, the stainless steel enclosure feels solid. And heavy. Ok, now let’s get into the the gist of the matter.
iFi Audio GO Bar Kensei – the sound
Before we actually begin to describe the Kensei’s sound – there are some things that we need to address first. In the case of this particular dongle DAC we not only have the possibility to choose the digital filter mode, but we can also toggle the K2HD technology on and off. All this gives us a matrix of eight possible combinations of settings on the digital side of things alone. And let’s not forget that we also have the XBass+ and XSpace mode on the analogue side of thigs after the DAC. And since the K2HD technology also acts on the digital side and may be seen as interacting with the digital filter I decided to mainly use two settings of the latter in order not to over-complicate things.