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

[RPB65]

http://www.hdtracks.co.uk/jazz-at-the-pawnshop-2-328480
Nuff said Mojo on, IEM at the ready! lol.

 

[amigastar]

Nice, always interesting to read a mojo review
i just wish Concero HD would have that much reviews

 

[Pedro Dixon]

I have had the Mojo for several months now and love it. I use a TT in my desktop rig, and Mojo for around the house. Often pairing with Senn HD25s. After some time post Mojo purchase, I realised I wanted something a bit more portable, so pulled the trigger on a AQ RED Dragonfly. 
 
Interesting thing is, unless I know which device I am listening to, I really struggle to pick them apart (Mojo and AQ, TT is another level). I'm relatively young and can normally discern quite well but these DACs are remarkably close given how different their internals are. 
 
So whilst the Mojo is a great product, for the money, I would urge anyone to give the AQ RED a listen. Yes, the Mojo is better, but only by the tiniest of margins, hence I struggle to consistently pick one out from the other blindfolded. Volume matching is difficult but even so, not something I was expecting. As such, the AQ RED is going nowhere. Way too convenient and sounds great to my ears. 

 

[Traveller]

... I realised I wanted something a bit more portable, so pulled the trigger on a AQ RED Dragonfly. Interesting thing is, unless I know which device I am listening to, I really struggle to pick them apart (Mojo and AQ, TT is another level)... So whilst the Mojo is a great product, for the money, I would urge anyone to give the AQ RED a listen. Yes, the Mojo is better, but only by the tiniest of margins...

 
Err... 

I also have both and the difference imho is quite evident. I find the DFR much too mid-forward to the point of getting that "in-your-face" feeling. I'm also fairly certain it has more of a HF roll-off. The mojo has more air and a wider soundstage. The DFR tends to always remind me that I'm wearing IEMs... .

 
Having said that, there's no doubt that the DF serious plays a practical role in portable audio. It's a low-power, highly portable DAC that will outdo a Smartphone / Notebook's onboard audio but I wouldn't want to pit it against one of today's TOTL DAPs... ! 

 

 

[maxh22]

  My take on the Mojo for those who might be interested:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/chord-mojo/reviews/16576
 

Nice review!
 
I have never seen the Mojo with that type of packaging. Is that Chords updated packaging? Is there a white box inside the bigger box?

 

[peter123]

Nice review!

I have never seen the Mojo with that type of packaging. Is that Chords updated packaging? Is there a white box inside the bigger box?

Thanks! My review unit was a loaner from another Norwegian Head-fier so I honestly don't know anything about when it was purchased or the package but I can confirm that there was a white box inside the black one, must have forgotten to take pictures with it.

 

[Pedro Dixon]

   
Err... 

I also have both and the difference imho is quite evident. I find the DFR much too mid-forward to the point of getting that "in-your-face" feeling. I'm also fairly certain it has more of a HF roll-off. The mojo has more air and a wider soundstage. The DFR tends to always remind me that I'm wearing IEMs... .

 
Having said that, there's no doubt that the DF serious plays a practical role in portable audio. It's a low-power, highly portable DAC that will outdo a Smartphone / Notebook's onboard audio but I wouldn't want to pit it against one of today's TOTL DAPs... ! 

 

 
We all have our own views. I am not alone, my findings chime with John Darko, who happens to put things exactly as I hear them too. 
 
He states the DFR is ahead of all the Astell & Kern offerings. I have only heard the AK280 but this is some statement, yet one he was willing to state on his website:
 
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/04/audioquests-dragonfly-red-puts-high-end-daps-on-notice/

 

[maxh22]

Thanks! My review unit was a loaner from another Norwegian Head-fier so I honestly don't know anything about when it was purchased or the package but I can confirm that there was a white box inside the black one, must have forgotten to take pictures with it.

I really like what Chord did with its retail packaging. When I received the Mojo It came in just a plain white box. If I saw such an item in store I would have no clue what it would be. Chords new packaging is very colorful and eye catching.

 

[Pedro Dixon]

I found a difference as well, in favour of the Mojo, but it got very small, to the point I couldn't consistently pick the right one out enough for me to be confident under blindfolded conditions.
 
The Mojo is great, but the DFR cannot be dismissed, the law of diminishing returns definitely applies between both units. I bought the Chord TT a while ago as I initially had the Hugo, when I realised there wasn't much, perhaps only a change in flavour between them. So I decided to sell a few items and i'm now left with the Hugo TT, Mojo and DFR. I fly once or twice a month with work and having such great sound at my mercy is priceless as I get sick of travelling. Sadly its for work so I have little say in the matter. 
 
Headphone/IEM wise, i've had all sorts but funnily enough, the Senn HD25 get more play than most. I've had/got I800, 846, T5p, and soon to acquire Noble K10 but i'm waiting to see if they are going to be replaced for a while before I make such a commitment with those. 

 

[maxh22]

  I found a difference as well, in favour of the Mojo, but it got very small, to the point I couldn't consistently pick the right one out enough for me to be confident under blindfolded conditions.
 
The Mojo is great, but the DFR cannot be dismissed, the law of diminishing returns definitely applies between both units. I bought the Chord TT a while ago as I initially had the Hugo, when I realised there wasn't much, perhaps only a change in flavour between them. So I decided to sell a few items and i'm now left with the Hugo TT, Mojo and DFR. I fly once or twice a month with work and having such great sound at my mercy is priceless as I get sick of travelling. Sadly its for work so I have little say in the matter. 
 
Headphone/IEM wise, i've had all sorts but funnily enough, the Senn HD25 get more play than most. I've had/got I800, 846, T5p, and soon to acquire Noble K10 but i'm waiting to see if they are going to be replaced for a while before I make such a commitment with those. 

I heard the dragon fly red several times with the nighthawks and found that the dac was significantly behind mojo in terms of resolution, PRAT, and musicality. Mojo has the goosebump factor which for me is a very big deal. When I evaluate equipment I usually do long listening sessions and I look for differences in sound and most importantly I evaluate how they make me feel and how well they can keep me engaged. 

 

[peter123]

I really like what Chord did with its retail packaging. When I received the Mojo It came in just a plain white box. If I saw such an item in store I would have no clue what it would be. Chords new packaging is very colorful and eye catching.

Yeah, the package on the one I had looked great indeed.

 

[maxh22]

On a side note. There is a US seller who is selling a used Mojo with an apple lightning cable and the offical case for $546 with shipping! 
 
I think this is a great deal for anyone looking to pick one up.
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01IIXIOBW/ref=sr_1_3_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1470516933&sr=8-3&keywords=chord+mojo&condition=used

 

[Mython]

  We all have our own views. I am not alone, my findings chime with John Darko, who happens to put things exactly as I hear them too. 
 
He states the DFR is ahead of all the Astell & Kern offerings. I have only heard the AK280 but this is some statement, yet one he was willing to state on his website:
 
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/04/audioquests-dragonfly-red-puts-high-end-daps-on-notice/

 
 
For months and months, John Darko has been asserting that:
 

John H Darko:
 
"a Mojo can’t be rubber-strapped to a smartphone without rendering its touchscreen unusable."
 
"rubber-strapping a Mojo to a smartphone renders the screen unusable"
 
"no manufacturer has yet solved the issue of exactly how to attach a portable DAC/amplifier to a smartphone without obstructing the latter’s touchscreen with rubber bands"
 
"Rubber hoop the Mojo to any iPhone or Android device and its screen becomes unusable"

 
 
But,
 
1) All the way back in October 2015, a head-fier demonstrated the use of a cyclists rubberband to very successfully stack Mojo with any smartphone that has just a small non-screen area above and below the screen - which is the majority of smartphones on the market.
 
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

  For those using iphone with Mojo, one of the most costs effective way is using cheap silicon bands meant for bicycles.   

 

 

 
 
2) in spite of contrasting the Dragonfly with the Mojo, and stating that Mojo 'can't be rubberbanded to a smartphone', Darko hasn't rubber-banded the Dragonfly, in that recent review, either. He's instead used velcro, and that is exactly what anyone can do with Mojo, too, so his point is utterly moot.
 
 
 
I'm not even saying this to defend Mojo. Heck, I don't work for Chord. It just gets irritating when someone repeatedly leads the public to believe something which is barely true, except in a small minority of cases.
 
 
 
 
 
Anyway, that rubber-band nonsense aside, the tiny Dragonfly Red looks like a nice little product. I'll make sure to give it a listen, should the opportunity pass my way, at some point in the near future.

 

[xeroian]

Yes, I've experimented quite a bit with this. The closest I got the Mojo to sound like the Hugo was this setting on my FiiO X5 II:

1 kHz: +0.2  /  2 kHz: +0.2  /  4 kHz: +0.4  /  8 kHz: +0.4  /  16 kHz: + 0.4 dB        (I can imagine that something like +0.3 dB at 8 kHz and/or +0.5 dB at 16 kHz would be optimal, but the X5 II only allows 0.2 dB steps.)

But if your basis is a flat equalizer setting, I would rather take the negative route:

31 Hz: –0.4  /  62 Hz: –0.4  /  125 Hz: –0.4  /  250 Hz: –0.4  /  500 Hz: –0.4  /  1 kHz: –0.2  /  2 kHz: –0.2 dB

I've just tried it again. With this setting for the Mojo both sound almost indistinguishable to my ears. Not exactly, but it's very close. – BTW, I used a custom preset designed specifically for my (modified) HD 800 and shifted the single bands accordingly.

Yeah, why just compensate for the Mojo's deviation from a supposedly ideal tonal balance? While you're at it, you could just as well equalize your headphones' much larger deviation from a straight line. I guarantee you that it will pay off. Admittedly it's not easy. It's good to have a frequency-response graph at hand, ideally several ones from different sources, and even then unfortunately the high-frequency responses (above 4 kHz at the latest) can't be translated one-to-one, since the measuring array itself will disturb the measurement.

Thanks for posting this. Perversely I would like my Hugo to sound more like my Mojo. Do you have any tips?

Ian

 

[Pedro Dixon]

   
 
For months and months, John Darko has been asserting that:
 
 
 
But,
 
1) All the way back in October 2015, a head-fier demonstrated the use of a cyclists rubberband to very successfully stack Mojo with any smartphone that has just a small non-screen area above and below the screen - which is the majority of smartphones on the market.
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

 
 
2) in spite of contrasting the Dragonfly with the Mojo, and stating that Mojo 'can't be rubberbanded to a smartphone', Darko hasn't rubber-banded the Dragonfly, in that recent review, either. He's instead used velcro, and that is exactly what anyone can do with Mojo, too, so his point is utterly moot.
 
 
 
I'm not even saying this to defend Mojo. Heck, I don't work for Chord. It just gets irritating when someone repeatedly leads the public to believe something which is barely true, except in a small minority of cases.
 
 
 
 
 
Anyway, that rubber-band nonsense aside, the tiny Dragonfly Red looks like a nice little product. I'll make sure to give it a listen, should the opportunity pass my way, at some point in the near future.

I agree. Hence I only use it on flights, but its worth it. Moving around, DFR all day. I use both (when possible with a Schiit Audio Wyrd) given neither are galvanically isolated. Contrary to the Hugo TT. I first did this with a Meridian Explorer. I establish and use the cleanest USB port on my Mac Pro (many are shared with other internals), you can determine this to check which port shares nothing else. Use this port, with a HUB, and a re-clocker if you feel the need: Wryd, Isotona etc and the gains are substantial, good bang for buck.