[x RELIC x]

I thought I'd explain why I'm returning my Mojo and buying a Hugo.

While the Mojo can be fantastic with some music and the exceptional timing is pleasing and low fatigue, with IE800s I find this is spoilt by overly warm low-mids and elevated bass, making it frustratingly hit-and-miss depending on the song. While the specs and reviews suggest it has plenty of power to drive the HD650 + HD800 I cannot live with it. I find it anaemic, lacking weight, clarity and commitment. While the gap is smaller with IEMs, the Hugo is worlds apart with the HD800.

The Hugo blitzes my Benchmark DAC1 + Graham Slee Solo + PSU1 with additional emotion, superior timing and placement, and yet it is semi-portable. It's a complete breakthrough being able to get superior analytical listening anywhere in the house without dragging power cables and multiple boxes around. I find the Mojo awkward for proper portable use with an Apple device due to the cables, so I've ended up just plugging the IE800s straight into the phone when walking around or on local public transport and only using the Mojo where I have a desk or tray - train, plane, office, home, where a Hugo would be fine. The Mojo advantage then comes purely down to cost, but given the Hugo will replace my home setup, in my situation it ends up being better value.

Strictly speaking of drive power, the Mojo and Hugo have the same power output but different battery run times so I'd say your enjoying the synergy more for your tastes. I've really got to try the Hugo and Mojo with the HD800 to figure out why this kind of comment keeps coming up if the output drive is virtually the same.

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

I thought I'd explain why I'm returning my Mojo and buying a Hugo.

While the Mojo can be fantastic with some music and the exceptional timing is pleasing and low fatigue, with IE800s I find this is spoilt by overly warm low-mids and elevated bass, making it frustratingly hit-and-miss depending on the song. While the specs and reviews suggest it has plenty of power to drive the HD650 + HD800 I cannot live with it. I find it anaemic, lacking weight, clarity and commitment. While the gap is smaller with IEMs, the Hugo is worlds apart with the HD800.

The Hugo blitzes my Benchmark DAC1 + Graham Slee Solo + PSU1 with additional emotion, superior timing and placement, and yet it is semi-portable. It's a complete breakthrough being able to get superior analytical listening anywhere in the house without dragging power cables and multiple boxes around. I find the Mojo awkward for proper portable use with an Apple device due to the cables, so I've ended up just plugging the IE800s straight into the phone when walking around or on local public transport and only using the Mojo where I have a desk or tray - train, plane, office, home, where a Hugo would be fine. The Mojo advantage then comes purely down to cost, but given the Hugo will replace my home setup, in my situation it ends up being better value.

Did you try parametric EQ to adjust the response? If you want portable, Mojo is a better option in terms of size.

 

[HiFiChris]

Need a hard durable case to Cary and protect Mojo and an ciem, one that when I put mojo, ciem, cable doesn't rattle and doesn't move anything inside... What do you guys carry? Any pictures?

 
The Pelican case has already been mentioned, but what could be a good idea too is a bag for a pocket camera (I'm also currently looking for a case for my Chord Mojo to put it in when it is not in use or when I'm traveling).

 

[HiFiChris]

  Snug as a bug.
 
[...]
 

 
If it's not too much to ask, could you post a picture of what it looks like from the side when the lid is open and the Mojo is inside?


I'm thinking of getting the Hama 40f or 40j for my Mojo, too, but am a little worried that it won't fit well with the installed DIGNIS case.

 

[Deftone]

The the ie800 made everything sound overly bassy and warm thats the way it is. Music or sources 

 

[hakuzen]

going cheap with this one for transport (tight width, about 1cm spare length, but it doesn't rattle thanks to the elastic grid/pocket -this is horizontal, not vertical like in the pics-):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Organization-Creative-Folding-Environmental-For-Makeup-storage-organizer-Travel-Portable-Multifunction-Data-Line-Mass-Storage/32668173751.html
 
hard material, and longer (you can add your iem, foam keep both in place), but also cheap:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-Waterproof-Earphone-Box-Square-Portable-Storage-Bag-Sponge-Damping-Headphone-Compression-Earphone-Case/32738659847.html
 
edit: even cheaper..
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-Waterproof-Earphone-Bag-Headset-Case-HeadsetBox-Protective-Case-Portable-Storage-Bag-For-KZ-ED10/32734573006.html

 

[senny-ftw]

The the ie800 made everything sound overly bassy and warm thats the way it is. Music or sources

 
This isn't present with DAC1, or Hugo, or even 5.5g iPod. It's well published that the Mojo is warmer and less neutral than the Hugo to make it more forgiving to poor recordings but I believe this is what makes it a difficult pairing with IE800s.

 

[sabloke]

Not a review but...
 
None the less, I was curious about the little Mojo from Chord and gave it a little listen. A quick swap back and forth from the AK240 to the Mojo using the optical digital out from the AK240 revealed an audible improvement in smoothness and tightness of response. Seems like a potentially worthy little amp.
Read more at http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/canjam-rmaf2016#4iFlyDZzPxPjtdzh.99

 

[x RELIC x]

Not a review but...
 
None the less, I was curious about the little Mojo from Chord and gave it a little listen. A quick swap back and forth from the AK240 to the Mojo using the optical digital out from the AK240 revealed an audible improvement in smoothness and tightness of response. Seems like a potentially worthy little amp.

Read more at http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/canjam-rmaf2016#4iFlyDZzPxPjtdzh.99

And yet Tyll calls it an amp.... :rolleyes:

 

[ubs28]

  I thought I'd explain why I'm returning my Mojo and buying a Hugo.
 
While the Mojo can be fantastic with some music and the exceptional timing is pleasing and low fatigue, with IE800s I find this is spoilt by overly warm low-mids and elevated bass, making it frustratingly hit-and-miss depending on the song. While the specs and reviews suggest it has plenty of power to drive the HD650 + HD800 I cannot live with it. I find it anaemic, lacking weight, clarity and commitment. While the gap is smaller with IEMs, the Hugo is worlds apart with the HD800.
 
The Hugo blitzes my Benchmark DAC1 + Graham Slee Solo + PSU1 with additional emotion, superior timing and placement, and yet it is semi-portable. It's a complete breakthrough being able to get superior analytical listening anywhere in the house without dragging power cables and multiple boxes around. I find the Mojo awkward for proper portable use with an Apple device due to the cables, so I've ended up just plugging the IE800s straight into the phone when walking around or on local public transport and only using the Mojo where I have a desk or tray - train, plane, office, home, where a Hugo would be fine. The Mojo advantage then comes purely down to cost, but given the Hugo will replace my home setup, in my situation it ends up being better value.

I also agree with this. I also prefer the Hugo over the Mojo in a home setup with headphones like the HD 650 and HD 800. But I like the Mojo better for portability because it's so super small and works great with my Shure SE846.

 

[jmills8]

I also agree with this. I also prefer the Hugo over the Mojo in a home setup with headphones like the HD 650 and HD 800. But I like the Mojo better for portability because it's so super small and works great with my Shure SE846.

Agree but the Hugo still sounds better indoors or outdoors.

 

[JezR]

   
 
Possibly Q2 2017
 
I doubt the module will have any EQ capability of its own.

Cool, looking forward to this, then a proper case to cover both.

 

[canali]

going cheap with this one for transport (tight width, about 1cm spare length, but it doesn't rattle thanks to the elastic grid/pocket -this is horizontal, not vertical like in the pics-):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Organization-Creative-Folding-Environmental-For-Makeup-storage-organizer-Travel-Portable-Multifunction-Data-Line-Mass-Storage/32668173751.html

hard material, and longer (you can add your iem, foam keep both in place), but also cheap:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-Waterproof-Earphone-Box-Square-Portable-Storage-Bag-Sponge-Damping-Headphone-Compression-Earphone-Case/32738659847.html

edit: even cheaper..
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-Waterproof-Earphone-Bag-Headset-Case-HeadsetBox-Protective-Case-Portable-Storage-Bag-For-KZ-ED10/32734573006.html

Just remember any case should have an extra 1" of length due to extending otg or cck cable, if using the new extender.
either cable going from one device to the other creates a protrusion of about 1".

 

[miketlse]

Many Mojo owners have shown interest in using the new Shanling M1 as a music source for their Mojos.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/816385/shanling-m1-an-ipod-nano-competitor-dap-usb-dac-usb-transport-bluetooth-4-0-aptx-dsd/555#post_12921660
 
Sadly the first batch of the M1 will not work with the Mojo via USB, but a promised firmware update will enable the support for Mojo.
 
More bad news is that the supplied cable will not fit properly into the Mojo USB socket, so Mojo owners will need to buy a new cable.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/816385/shanling-m1-an-ipod-nano-competitor-dap-usb-dac-usb-transport-bluetooth-4-0-aptx-dsd/555#post_12921718
 
This all means that we must wait a bit longer for the first user reviews that mention whether there is good synergy between the M1 and Mojo. 

 

[oyster]

Agree but the Hugo still sounds better indoors or outdoors.

Hugo has it's own set of issues. Treble glare and poor headstage. Mojo at least has a listenable timbre.
And yes, for something like the 650/800 it's a bit anaemic and results in flat dynamics even though plenty loud.