Chord Mojo 2 Thread ___ [product released January 31, 2022 -- starting on page 95 of thread]
May 13, 2024 at 4:26 AM Post #10,621 of 10,857
That, and also not having to worry about the battery levels in the office. And the mojo options. And I don't feel like spending double to cost. But I do think the cma18p is a great unit. I'd definitely want one
What you are saying is interesting.

Do you think that the dac part of the cma18 is comparable to the mojo2 dac section?
Or is it just in terms of amp that the cma18 p is more capable...
What about fiio q7 which is more spread...
 
May 13, 2024 at 4:29 AM Post #10,622 of 10,857
I read on a french forum that thanks to an update you can load and listen at the same time the cma18

From a review:
Unfortunately, there’s no battery bypass mode, which means you have approximately 10 hours of battery life on a full charge, or continuous playback via the battery while it’s charged externally. This does mean the built-in 4500mAh batter is likely to degrade over time, but given how conservative the power requirements are, it should still give you many years of service before a replacement is necessary.
 
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May 13, 2024 at 5:29 AM Post #10,623 of 10,857
What you are saying is interesting.

Do you think that the dac part of the cma18 is comparable to the mojo2 dac section?
Or is it just in terms of amp that the cma18 p is more capable...
What about fiio q7 which is more spread...
I haven't heard either. It's a blind buy from reading reviews. Can't remember if the cma eq but I know the mojo has quite alot of sound altering. I was also really interested in the Q7, but I don't think I'm an ess person. I really loved what Sony did without shelft dac chips so that's what's got me curious of the mojo 2
 
May 13, 2024 at 7:12 AM Post #10,624 of 10,857
I think Hugo2 is bigger. But yeah I really enjoyed the sound of the CMA18p, it instantly gave me a wider soundstage feeling, more accurate crisp vocals in the mid range, the treble is also smooth and not harsh, and the the drums were really hard hitting, probably due to the amazing punch this small unit packs, it has 1W into 32ohm, which for the size is quite something. I think if you can find one used for cheaper price, it will be killer option to compete with the likes of Mojo\Hugo.

What you are saying is interesting.

Do you think that the dac part of the cma18 is comparable to the mojo2 dac section?
Or is it just in terms of amp that the cma18 p is more capable...
What about fiio q7 which is more spread...

Btw, I spend hours on site A\B the CMA18p and Mojo2, and I do think CMA18p dac is better. I also tested the Q7 at the same testing session and I didn't rlly like it compared to the CMA and Mojo. CMA18p was a clear winner for me, in terms of musicality, power and looks. Not to mention its Bluetooth, connected to the Iphone straight away without any issues and had only a little bit worse sound. Was unbelievable. But yeah my setup is mostly on desktop, so I wasn't a fan of having to degrade the battery. If I needed a more portable option, it would be a no brainer. Also worth to note, that you can't directly plug CMA18p as an amp, since its input isn't purely analogue, it goes over the DAC (was intended as a recording input). It has low and high gain mode, on both of my IEM's I haven't sense any noise floor, the background was very black also.
 
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May 14, 2024 at 2:37 AM Post #10,626 of 10,857
New owner of the mojo 2, finally pulled the plug. In the mail. Now just to find a new headphone cable for it.
 
May 14, 2024 at 3:43 AM Post #10,627 of 10,857
I made my family blind test Tidal and Qobuz via UAPP Mojo 2 and also Amazon music through the phone to Mojo plus phone to wireless IEMs using flac

No one could hear any difference
A likely outcome if you don't know what to listen out for. 'Air', reverb and (ultimate) bass quality can give it away. I remember the gadget show on the Beeb doing a blind test of High Res vs MP3 and the outcome was that the majority preferred the lower bit rate ... . It seemed 'nicer'. Personally I much prefer to hear it un - ... or less compressed even if the outcome is not always like one imagine it to be.
 
May 14, 2024 at 3:44 AM Post #10,628 of 10,857
New owner of the mojo 2, finally pulled the plug. In the mail. Now just to find a new headphone cable for it.
Enjoy. Fantastic little gadget.
 
May 14, 2024 at 5:25 AM Post #10,629 of 10,857
Oh sorry, its Elysian Annihilator 2023 IEM's in my signature. Although Mojo2 drives them without many issues, I feel adding an amp will add the dynamics, body, punch and more with an amp. I was able to test some with an 1985 Kenwood KA990AX integrated amplifier, and I could already feel it got much better then just going directly to the Mojo. Since I don't really trust that amp for a daily driver, and its far to big, I am looking for a more portable option. So far I've narrowed it down to either Mass Kobo 475, Tsuranagi or going desktop like CMA15\18 master.
I have three amplifiers with Headphone stages ... Audiolab, Cyrus and Arcam. None drive my HP's with more conviction, solidity and refinement than the Mojo 2. They may go ultimately louder (I wouldn't know) but I never reached the Chord's highest volume setting, not even close, even with the Sennheiser or Sundara. If you do you either have incredibly inefficient/difficult load phones or a hearing problem.
 
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May 14, 2024 at 5:28 AM Post #10,630 of 10,857
A likely outcome if you don't know what to listen out for. 'Air', reverb and (ultimate) bass quality can give it away. I remember the gadget show on the Beeb doing a blind test of High Res vs MP3 and the outcome was that the majority preferred the lower bit rate ... . It seemed 'nicer'. Personally I much prefer to hear it un - ... or less compressed even if the outcome is not always like one imagine it to be.
Yes, I can hear a difference as I've used the same test track for years and im listening to it, all the family are doing to enjoying the music

I envy that, like playing golf when your skill moves from remembering the good shots to only remembering the bad ones, ah happy days
 
May 14, 2024 at 6:24 AM Post #10,631 of 10,857
I have three amplifiers with Headphone stages ... Audiolab, Cyrus and Arcam. None drive my HP's with more conviction, solidity and refinement than the Mojo 2. They may go ultimately louder (I wouldn't know) but I never reached the Chord's highest volume setting, not even close, even with the Sennheiser or Sundara. If you do you either have incredibly inefficient/difficult load phones or a hearing problem.
Anni is quite a power hungry IEM, which I have to play considerably higher volume on Mojo2 then any of my other IEM's, sometimes I'll even have it on blue\purple. But it's not only about the volume, as I've already stated its the punch - drums, vocals, note weight etc. many things which improve with either adding a really good amp or with a different better amp stage. Just by listening to CMA18p which is more powerful, I could drive my headphones more effortlessly. I've also tried some of he more hard to drive over the ears, which were incredibly quiet until coming to white color, such as the likes of DT880pro 250ohm and higher impedance ones.. Not to mention Susvara. But yes, I do like to listen to things loudly. :)
 
May 14, 2024 at 8:50 AM Post #10,632 of 10,857
Anni is quite a power hungry IEM, which I have to play considerably higher volume on Mojo2 then any of my other IEM's, sometimes I'll even have it on blue\purple. But it's not only about the volume, as I've already stated its the punch - drums, vocals, note weight etc. many things which improve with either adding a really good amp or with a different better amp stage. Just by listening to CMA18p which is more powerful, I could drive my headphones more effortlessly. I've also tried some of he more hard to drive over the ears, which were incredibly quiet until coming to white color, such as the likes of DT880pro 250ohm and higher impedance ones.. Not to mention Susvara. But yes, I do like to listen to things loudly. :)
Those IEMs are 94db sensitivity and 22 ohm impedance. Mojo2 can drive them to 120 dB easily. You are implying that by adding more electronics, the sound can get better (more dynamic). However, all you can really be doing in this case is adding distortion. Since adding an amp does not bypass or change anything in the Mojo at all, there is no other conclusion. It may sound preferable, but it is further altering the original signal and also totally unnecessary to achieve the most transparent playback at listenable volumes. Just something to consider for folks looking to add multi-$k amps and such.
 
May 14, 2024 at 9:04 AM Post #10,633 of 10,857
But if your using gaming PC how do you actually connect Mojo with optical? Using onboard soundcard toslink plug? Isn't that worse then using directly chord driver and DAC, this way you have to use the onboard audio device to pass the sound.. those are often bad and the driver has worse sampling rate etc.
How come is it worse? Doesn't optical just sends the signal, and the conversion actually happens in the DAC/AMP (in this case Mojo 2)?
 
May 14, 2024 at 9:37 AM Post #10,634 of 10,857
How come is it worse? Doesn't optical just sends the signal, and the conversion actually happens in the DAC/AMP (in this case Mojo 2)?
Not necessarily worse, but not necessarily better either. Like so much else in audio, it depends. Lots of variables that are system specific. Best way to know is to compare different connection types for yourself.
 
May 14, 2024 at 9:53 AM Post #10,635 of 10,857
Not necessarily worse, but not necessarily better either. Like so much else in audio, it depends. Lots of variables that are system specific. Best way to know is to compare different connection types for yourself.
Yes, for me optical provided much better results than using direct USB connection. Buying a USB galvanic isolator, or a dedicated DDC would be pretty much pointless and irresponsible, without knowing if it would change the sound (for the better) on my system. I wouldn't get a streamer either, because I would like to watch movies and or play too on my computer, with the best possible picture and sound quality. Unfortunately I do not have the possibility to test gear like this without actually buying them, so I'll stick with what I have already, good news is: I really like the sound as is. :)
 

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