Introduction
The descriptions of the sound and comfort of Meze’s high-end offerings have intrigued me ever since I first read about them. I’m more of a closed headphone guy though so the Empyrean and Elite didn’t get much serious consideration. When Meze announced the Liric though, my interest was piqued and I jumped at the chance to try them via the review tour.

Disclaimer
As a tour reviewer I was not compensated in any way for my review. I had the headphones for a two week period before sending them off to the next reviewer.



About Me
I grew up playing cello and to a lesser degree stand up bass, piano, and singing. In my late late teens I started playing bass guitar which became my primary instrument of choice.

I discovered speaker based high-end audio in my mid-teens. That led me down a path of taking Audio Engineering, working in a couple of high-end shops as well as for a high-end speaker manufacturer. About 20 years ago I bought my first decent pair of headphones. After that, my focus shifted from speakers to headphones.

Somewhere along the way I developed TMJ, probably at least partially as a result of a broken cheekbone when I was younger. This has caused a lot of issues for me as I traveled down the headphone path. I had a strong preference for in-ears until I got to the point where I couldn’t put them in anymore without pain. Even the clamp of most headphones causes issues. This got so frustrating that I stepped away from Head-Fi for a number of years. I lived with Sony WH-1000XM2 and 3’s during this time, it was only working from home due to the pandemic that brought me back to Head-Fi. Unfortunately, TMJ is still an issue but I was lucky enough to find the Audio Technica ATH-AWAS not only doesn’t irritate my TMJ, but suits my preferences almost perfectly.

My Preferences
I lean towards the warm side of neutral. Being a bass player, I like some weight and decent transient response to give the music foundation and drive. That and getting the tone right are big factors in my overall enjoyment of the music.

I’ve also found I’m rather treble sensitive, especially when it comes to over emphasis of vocal sibilants. That’s meant that I’ve tended to steer more towards headphones with a more laid-back treble region. I wouldn’t necessarily say a laid-back treble is a preference though, it’s more of a sibilance avoidance.

I think I’m a rare bird in that I’m not looking for headphones to recreate a speaker-like experience. I’ve always embraced the way headphones present music. That said, things like separation, width and depth are still important to me but I’m far less concerned whether the music is “in my head” or not.

What you get
While unboxing the Liric, my first impression was of a headphone suffering a bit of an identity crisis. Meze markets the Liric as a high-end portable, yet the first thing we see when taking it out of the packaging is a very nice storage box. Inside this storage box is a fairly large hard shell, zippered travel case with the headphones and accessories inside. Maybe it’s just me but the two different cases felt odd and unnecessary.

Accessories included are two 3.5mm cables, one is 1.5m while the other is 3m. There is also a screw on 6.3mm adapter, an airline adapter and cable pouch.

I found the two included cables perplexing. They look to be the same cable, just different lengths. How many people would be using a 3m cable for portable use? Considering the price point, I would have liked to see a more robust 3m cable with a 6.3mm end for home use instead.

Build Quality
The Liric feels solid and they have an understated sexy vibe to them that the copper accents only add to. The leather earpads feel soft to the touch but also have decent firmness. The headband’s unique design does not look to have a whole lot of padding which was a little concerning.

Comfort
I needn't have been worried about the headband’s comfort. This design is outstanding. It pretty much just disappeared from the top of my head. Absolutely brilliant! I wish my AWAS had this type of design.

On the flip side, given Meze’s reputation for comfort, I was a little disappointed that there was more clamp on my cheek and jaw than I had hoped for. Now that’s not to say they have an overly tight clamp, it’s firm without being excessive, but it did irritate my TMJ which limited my listening session times. I’m not sure if they could be stretched to loosen them some, but as this was a review pair I didn’t want to try.

My Setup
I tend to be a one headphone guy or I guess I should say one headphone per purpose. One for home, one for portable. I’ve tried having multiple home headphones, but every time I had something other than the AWAS on my head, I found myself eyeing up the AWAS, wishing I was listening to them instead. I finally gave in and decided to put together my setup with one purpose in mind, to maximize the potential of the ATH-AWAS as best I could within my budget. It’s still an evolving process but as of the time I had the Liric here it consisted of:
Bluesound Node 2 (hardwired) → Denafrips Ares II → a fully upgraded TomB built Torpedo III running RCA 12AZ7 tubes. Interconnects and headphone cable are OCC copper from Audio Sensibility.



Sound
It’s been quite a while since I’ve done any reviews or had to write down my impressions for others. I forgot how hard this is. Most of my listening was done comparing to the AWAS so I’m writing both parts at the same time so some aspects of the Liric may be covered better in the comparison section.

I’ll start this off by saying I really like the Liric. It leans to the warm side, but not overly so and it proved to be a good all-rounder that performed competently with everything I threw at it. This is a bit of a giveaway for the comparison, but if I hadn't heard or own the Audio Technica AWAS, the Liric would be on the top of my list.

The first thing that struck me upon listening to the Liric is its soundstage. It has decent, but not spectacular width and it is more out in front than I’ve become accustomed to. This gives more of a sense of watching a performance on a stage from a few rows back. Imaging is very precise which gives instruments their own space to breath. I thought this presentation worked very well for larger scale music.

As I mentioned earlier, my setup is geared to play to the AWAS’s strengths and to bring out as much of the bass as possible. Tube choice has played a fairly significant factor in this. The RCA 12AZ7’s I’ve settled on (for now) have great extension and bring out the bass better than other tubes I’ve tried. In addition the RCA’s have sweet midrange and treble without sounding too mushy or soft. They really make the AWAS sing.

Initially, in this setup, I found the Liric’s bass to have some bloom that set it apart from the rest of the spectrum. I swapped a number of different tubes into the setup. The Liric responded well to these changes and I was able to tame the bloom this way. Swapping the RCA’s back in after a few days of tuberolling, I was surprised to find the bloom wasn’t an issue anymore. I’m guessing the Liric may have needed a settling in period. I used the RCA’s for the rest of my time with the Liric.

Midrange on the Liric is quite good if maybe a little uneven. For instance, when listening to a piano some of the notes seemed to have less weight than others. I didn’t delve into this though as I only noticed it on a couple of occasions. Vocals are fairly well done but there were occasions where singers could have a bit of a pinched nose quality.

The Liric’s treble is a little on the odd side. I didn’t find it particularly bright, but it could have a bit of added tizz and emphasis on sibilance. I’ll get a little more into it in the AWAS comparison.

Compared To Audio Technica ATH-AWAS
This was really what I wanted to get out of the tour. I really love the AWAS, it suits my preferences almost perfectly. Where it still falls a little short for me is in the sub-bass. I tend to liken the AWAS to a really good bookshelf speaker. It has a really well done mid bass that’s fast and punchy without being overdone but rolls off quite a bit in the sub-bass. For most of the music I listen to the lack of sub-bass isn’t noticeable but there is a portion where that sub-bass is required to fully enjoy the music. This is one of the main reasons I was intrigued by the Liric. Initial reports suggested they might have some similarities to the AWAS but with a fully extended bass. Could the Liric supplant the AWAS in my setup? Read on to find out.



As much as I love the AWAS, I’ll admit, the build quality leaves a bit to be desired. Beyond the wood cups, it doesn’t feel terribly substantial. While I think a lot of the parts are metal, they don’t have a very robust feeling. The new headband design fits me better than the 3D wing system of previous generation AT woodies, but without modification, it causes hotspots. The Liric by contrast, feels so much better built. It definitely gives more confidence that it will hold up over time.

One of the most noticeable differences between the AWAS and the Liric is their soundstage presentation. Both have similar width, but where the Liric’s soundstage is more out in front, the AWAS is much more “in your head” with greater height and larger instruments. This results in the AWAS having fuzzier instrument placement than the Liric but a more intimate nature.

The AWAS has the best resolution and detail retrieval I’ve heard in a headphone but then I haven’t heard what are considered the heavy hitters in this regard. Honestly, I’ve wondered whether more would actually detract from the musical enjoyment or if I’ve hit the sweet spot for my preferences. The Liric doesn’t quite get to the level of the AWAS, but I didn’t feel like I was missing anything until directly compared.

Because of my sensitivity to sibilance, I have always leaned towards headphones with a laid-back treble. The AWAS would be the exception to this rule. I wouldn’t call it a bright headphone, but it definitely has more presence than a lot of headphones I’ve owned in the past. What makes it work, is there’s not a trace of added emphasis on sibilance in my setup and it doesn’t feel like it’s been rolled off to achieve this. It’s smooth, sweet and very natural sounding. By comparison, the Liric’s treble is less prominent, but it isn’t as smooth. It can have a little extra tizz and the occasional added emphasis on sibilance and sound somewhat thin. So even though I would consider the AWAS brighter, the treble was more noticeable on Liric.

I feel like the AWAS is more balanced through the midrange. The tonality of the AWAS often grabs my attention with how “right” a particular instrument will sound. This is where I struggle a bit describing what I hear. I don’t want to give the impression that I thought the tonality of the Liric was off, it wasn’t, it’s just that, in the time I spent with them, they never had that goosebump inducing quality that the AWAS can have for me.

The Liric definitely has the sub-bass that’s missing in the AWAS. Albums that rely on that sub-bass, like Dadawa’s “Sister Drum”, were much more enjoyable with the Liric. I think the Liric does a great job with regards to how well that sub-bass integrates into the rest of the bass spectrum. It feels well-balanced without intruding on the rest of the spectrum. For songs and albums that don’t have that sub-bass, the Liric seemed to only have a touch more bass than the AWAS.



Where the AWAS pulled ahead in this area though was the detail and speed of it’s bass. The Liric, and this was regardless of tube choice, has a less snappy, more rounded bass that hangs on a little longer. In direct comparison to the AWAS, I felt the Liric reined in the pace whereas the AWAS got my feet tapping more often. In my notes from listening to Joss Stone’s “Soul Sessions” album I wrote “with the AWAS you get a better sense of the bass player's expressiveness and groove”.



Dynamics on the Liric also had this sense of being reined in comparison to the AWAS. The crescendo in some songs, or when a singer would really belt something out, felt like they were being held back in comparison to the AWAS. For something more intimate like the Sarah McLachlan’s “Hold On” on the “Freedom Sessions” album Sarah’s vocals at the end of the song are almost overwhelming. I think this would also be due in part to the closer and greater height of the presentation of her vocals. On the flip side of that, a far denser recording, like Dadawa’s “Sister Drum” holds together better on the Lyric where everything has more room to breathe and the dynamics being reined in a bit allows a better perspective on the music without it overwhelming.



Compared To Shure SRH1540
I bought the Shure’s because over the years I’ve heard good things and I thought they might complement the AWAS. While they're decent headphones, the overall difference in detail and resolution plus too much midbass and a rolled off treble have me ready to let them go. I only kept them around this long to compare to the Liric.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time comparing them though. It was pretty obvious right off the bat that while the 1540 is a nice enough headphone in its price range, the Liric is quite a step up.

That said, in my head, when I was listening to the Liric I would sometimes think “this is like a more mature 1540”. Both have good sub bass presence. Both are on the warm side. Both are comfortable and isolate fairly well. But then when I switched to the 1540 I would realize there are distinct differences.

As one would expect given the price difference, the Liric is quite a step up in detail and resolution but their bass and treble presentations are actually quite different. The 1540 has more upper bass presence that bleeds into the lower mids which makes some instruments sound thicker and warmer than I would like. To add to that warmer signature, the treble is quite laid back in comparison.

The other distinct difference is the soundstage. The 1540’s are closer and less wide. With the Liric you get a much more precise instrument and sense of the space.

Overall, the Liric is just leagues ahead of 1540, as it should be given the price difference.

Conclusion
This audition/review didn’t go quite how I expected. Prior to hearing the Liric, I wondered if they might be able to dethrone the AWAS in my setup. In the end though, I found the Liric to be more of a complement to the AWAS. They definitely did a great job on those albums where I felt the AWAS falls short and they did it more as a peer to the AWAS than something like the Shure 1540’s.

While I may like the AWAS more for most things, the Liric wasn’t far behind in its enjoyment factor on these, plus the Liric just seemed to work well with everything I listened to. It was definitely a treat to have around and it’s the first headphone I feel could live happily beside the AWAS and get a decent amount of use. The downside is the price. Here in Canada, the Liric retails for $2600 which is about $700 more than the AWAS. If pricing was more in line with the AWAS or a bit cheaper it would make for a more compelling possibility.

With that said, someone looking for a closed-back all-rounder with outstanding build quality should have the Liric high on their list to try.

Introduction
 
First off I would like to thank the Meze team for selecting me to take part in the Canadian leg of the 99 classic tour and I’d also like to apologize for it taking so long to get this written. This is my sons second year in hockey and between his practices, games and tournaments along with my daughters dance classes and my own work I’m starting to realize that from Christmas to March is the busiest time of year for me. This also limited my time with 99 Classics, I would have liked to have had more time to get to know them a little better.
 
What’s Included
 
Inside the 99 Classics outer box you’ll find a very nice hard case molded to the shape of the headphones. Inside the case is the 99 Classics themselves and a soft pouch including two cloth covered cables, one longer, the other shorter with a microphone for portable use. Also in the pouch is a ¼” as well as an airline adapter.
 
I have to say, I really like the outer hard case. Honestly, I’d prefer a case like this was included with my Nighthawks instead of the softer case that came with those.
 
Build Quality
 
As a $300 US headphone I’m pretty impressed with the build quality and accessories. The pads and headband are a PU leather which seem to be of reasonably good quality although not quite up to the same standards of the materials used in my NightHawk. The wood cups have a very nice matte finish which I find very attractive. The overall presentation has an element of elegance but I’ll admit I don’t like the gold accents. I tend to prefer understated elegance though which I feel the gold detracts from.
 

 
Fit & Comfort
 
There are some similarities between the 99 Classics and the NightHawks suspension. Both aim to have the user simply place the headphones on their head without the need for extra adjustments. The NightHawks ease of use and comfort has been a revelation, unfortunately the 99 Classics don’t quite hit the mark. Everytime I put them on I found I had to pull them down a bit and then try to stuff my ears inside the pads because the opening is just a little too small for my ears yet too big to sit on them comfortably. It also feels like the pads could be a tad thicker and softer as once I got my ears inside, the tops of my ears tended to touch the driver. Once set though the comfort wasn’t too bad, not too much clamp and I didn’t feel much need to readjust them all the time.
 
Sound
 
I was first on the Canadian tour so the 99 Classics were brand spanking new. Straight of the box I found the mids had an odd push and they sounded a little strained so I set them to play over the weekend before getting down to listening.
 
After their weekend break-in period the 99 Classics seemed more at ease and the midrange push seemed to have lessened but was still there giving a slight honky or nasal quality that was most apparent on vocals. This emphasis in the mids also has the effect of bringing out some details that were previously masked so the 99 Classics gave an interesting, slightly different take on familiar music.
 
The 99 Classics lean towards the warmer side yet they are one of the more fun headphones I’ve listened to. Bass has some added emphasis and it’s fast, tight and punchy with reasonably good extension into sub-bass. This tight and fast quality is predominant throughout the frequency spectrum giving the 99 Classics great PRaT making for a very fun listen at the expense of losing some ambient information as decay gets cut short.
 
The decay being cut short may have some effect on soundstage as well as I found that, while it has decent width, there is a distinct lack of depth in comparison to what I’m used to with the NightHawks. Instrument placement is decent but does lack some of the separation I’ve become accustomed to. This is most noticeable on denser recordings where instruments and placement became a bit confused as they fight with each other for space.
 
Treble has very good presence without any harshness or over emphasis on sibilance. In fact, I’d say this is one of the nicer presentations of treble I’ve heard in a headphone.
 
As mentioned previously, I found the mids to have a bit of push I’d say in the upper range. Every time I put them on they sounded a bit odd at first. After a few minutes I could adjust but the timbre of some instruments and vocals always seemed a bit off. I wondered if the pads and fit might be to blame but it’s hard to say.
 
Conclusion

It might seem like didn’t like the 99 Classics but honestly, I was pretty impressed with them. They have a fun, energetic yet smooth sound that I found addictive. They give me some of what I’ve always liked about Grados without the sibilance and ringing ear issues I have with Grados. The 99 Classics do seem to have some irregularity in their frequency response but I suspect that at least some of this may come down to fit. If the Meze team were to update these with pads that are deeper and softer with a larger opening for the ear I think I would be very tempted to get a pair to complement my NightHawks. At $300 for the build and sound quality on offer the 99 Classics are a pretty darn good deal.

Equipment Used
 
Source:
MacBook Air running Tidal, Audirvana +, Amarra 3 and Amarra for Tidal
MacBook Pro running Tidal
Samsung Note 4 running USB Audio Player Pro
 
DAC’s:
Schiit Bifrost Multibit
 
Headphone Amp:
Schiit Asgard 2
 
Headphones:
AudioQuest NightHawk
Sony MDR-Z7
Sennheiser HD650
Sennheiser HD598
KEF M500
V-Moda XS
RHA MA-750i
 
Disclaimer
 
I was picked as part of Chord’s Canadian review tour. Outside of being provided a review unit for a week and shipping costs, I was in no way compensated for writing this review. After the review unit shipped to the next in line I found a (somewhat) local dealer and purchased my own Mojo at the retailer's pricing.
 
About Me
 
I’m a 45 year old UX/UI designer at a small mobile gaming company. I’ve been involved in music and audio most of my life though. Growing up I played many instruments, mainly cello and later bass guitar. In my mid teens I discovered audio. Over the years following I spent quite a bit of time hanging around audio shops, I even had brief stints working in a couple. In my early 20’s I trained as an audio engineer but instead of getting a job in the music industry I moved to the audio industry working for a small speaker manufacturer. In a work lull in the late 90’s I ended up taking a 3D animation course which has evolved into my current job. After the course and meeting my wife, audio fell off the radar for a few years until in 2002 I discovered Head-Fi and along with it a preference for high-end headphones over speakers. I’ve been hanging around here ever since.
 
Sonic Preferences
 
I value all aspects of audio reproduction but I’ll admit certain aspects take precedence over others. While soundstage is important I’ll give up width and depth for well defined imaging. I love hearing all the little details in a recording but not at the expense of good tonality or a skewed frequency response. That said, I tend to lean towards warmer sounding gear because I’m one of those that feels a good portion of high-end phones lack enough bass to give music its proper foundation. I also tend to towards warmer gear because I’m sensitive to vocal sibilance. I don’t necessarily mind treble as long as it’s reproduced cleanly, unfortunately that seems to be a hard find.
 
Introduction
 
I’ll make a confession, I don’t really listen to music on the go anymore. On the rare occasion I do I’ll listen straight out of my phone. So then why did I want to audition the Mojo? It’s about versatility. While I mainly listen at home I’ve always liked having the flexibility to listen anywhere in the house. Unfortunately that typically means either compromises in sound quality or ease of use.
 
I had pretty much given up on the idea of a one size fits all type of product so when Schiit announced the Bifrost Multibit I decided to replace my Resonessence Concero HP with that and an Asgard 2 amp with the idea that I’d find a second, more portable solution down the road. And then a few weeks after I got the Schiit stack Chord announced the Mojo which piqued my interest, although somewhat skeptically given the hype they produced with their “The Game Will Change” tagline used to advertise prior to the release event, after all, it’s just a reasonably priced portable DAC/Amp. Right?
 

 
Design Philosophy
 
So what makes the Mojo different? Over three years ago Chord got the idea to make a cigarette package sized portable DAC/Amp that could be used with a wide range of devices and have similar performance to the larger Hugo but at a budget price. It’s taken until now for them to realize the product because the tech wasn’t there until recently. That’s because Chord doesn’t use readily available off the shelf DAC chips, instead, Rob Watts, Chord’s DAC designer, uses field-programmable gate array’s, or FPGA’s, to program his own. It wasn’t until the latest generation Xilinx Artix 15T 28nM FPGA offered the performance and low power to achieve their goal.
 
So why does Chord design their own DAC’s instead of using readily available off the shelf DAC’s? That’s because Rob feels the most important aspect of recreating the digital signal is the timing of transients which can not only have an effect on the starting and stopping of notes but also can have an effect on timbre, pitch and soundstage. Over the shelf DAC’s just don’t have the processing power to deal with this correctly so Rob turned to using FPGA’s to design his own.
 
It would take a lot more space to delve into this subject further and I’ll admit, I don’t fully understand all the technicalities but luckily Chord has been highly engaged with the Head-Fi community and they are quite open and helpful with regards to explaining their designs. There is a plethora of information within the Mojo thread as well as the Hugo and Dave threads here on Head-Fi.
 
Packaging & Accessories
 
The packaging for the Mojo is both elegant and simple. A white box with the Mojo inside surrounded by foam. Take the Mojo out and underneath there’s a short micro USB to USB cable. That’s it. Although a full manual  is not included one can be downloaded from Chord’s website. The inner box does have useful information on each of its faces to help the new owner get up and running though. I commend this approach as it saves paper that typically end ends up in drawer or the waste bin.
 
The short micro USB to USB cord is a useful addition but as a product designed for use with many different portable devices I would have liked to have seen a few other cables included and a charger wouldn’t hurt either. I understand it would affect costs and it would be hard to cover everyone’s potential needs. It would then also require larger and different packaging for different countries but offering something like this might alleviate a lot of anxiety like has been seen in the forums from some users. Maybe offering a separate official accessories package would be something for Chord to think about.
 
Connectivity
 
Despite the Mojo’s diminutive size it offers numerous input/output options. With a micro USB input, a separate micro USB charging port as well as a coaxial and an optical input on one end along with dual ⅛” outputs on the other it makes for a very versatile product.
 
The Mojo’s micro USB input allows it to not only be connected to a computer but with the proper cabling (and in some cases software) it can also be used with DAP’s, Android and iDevices. Or if you prefer, us the coaxial or optical out of a computer or DAP to connect to the Mojo. It can even be used with a separate amp as a DAC only with a 3V line output when both the volume buttons are held down when turning the unit on. That opens a whole other world of possibilities of it being used in speaker setup.
 
The micro USB charging port allows the Mojo to be used with any USB style charger provided it puts out at least 1 amp, that means in theory it can be charged from either the USB port of a computer or any USB charger provided with a phone, tablet and other electronic device provided it meets the 1 amp requirement.
 
Physical Design and Usability
 
The artist in me loves quirky and unique designs so I’m rather taken with the Mojo’s colored glowing balls and sculpted metal curves. It’s tiny yet it’s weight gives it substantiality. Not everyone will like this design but I personally love the idea of pushing the style boundaries.
 
The physical design isn’t just about looks either, the clever design of the glass ball buttons serve double duty with the on/off switch changing color to indicate sampling rate and the volume up/down buttons changing color to give a visual indication of volume level. There’s a key to the sampling rate colors on one of the panels of the inside box. Unfortunately there’s no such explanation on the box for the volume buttons. It is described in the downloadable manual but as the concept is rather unique it would be nice to see more of a description on the box like the sampling rate. Maybe Chord could make the QR code on one end of the box smaller to accommodate this information?
 
There’s also a small LED under the charging USB jack that changes color to indicate battery level. Unfortunately the placement of this light can be a challenge for the user because it’s difficult to see when a cable is plugged in.
 
Overall though, everything is clearly labeled making the Mojo a fairly simple and straightforward device to use.
 
Sound
 
The tour Mojo was shipped to my work and I was so eager to try it I had to set it up right away. I don’t have an elaborate work setup anymore, there’s just too many distractions, so I’ve ended up using a pair of VModa XS straight from my MacBook Pro. It was this setup that I first heard the Mojo in. Of course nothing ever runs smoothly, the included short cord only intermittently worked and in my eagerness I forgot to make sure the volume was turned down so I nearly blew my eardrums out when the first note played. After adjusting the volume and finding a position the cable would work I ended up only having a few minutes of listening time but the XS sounded like a new headphone. Better balanced yet punchier and more dynamic sounding with a greater sense of depth to the music. The few initial glitches aside, the Mojo made a very good first impression indeed.
 
At home using my MacBook Air and AudioQuest NightHawks the Mojo has continued to make a good impression. The sound coming from the Mojo defies what one would expect given its diminutive size and price. It has an uncanny ability of allowing you to hear further into a recording.
 
I’ve read various people claim the Hugo was too bright for them so I was worried Chord might be trying to use the trick of accentuating treble to give the illusion of increased detail. This is definitely not the case with the Mojo. I’m incredibly sensitive to treble, especially sibilance, and the Mojo has been a joy in this regard. The treble is very clean and refined with good presence and no undue emphasis or smearing. In fact this is a common theme throughout the whole frequency spectrum. The Mojo isn’t the weightiest I’ve heard, nor is it the lushest but it strikes an excellent balance without any one frequency range drawing attention to itself. It’s tight and punchy yet allows the listener to hear the decay of instruments without feeling like it either lingers or is cut short.
 
The soundstage isn’t overly wide but there is more depth than I’ve been accustomed to. Where the Mojo really excels though, is in it’s ability to give each instrument it’s own space. It’s this ability to pull apart a recording and let me see further into it that has really grabbed me. It becomes easier to delineate multiple overlapping tracks and hear more subtle detail from those tracks. Things like slight tonal shifts in an instrument, the emotion and expression a musician plays with, or the simple grit of rosin on a bow become more apparent.
 
In particular, live recordings seem to benefit from this ability to separate instruments because the subtle ambient cues that feed the illusion of being in the recording space are more apparent. On Iron & Wine’s “Live At Wheaton College” recording it’s just Sam Beam with his acoustic guitar. It’s more intimate than other live recordings I’ve heard from him and in numerous parts there is some nice dialogue with the audience. With the Mojo the various voices in the audience are clearer and their placement better defined. The greater overall depth and separation gives a much better sense of the size of the chapel the concert took place in than I’ve heard before. The same can be said for the Cowboy Junkies “Live At The Ark” recording. The music itself is great but it’s the exchanges with the audience that give such a great sense of being there and the Mojo only helps augment that.
 
Denser and dynamic recordings like *Shels “Plains of the Purple Buffalo” or Dadawa’s “Sister Drum” also benefit. In both these albums there are tracks that go from quiet to loud in an instant. The massed instruments and vocals that come in with this dynamic shift can sound compressed or become a wall of sound where it’s hard to distinguish the instruments and vocals. The Mojo handles these types of dynamic shifts with ease and with its ability to separate tracks the overall picture becomes easier to discern.
 
This sense of ease was apparent with all the different headphones I used the Mojo with. The Sennheiser HD650 is probably the most difficult to drive headphone I had on hand but because of the HD650’s clamping force and my TMJ I can only wear them for a few minutes at time. I did try a few recording at different times though and the HD650’s seemed perfectly happy being fed by the Mojo. The same goes for the others like the KEF M500, Sennheiser HD598 and the Sony MDR-Z7 with no hiss from the lower impedance RHA MA-750i IEM’s. Like the V-Moda XS I first used, all these headphones seem get taken to another level when used the Mojo.  
 
Samsung Note 4
 
Connecting the Mojo to my Samsung Note 4 via a generic OTG cable I got off Amazon yielded some interesting results. I used Tidal via USB Audio Player Pro which took a little bit of tweaking to get working but when I did I found I could hear little difference between this setup and that of MacBook Air playing Tidal. If push came to shove I’d say the Note 4 setup is a bit smoother on top.
 
I’d still put Tidal via Amarra, Amarra 3 and Audirvana + from the Air a slight step up on Tidal alone but it’s interesting that Tidal alone sounded almost the same out of both the Air and Note 4. This is precisely what I’ve found compromised in other portable solutions, there’s always been a distinct drop in quality when using something other than my computer. It’s a huge plus that I now feel like I can move around the house without sacrificing anything.
 
With the AudioQuest Jitterbug
 
When I bought my own Mojo I also bought a Jitterbug to try. I’ve done a bit of back and forth and also left it in for a while then took it out. I’d say there is a difference but it’s hard to describe. Things felt slightly more defined but thinner with an edge introduced that I found fatiguing. Every time I switched back to the Mojo alone there was a sense of relief, the sound a bit fuller and smoother. After a couple of weeks I just took the Jitterbug out altogether and put in a drawer.
 

 
Comparison To Schiit Bifrost Multibit & Asgard 2 Combo
 
The Schiit Bifrost Multibit and Asgard 2 combo offers a very different perspective on the music than the Mojo. The Schiit stack has a lusher, smoother and weightier sound but instruments are more congealed. What seems to be a constant in my notes is the Schiit stack seemed overly smoothed over with a dullness to the sound. It lacks the dynamic ability, depth and definition as well as the transparency of the Mojo.
 
Which one prefers will likely come down to priorities. That said, I’ve typically always leaned towards the lusher, weightier sound even at the expense of detail but in this case I felt the Mojo was more correct and a clear step up with it’s ability to see further into recordings in what feels like a very natural manner. Add into that the Mojo’s tiny footprint and it’s versatility and it seemed like a no brainer to sell the Schiit gear and replace it with my own Mojo (which I purchased the day after I sent the review unit on the next in line).
 
Conclusion
 
Every now and then a product comes on the market that redefines the price to performance ratio and becomes a classic. The original NAD 3020 integrated amplifier would be one such product that immediately comes to mind. It’s hard not to think the versatile Mojo, with the level of sound & build quality it has at a reasonable price, is destined to be another of those rare, market redefining classics.

There’s no doubt in my mind that if Chord charged double or more for the Mojo it would still sell like hotcakes and it would still receive accolades from the press. My hat goes off to the team at Chord for sticking to their plan and making the Mojo accessible to a much broader audience. Like the 3020, for many the Mojo may be all the DAC and headphone amp they ever need. It’s small enough and versatile enough to be used in just about any situation while sounding so good I’d expect one would have to pay a significant amount more to get better.