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

[miketlse]

Mojo so clear and detail I even hear backround faint noise/hiss on Norah Jones recording - come away with me. Not the unit itself, since other songs on her album dead quiet. Also, low level listening I still hear all the details in spades. don't have to push volume up to get the detail at all.

 
Now that I have listened to the track again several times, you are right that there is a loud background 'hiss' to the track. However i cannot decide whether it is a fault, or intentional - the hiss disappears during the last few seconds of the track, making me wonder if it was intentionally added to the main part of the track. For a while, I did wonder if the hiss was generated by the continual light brushing of the cymbals, but the hiss seems too consistent.
 
Maybe someone can explain if the hiss was intentional. 

 

[betula]

I would like to write about two issues in this post.

1, I wonder, if anyone is experiencing loose connection with Mojo via usb. Many usb cables I use (Cinnamon or other nameless cables) relatively easily loose connection, if I move Mojo around. Then I move it again, and it works fine. Quite annoying sometimes.

2, I have just seen Z-s review on YouTube about M9xx. What he says basically is no matter what DAC you use, it is just a DAC. $60 or $600, gives you the same sound. He hasn't officially reviewed Mojo yet, but he probably had a try, as he has a sentence saying yes, Mojo is also very clear sounding, but that is also just an overpriced DAC. (He is just saying Mojo is also very clear, and only implying it is another overpriced DAC, as M9xx is according to him.)
 This review caught my attention for two reasons. One, M9xx is often said sounds very similar to Mojo. Second is, I can't believe, someone with so much audio experience as Z can't appreciate a Mojo-like sound like M9xx at all. (Not Mojo, have to say.)
 I have no other DACs to try at the moment, but I have been switching over between Mojo bitperfect mode and my laptops hp out (Dell E7440, which still is not a crap laptop) and the difference I hear is heaven and earth.
 Straight out of the laptop my X00s sound like cheap Chinese speakers (relative exaggeration). Plastic sound, completely muffled low end. With Mojo everything clears up. Like a proper good quality speaker. Detailed, clear, clean, still punchy low end, overall clarity and detail improvement, and a much more natural, lifelike sound.
 If the difference is so obvious to me, how come, that a well known and very much liked YouTube reviewer can't appreciate a similar sounding device (M9xx) at all? Is it, that M9xx and Mojo are more different than I think? Is it, that we just have different ears? What's then?
 

 

[x RELIC x]

I don't like Z reviews for so many reasons (not including the nauseous vomit inducing head cam), and have made it all the way through only two of his 'reviews'. Both times I was left with more fluff and opinion than substance.

 

[betula]

I don't like Z reviews for so many reasons (not including the nauseous vomit inducing head cam), and have made it all the way through only two of his 'reviews'. Both times I was left with more fluff and opinion than substance.

I like his honest and sarcastic style. It is very entertaining. But have to say, I could almost never agree with him on the 3-4 reviews on different audio equipment, I actually had personal experience with.

 

[Mojo ideas]

It makes sense for Chord to wait for the new iPhone 7 Bluetooth specifications, before producing the Chord Mojo Bluetooth module in order to future proof best compatibility with it. I expect Apple will make the iPhone 7 announcement in the first week of September and maybe they take Bluetooth tech to the next level especially if rumours are correct of the iPhone 7 having no headphone jack.

Fantastic if Chord could place the same level of expertise and uncompromising quality into their Bluetooth Module.
I hope it supports:
(1) New Bluetooth 5.0 - was announced this Summer and has 4 times the range of current Bluetooth.
(2) AptX HD which is promoted as better than CD quality - announced this year.
(3) AAC codecs and any new AAC codecs, should Apple include it in the iPhone 7.

Sadly it's seems that there is little demand from the audio industry other than from us for the bluetooth 24 bit so getting the HD Bluetooth modules from any one is going to be difficult in the medium term. Fortunately HD Bluetooth is not the only string in our bow. Developments are underway.

 

[Slaphead]

It makes sense for Chord to wait for the new iPhone 7 Bluetooth specifications, before producing the Chord Mojo Bluetooth module in order to future proof best compatibility with it. I expect Apple will make the iPhone 7 announcement in the first week of September and maybe they take Bluetooth tech to the next level especially if rumours are correct of the iPhone 7 having no headphone jack.

Fantastic if Chord could place the same level of expertise and uncompromising quality into their Bluetooth Module.
I hope it supports:
(1) New Bluetooth 5.0 - was announced this Summer and has 4 times the range of current Bluetooth.
(2) AptX HD which is promoted as better than CD quality - announced this year.
(3) AAC codecs and any new AAC codecs, should Apple include it in the iPhone 7.

OK I'll pick up on a few things here:-

1) The BT 5.0 standard was only confirmed this summer which means in practical terms that you can only expect it in devices that are at least 12 to 18 months away, maybe longer.

2) If you're referring to Apple's iPhone 7 then Apple has never supported the AptX protocol, so it's unlikely that AptX HD will appear in the iPhone 7, although I have known a couple of pigs to fly in my lifetime. Though it didn't end well, for the pigs that is.

3) Any improvements on the AAC front, if any, will be in form of encoding, not decoding. The decoding is pretty much set in stone as there's only one way to decode an AAC (or MP3) file, but many ways in terms of encoding an AAC (or MP3). Formats such as AAC and MP3 are asynchronos in that the real effort needed is in the encoding. Given the computational limits of the time this is why most MP3 files from the late 90's and early 2000's sound crap, and music encoded with todays algorithms sound pretty good. In fact I'd go as far to say that the only reason people dislike compressed audio is as a result of istening to early MP3s. A modern encoded MP3 at 128 Kbps absolutely trounces an MP3 that was encoded at 320 Kbps in the early 2000s.

 

[Mediahound]

I don't like Z reviews for so many reasons (not including the nauseous vomit inducing head cam), and have made it all the way through only two of his 'reviews'. Both times I was left with more fluff and opinion than substance.

 
 

 
I like his honest and sarcastic style. It is very entertaining. But have to say, I could almost never agree with him on the 3-4 reviews on different audio equipment, I actually had personal experience with.

If you watch a few of his reviews, you will see he thinks basically anything sounds good and he cannot tell a difference between most products he reviews.  Not a very discerning ear or anything, so take his reviews with a grain of salt. 

 

[Ra97oR]

  I would like to write about two issues in this post.

1, I wonder, if anyone is experiencing loose connection with Mojo via usb. Many usb cables I use (Cinnamon or other nameless cables) relatively easily loose connection, if I move Mojo around. Then I move it again, and it works fine. Quite annoying sometimes.

2, I have just seen Z-s review on YouTube about M9xx. What he says basically is no matter what DAC you use, it is just a DAC. $60 or $600, gives you the same sound. He hasn't officially reviewed Mojo yet, but he probably had a try, as he has a sentence saying yes, Mojo is also very clear sounding, but that is also just an overpriced DAC. (He is just saying Mojo is also very clear, and only implying it is another overpriced DAC, as M9xx is according to him.)
 This review caught my attention for two reasons. One, M9xx is often said sounds very similar to Mojo. Second is, I can't believe, someone with so much audio experience as Z can't appreciate a Mojo-like sound like M9xx at all. (Not Mojo, have to say.)
 I have no other DACs to try at the moment, but I have been switching over between Mojo bitperfect mode and my laptops hp out (Dell E7440, which still is not a crap laptop) and the difference I hear is heaven and earth.
 Straight out of the laptop my X00s sound like cheap Chinese speakers (relative exaggeration). Plastic sound, completely muffled low end. With Mojo everything clears up. Like a proper good quality speaker. Detailed, clear, clean, still punchy low end, overall clarity and detail improvement, and a much more natural, lifelike sound.
 If the difference is so obvious to me, how come, that a well known and very much liked YouTube reviewer can't appreciate a similar sounding device (M9xx) at all? Is it, that M9xx and Mojo are more different than I think? Is it, that we just have different ears? What's then?
 

I really wouldn't say Z have a huge amount of audio experience myself. He only recently started trying out a variety of headphones and have been overriding his opinion of the "best headphones" couple of times already. It's interesting to see his impression but just like anyone else's impression, take it with a grain of salt and don't feel offended if he doesn't agree.

 

[maxh22]

I would like to write about two issues in this post.


1, I wonder, if anyone is experiencing loose connection with Mojo via usb. Many usb cables I use (Cinnamon or other nameless cables) relatively easily loose connection, if I move Mojo around. Then I move it again, and it works fine. Quite annoying sometimes.


2, I have just seen Z-s review on YouTube about M9xx. What he says basically is no matter what DAC you use, it is just a DAC. $60 or $600, gives you the same sound. He hasn't officially reviewed Mojo yet, but he probably had a try, as he has a sentence saying yes, Mojo is also very clear sounding, but that is also just an overpriced DAC. (He is just saying Mojo is also very clear, and only implying it is another overpriced DAC, as M9xx is according to him.)

 This review caught my attention for two reasons. One, M9xx is often said sounds very similar to Mojo. Second is, I can't believe, someone with so much audio experience as Z can't appreciate a Mojo-like sound like M9xx at all. (Not Mojo, have to say.)

 I have no other DACs to try at the moment, but I have been switching over between Mojo bitperfect mode and my laptops hp out (Dell E7440, which still is not a crap laptop) and the difference I hear is heaven and earth.

 Straight out of the laptop my X00s sound like cheap Chinese speakers (relative exaggeration). Plastic sound, completely muffled low end. With Mojo everything clears up. Like a proper good quality speaker. Detailed, clear, clean, still punchy low end, overall clarity and detail improvement, and a much more natural, lifelike sound.

 If the difference is so obvious to me, how come, that a well known and very much liked YouTube reviewer can't appreciate a similar sounding device (M9xx) at all? Is it, that M9xx and Mojo are more different than I think? Is it, that we just have different ears? What's then?

 

Z made a comment on the Mojo massdrop link and said the Mojo review was released to his patrons. He said he prefered the Oppo HA-2 for its size and form facto and didn't find the dac revolutionary or anything. He believes that you basically don't need anything more than a modi or odac and every dac more than a couple hundred bucks is a waste. I of course do not agree with him. On his Bitfrost Multibit review he said he could hear zero difference between it and his emotiva dac. Mind you he listened for several weeks before doing the review.

I don't think he can hear the difference between different dacs even though I can clearly hear huge differences in tonality,musicality, soundstage, and general sound reproduction of different dacs.

So yes, take his upcoming Mojo review with a giant grain of salt..

 

[captblaze]

ok its been established that this guy has a tin ear, can we get back to the topic of the thread?

 

[betula]

Z made a comment on the Mojo massdrop link and said the Mojo review was released to his patrons. He said he prefered the Oppo HA-2 for its size and form facto and didn't find the dac revolutionary or anything. He believes that you basically don't need anything more than a modi or odac and every dac more than a couple hundred bucks is a waste. I of course do not agree with him. On his Bitfrost Multibit review he said he could hear zero difference between it and his emotiva dac. Mind you he listened for several weeks before doing the review.

I don't think he can hear the difference between different dacs even though I can clearly hear huge differences in tonality,musicality, soundstage, and general sound reproduction of different dacs.

So yes, take his upcoming Mojo review with a giant grain of salt..

Ok, so let's say, he can't hear the difference.
1, that makes me think whether I really do hear the difference, or I am lying to myself? (according to my own observations I do hear a difference)
2, this observation makes the whole audio hobby absolutely relative. even more relative than I thought it is, however I already thought, it is very relative. If there is no etalon (measuring standard), that means there is no commonly agreed truth. Yes, in audio hobby everything is very relative. But we do need some clear measuring points, otherwise no opinions count anymore at all, unless you try it yourself. This absolute relativity of expensive audio gear is quite scary.

 

[cyclops214]

According to UPS my mojo is sitting in a shipping facility about an hour away and it won't be here until tomorrow so frustrating.
As far as Z reviews I find him entertaining but I do not trust him when it comes to his opinion on most geer.

 

[betula]

  ok its been established that this guy has a tin ear, can we get back to the topic of the thread?

This thread is on topic at least for 20.000 posts of the 21596.
I think, after this many thousands of very useful posts about Mojo we can afford the luxury to have a few posts about theoretical audio.
 

 

[captblaze]

 
Ok, so let's say, he can't hear the difference.
1, that makes me think whether I really do hear the difference, or I am lying to myself? (according to my own observations I do hear a difference)
2, this observation makes the whole audio hobby absolutely relative. even more relative than I thought it is, however I already thought, it is very relative. If there is no etalon (measuring standard), that means there is no commonly agreed truth. Yes, in audio hobby everything is very relative. But we do need some clear measuring points, otherwise no opinions count anymore at all, unless you try it yourself. This absolute relativity of expensive audio gear is quite scary.

 
Do you buy a car without test driving it? a house sight unseen? shoes without trying them on?  or do you send someone else to do it and blindly take their word for it?
can you see where I'm going with this?
 
Why would you trust anything other than your ears when trying to purchase audio gear?

 

[captblaze]

 
This thread is on topic at least for 20.000 posts of the 21596.
I think, after this many thousands of very useful posts about Mojo we can afford the luxury to have a few posts about theoretical audio.
 

 
 
because there is a thread titled "The Science of Sound" and it covers theoretical as well as analytical aspects of sound