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

[RiseFall123]

money, physical form factor, battery life, internal electrical noise

I think he means about music not about all that stuff related to the device. But, according to, the source means, for example I notice difference between software players even when they are in "default" settings with the same driver, with the same dac.

I want to report that today I had another listening session with the Mojo as dac in the main speakers rig with a decent signal cable and once again I need to say that as dac the Mojo is totally NOT rolled off in the highs, nothing at all. The sparkle is all there, while in the other part of the audio spectrum it sounds better than my desktop dac.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

It does matter.
You have assumed that he was talking about the 1s and 0s, but he could have been thinking in terms of value for money, physical form factor, battery life, internal electrical noise.

This is analogous to him asking 'how is the BMW as a car?', but not indicating if was interested in speed, acceleration, price, reliability, etc.

You serious, dude? This is asking about the Mojo, it's bleedingly obviously he was asking in terms of how well the 6S+ works as a source to the Mojo, he wasn't just asking generic cell phone advice.

But okay slugger, you just keep on keepin' on lmao.

"Hey guys, maybe he was asking if it came in pretty colors! And when this dude asked if the Mojo was good, I think he wanted to know if the texture was pleasant!"

 

[jarnopp]

I am looking for an headphone that pair very well with the Mojo, that has a low impedance, that is fun and full body like the Nighthawk but with the pads that are not as deep, I mean with the pads that are small as the HD6** headphones (they not deep at all). This because I can’t have a right comfort listening on the bed using a deep pad instead with the HD650 I have no issue.

Sounds like this could be end game for you:
https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/focal-clear-over-ear-open-headphones
63 ohms and easy to drive

Or, for half th price if you move quickly (only 15 hours left):
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-focal-elex-headphones
80 ohms impedance

 

[tayano]

Yes, I’m asking how good it’s as a source for the mojo. Pure sonically question. I’ve read elsewhere that a phone as a source doesn’t do the mojo justice.

This is what caused me to ask about the 6S+:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sen...r-for-the-hd650.862308/page-125#post-13944534
And a few posts earlier too.

I really don’t get that since a source is a source, should it really matter that much? It doesn’t in my logic.

Regarding sources again, I read that optical out filter out the jitter and is preferred instead of usb (that can have a dirty output).

I’ve a usb to spdif adapter at home, is this good enough to remove the jitter?

I’m also thinking of using Computer -> Airplay -> a Apple Tv3 -> optical out -> mojo if my usb is not clean enough.

 

[miketlse]

Sounds like this could be end game for you:
https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/focal-clear-over-ear-open-headphones
63 ohms and easy to drive

Or, for half th price if you move quickly (only 15 hours left):
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-focal-elex-headphones
80 ohms impedance

Also worth reading these interesting reviews:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/focal-clear.22796/reviews#review-19569
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/massdrop-x-focal-elex-review-measurements.867615/
The Mojo was one of the DACs used during testing for this review https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ath-adx5000.22829/reviews#review-19623

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I am looking for an headphone that pair very well with the Mojo, that has a low impedance, that is fun and full body like the Nighthawk but with the pads that are not as deep, I mean with the pads that are small as the HD6** headphones (they not deep at all). This because I can’t have a right comfort listening on the bed using a deep pad instead with the HD650 I have no issue.

The new Focal Clear is an awesome combination with the Mojo, fantastic tone, clarity, pace, and dynamics.

 

[RiseFall123]

“Not recommended for those who are looking for smooth and warm sounding headphone.” And I am very much on the warm side while the Clear seem very pricey even double and more than the Mojo.

Ok, I will give a second chance to the Nighthawk because I find them new 35% less than the priced I pay the first time (when returned).

For sure the pair hd650-mojo seem not to be my taste with many music. I will test again the NH-mojo and I will try to find a workaround for the discomfort I had with them when listening on bed (99% of where I listen to hps).

 

[bluenight]

“Not recommended for those who are looking for smooth and warm sounding headphone.” And I am very much on the warm side while the Clear seem very pricey even double and more than the Mojo.
W
Ok, I will give a second chance to the Nighthawk because I find them new 35% less than the priced I pay the first time (when returned).

For sure the pair hd650-mojo seem not to be my taste with many music. I will test again the NH-mojo and I will try to find a workaround for the discomfort I had with them when listening on bed (99% of where I listen to hps).

Another option could be to get another headphone amp to connect with mojo and hd 650. I have self been intrested in trying "ifi ican se" so i recommend that one. Read good things about it seems to be alot if bang for the bucks.

Maybe its the one you have now that caused sibilance with mojo and hd650 as you posted earlier. I dont hear sibilance with mine external amp(lake people rs 02).

 

[SomeGuyDude]

“Not recommended for those who are looking for smooth and warm sounding headphone.” And I am very much on the warm side while the Clear seem very pricey even double and more than the Mojo.

Ok, I will give a second chance to the Nighthawk because I find them new 35% less than the priced I pay the first time (when returned).

For sure the pair hd650-mojo seem not to be my taste with many music. I will test again the NH-mojo and I will try to find a workaround for the discomfort I had with them when listening on bed (99% of where I listen to hps).

If you're trying to listen to big ol' over-ears headphones while lying down, you're gonna have a bad time.

 

[x RELIC x]

Regarding sources again, I read that optical out filter out the jitter and is preferred instead of usb (that can have a dirty output).

I’ve a usb to spdif adapter at home, is this good enough to remove the jitter?

I’m also thinking of using Computer -> Airplay -> a Apple Tv3 -> optical out -> mojo if my usb is not clean enough.

Measurably, jitter isn’t an issue here with Chord DACs (but is commonly thought to be), it’s RF noise and the filtering of that noise that makes a difference. I’m not talking about the pops and clicks from EMI cel phone signals but rather electrical noise that gets in to the analogue stage and spices up the sound. Rob has posted extensively about this and you can find much of this information in the third post of this thread. Optical filters out the electrical noise because the data is transferred as pulses of light rather than voltage down a wire.

This comes up almost every week in this thread even though the title points to where all the information resides.

 

[RiseFall123]

Another option could be to get another headphone amp to connect with mojo and hd 650. I have self been intrested in trying "ifi ican se" so i recommend that one. Read good things about it seems to be alot if bang for the bucks.

Maybe its the one you have now that caused sibilance with mojo and hd650 as you posted earlier. I dont hear sibilance with mine external amp(lake people rs 02).

I had sibilance with hd650 and asus E1, I am giving another chance to the NH just to have less chain possible trying to achieve to a not sibilance and full sound.

If you're trying to listen to big ol' over-ears headphones while lying down, you're gonna have a bad time.

Why?

 

[miketlse]

“Not recommended for those who are looking for smooth and warm sounding headphone.” And I am very much on the warm side while the Clear seem very pricey even double and more than the Mojo.

Ok, I will give a second chance to the Nighthawk because I find them new 35% less than the priced I pay the first time (when returned).

For sure the pair hd650-mojo seem not to be my taste with many music. I will test again the NH-mojo and I will try to find a workaround for the discomfort I had with them when listening on bed (99% of where I listen to hps).

I have been wondering about whether listening to open backed headphones, whilst lying on a pillow is causing some of your problems. One of the key points for open backed headphones, is often said to be that they remove the potential for sound to be reflected back from the headphone case, to ones ear. I do wonder if lying on a pillow changes the sound signature, because some sound is absorbed by the pillow, and some is reflected back to your ear.

 

[GreenBow]

We must choose to lose impact

So very interesting, I am one of the many that struggle with himself to understand if "more dynamic" means less trasparency, so, If I need to "educate" my ear to listen to less "powerful and filling" sound on my HD650 or just back to my desktop headphone amp. I need to add, yet, that the Mojo has a narrow soundstage. This is not an opinion, this is objective. In the end, though, I am sticking to the Mojo and my trusty HD650 for these days, enjoining it. Maybe educating my hearing.

I want to state that I finally tried the Mojo as only DAC in my main rig (speakers rig) with a decent RCA cable. So, the initial impressions that the Mojo had the "roll off higs" isn't true. The Mojo maybe has a touch of roll off on the highs but it's very little. I was mistaken because I use it with a poor rca cable. Now my main rig sound again with the "sparkle", the downside is that the listening is again fatiguing (as I had with my previous dac). It's not the the Mojo to be guilty (in fact, with HD650 is not fatiguing at all) but my amp and my speakers that are on the "bright" side.​

Really glad you see the Mojo as I do now.

It might be worth trying the AudioQuest Jitterbug. If you buy it on Amazon and don't think it cools the Mojo a fraction. Then you could return it as long as you are Ok with doing that.

I think the Jitterbug doesn't come in a security sealed box, so it's OK to try. (I can't find the box mine came in, so I can't be sure.)

Some people actually said that the Jitterbug cured the top end of the Mojo too much. I thought that at first, but didn't give it a second thought. I just decided just live with the Mojo as it was. The Jitterbug only takes noise off the USB power rails. Apparently that noise causes a slight brightness and some listener fatigue, by somehow interfering in the analogue parts of the DAC.

I found that I very soon adjusted to the Mojo with the Jitterbug. Only the same as someone e.g. slightly altering the treble setting on a music centre. We might resist at first, but that's all.

 

[RiseFall123]

I have been wondering about whether listening to open backed headphones, whilst lying on a pillow is causing some of your problems. One of the key points for open backed headphones, is often said to be that they remove the potential for sound to be reflected back from the headphone case, to ones ear. I do wonder if lying on a pillow changes the sound signature, because some sound is absorbed by the pillow, and some is reflected back to your ear.

I never thought that the pillow could change the sound signature of an open headphone, surely it’s not the ideal way to listen (even for a closed kind). Also, when the pads are depth it’s even worse due to the discomfort of the pads inside the pillow and ear ache for this. I am trying to find a pillow that is good for the purpose in fact.

But I can’t help it. On-ear I dont like, in-ear I dont like (only when I am outside I use them), closed I don’t like (want to listen around when music is not playing).

Really glad you see the Mojo as I do now.

It might be worth trying the AudioQuest Jitterbug. If you buy it on Amazon and don't think it cools the Mojo a fraction. Then you could return it as long as you are Ok with doing that.

I think the Jitterbug doesn't come in a security sealed box, so it's OK to try. (I can't find the box mine came in, so I can't be sure.)

Some people actually said that the Jitterbug cured the top end of the Mojo too much. I thought that at first, but didn't give it a second thought. I just decided just live with the Mojo as it was. The Jitterbug only takes noise off the USB power rails. Apparently that noise causes a slight brightness and some listener fatigue, by somehow interfering in the analogue parts of the DAC.

I found that I very soon adjusted to the Mojo with the Jitterbug. Only the same as someone e.g. slightly altering the treble setting on a music centre. We might resist at first, but that's all.

It’s absolutely on my wishlist I will buy soon and will use in the laptop chain and in the iPhone chain.

 

[x RELIC x]

I never thought that the pillow could change the sound signature of an open headphone, surely it’s not the ideal way to listen (even for a closed kind). Also, when the pads are depth it’s even worse due to the discomfort of the pads inside the pillow and ear ache for this. I am trying to find a pillow that is good for the purpose in fact.

But I can’t help it. On-ear I dont like, in-ear I dont like (only when I am outside I use them), closed I don’t like (want to listen around when music is not playing).

Ear pad position can change the sound quite a bit actually depending on the headohone. This, plus comfort issues, are legitimate concerns.

My recommendation is to just use a throw pillow or similar smaller pillow(s) for your head that won’t affect the headphone placement or comfort.