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

[nanoevil]

As a Hugo owner / user I tried the Mojo yesterday.
 
Sounds like a Hugo...very clean and detailed sounding in a very small package
 
Sound wise its very close to the Hugo in all aspects. All the details are there...Same weight on the Lows. A friend of mine who reviewed it says the mids are more smoother and more present in the Mojo than the Hugo. I didn't hear that given I don't like the sound of the HE400s which I was listening too but having heard it on other amp / dac combos I would say the the 400s with the Mojo is still the best I heard it sound. The highs on the HE400s were meh...and that also had me not listen to it for a long time during my Mojo audition.
 
The setup was my Note 4 as source connected via micro usb to the Mojo. Using USB Audio Player Pro playing some DSD files and Hifiman HE400s being the headphone.
 
Changing my previous comment to no gripes...as verified that the Mojo power is the same as the Hugo
 
Great DAC for the price...very tempting to pair it with the Liquid Carbon
 
 

 

[Duncan]

Yes it is impressive indeed.  Why not just use your ZX2 or even a cheaper player such as the A17 as a transport unless you need additional storage space on the QP1R.  The MOJO is really impressive in my book.  The jury is still out between the MOJO and PHA3 IMO.

The Sony is nerfed in Europe, running on AC only, so that kills that option for me, also, could use a Sony player as a transport but the cumbersome size of the adapter is a right royal PITA compared to a TOSLink jack (for truly pocketable usage)...

Sony could've had it so right, but they keep doing little things that really mess it up!!

 

[Bengkia369]

While waiting for my Mojo to arrive, now listening to Hugo line out to Pathos Autrim tube amp, with Grado GS1000i is just awesome! 

 

[Torq]

With iOS and Android there are apps like Onkyo and UAPP that have no issues with high resolution files. Storage wise there are various options, but we should also remember that a phone as a transport has streaming options too. I would look at the ASUS Zenfone 2 with 128gb and a card slot allowing a further 200gb of expansion if I wanted maximum local storage (or a high capacity iPhone with an extended battery with card slot in the iOS realm), or if you're prepared to mess with your phone a bit you can use a 512gb SD card via an adapter. Can certainly see the convenience aspect for those with very large collections though.

 
Appreciate you pointing it out ... though I've played with the ONKYO app ... it works fine, but still has to deal with the limited storage capacity on the phone and the additional hassle of using iTunes File Exchange for getting music into it.
 
Stopping, for a moment, to clarify my personal, portable, use-case ... it's generally when I'm traveling, which means planes and long flights.  And that means either no-WiFi or WiFi so poor that even streaming low-quality Spotify is hit and miss, never mind high-quality or TIDAL.  Also, I have very low tolerance for "fiddly" solutions.  The less I have to carry the better.  My most recent drive has been to get to a portable music solution that can be FULLY charged and powered from standard USB chargers/battery-packs.
 
Everyone is different and I can certainly see many of the available options working for many people.  When I said "challenges", I meant that the solutions are not as clean and simple as I want them to be.  For now, the AK120 with 464 GB of onboard storage and an external DAC/amp looks like the best option and, based on no listening at all, I opted for the Mojo over the ALO Int+ OE.  If I didn't already have the AK120 I'd look at things like the QPR1 or X5/7 etc.
 
Thanks for the suggestions all the same!

 

[Wilderbeast]

  Comparing AK240 and iPhone 6S+as a transport, both using the Mojo as a DAC - is there any noticeable difference? Because the more I have used the 6S+, the more I feel that it actually sounds better than my AK240, straight out to my Layla and K10. I'd probably be taking a beating on this but I am just being blunt honest on what I hear. I do own way better desktop gear with top end DACs, headphone amps and headphones (LCD3, HE1000, BHSE and SR009 included) so I am pretty sure my hearing or taste is still intact.

I've been through many A&K, FiiO, iBasso and Cowon DAPs over the past couple of years. I prefer the sound quality of the iPhone 6 over all of them. There, I said it.
 
I do find using the iPhone frustrating for music though. I hate not being able to skip tracks without turning on the screen, and the volume change steps are too big.
 
It's a shame the Mojo can't control the iPhone in the same way the AK10 does (play, pause, skip etc.) Can't wait to get hold of mine though - being delivered today.

 

[x RELIC x]

As a Hugo owner / user I tried the Mojo yesterday.

Sounds like a Hugo...very clean and detailed sounding in a very small package

Sound wise its very close to the Hugo in all aspects. All the details are there...Same weight on the Lows. A friend of mine who reviewed it says the mids are more smoother and more present in the Mojo than the Hugo. I didn't hear that given I don't like the sound of the HE400s which I was listening too but having heard it on other amp / dac combos I would say the the 400s with the Mojo is still the best I heard it sound. The highs on the HE400s were meh...and that also had me not listen to it for a long time during my Mojo audition.

The setup was my Note 4 as source connected via micro usb to the Mojo. Using USB Audio Player Pro playing some DSD files and Hifiman HE400s being the headphone.

Only gripe was power output was indeed lower...Mojo was already at Dark Blue in the volume color scale which I know is around 80% already just to get the HE400s to a volume I wanted it to be.

Great DAC for the price...very tempting to pair it with the Liquid Carbon

I think this needs to be clarified. When the MoJo volume reaches the white volume colour it isn't the max. After white it goes in to a finer increment volume control and the volume up (+) button changes colour through the spectrum and the volume down (-) button remains consistent. The reverse is true for minimum volume. I suspect there is more volume output than people realize.

 

[AndrewH13]

AndrewH13, this is what I've got for now and it seems to work fine. It's a bit of a joke but I don't have a shorter coaxial cable so, well, yeah.

I'm using the 3.5mm mono to RCA adaptor that came with the X5 1st gen to connect to the MoJo end. It looks like Moon Audio can make a 3.5mm mono coaxial cable with the appropriate pin configuration that I may look in to. I tried a regular 3.5mm stereo interconnect from the X5 1st gen to the MoJo and it output sound but there was a load of hiss.

At the release event, Chord were kind enough to provide 4 extra cables, but it always seems optical is covered for AK daps and USBs for laptops. I had the same at shops demoing iems and the Hugo in the past, only optical cables available for connection.

I did think I had found previously, a stereo analogue cable had problems so thanks for confirming. And in the hifi world, 75 ohms is always stated as needed for a digital co-ax cable.

I have now found a small 3.5 to phono adapter in the garage, so that should be fine joined to the small Fiio lead.

My only negative point I could come up with in my whole TT review was a non-standard co-ax connection needing a convertor

 

[uzi2]

  As a Hugo owner / user I tried the Mojo yesterday.
 
Sounds like a Hugo...very clean and detailed sounding in a very small package
 
Sound wise its very close to the Hugo in all aspects. All the details are there...Same weight on the Lows. A friend of mine who reviewed it says the mids are more smoother and more present in the Mojo than the Hugo. I didn't hear that given I don't like the sound of the HE400s which I was listening too but having heard it on other amp / dac combos I would say the the 400s with the Mojo is still the best I heard it sound. The highs on the HE400s were meh...and that also had me not listen to it for a long time during my Mojo audition.
 
The setup was my Note 4 as source connected via micro usb to the Mojo. Using USB Audio Player Pro playing some DSD files and Hifiman HE400s being the headphone.
 
Only gripe was power output was indeed lower...Mojo was already at Dark Blue in the volume color scale which I know is around 80% already just to get the HE400s to a volume I wanted it to be.
 
Great DAC for the price...very tempting to pair it with the Liquid Carbon
 

I think you'll find that your power output was only 40% as it has a two button arrangement.
Power output is equal to the Hugo.

 

[obsidyen]

  I've been through many A&K, FiiO, iBasso and Cowon DAPs over the past couple of years. I prefer the sound quality of the iPhone 6 over all of them. There, I said it.
 
I do find using the iPhone frustrating for music though. I hate not being able to skip tracks without turning on the screen, and the volume change steps are too big.
 
It's a shame the Mojo can't control the iPhone in the same way the AK10 does (play, pause, skip etc.) Can't wait to get hold of mine though - being delivered today.

The new LG V10, which has ESS Sabre dac and amp, has 75 step volume control.

 

[x RELIC x]

At the release event, Chord were kind enough to provide 4 extra cables, but it always seems optical is covered for AK daps and USBs for laptops. I had the same at shops demoing iems and the Hugo in the past, only optical cables available for connection.

I did think I had found previously, a stereo analogue cable had problems so thanks for confirming. And in the hifi world, 75 ohms is always stated as needed for a digital co-ax cable.

I have now found a small 3.5 to phono adapter in the garage, so that should be fine joined to the small Fiio lead.

My only negative point I could come up with in my whole TT review was a non-standard co-ax connection needing a convertor

Yeah, I think that supplied cables/adaptors is the only misstep with the MoJo. What extra cables did they have for you?

 

[Rob Watts]

Apart from the extra resolution the display has over Hugo, the colours are the same for a given output level for Mojo and Hugo, as they have the same volume code and identical analogue gain. Both have potentially +18 dB digital gain, but Hugo just displays it as white.
 
Rob

 

[x RELIC x]

Apart from the extra resolution the display has over Hugo, the colours are the same for a given output level for Mojo and Hugo, as they have the same volume code and identical analogue gain. Both have potentially +18 dB digital gain, but Hugo just displays it as white.

Rob

Rob, When adjusting the volume beyond the range of red to white where both buttons display the same colour what would you say the extra range is where only one of the volume buttons change colour?

 

[audionewbi]

  There are at least 3 flavors for 3.5-mm coaxial S/PDIF connections - namely TS (2-pole) / TRS (3-pole) / TRRS (4-pole)
 

---

 

---

 

---

 
It's so hilarious that BNC (rather than 3.5-mm) was mentioned on page 8
 
http://www.chordelectronics.co.uk/mojo/manual/Mojo-User-Manual.pdf
 
If each coaxial cable were NOT terminated with the right TS / TRS / TRRS connector, then it won't work properly.
 
Some of us learned that lesson the hard way with FiiO X5 2nd gen, that's why I couldn't understand why they still didn't clarify what's going on with the coaxial input of Mojo.

I read somewhere that using a 3.5 coaxial (or even the RCA) will not give a true 75 ohm impedance. 

 

[Beolab]

Im in a search for a small/medium sized DAC with more grunt, impact / richness in the base than my current too neutral Chord Hugo im using today. Would the Mojo be more suitable for this task or is it just slight warmer better bass impact?

The Hugo are holding the bass back and get harsh :thumbsdown_tone1::thumbsdown_tone1::thumbsdown_tone1::thumbsdown_tone1:

Any suggestions

 

[nanoevil]

  I think you'll find that your power output was only 40% as it has a two button arrangement.
Power output is equal to the Hugo.

Well that's a relief. Thanks for correcting me...if the power output is the same then I don't have any gripes regarding the mojo then hahaha