Chord Mojo(1) DAC-amp ☆★►FAQ in 3rd post!◄★☆
Dec 20, 2015 at 1:38 PM Post #7,246 of 42,765
 
I have a dedicated computer for my dac, so I plugged the Silver Dragon into my system and just left it. 
But around a year, it started randomly disconnecting from my DAC, where I would have to switch off the DAC and switch it on again to get a signal. 
Soon afterwards, it wouldn't even recognize my DAC. I wanted to see if the problem was due to my DAC.
So I switched to a stock USB cable and it worked flawlessly. 
I agree with you that not all their cables may have bad quality, but do take their manufacturing consistency with a grain of salt. It seems to be all over the place...
I do have their blue dragon that stills works without a hitch... But the Silver Dragon costs twice as much, and it's twice as quick to break... 


Sounds like a cold solder joint since the symptoms are works fine for a period of time, then gets progressively worse. However that's not something one would expect from a $100 cable, but can always happen hand made cables. Did Moon warranty the cable or at least offer to fix it?
 
Dec 20, 2015 at 2:53 PM Post #7,247 of 42,765
Please I am begging can someone answer the question of the first missing second of tracks with computers!
 
Mr Rob Watts posted a solution in post 6822. Also in post 6817 I think there was discussion on the subject.
 
Basically people were reporting the Mojo missed the first second of newly selected tracks. Mr Watts added that it was because the Mojo would be changing sampling frequency, i.e from Windows sounds to HD-audio.
 
However this left me with questions.
 
  • Please has anyone tried out Rob Watts's solution and found it fixed? By adding a second's silence at the start of play, in your music player settings. Does it truly work in JRiver and Foobar, etc?
  • Also if you start playing an album and it works fine now, if you switch tracks, do they work fine too. Presumably it does because there is no change in samping frequency.
  • My third question should not be an issue, because I am wondering about playing CD quality music. With this music the sampling frequency will be the same as Windows sounds. Therefor it should always have worked fine, meaning it never missed the first second of music. However when people reported the issue, no-one mentioned the definition of the audio they were using. Therefor I am left with a niggling doubt. Has CD quality music always worked flawlessly please?
 
Dec 20, 2015 at 3:16 PM Post #7,248 of 42,765
  Please I am begging can someone answer the question of the first missing second of tracks with computers!
 
Mr Rob Watts posted a solution in post 6822. Also in post 6817 I think there was discussion on the subject.
 
Basically people were reporting the Mojo missed the first second of newly selected tracks. Mr Watts added that it was because the Mojo would be changing sampling frequency, i.e from Windows sounds to HD-audio.
 
However this left me with questions.
 
  • Please has anyone tried out Rob Watts's solution and found it fixed? By adding a second's silence at the start of play, in your music player settings. Does it truly work in JRiver and Foobar, etc?
  • Also if you start playing an album and it works fine now, if you switch tracks, do they work fine too. Presumably it does because there is no change in samping frequency.
  • My third question should not be an issue, because I am wondering about playing CD quality music. With this music the sampling frequency will be the same as Windows sounds. Therefor it should always have worked fine, meaning it never missed the first second of music. However when people reported the issue, no-one mentioned the definition of the audio they were using. Therefor I am left with a niggling doubt. Has CD quality music always worked flawlessly please?

 
With my JRiver, I have set up "Play silence at startup for hardware synchronization" to "2 seconds", which solves the issue.
 
On JRiver there is no switching issue when I'm skipping between tracks of same sample rate.
 
Even when you are playing CD quality music, as long as you are using Kernel Streaming, WASAPI or ASIO, Mojo will hog the USB audio output so that it bypasses the Windows audio (i.e. it is not a smooth transition from Windows sounds). This requires varying amount of time, depending on your PC configuration, because often the USB driver needs initialization process. (worst if the USB port is sleeping while left on idle). 
 
Bottom line is that there is no issue with first second of music lost as long as the USB driver is already initialized by your main audio player, and there is no sample rate change between the songs.
 
Dec 20, 2015 at 4:11 PM Post #7,251 of 42,765
   
With my JRiver, I have set up "Play silence at startup for hardware synchronization" to "2 seconds", which solves the issue.
 
On JRiver there is no switching issue when I'm skipping between tracks of same sample rate.
 
Even when you are playing CD quality music, as long as you are using Kernel Streaming, WASAPI or ASIO, Mojo will hog the USB audio output so that it bypasses the Windows audio (i.e. it is not a smooth transition from Windows sounds). This requires varying amount of time, depending on your PC configuration, because often the USB driver needs initialization process. (worst if the USB port is sleeping while left on idle). 
 
Bottom line is that there is no issue with first second of music lost as long as the USB driver is already initialized by your main audio player, and there is no sample rate change between the songs.


That's pretty brilliant. HD stuff is sorted.
 
I don't quite understand what you mean when you describe playing CD and running in Windows. However that's a technical thing on my part I think. I thought that the Mojo just ran as DAC for Windows and music went out of the PC in the same system.
 
I mean my current DAC runs Windows and CD FLAC playing fine and it overrides the computer's sound card. Basically because it's set up to by setting DAC as default in Sound in the Control Panel. That soundslike what you are saying in your last sentence.
 
I am re-reading what you said about, "(i.e. it is not a smooth transition from Windows sounds)" but can't make sense of it. However you "bottom line" seems to say all is good.
 
I link your post to the Mojo Issues Solutions Thread. It's thread I started to put all known fixes in one place. http://www.head-fi.org/t/788913/chord-mojo-issue-solutions-thread/45#post_12179865
 
Basically I was hanging back on opening my Mojo. I would have been unhappy if it did not work flawlessly on Windows. I think I would have waited for an alternative. My current DAC does HD-audio, however I have not yet bought any. It may not work smoothly itself switching between sampling rates.
 
Anyway I think I have stepped closer to opening my Mojo. Thank you VM. I had a couple of other issues that kept me hesitant but I think they sorted.
 
Dec 20, 2015 at 6:05 PM Post #7,253 of 42,765
It's unfortunate that you've had a negative experience with Moon Audio.

My experience with them and their products has been nothing short of fantastic.


Same here. Drew's always been great.
 
Dec 20, 2015 at 6:31 PM Post #7,254 of 42,765
 
That's pretty brilliant. HD stuff is sorted.
 
I don't quite understand what you mean when you describe playing CD and running in Windows. However that's a technical thing on my part I think. I thought that the Mojo just ran as DAC for Windows and music went out of the PC in the same system.
 
I mean my current DAC runs Windows and CD FLAC playing fine and it overrides the computer's sound card. Basically because it's set up to by setting DAC as default in Sound in the Control Panel. That soundslike what you are saying in your last sentence.
 
I am re-reading what you said about, "(i.e. it is not a smooth transition from Windows sounds)" but can't make sense of it. However you "bottom line" seems to say all is good.
 
I link your post to the Mojo Issues Solutions Thread. It's thread I started to put all known fixes in one place. http://www.head-fi.org/t/788913/chord-mojo-issue-solutions-thread/45#post_12179865
 
Basically I was hanging back on opening my Mojo. I would have been unhappy if it did not work flawlessly on Windows. I think I would have waited for an alternative. My current DAC does HD-audio, however I have not yet bought any. It may not work smoothly itself switching between sampling rates.
 
Anyway I think I have stepped closer to opening my Mojo. Thank you VM. I had a couple of other issues that kept me hesitant but I think they sorted.

 
For any USB DAC, the user has to choose between whether to give the DAC an exclusive access by a particular program (e.g. JRiver) or allow multiple programs to output sound at the same time.
 
Giving exclusive access means the program can directly send the digital data (bit perfect) to the DAC without compromise, so most audiophile programs like JRiver default to this method.
 
When you install Mojo's drivers onto Windows, it actually installs three different drivers. DirectSound, ASIO and WASAPI. Windows can only see DirectSound, whereas JRiver can see all three, and you can choose which one to use. Generally ASIO or WASAPI are preferred because they are designed to give exclusive access to the DAC.
 
DirectSound is what Windows uses (this is what shows up on Windows Sound Properties). It isn't preferred for audiophile listening because it is designed to send the music to Windows Mixer, which allows multiple programs to output the sound at the same time. Because each program may be using different bit depths and sample rates, Windows Volume Mixer's job is to make sure they are all converted and mixed to the sample rate specified in Windows Sound Properties (e.g. 44.1kHz). All sound is converted to 32 bit float then dithered back to 16 or 24 bits, so it is not bit perfect.
 
Old Windows Mixer on Windows XP were horrible so people historically stay away from DirectSound. Mixer on Windows 7 and up are pretty decent, but people still prefer exclusive access via ASIO/WASAPI drivers, because we want to ensure pure playback and avoid random noise (e.g. e-mail notification sound effect etc.) to interfere with music.
 
The bottom line is, you have to choose between absolute purity vs. convenience. You can set up to have multiple programs to output to Mojo at the same time, but JRiver is not set up to do that by default, so you need to change the settings.

 
Dec 21, 2015 at 2:42 AM Post #7,257 of 42,765
For those who plan on using the Mojo as a dedicated desktop setup and are short of USB ports or want a tidy solution. Granted you have a USB3 port to provide the power you can get a Y splitter for separate data and power. I've used a power meter to check that sufficient power is being drawn to charge the Mojo and it's able to provide the same power as a 2A wall charger from USB3.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251621203153?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 

 
Dec 21, 2015 at 3:14 AM Post #7,258 of 42,765
Tried to make a coax cable to connect to my X3 II and failed miserably so far. Bloody difficult to solder ring 3 and the shield on hose tiny 3.5mm plugs... So I ordered a 10cm cable on custom cable's website in UK for about 32 squids delivered to Oz. That's about half price of what Moon is offering. What really pissed me off is that Moon is charging US $27 postage for a $85 4" coax cable. At that price, postage should be free as it costs only a few bucks, anyway. My only problem is that Custom Cables are closed for the holidays so my cable won't arrive before January 10 or so.
 
Dec 21, 2015 at 3:35 AM Post #7,259 of 42,765
   
For any USB DAC, the user has to choose between whether to give the DAC an exclusive access by a particular program (e.g. JRiver) or allow multiple programs to output sound at the same time.
 
Giving exclusive access means the program can directly send the digital data (bit perfect) to the DAC without compromise, so most audiophile programs like JRiver default to this method.
 
When you install Mojo's drivers onto Windows, it actually installs three different drivers. DirectSound, ASIO and WASAPI. Windows can only see DirectSound, whereas JRiver can see all three, and you can choose which one to use. Generally ASIO or WASAPI are preferred because they are designed to give exclusive access to the DAC.
 
DirectSound is what Windows uses (this is what shows up on Windows Sound Properties). It isn't preferred for audiophile listening because it is designed to send the music to Windows Mixer, which allows multiple programs to output the sound at the same time. Because each program may be using different bit depths and sample rates, Windows Volume Mixer's job is to make sure they are all converted and mixed to the sample rate specified in Windows Sound Properties (e.g. 44.1kHz). All sound is converted to 32 bit float then dithered back to 16 or 24 bits, so it is not bit perfect.
 
Old Windows Mixer on Windows XP were horrible so people historically stay away from DirectSound. Mixer on Windows 7 and up are pretty decent, but people still prefer exclusive access via ASIO/WASAPI drivers, because we want to ensure pure playback and avoid random noise (e.g. e-mail notification sound effect etc.) to interfere with music.
 
The bottom line is, you have to choose between absolute purity vs. convenience. You can set up to have multiple programs to output to Mojo at the same time, but JRiver is not set up to do that by default, so you need to change the settings.


I think this post needs its own place somewhere that it can't be missed. Again I think I should link it to the Mojo Issues - Solutions thread.
 
Dec 21, 2015 at 3:56 AM Post #7,260 of 42,765
  Tried to make a coax cable to connect to my X3 II and failed miserably so far. Bloody difficult to solder ring 3 and the shield on hose tiny 3.5mm plugs... So I ordered a 10cm cable on custom cable's website in UK for about 32 squids delivered to Oz. That's about half price of what Moon is offering. What really pissed me off is that Moon is charging US $27 postage for a $85 4" coax cable. At that price, postage should be free as it costs only a few bucks, anyway. My only problem is that Custom Cables are closed for the holidays so my cable won't arrive before January 10 or so.

Head Fier, Dergabe made me a great solution for much less. Perhaps contact him?
 

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