[szore]

I have had a Mojo for about two years; until I received my SP1000M, I had used the Mojo almost exclusively with a RWAK240+ (serving as transport). Noble K10 Encores + Plussound silver+gold cables round out my portable rig.

I've had about a month with the SP1000M, and just this past weekend completed my first side-by-side listening session putting the SP1000M against the RWAK+Mojo combo. Listened to mostly electronic, acoustic, chorale, and some modern/library music. Will do another session this weekend but with some jazz, rock, and guitar favorites.

Verdict (to date): Mojo is strong with clear (if clinical) highs and mids; SP1000M has superior crossfade/3D imaging and bass, but highs can be a little bright/tinny at times.

These distinctions were very subtle with most of the electronic music I was using (Aphex Twin, Variant, Fires of Ork, Andy Stott) as well as some of the acoustic (Balmorhea, Vetiver, Kathleen Edwards). The distinctions became clearer with some Arvo Pärt compositions on ECM, particularly Tabula Rasa and The Deer's Cry. His compositions are both dense and sparse, textural as much as anything else, and in much of his recorded work (particularly on ECM) the choir and vocalists are central. The Mojo treated these complex pieces with a clinical precision that I think works a bit better for a stereo/speaker set-up, where the sheer distance between speakers provides a lovely 3D, almost holographic stereo image with depth and width. On my Nobles, it was a bit too separated, the sonic image never coming together cleanly to present a live-like sonic image. The SP1000M was much better at this; I got lost in the stereo image in a way that I couldn't with the Mojo. On the SP1000M the soprano voices got a little hot (bright) at times in a way that the Mojo handled much better, but the image was much more like "being there" with the SP1000M. The baritone and bass voices had a fullness and roundness on the SP1000M that was superior to the Mojo, which again makes for a very clean if clinical bass presentation. Mids are ever so slightly thicker on Mojo and more up-front; I feel like on very revealing vocal recordings the SP1000M might win out in terms of balance and imaging, but only by a hair.

All of this is not to say that the Mojo's imaging and bass suck (they don't). Nor that the SP1000M is too bright or warm (it's not). On the contrary, having gotten accustomed to the Mojo sound it was a pretty easy change to make going to the SP1000M's sonic signature. Both are excellent to my ears, both within the sonic profile I enjoy most.

Still forming my opinion, but a month later I have zero regret or buyers remorse--very glad to have added the SP1000M to my array of listening options.

Nice post, curious: Which cables are you using and are they balanced/unbalanced?

 

[Emmanuel Palmer]

I have had a Mojo for about two years; until I received my SP1000M, I had used the Mojo almost exclusively with a RWAK240+ (serving as transport). Noble K10 Encores + Plussound silver+gold cables round out my portable rig.

I've had about a month with the SP1000M, and just this past weekend completed my first side-by-side listening session putting the SP1000M against the RWAK+Mojo combo. Listened to mostly electronic, acoustic, chorale, and some modern/library music. Will do another session this weekend but with some jazz, rock, and guitar favorites.

Verdict (to date): Mojo is strong with clear (if clinical) highs and mids; SP1000M has superior crossfade/3D imaging and bass, but highs can be a little bright/tinny at times.

These distinctions were very subtle with most of the electronic music I was using (Aphex Twin, Variant, Fires of Ork, Andy Stott) as well as some of the acoustic (Balmorhea, Vetiver, Kathleen Edwards). The distinctions became clearer with some Arvo Pärt compositions on ECM, particularly Tabula Rasa and The Deer's Cry. His compositions are both dense and sparse, textural as much as anything else, and in much of his recorded work (particularly on ECM) the choir and vocalists are central. The Mojo treated these complex pieces with a clinical precision that I think works a bit better for a stereo/speaker set-up, where the sheer distance between speakers provides a lovely 3D, almost holographic stereo image with depth and width. On my Nobles, it was a bit too separated, the sonic image never coming together cleanly to present a live-like sonic image. The SP1000M was much better at this; I got lost in the stereo image in a way that I couldn't with the Mojo. On the SP1000M the soprano voices got a little hot (bright) at times in a way that the Mojo handled much better, but the image was much more like "being there" with the SP1000M. The baritone and bass voices had a fullness and roundness on the SP1000M that was superior to the Mojo, which again makes for a very clean if clinical bass presentation. Mids are ever so slightly thicker on Mojo and more up-front; I feel like on very revealing vocal recordings the SP1000M might win out in terms of balance and imaging, but only by a hair.

All of this is not to say that the Mojo's imaging and bass suck (they don't). Nor that the SP1000M is too bright or warm (it's not). On the contrary, having gotten accustomed to the Mojo sound it was a pretty easy change to make going to the SP1000M's sonic signature. Both are excellent to my ears, both within the sonic profile I enjoy most.

Still forming my opinion, but a month later I have zero regret or buyers remorse--very glad to have added the SP1000M to my array of listening options.

Thanks. I may stick with the mojo then for a while

 

[muziq]

Nice post, curious: Which cables are you using and are they balanced/unbalanced?

Plussound's X6 series, silver + gold (type 6 litz), unbalanced. It was made for someone else and ready to ship, so I got a great deal on it. Excellent cable as far as I'm concerned.

I gave up on balanced when I got the Mojo...for no other reason than balanced just limited my options while traveling (I travel a lot). When I'm traveling I never want to be without sound, so I like to redundancy in my rig; one of the great drawbacks of the Mojo for me was the lack of balanced outputs, meaning that the greatest redundancy required unbalanced cabling.

I have a balanced DHC Symbiote SP V3 cable which I like *very* much, but haven't tried it with the SP1000M yet (only on the RWAK when using the DAP by itself, pre-Mojo). I should do that this weekend. Thanks for jiggering my memory about that great cable!

 

[Caruryn]

I am using HD660S balanced out of SP1000M and mojo just cannot compete anywhere,it is a couple levels below in everything.SP1000M has wider and deeper soundstage with much better layering and separation.Lows are tighter and way more detailed especially deep bass compared to punchy but one note bass of mojo.Mids are way clearer,natural and with tremendous detail compared to the somewhat smooth but digital sounding mojo.As for the highs it really is a no contest,just listening to classical is an eye opener,you get the full frequency extension,airy,rich higly natural,violin,pianos sound majestic,real with rich overtones,mojos highs are too rolled off to even compete.

To summarize winner by knockout the blue guy.Btw,this is the first player that i dare not listen to classical on mp3 320kbps,the twin dacs pick up the artifacts on strings,on piano and it ruins the experience ever so slightly and you hear the same classical piece on flac even 16bit/44khz and it is real and dynamic.

 

[honeyjjack]

I am using HD660S balanced out of SP1000M and mojo just cannot compete anywhere,it is a couple levels below in everything.SP1000M has wider and deeper soundstage with much better layering and separation.Lows are tighter and way more detailed especially deep bass compared to punchy but one note bass of mojo.Mids are way clearer,natural and with tremendous detail compared to the somewhat smooth but digital sounding mojo.As for the highs it really is a no contest,just listening to classical is an eye opener,you get the full frequency extension,airy,rich higly natural,violin,pianos sound majestic,real with rich overtones,mojos highs are too rolled off to even compete.

To summarize winner by knockout the blue guy.Btw,this is the first player that i dare not listen to classical on mp3 320kbps,the twin dacs pick up the artifacts on strings,on piano and it ruins the experience ever so slightly and you hear the same classical piece on flac even 16bit/44khz and it is real and dynamic.

obvi its alot more expensive lol

 

[Caruryn]

obvi its alot more expensive lol

I was responding to the comparison above

 

[honeyjjack]

I was responding to the comparison above

So was i

 

[Emmanuel Palmer]

I am using HD660S balanced out of SP1000M and mojo just cannot compete anywhere,it is a couple levels below in everything.SP1000M has wider and deeper soundstage with much better layering and separation.Lows are tighter and way more detailed especially deep bass compared to punchy but one note bass of mojo.Mids are way clearer,natural and with tremendous detail compared to the somewhat smooth but digital sounding mojo.As for the highs it really is a no contest,just listening to classical is an eye opener,you get the full frequency extension,airy,rich higly natural,violin,pianos sound majestic,real with rich overtones,mojos highs are too rolled off to even compete.

To summarize winner by knockout the blue guy.Btw,this is the first player that i dare not listen to classical on mp3 320kbps,the twin dacs pick up the artifacts on strings,on piano and it ruins the experience ever so slightly and you hear the same classical piece on flac even 16bit/44khz and it is real and dynamic.

Any idea how it compares sonically with hugo 2?

 

[Caruryn]

Any idea how it compares sonically with hugo 2?

I don't but searching for SP1000 vs Hugo 2,the latter is slightly more detailed,the former more engaging and musical but very close on a technical level,i don't see why it would be different for SP1000M,it uses the same internals and same tuning in a slightly smaller body.I remember reading one post who said he preferred SP1000M to Hugo 2 as the more musical one and roughly the same technical level.However if you're gonna be driving planars like a HE 1000V2 or HD800S the hugo would be the one i guess to pick due to more poweful amp.

 

[Emmanuel Palmer]

I don't but searching for SP1000 vs Hugo 2,the latter is slightly more detailed,the former more engaging and musical but very close on a technical level,i don't see why it would be different for SP1000M,it uses the same internals and same tuning in a slightly smaller body.I remember reading one post who said he preferred SP1000M to Hugo 2 as the more musical one and roughly the same technical level.However if you're gonna be driving planars like a HE 1000V2 or HD800S the hugo would be the one i guess to pick due to more poweful amp.

Thank you

 

[honeyjjack]

hugo 2 is better. SP1000 might have smoother highs while hugo has more sterile and detailed highs.

 

[cj3209]

hugo 2 is better. SP1000 might have smoother highs while hugo has more sterile and detailed highs.

I owned and used both. Kept the SP1000 cu; more musical than the H2. H2 is good if you are a reviewer. Nuff said.

 

[szore]

I love my 1000m, sounds fantastic with my IEMs. Tips and cable make a big difference in tonality.

 

[szore]

Thanks. I may stick with the mojo then for a while

Your comparing a unit burned in for 2 years against one burned in for a month. No wonder the 1000m highs weren't as polished... Respectfully.

 

[Ultrainferno]

Sorry for the delay, we know you've been asking for it. Enjoy!

https://www.headfonia.com/review-astell-kern-sp1000m/