[Larsson]

Hello guys, sorry I dont know if this has been addressed before, but I am in Hong Kong, and when I tried looking for an official retailer on chord's site, i cant locate any. So I am wondering how I can order one? Is there any stores that shop internationally? Especially considering the fx rates right now, if I can pay in pounds that would be great.

I got mine in mainland China, loads of small shops that sell them there, ofc you don't get the same warranty 'n all as it is not an official store, but its was worth it!
 
I paid CN¥3300 which is about HK$3800.

 

[LCeh]

True but how much to ship it to Hong Kong ? Also if you have to ship it out of HK for service you must use DHL or UPS which will cost 560 HKD.

I haven't checked the cost of international shipping. Costs so much?!

 

[jmills8]

I haven't checked the cost of international shipping. Costs so much?!

If free that perfect but I dont know.

 

[emilsoft]

Does anyone find difference in sound with different makes of optical cable? This is my setup Macbook pro > cheap plastic optical cable > Chord Mojo and this doesn't necessarily sound better than USB (they both can sound a little rough in treble with squashed image and dynamics).. i've been eyeing the audioquest forest optical, but not sure if it'll make any difference

 

[LCeh]

If free that perfect but I dont know.

Yea, cause there are like over 60 retailers listed in UK, so it will take a long time to check them all out. That's why I posted here to see if other fellow members have experience. Haha

 

[Larsson]

  Does anyone find difference in sound with different makes of optical cable? This is my setup Macbook pro > cheap plastic optical cable > Chord Mojo and this doesn't necessarily sound better than USB (they both can sound a little rough in treble with squashed image and dynamics).. i've been eyeing the audioquest forest optical, but not sure if it'll make any difference

If you're using a cheap plastic optical cable you will probably be able to hear quite a difference, however I'd argue that such an Audioquest cable is a little overkill xD 
 
I don't think anyone'd hear a difference between the Audioquest Forest and the Audioquest Pearl one, the Pearl one is almost half the price and would work just fine!
 
(ps. I'm not looking to start a sound science debate)

 

[x RELIC x]

Does anyone find difference in sound with different makes of optical cable? This is my setup Macbook pro > cheap plastic optical cable > Chord Mojo and this doesn't necessarily sound better than USB (they both can sound a little rough in treble with squashed image and dynamics).. i've been eyeing the audioquest forest optical, but not sure if it'll make any difference

The only real difference you should notice with a cheap optical cable vs one that is made better is data transmission. If the cable has high modal dispersion it will only allow a certain amount of data through. Plus some optical cables have cheap lenses that also limit data transmission. Some optical cables operate up to 24/96 while better ones will allow 24/192. I've read of a few users who can only transmit 24/96 with their Audioquest optical cable.

Optical data transmission is immune to RF noise and impedance and any other such effects on the audio signal. It's literally pulses of light so data transmission should be the only concern. I'd recommend Sysconcept as a great resource for optical cables. You can browse their site and find virtually any length or cable geometry you want, or contact them with your needs. They are quite helpful.

Edit: I will add, for the detail oriented out there, that optical inputs can have worse jitter. However, Rob has pointed out and explained why his DACs don't suffer the same jitter problem with optical input. So with the Mojo I wouldn't worry about jitter with optical.

 

[emilsoft]

Thanks for that. So in other words, if I'm using 44khz signal and don't experience any dropouts, a cheapo plastic optical cable should sound exactly the same as a much more expensive audioquest one? Isn't there jitter introduced when light transmission is going through cheap plastic material as opposed to say glass?
 
When using an M2Tech Hiface 2 (with battery power) as spdif source for my Mojo, and find the difference when using USB and Optical from my macbook pro huge, it's like the Mojo is seriously handicapped when using it directly with my macbook.. so just trying to find a subtle way to improve it if possible (I'm also waiting for a jitterbug )

 

[x RELIC x]

Thanks for that. So in other words, if I'm using 44khz signal and don't experience any dropouts, a cheapo plastic optical cable should sound exactly the same as a much more expensive audioquest one? Isn't there jitter introduced when light transmission is going through cheap plastic material as opposed to say glass?

When using an M2Tech Hiface 2 (with battery power) as spdif source for my Mojo, and find the difference when using USB and Optical from my macbook pro huge, it's like the Mojo is seriously handicapped when using it directly with my macbook.. so just trying to find a subtle way to improve it if possible (I'm also waiting for a jitterbug )

I edited my post just as you were posting this. Rob has said jitter is not an issue with his DACs with any input and has explained why. You can read about it in the third post of this thread. As far as 'better' between optical and USB input that depends on what you are hearing between the two inputs. If you hear a smoother sound from optical it may mean you are getting RF noise coming from the computer through the USB and it's making the sound brighter/harder with the USB input. Some people actually prefer that to a smoother sound. Again, you can read about this in the third post of this thread.

I'm not sure about what the difference heard with the M2Tech Hiface 2 would be caused from.

 

[Larsson]

The only real difference you should notice with a cheap optical cable vs one that is made better is data transmission. If the cable has high modal dispersion it will only allow a certain amount of data through. Plus some optical cables have cheap lenses that also limit data transmission. Some optical cables operate up to 24/96 while better ones will allow 24/192. I've read of a few users who can only transmit 24/96 with their Audioquest optical cable.

Optical data transmission is immune to RF noise and impedance and any other such effects on the audio signal. It's literally pulses of light so data transmission should be the only concern. I'd recommend Sysconcept as a great resource for optical cables. You can browse their site and find virtually any length or cable geometry you want, or contact them with your needs. They are quite helpful.

Edit: I will add, for the detail oriented out there, that optical inputs can have worse jitter. However, Rob has pointed out and explained why his DACs don't suffer the same jitter problem with optical input. So with the Mojo I wouldn't worry about jitter with optical.

It's worth mentioning that the audible difference between 24/96 and 24/192 is completely nonexistent, so it's not disastrous only being able to transfer up to 24/96 to your DAC.

 

[x RELIC x]

It's worth mentioning that the audible difference between 24/96 and 24/192 is completely nonexistent, so it's not disastrous only being able to transfer up to 24/96 to your DAC.

I'm not going there, keep it in the Sound Science forum. Some people like to see the sampling rate ball light up for 192kHz.

 

[Larsson]

I'm not going there, keep it in the Sound Science forum. Some people like to see the sampling rate ball light up for 192kHz.

I'm sure the ball would light up, your DAC would think it's getting 24/192 but the useful data is only let say 24/96, so it shouldn't matter.
 
Edit: It'd actually be quite interesting to test this in practice, see how the Mojo reacts.

 

[x RELIC x]

I'm sure the ball would light up, your DAC would think it's getting 24/192 but the useful data is only let say 24/96, so it shouldn't matter.

No it won't. If the data for 192 is not transmitted the ball doesn't light up. A few Hugo users have reported the exact same thing.

 

[emilsoft]

I edited my post just as you were posting this. Rob has said jitter is not an issue with his DACs with any input and has explained why. You can read about it in the third post of this thread. As far as 'better' between optical and USB input that depends on what you are hearing between the two inputs. If you hear a smoother sound from optical it may mean you are getting RF noise coming from the computer through the USB and it's making the sound brighter/harder with the USB input. Some people actually prefer that to a smoother sound. Again, you can read about this in the third post of this thread.

 
I do in fact find the optical source a little worse than the USB on my macbook pro, it sounds a little rougher perhaps.. using mojo with mobile via otg improves things, but it's almost night and day difference when using a quality spdif source like my hiface.. i wish the Mojo could extract a better signal from USB
 
M2Tech hiface 2 is well regarded in extracting a clean digital signal, it does one thing well - very stable clock, low jitter etc etc

 

[Larsson]

No it won't. If the data for 192 is not transmitted the ball doesn't light up. A few Hugo users have reported the exact same thing.

I stand corrected then!