Chord Mojo(1) DAC-amp ☆★►FAQ in 3rd post!◄★☆

[hung031086]

Does the L19 cable still work when iphone upgrade to 9.3.3 ?

 

[Arpiben]

   
That's quite a fair appraisal because there are two worries.
 
1. Getting clicks when using USB from PC which is 95% of my Mojo's duty.
2. Clicks when using optical from DAB tuner- only noticed on one channel so far though.
 
I'll write a brief overview, but please do not feel obliged anyone. It would be great if somehow we worked out these clicks though. A cure for all of us who have them would be most welcome.
 
DAB tuner first.
I have it running now on Classic FM which was the culprit station. The music is a bit lively and I am not hearing any clicks. I only noticed clicks one day and was very surprised as I have not heard them on any channel before. Even in speech parts in-between tracks. However I do not use my DAB tuner much. 
 
The tuner is a (fairly old) Denon TU - 1800 DAB FM Tuner. (A very highly regarded tuner.) DAB tuners have separate DAB aerials from the FM aerial.
I use a basic £2 optical cable to run to my Mojo.
 
My PC.
Is sat on the floor.
I use only CD FLAC files so far. (I have one album in 96KHz which is the set of Beethoven Symphonies 1-9.)
I use a standard £2 USB Nokia phone cable to connect to Mojo.
 
Clicks in music are random but only heard in quiet passages or quiet albums. The album Katie Melua - call off the Search, makes the most clicks. About ten or a few more in a play though. (I just thought - what I must do is listen to this album on my Meridian Explorer. To identify if clicks are from using Mojo. There is the possibility that I had clicks with my Meridian Explorer, but never noticed them. The Mojo is considerably more revealing, for portraying the soundstage evenly. Additionally I may have disregarded clicks on my Explorer because I considered the DAC to be budget.)
 
Sometimes of course other albums I don't hear any clicks because the music has no quiet passages. However I have other quieter albums that get a much lower click count.
 
The Mojo
The Mojo is plugged in all the time.
 
Only one output is used at a time, either:
A QED Reference Audio J2P connects to desktop Q Acoustics BT3.
or
My headphones are plugged in. 

 
Thanks for all information. I am neither feeling obliged nor want to jeopardize /occupy the thread.
Since wife & kids were away it hapened that I was more active here those days.
Hopefully, very soon things will be back to normality and I will havel no more time left for my personal technical activities..

Wife will steal Mojo & kids will try play with the nice coloured balls...
 
1.DAB Tuner:
Thanks for the reference. Old or not it is more than perfect for the job.
Understood that it was a random occurence.
IMHO, not related with yourToslink fiber quality at your sample rate.
 
2.PC:
Are you physically reading the Flac_CDs?
If such, I will suggest you to first store your FLAC_CD files in your computer then read/play them from your folder.
Directly playing CDs in computer are  bringing latency/jitter issues bringing poor SQ.
 
3.Extra:USB1.xcompatibilty:
A few days ago I promised to try( for my own knowledge) Mojo's with an old USB1.x laptop.
I did the trial with an old Toshiba Sattelite SM-30 104 running Windows XP Family SP3 (2004)
Unfortunately all USB ports were USB2.0. Nonetheless I managed installing Chord drivers as well as playing some tracks.
With such hardware/software configuration it is not suited for digital audio (96kHz not playing/44Khz bringing errors with player used)
 
Cheers

 

 

[GreenBow]

   
Thanks for all information. I am neither feeling obliged nor want to jeopardize /occupy the thread.
Since wife & kids were away it hapened that I was more active here those days.
Hopefully, very soon things will be back to normality and I will havel no more time left for my personal technical activities..

Wife will steal Mojo & kids will try play with the nice coloured balls...
 
1.DAB Tuner:
Thanks for the reference. Old or not it is more than perfect for the job.
Understood that it was a random occurence.
IMHO, not related with yourToslink fiber quality at your sample rate.
 
2.PC:
Are you physically reading the Flac_CDs?
If such, I will suggest you to first store your FLAC_CD files in your computer then read/play them from your folder.
Directly playing CDs in computer are  bringing latency/jitter issues bringing poor SQ.
 
3.Extra:USB1.xcompatibilty:
A few days ago I promised to try( for my own knowledge) Mojo's with an old USB1.x laptop.
I did the trial with an old Toshiba Sattelite SM-30 104 running Windows XP Family SP3 (2004)
Unfortunately all USB ports were USB2.0. Nonetheless I managed installing Chord drivers as well as playing some tracks.
With such hardware/software configuration it is not suited for digital audio (96kHz not playing/44Khz bringing errors with player used)
 
Cheers

 

 
After a good while listening to Classic FM today though, it seems to be free of clicks. I am puzzled why on just one day recently it was full of clicks, when all other channels were not. It is possible that the music playing is not quiet enough compared with physical volume setting. Clicks are only heard in quiet passages. However I am not really watching the volume/track volume. I am just being a listener.
 
In the interest of progress for now I am saying that the DAB tuner is cured. Thus I need to focus on USB. Or of course get an optical cable attached to my PC.
 
It does seem though, that I might need to get a quality shielded USB cable. It's the only feasible situation to try. No one else who has random quiet clicks has come up with a solution. I read the whole thread and often check post three. It's an expensive mistake though if it does not cure it.
 
What is encouraging though is that no everyone suffers it. It means a) it's my unit, or b) it's my cabling and interference or error.
 
---
 
If you re-read I said that I use CD FLAC files. That means files stored on PC. Played bitperfect though JRiver MC. 
 
However, I know that my CD FLAC ripping is not of best quality and that may be the source of the error. (I have always used Media Go to rip CDs to FLAC.) I added to favourites Mython's page on using Exact Audio Copy I think. This does not rule out clicks during PC gaming though.
 
Narrowing it down to just PC audio music and PC audio gaming does slightly suggest cable. (Hopefully it's not the Mojo at fault.) Since some folks a way back cured clicks with 192KHz files, I might be able to with 44.1KHz....... However I thought the issue with the 192KHz files was specific to 192KHz and above. Meaning for some reason the Mojo needed ultra clean signals (or something), at that sampling freq.

 

[miketlse]

   
After a good while listening to Classic FM today though, it seems to be free of clicks. I am puzzled why on just one day recently it was full of clicks, when all other channels were not. It is possible that the music playing is not quiet enough compared with physical volume setting. Clicks are only heard in quiet passages. However I am not really watching the volume/track volume. I am just being a listener.
 
In the interest of progress for now I am saying that the DAB tuner is cured. Thus I need to focus on USB. Or of course get an optical cable attached to my PC.
 
It does seem though, that I might need to get a quality shielded USB cable. It's the only feasible situation to try. No one else who has random quiet clicks has come up with a solution. I read the whole thread and often check post three. It's an expensive mistake though if it does not cure it.
 
What is encouraging though is that no everyone suffers it. It means a) it's my unit, or b) it's my cabling and interference or error.
 
---
 
If you re-read I said that I use CD FLAC files. That means files stored on PC. You are wrong there - CD FLAC combines the storage medium (CD) and the file format (FLAC). I assume that you meant to say CD quality FLAC files, stored on the hard drive. Played bitperfect though JRiver MC. 
 
However, I know that my CD FLAC ripping is not of best quality and that may be the source of the error. (I have always used Media Go to rip CDs to FLAC.) I added to favourites Mython's page on using Exact Audio Copy I think. This does not rule out clicks during PC gaming though. Plug your headphones directly into the headphone socket of your PC, and listen to the same FLAC(s). If you still get the same clicks/pops, then your issue is not just mojo specific, and is instead related to your source material or your PC, or its settings.
 
Narrowing it down to just PC audio music and PC audio gaming does slightly suggest cable. (Hopefully it's not the Mojo at fault.) Since some folks a way back cured clicks with 192KHz files, I might be able to with 44.1KHz....... However I thought the issue with the 192KHz files was specific to 192KHz and above. Meaning for some reason the Mojo needed ultra clean signals (or something), at that sampling freq.

 

[music4mhell]

Rose Mojito + Chord Mojo ----> Pure blissful heaven.

 

[waveSounds]

Snug as a bug.
 

 

 

[miketlse]

  Snug as a bug.
 

 

 
I think that some members will probably be interested in a link if possible.

 

[scotty59]

   
I think that some members will probably be interested in a link if possible.

you can find it here:
 
https://www.amazon.com/Hama-Arezzo-Camera-Pouch-023331/dp/B00185HPFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469446731&sr=8-1&keywords=hama+arezzo+40
 
but i found this case having bad quality. I had two cases delivered with chipping edges.

 

[miketlse]

 
you can find it here:
 
https://www.amazon.com/Hama-Arezzo-Camera-Pouch-023331/dp/B00185HPFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469446731&sr=8-1&keywords=hama+arezzo+40
 
but i found this case having bad quality. I had two cases delivered with chipping edges.

 
Thanks,
 
Pity about the quality, but the price will make it attractive to some Mojo users.

 

[scotty59]

   
Thanks,
 
Pity about the quality, but the price will make it attractive to some Mojo users.

sure, compared to the original case.

 

[GreenBow]

If you re-read I said that I use CD FLAC files. That means files stored on PC. You are wrong there - CD FLAC combines the storage medium (CD) and the file format (FLAC). I assume that you meant to say CD quality FLAC files, stored on the hard drive. Played bitperfect though JRiver MC. 
 
However, I know that my CD FLAC ripping is not of best quality and that may be the source of the error. (I have always used Media Go to rip CDs to FLAC.) I added to favourites Mython's page on using Exact Audio Copy I think. This does not rule out clicks during PC gaming though. Plug your headphones directly into the headphone socket of your PC, and listen to the same FLAC(s). If you still get the same clicks/pops, then your issue is not just mojo specific, and is instead related to your source material or your PC, or its settings.

 
I say CD FLAC because it means to me FLAC files from CD rip. Presumably I should say 44.1KHz FLAC.
 
RE narrowing down where the clicks are coming from, yes I can go straight from PC bypassing Mojo. Also I said above that I would try it with my Meridian Explorer; same thing really. ...However I really don't recall clicks from using either my Meridian Explorer or direct from my PC sound card.
 
My PC sound card was OK and stunning for the price. My Meridian Explorer occasionally had drop-outs. If I had clicks with either I would have remembered. However as I said above, I think it's possible that the Mojo's detail retrieval is showing up clicks, previously not clear.........I will get on and do some tests soon. (Right now I am fault finding my two day old upgrade to Win 10.)

 

[waveSounds]

 
you can find it here:
 
https://www.amazon.com/Hama-Arezzo-Camera-Pouch-023331/dp/B00185HPFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469446731&sr=8-1&keywords=hama+arezzo+40
 
but i found this case having bad quality. I had two cases delivered with chipping edges.

 
Or for those in the UK, find it here.
 
Mine arrived without any defects, and as I paid less than £7 for it I wouldn't have minded much if it did lol. Beats carrying to and from work in its retail box.

 

[miketlse]

   
I say CD FLAC because it means to me FLAC files from CD rip. Presumably I should say 44.1KHz FLAC. It is also helpful to say where the file is stored. When you wrote CD FLAC, the first thing everyone trying to help you via the forum will think is, that you are playing the FLAC files from a CD, using your CD drive, so maybe the root cause of your problems is your CD drive. 
 
RE narrowing down where the clicks are coming from, yes I can go straight from PC bypassing Mojo. Also I said above that I would try it with my Meridian Explorer; same thing really. ...However I really don't recall clicks from using either my Meridian Explorer or direct from my PC sound card.
 
My PC sound card was OK and stunning for the price. My Meridian Explorer occasionally had drop-outs.Drop-outs does suggest that you do have an intermittent problem with buffering of the music data, somewhere in the chain between hard disk and the output of the signal via your cable. If I had clicks with either I would have remembered. However as I said above, I think it's possible that the Mojo's detail retrieval is showing up clicks, previously not clear.........I will get on and do some tests soon. (Right now I am fault finding my two day old upgrade to Win 10.) Good luck, but i found the upgrade to be the easiest upgrade ever, and I do not remember many faults/issues.

 
Also remember the issues that were reported with clicks, caused by change in music bitrate.
If you do have some issue with buffering on the PC side then maybe the bitrate information is getting lost during the wait for the buffer to catch up, and the noise is caused whilst the DAC searches again for the correct bitrate to operate - I think the default setting for Mojo was to lose the first half second of a track whilst the bitrate information is analysed - maybe the meridian default setting is something similar. If your music player settings have changed, then maybe Mojo is now playing the noise instead of temporarily setting the volume to zero.
 
Your issue may be due to some very specific PC setting, so people will ask you to test specific elements/settings, in order  to narrow the root cause down.

 

[Nitrile]

   
I say CD FLAC because it means to me FLAC files from CD rip. Presumably I should say 44.1KHz FLAC.
 
RE narrowing down where the clicks are coming from, yes I can go straight from PC bypassing Mojo. Also I said above that I would try it with my Meridian Explorer; same thing really. ...However I really don't recall clicks from using either my Meridian Explorer or direct from my PC sound card.
 
My PC sound card was OK and stunning for the price. My Meridian Explorer occasionally had drop-outs. If I had clicks with either I would have remembered. However as I said above, I think it's possible that the Mojo's detail retrieval is showing up clicks, previously not clear.........I will get on and do some tests soon. (Right now I am fault finding my two day old upgrade to Win 10.)

 
 
Try upsampling to 96K in windows directsound options. Cleared the clicks for me somehow.
I found that the issue is with directsound only in 44.1 khz.

 

[GreenBow]

   
 
Try upsampling to 96K in windows directsound options. Cleared the clicks for me somehow.
I found that the issue is with directsound only in 44.1 khz.

 
Yeah thank you. I don't use DirectSound. I like bitperfect, and play-back through JRiver.
 
My files were however ripped in an app (called Media Go) that only plays back in DirectSound. I don't know if that is the problem. I have been thinking about re-ripping my CDs using JRiver. I think it will be better than Media Go which I use for ripping.
 
However I did read in a lot of posts about up-sampling. I read Rob saying stuff like let the Mojo do it, because it's more powerful than app software. I have no idea what that is about though: meaning I did not know the Mojo could up-sample.
 
What I really need to do now is listen close to my other DAC.