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

[NaiveSound]

So you feel mojo improves even with the lower end buds you got?

 

[Ike1985]

So you feel mojo improves even with the lower end buds you got?

affirmative, all is better with mojo but I listen to A12's ~98% of the time.

 

[jlbrach]

listening to Mojo through ear buds?Now that is funny

 

[RedJohn456]

  listening to Mojo through ear buds?Now that is funny

whats funny about that? There are some top tier earbuds that sound amazing, esp out of the mojo!

 

[headmanPL]

Electrolytic capacitors take time to break in - leakage current takes 3 months to minimize and so does ESR (equivalent series resistance). If you use them in the audio path (I do not) then bass distortion gets lower with time. It is possible to reduce break-in time, and I do this.

With Hugo I kept on getting the feeling that SQ was getting better and better - even nine months on - but when given brand new product from Chord, once warmed up, they sounded the same. So it was not the hardware, and either I was deluding myself, or my brain was un-learning digital music. Now Mojo/Hugo/Dave do things in the time domain that no other DAC's do, so its easier for the brain to make sense of the music as timing of transients has much less uncertainty. Certainly the brain does get used to a particular sound, and creates processing short cuts that allows better understanding of the sound, so its not a great leap to state the possibility that our brain's unlearn digital sound as after all, we are surrounded by it.

I can say that since Hugo I can no longer tolerate listening to music using conventional DAC's.

Rob  

As with a comfortable mattress you don't realise how good it is until you sleep in another bed. I have really been enjoying my music through Mojo. Purely for convenience (laziness) I listened to some music to build a playlist on my phone. I would never have described this as hi-fi, but it never really offended. I was shocked at how all its limitations jarred me. The phone hasn't worsened. I have simply had my ears recalibrated by Mojo and would rather use lesser headphones with Mojo, than stick with my Grados powered by a weaker source.

 

[jujuju]

Hi
 
Sorry to interrupt here !! Can somebody give me an insight if possible ?
 
If i connected a Fiio X5 to a Chord Mojo into an Audio GD Master 6 amp would this give me an improvement in sound compared to just using the Fiio X5 Line out into the Audio GD??

 

[vapman]

  Hi
 
Sorry to interrupt here !! Can somebody give me an insight if possible ?
 
If i connected a Fiio X5 to a Chord Mojo into an Audio GD Master 6 amp would this give me an improvement in sound compared to just using the Fiio X5 Line out into the Audio GD??

Looks like the FiiO X5 supports USB DAC so you should be able to use it as a USB DAC with your X5. then you should notice an improvement.
mojo is my next head-fi purchase!
 
(editL i'm wrong!)

 

[AndrewH13]

Hi

Sorry to interrupt here !! Can somebody give me an insight if possible ?

If i connected a Fiio X5 to a Chord Mojo into an Audio GD Master 6 amp would this give me an improvement in sound compared to just using the Fiio X5 Line out into the Audio GD??

Fiio X5 using coax out into a Mojo is a great combination. Not sure why amp needed?

 

[GreenBow]

 
Those of us that can remember pre digital had no such issues. The CD was a brilliant idea, but the DACs at the time made it sound cold and harsh. There were to be some innovations and not all CD players sounded the same. I remember a Denon model sounding quite warm in comparison to others. But we have had to wait for the Hugo and now the more affordable Mojo for digitally stored music to be translated into a true analogue sound. A whole generation has been deprived of good sounding music and that is why today's Pop is so appalling...

 
Some folks had a 2p piece sallotaped to the record player needle head to stop it skipping about, hahah. Vinyl though has had a resurgence recently because of the better quality sound that can be got from it. However You need to spend quite a lot on vinyl playing equipment to get that from it. Money that cold be spent on a good CD player. I think it's horse for courses, but I think £ for £ vinyl had it. However I would not lay money on that, and vinyl wear made the case for CD very strong.
 
Vinyl is the word sometimes used to describe the Hugo, and I was interested. The Mojo seemed to good to miss. Apprently it all works on the processing that Rob Watts does. Something to do with taps. There was the link included a long time ago in this thread, and I am sure googling would find it. However I still have no idea what it is all about after having read the Rob Watts interview.
 
It's all about taps apprently. Only I can't work out what a tap is, why it matters, or what it does. I can only theorise form what I uderstand about how DACs work. The issue for me is how DACs cope with 44.1KHz music. The higher the frequency of the original sound the lesser amount of samples per soundwave. Until literally at 20KHz you get 2.2 samples per sine-wave. At 15KHz you get 2.94 samples per sine-wave. For me that is not enough.
 
The argument is that we hear nothing at those frequencies. However upper harmonics are vital. They are responsible for timbre. (To me this is why HD-audio theoretically is better, because more samples shape the waveforms better.) Basically my argument is this. With such a small amount of samples, it's tricky to get back the analogue waveform perfectly. I mean when you only have three samples per cycle how is it possible to be sure of amplitude. You have to measure the x and y position of the sample, note its frequency, then calculate amplitude. I think it's possible for this to get messy at low sampling rates. Long story; but that is why I think they say HD-audio has better timbre, and spacialisation.
 
I know the argumant against that. However Rob Watts says his taps numbers do just this; get the wafeform back better. I am guessing but have no idea that his extended number of taps calculates the waveform more accurately. Meaning Rob's DAC does a more in-depth and accurate calculation with the sample.

 

[dgcrane]

Hey there,

I am hoping someone can confirm behavior for me. I have a chromcast audio connected vis optical to the optical in of my ak120. I have the optical out to the optical in of my Chord Mojo. I can get no sound when i plug my headphones into the Mojo but all optical cable lights are red both incoming and outgoing. If i plug my headphones into the aux out of my ak120.... i have music

I WISH I didnt have to unplug my optical cable all the time to plug my headphones into my ak120 directly but go through my Mojo.

Thanks
Darren

 

[Ra97oR]

 

 
Those of us that can remember pre digital had no such issues. The CD was a brilliant idea, but the DACs at the time made it sound cold and harsh. There were to be some innovations and not all CD players sounded the same. I remember a Denon model sounding quite warm in comparison to others. But we have had to wait for the Hugo and now the more affordable Mojo for digitally stored music to be translated into a true analogue sound. A whole generation has been deprived of good sounding music and that is why today's Pop is so appalling...

 
Some folks had a 2p piece sallotaped to the record player needle head to stop it skipping about, hahah. Vinyl though has had a resurgence recently because of the better quality sound that can be got from it. However You need to spend quite a lot on vinyl playing equipment to get that from it. Money that cold be spent on a good CD player. I think it's horse for courses, but I think £ for £ vinyl had it. However I would not lay money on that, and vinyl wear made the case for CD very strong.
 
Vinyl is the word sometimes used to describe the Hugo, and I was interested. The Mojo seemed to good to miss. Apprently it all works on the processing that Rob Watts does. Something to do with taps. There was the link included a long time ago in this thread, and I am sure googling would find it. However I still have no idea what it is all about after having read the Rob Watts interview.
 
It's all about taps apprently. Only I can't work out what a tap is, why it matters, or what it does. I can only theorise form what I uderstand about how DACs work. The issue for me is how DACs cope with 44.1KHz music. The higher the frequency of the original sound the lesser amount of samples per soundwave. Until literally at 20KHz you get 2.2 samples per sine-wave. At 15KHz you get 2.94 samples per sine-wave. For me that is not enough.
 
The argument is that we hear nothing at those frequencies. However upper harmonics are vital. They are responsible for timbre. (To me this is why HD-audio theoretically is better, because more samples shape the waveforms better.) Basically my argument is this. With such a small amount of samples, it's tricky to get back the analogue waveform perfectly. I mean when you only have three samples per cycle how is it possible to be sure of amplitude. You have to measure the x and y position of the sample, note its frequency, then calculate amplitude. I think it's possible for this to get messy at low sampling rates. Long story; but that is why I think they say HD-audio has better timbre, and spacialisation.
 
I know the argumant against that. However Rob Watts says his taps numbers do just this; get the wafeform back better. I am guessing but have no idea that his extended number of taps calculates the waveform more accurately. Meaning Rob's DAC does a more in-depth and accurate calculation with the sample.

Taps is to do with digital filter.
 
Some basic information without diving into DSP books: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite_impulse_response

 

[waynes world]

I think i need something not that picky. but thanks for the suggestion.

I am thinking earbuds and now also earphones like the Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M but higher end

Go with the $5 VE Monk. I jest not.

 

[x RELIC x]

Looks like the FiiO X5 supports USB DAC so you should be able to use it as a USB DAC with your X5. then you should notice an improvement.
mojo is my next head-fi purchase!

No, you can not use the USB interface from the X5 to output to the Mojo. From the X5 you need to use the digital coaxial output to the Mojo.

The USB DAC function of the X5 is meant to be used as an external DAC from a computer, not the other way around as a USB OTG host.

 

[vapman]

No, you can not use the USB interface from the X5 to output to the Mojo. From the X5 you need to use the digital coaxial output to the Mojo.

The USB DAC function of the X5 is meant to be used as an external DAC from a computer, not the other way around as a USB OTG host.

thanks for the clarification... this is good to know!

 

[GreenBow]

 
Taps is to do with digital filter.
 
Some basic information without diving into DSP books: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite_impulse_response

OK I will check that over. Thank you.
 
@mscott58 You know talking Lake Street there is another point that the Mojo triumphs with. When I was listening to Lake Street Dive with the Meridian Explorer (ME), I mentioned vocals sounded a bit loud. With the Mojo this is fixed. The soundstage is more balanced, and balances the vocals with everything else. The ME made the vocals which are generally central, sound forward. The ME does include all the information at the side but doesn't present it as evenly. All in the detail.