[jarnopp]

Thanks ! will try to dig into these battery failure reports. To be honest I looked at the Mojo because of the price. Not willing to put 1500 or 2000 in a DAC.
Compared to my Pioneer DAP or on top of it, should I expect much better quality as well? Or should I just stick to the DAP?

I would stand behind the thinking that you will get much better SQ. Mojo has been the best purchase in 35 years of this hobby. Also, if you will only need in a home system and not for portability, you can save some money by finding a used Mojo and removing the battery. They are reported (even by the designer) to work plugged in without the battery, and the output should be fine feeding an amplifier.

 

[surfgeorge]

Cheers, I will try to find the info, thanks

If your car has a 3,5mm jack for analog input you can use a

Thanks ! will try to dig into these battery failure reports. To be honest I looked at the Mojo because of the price. Not willing to put 1500 or 2000 in a DAC.
Compared to my Pioneer DAP or on top of it, should I expect much better quality as well? Or should I just stick to the DAP?

I found a new Mojo for €360, paid €600 for a used 2Qute (too much) and saw used HUGO being sold for below €800 (great option for stationary use). HUGO 1 and 2Qute use the same DAC circuit AFAIK.

If you want to use the Mojo with your Stereo, plug an AC timer between your charger and the Mojo and set it up to charge only for 1-2h each night while you are sleeping. That way you should have always enough juice but never charge and use it at the same time. And if you don't use it for an extended period of time try to store it half charged only, if possible.

I don't know which Pioneer DAP you have and it will depend on what headset you are using.
I find the difference to my lowly Cayin N3 and HiBy R3 quite big, and headphones showing it even better than IEMs.

 

[guiribz]

I found a new Mojo for €360, paid €600 for a used 2Qute (too much) and saw used HUGO being sold for below €800 (great option for stationary use). HUGO 1 and 2Qute use the same DAC circuit AFAIK.

If you want to use the Mojo with your Stereo, plug an AC timer between your charger and the Mojo and set it up to charge only for 1-2h each night while you are sleeping. That way you should have always enough juice but never charge and use it at the same time. And if you don't use it for an extended period of time try to store it half charged only, if possible.

I don't know which Pioneer DAP you have and it will depend on what headset you are using.
I find the difference to my lowly Cayin N3 and HiBy R3 quite big, and headphones showing it even better than IEMs.

May I ask where you found the new Mojo for 360eur ? I'm using a Pioneer XDP-100R mostly with a sennheiser momentum / tried my AKG K702 but seems it needs more juice ...

 

[surfgeorge]

May I ask where you found the new Mojo for 360eur ? I'm using a Pioneer XDP-100R mostly with a sennheiser momentum / tried my AKG K102 but seems it needs more juice ...

I'll PM you....

 

[miketlse]

Cheers, I will try to find the info, thanks

Use the search term 'car' and you get plenty of links such as this https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...in-3rd-post-◄★☆.784602/page-895#post-12424997

 

[dakanao]

For some reason, my HD 650 sounds more present with the vocals with my onboard soundcard vs the Chord Mojo... Is this because of 2nd harmonic distortion, or something else?

Everything else though is better, like it should be.

 

[canali]

just bought some grado GH1......anyone have these with the mojo?
i also have the senn/massdrop hd6xx....not into spending $$$$ headfi
given the little time i use them (prefer speakers), but still want good SQ.

 

[ZappaMan]

For some reason, my HD 650 sounds more present with the vocals with my onboard soundcard vs the Chord Mojo... Is this because of 2nd harmonic distortion, or something else?

Everything else though is better, like it should be.

Is there a specific song and I’ll check on my mojo / stx essence 2 / hd650?

 

[dakanao]

Is there a specific song and I’ll check on my mojo / stx essence 2 / hd650?

This one here for example. On 0:45 when the first couplet starts (and throughout the whole song) the vocals are more present with my Realtek onboard chip vs the Mojo.

https://z1.fm/song/14658494

 

[dakanao]

Is there a specific song and I’ll check on my mojo / stx essence 2 / hd650?

And, how do you find the difference in vocal emphasis?

 

[ZappaMan]

And, how do you find the difference in vocal emphasis?

Sorry I got distracted. I’ll try tonight - all being well.

 

[bocosb]

Any new information regarding batteries? Looks like my battery died a second time - first time the original battery lasted 1 year and a half, second time the replacement died after 1 year and 4 months - both times after not being used for around 3 weeks. I could go for paying for a replacement battery every 3 years, but every year and a half it's too short of a life + the hassle of sending it back, maybe Mojo really isn't suited as a desktop amp? Actually i would like something like a bypass battery, i use the Mojo 99% of the time as a desktop dac

 

[miketlse]

Any new information regarding batteries? Looks like my battery died a second time - first time the original battery lasted 1 year and a half, second time the replacement died after 1 year and 4 months - both times after not being used for around 3 weeks. I could go for paying for a replacement battery every 3 years, but every year and a half it's too short of a life + the hassle of sending it back, maybe Mojo really isn't suited as a desktop amp? Actually i would like something like a bypass battery, i use the Mojo 99% of the time as a desktop dac

Historically the advice was always that one needed to replace the battery.
In recent months it has been discovered that it is technically possible to use the Mojo without a battery. See this example post.
Several users have posted that their Mojos work successfully in desktop mode without a battery.
I think that @Rob Watts has clarified the situation, in that whilst it is technically possible to operate a Mojo without a battery, this is not the recommended solution by Chord from a warranty point of view.
However if your Mojo is now out of warranty, you effectively can choose whether to operate your Mojo with or without a battery.

 

[bocosb]

I have to do anything specific to use it without battery? or just open it, unplug/remove the battery and connect to the charger?

I kinda feel the design isn't right tho.. I bought my Mojo in feb 2016, couple of months after release, buying on the marketed idea that it's perfectly usable as a desktop dac and as John Franks said: "the batteries are expected to last far longer than three years. The batteries in our designs are not subject to damaging deep discharge cycles or anything more than very light current demand .... Batteries used for power tools are quite a different matter, but in our units expect a life of greater than ten years."
Well.. 3 years and 2 batteries later i feel kinda cheated, i bought a Chord dac expecting well thought design that should go with a respectable brand and while i was not banking on the ten years promised for the battery life i was hoping for at least 3 to 5 years. Leaving that aside from a SQ point of view i LOVE this little device, i just want it to work more reliable, as intended.

 

[x RELIC x]

I have to do anything specific to use it without battery? or just open it, unplug/remove the battery and connect to the charger?

I kinda feel the design isn't right tho.. I bought my Mojo in feb 2016, couple of months after release, buying on the marketed idea that it's perfectly usable as a desktop dac and as John Franks said: "the batteries are expected to last far longer than three years. The batteries in our designs are not subject to damaging deep discharge cycles or anything more than very light current demand .... Batteries used for power tools are quite a different matter, but in our units expect a life of greater than ten years."
Well.. 3 years and 2 batteries later i feel kinda cheated, i bought a Chord dac expecting well thought design that should go with a respectable brand and while i was not banking on the ten years promised for the battery life i was hoping for at least 3 to 5 years. Leaving that aside from a SQ point of view i LOVE this little device, i just want it to work more reliable, as intended.

Use as intended is for portable use. Did you have it plugged in continuously for months? I sympathize with the fact that you had replaced two batteries, but lithium powered devices left plugged in continuously will likely die prematurely. That’s just the way it is. Leaving a lithium battery plugged in for extended periods and at above 4.1V/cel can be more detrimental than heat or charge cycles. I know John was posting about how great the battery in the Mojo is but it is still subject to the limitations of lithium chemistry. I feel that it was unfortunate that the impression was given that it would be unharmful to leave plugged in. You’ll find the same effects with laptops, cellular phones, and pretty much anything that runs on lithium batteries if plugged in all the time.

I’ve had the Mojo since launch and mine still lasts around 8 hrs on average with lossless 16/44.1 file playback, and I charge it at least twice a week.

Here’s a couple of excerpts from Battery University regarding leaving a lithium battery continuously above 4.1V/cel:

https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

"for most Li-ion a voltage above 4.10V/cell is deemed as high voltage. Exposing the battery to high temperature and dwelling in a full state-of-charge for an extended time can be more stressful than cycling."

And

"Besides selecting the best-suited voltage thresholds for a given application, a regular Li-ion should not remain at the high-voltage ceiling of 4.20V/cell for an extended time. The Li-ion charger turns off the charge current and the battery voltage reverts to a more natural level. This is like relaxing the muscles after a strenuous exercise."

For these intents a lithium polymer battery, like in the Mojo, behaves the same as lithium ion. Simple solution... unplug the power source if you don’t need to charge it.