[Slaphead]

I'm not familiar with speakers here, so educate me:

isnt speakers with volume control "active", and without volume control is "passive"? 

For the purposes of this explanation there are 2 types of active speakers. Let's call them consumer and professional.

Consumer active speakers will almost always have a volume control - either on one of the speakers, or they'll come with a separate volume control - often hardwired in. These in effect contain a pre-amp

Professional active monitors typically don't have a volume control as such, although most will have a gain control somewhere. Pro active monitors simply contain a power amp. You then need a separate controller/audio interface to act as a pre amp to control the volume.

Passive speakers will require either a separate integrated amp, or a pre-power amp combination.

 

[AudioBear]

I've used Mojo with the Schiit Sys and it works fine.  Really no need for anything else like a pre-amp.  The designer (Robb) takes a minimalist approach to unnecessary circuitry in the audio path.

 

[Mython]

  The designer (Robb) takes a minimalist approach to unnecessary circuitry in the audio path.

 
 
Yes.... I shouldn't really break my NDA, but I'll stick my neck out and tell you a secret - Mojo is really clockwork, not digital!

 

[MUSICCURE]

Its probably been covered 1000 times by now though I'll state the differences between running my iBasso DX50 via coax to Mojo were underwhelming compared to the USB out on my Lenovo tablet. DX50 made the sound quite laboured almost like Mojo had too much power for IEM's, cranking the volume to get good detail and a heavy tiring sound, I find it hard to describe Mojo excelling or displaying this clean musical term being used a lot in this thread with that combination. The Lenovo tablet sounds cleaner, effortless and more revealing, I can't explain why though its what I hear.

Please don't 'come at me bro' with the 'no difference' debate.

I know the basic concept on digital output though its what I hear rather easily.

i had the same thoughts when I used my iems with my DX50/Mojo through the coax. Something about the sound just doesn't hold my attention. Soundstage almost seemed cramped to me. Now when I used mt Dt880 pro the sound felt more comfortable to me.

 

[H20Fidelity]

i had the same thoughts when I used my iems with my DX50/Mojo through the coax. Something about the sound just doesn't hold my attention. Soundstage almost seemed cramped to me. Now when I used mt Dt880 pro the sound felt more comfortable to me.

 
For the record, I've had two people PM me about similar situations since I brought it up last page (who had read the posts), and we grasp its  littered through this thread. The Lenovo tablet I'm using via USB cost $160 USD, cheaper than an iBasso DX50 ever was, so its not a case of  more expensive being better, 'go out and buy one today' I genuinely couldn't give a rats about that.
 
I just have much better things to do, honestly. 
 
Leave it at that. 

 

 

[reginalb]

   
For the record, I've had two people PM me about similar situations since I brought it up last page (who had read the posts), and we grasp its  littered through this thread. The Lenovo tablet I'm using via USB cost $160 USD, cheaper than an iBasso DX50 ever was, so its not a case of  more expensive being better, 'go out and buy one today' I genuinely couldn't give a rats about that.
 
I just have much better things to do, honestly. 
 
Leave it at that. 

 

 
Where's the fun in that? Firstly, I apologize if I jumped the gun. Upon reflection, it is possible that there is a difference between the DX50 and the tablet. Sometimes, as a bit of an objectivist, I have a tendency to assume the most likely culprit (the brain) is the guilty one. That said, one of your devices could conceivably be mucking up the bitstream. 
 
I've forgotten that there are both unscrupulous, and incompetent, manufacturers out there (not mucking up a bitstream is trivially easy). I don't know if one of those OEM's is, mind you. But if that is the case, it would be easy to measure and see the difference in RMAA, it would show up as a variation in frequency response, and wouldn't take but a couple minutes to confirm. So to recap, the most likely culprit is, as it has always been, our brain. It tricks us all the time (not just with sounds, but sights, smells, and feelings as well). Your brain tricks you on a daily basis, but that doesn't mean that is what is going on here. It could be that iBasso's mucking with the Android kernel, in the name of higher bit-rates and sampling frequencies, or some crazy EQ that Lenovo has implemented, is causing an imperfect bitstream to be passed to the Mojo, which is then diligently translating that in to sound not as the artist intended it to be, as it were. It might be that you like the imperfect one (or the perfect one) more. And you're not wrong to have a preference, for either of them, really.
 
But what does irk me on HeadFi is people that lead new users astray, and claiming that those who clamor for better information are the mean spirited ones. There is a load of bad information on HeadFi, and it leads people astray every day.
 
But I apologize if I jumped the gun in assuming that your information was bad. I still think it's probably bad, but I can't be sure, of course, because I don't have either of those items to run through some tests and find out.

 

[warrior1975]

You never can tell with electronics, especially Android. I've seen my phones do things that are completely unexplainable. Besides that fact, I absolutely trust H20Fidelity and what he ears, err hears. He's a good dude and definitely knows what he's hearing. One of the select few I trust implicitly.

 

[jmills8]

You never can tell with electronics, especially Android. I've seen my phones do things that are completely unexplainable. Besides that fact, I absolutely trust H20Fidelity and what he ears, err hears. He's a good dude and definitely knows what he's hearing. One of the select few I trust implicitly.

but he likes pre teen girly songs.

 

[warrior1975]

I thought that was you bro?

 

[jmills8]

I thought that was you bro?

Im closer to this - https://youtu.be/5NZsCYOM4j0

And it has bass.

 

[reginalb]

You never can tell with electronics, especially Android. I've seen my phones do things that are completely unexplainable. Besides that fact, I absolutely trust @H20Fidelity and what he ears, err hears. He's a good dude and definitely knows what he's hearing. One of the select few I trust implicitly.

 
I don't even trust my own ears! 

 

[simonm]

Has anyone face the problem when using macbook pro, mojo, audirvana plus to play dsd file and during playback it paused sometime?

I do nit think it is the problem with ram(16g) and I set audirvana to extreme high priority.

Are you using optical out?  If so, what's the bit-rate of your DSD?
 
Note that optical supports only DSD64 compared with DSD256 via USB (I have no idea about DSD, I'm just reading from the manual).  So if you're playing higher than DSD64 via optical that might explain your dropouts.
 
You might also need a good cable to handle DSD64 or 192 kHz PCM reliably via optical as that's at the upper limit of the optical standard.  Because optical is a "dumb digital", I noticed dropouts with my cable when the port was set to 192 kHz, but this was resolved at 96 kHz.

 

[warrior1975]

I don't even trust my own ears! 

LMAO, good point bro.

 

[Torq]

Has anyone face the problem when using macbook pro, mojo, audirvana plus to play dsd file and during playback it paused sometime?

I do nit think it is the problem with ram(16g) and I set audirvana to extreme high priority.

 
With the current Chord DACs, anything beyond standard DSD (DSD64) has dropouts using any level of Mac hardware (from the top of the line Mac Pro to a lowly Mac Mini, and everything in between) via USB if you're on OS 10.11.4 or later.
 
The issue is NOT just a Mac issue, but there certainly seem to be additional challenges with USB handling on OS X and Chord's DACs.
 
I've reproduced the problem on various high-spec Windows machines, as well as things like the Surface Pro 4, using the Chord provided driver.  Doesn't matter what software is in use (JRiver, Roon, Audirvana, Foobar2000 etc.) or what else is/isn't running.  I've also reproduced the issue using things like the Auralic Aries as the interface.
 
While the problem is not specific to Chord, there are certainly plenty of DACs out there that do not exhibit this problem.  For example, I've had no such issues with a PS Audio Directstream or Auralic Vega, or even the IFI Micro iDSD even at DSD256.
 
Trying to get any support on this from Chord has been completely fruitless.  I either get some nonsense about the overhead in converting DSD to DoP (which is massively trivial processing even for a smartphone and even if it wasn't, I have the fastest Macs available and if they can't handle that then no other Mac is going to) - which pretty much shows they didn't bother to read the information they were provided, or no response at all.  Dealers aren't any help.  Bottom line, if you want high-rate DSD on a Mac running current OS X builds, don't buy a Chord DAC right now.
 
Things I'm sure about ... it's not an issue with the performance of my hardware, it's not unique to OS X, other DACs work fine, and I've reproduced the issue with more machines than I care to think about now across the Mojo, Hugo, Hugo TT and DAVE.
 
Love what Chord's DACs sound like ... not happy about the support or lack of communication.
 
I've actually taken DAVE off my potential purchase list until this issue gets some kind of proper response.

 

[Arpiben]

With the current Chord DACs, anything beyond standard DSD (DSD64) has dropouts using any level of Mac hardware (from the top of the line Mac Pro to a lowly Mac Mini, and everything in between) via USB if you're on OS 10.11.4 or later.

The issue is NOT just a Mac issue, but there certainly seem to be additional challenges with USB handling on OS X and Chord's DACs.

I've reproduced the problem on various high-spec Windows machines, as well as things like the Surface Pro 4, using the Chord provided driver.  Doesn't matter what software is in use (JRiver, Roon, Audirvana, Foobar2000 etc.) or what else is/isn't running.  I've also reproduced the issue using things like the Auralic Aries as the interface.

While the problem is not specific to Chord, there are certainly plenty of DACs out there that do not exhibit this problem.  For example, I've had no such issues with a PS Audio Directstream or Auralic Vega, or even the IFI Micro iDSD even at DSD256.

Trying to get any support on this from Chord has been completely fruitless.  I either get some nonsense about the overhead in converting DSD to DoP (which is massively trivial processing even for a smartphone and even if it wasn't, I have the fastest Macs available and if they can't handle that then no other Mac is going to) - which pretty much shows they didn't bother to read the information they were provided, or no response at all.  Dealers aren't any help.  Bottom line, if you want high-rate DSD on a Mac running current OS X builds, don't buy a Chord DAC right now.

Things I'm sure about ... it's not an issue with the performance of my hardware, it's not unique to OS X, other DACs work fine, and I've reproduced the issue with more machines than I care to think about now across the Mojo, Hugo, Hugo TT and DAVE.

Love what Chord's DACs sound like ... not happy about the support or lack of communication.

I've actually taken DAVE off my potential purchase list until this issue gets some kind of proper response.

Since you are able to easily reproduce the issue, why don't you send traces to Chord?
By traces, I mean capturing USB traffic with use of software like USBpcap/Wireshark.
This is not my domain but it will surely help Chord understanding the problem.
Rgds