[40760]

It's your macbook pro, that is not grounded properly when charging. Even though you are using 3-pronged adapter, the power adapter should also be three pronged with ground-pin.
You need to have this extension cable,
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK122LL/A/power-adapter-extension-cable
or an adapter that can replace the two-pins on you power brick, like this
https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Macbook-Airport-Electric-two-pins/dp/B007S1B0A8

I've alway used the extended 3 prong power cord with my MBP. Even the 3 prong adapter in the 2nd link you've provided is actually not grounded. Only the long one is.

 

[headfry]

I can confirm the same as @krismusic. Basically I've found that any IEM or headphone that works well within the voltage and current delivery limits of the the Apple dongle sounds identical on the Mojo. Where the Mojo kicks in is with high impedance headphones requiring a lot of voltage, or very low impedance IEMs which require a lot of current. These can sound a tad dull and un-dynamic on the Apple dongle.

In fact in my tests with Beyer DT1990s with 250Ω impedance it was a case of Mojo = Fiio E17 = Dragonfly Red > iPhone dongle.
The only DAC that I have that was noticeably better was the ADI-2 DAC which provided a better scale and separation
making the others sound a touch congested by comparison, but you'd only really notice it doing direct A/B.

============================================================
I find this very interesting, and in direct contradiction to at least one reply given by another person
here over a year ago that the apple dongle
sounds "thin" compared with the Mojo and even
when compared with other phones and other reasonable priced players.

My opinion is that the dongle looks thin (and also looks fragile)
but can sound really good, at least at lower to medium volumes
and with some reasonably priced audiophile headphones - my Grado SR80e, SR225e and Shure SE535 all sounding fine through the dongle -
including the Apple USB C dongle through the new iPad Pro!

And although they look fragile, my original dongles are still working fine and for well over a year.

Of course with harder to drive 'phones, at higher volumes and with uber-detailed phones - e.g. SE846 - the Mojo's superiority over the dongle will likely be obvious.

I'd like to make another point - my Grado GS1000i are 32 ohms, same as my other Grado's but is the only phone I have that
doesn't sound assured and full-bodied out of my Mojo, instead my ALO Island, which has a simpler but good dac but is
able to drive the large driver's GS with its much higher current and the sound is much better as a result.

Even at low volumes the GS is under-powered by Mojo but sounds magnificent out of the lower cost Island.

So even though it looks good on spec be aware that the Mojo may be underpowered for higher performance 'phones (I'm sure this point has
been made on these forums before many times).

....one last point: I've resisted upgrading from Mojo - e.g. to Hugo 2. It seems like an endless upgrade ladder -
Hugo 2, then M-Scaler, etc. What I've gleaned is that the Hugo 2 really only comes into its own when
paired with certain headphones, and with others may not sound that much better than Mojo.

Regardless, I'm very happy both with the musical quality of the Apple dongles out of my devices
as well as that of my Chord Mojo, and although I have heard Hugo 2 and can hear and appreciate the difference
(much bigger soundstage, better layering, air, seperation, detail, more refined, etc.it just ain't worth the outlay to me.

...so far anyway.

 

[Deftone]

....one last point: I've resisted upgrading from Mojo - e.g. to Hugo 2. It seems like an endless upgrade ladder -
Hugo 2, then M-Scaler, etc. What I've gleaned is that the Hugo 2 really only comes into its own when
paired with certain headphones, and with others may not sound that much better than Mojo.

You could say that many other headphones, dacs, amps etc lead to an endless upgrade ladder. There are a few users on here that have the absolute best money can buy (MSB select,Chord DAVE,Mscaler,Abyss,Sennheiser HE1) and they are still here regular looking for more to buy. We dont need any of this stuff but we do it for enjoyment, if you have decent will power you can happily stop at Mojo and enjoy it for a very long time but the sound improvement Hugo2 offers over Mojo is absolutely worth it in my opinion.

 

[x RELIC x]

============================================================
I find this very interesting, and in direct contradiction to at least one reply given by another person
here over a year ago that the apple dongle
sounds "thin" compared with the Mojo and even
when compared with other phones and other reasonable priced players.

My opinion is that the dongle looks thin (and also looks fragile)
but can sound really good, at least at lower to medium volumes
and with some reasonably priced audiophile headphones - my Grado SR80e, SR225e and Shure SE535 all sounding fine through the dongle -
including the Apple USB C dongle through the new iPad Pro!

And although they look fragile, my original dongles are still working fine and for well over a year.

Of course with harder to drive 'phones, at higher volumes and with uber-detailed phones - e.g. SE846 - the Mojo's superiority over the dongle will likely be obvious.

I'd like to make another point - my Grado GS1000i are 32 ohms, same as my other Grado's but is the only phone I have that
doesn't sound assured and full-bodied out of my Mojo, instead my ALO Island, which has a simpler but good dac but is
able to drive the large driver's GS with its much higher current and the sound is much better as a result.

Even at low volumes the GS is under-powered by Mojo but sounds magnificent out of the lower cost Island.

So even though it looks good on spec be aware that the Mojo may be underpowered for higher performance 'phones (I'm sure this point has
been made on these forums before many times).

....one last point: I've resisted upgrading from Mojo - e.g. to Hugo 2. It seems like an endless upgrade ladder -
Hugo 2, then M-Scaler, etc. What I've gleaned is that the Hugo 2 really only comes into its own when
paired with certain headphones, and with others may not sound that much better than Mojo.

Regardless, I'm very happy both with the musical quality of the Apple dongles out of my devices
as well as that of my Chord Mojo, and although I have heard Hugo 2 and can hear and appreciate the difference
(much bigger soundstage, better layering, air, seperation, detail, more refined, etc.it just ain't worth the outlay to me.

...so far anyway.

Your conclusions make absolutely no sense to me. The Mojo is much more powerful than the island for your 32 Ohm, 98dB/mW Grados. It’s not even close. To me it seems more likely what you are hearing is not a difference in power delivery but tuning and synergy. Also, how do you know the Island has more Current? The Mojo is capable of 500mA of Current in to 300 Ohms, which is more than some desktop amps. Given the lower power output specs of the Island at low impedance loads it would indicate that the Island doesn’t have much Current delivery capability.

It’s great that you prefer the Island with your Grado1000i, that’s what matters, but your conclusions and generalizations make no sense and are misleading. I haven’t heard the Grado1000i specifically (so I can’t be sure) but Grado headphones are known to have a ‘forward’ signature and the Mojo will not hide this. Heck, my LCD-2.2 which are much more Current hungry than the Grado1000i sound fantastic from the Mojo. Oh, and I wouldn’t call the SE846 uber-detailed either.

 

[triodesteve]

Battery replacement. I gave up trying to get my battery replaced by any authorized dealer or importer so I've decided to go it on my own. I found the battery on line but have a question about the connector. For anyone who has replaced one, is there a trick to disengaging the connector? The last thing i want to do is break it!
Thanks for your help,
Steve

 

[40760]

Battery replacement. I gave up trying to get my battery replaced by any authorized dealer or importer so I've decided to go it on my own. I found the battery on line but have a question about the connector. For anyone who has replaced one, is there a trick to disengaging the connector? The last thing i want to do is break it!
Thanks for your help,
Steve

Not hard at all. You just need to lift the connector away from each other as they're friction fitted.

 

[Deftone]

Battery replacement. I gave up trying to get my battery replaced by any authorized dealer or importer so I've decided to go it on my own. I found the battery on line but have a question about the connector. For anyone who has replaced one, is there a trick to disengaging the connector? The last thing i want to do is break it!
Thanks for your help,
Steve

Just a gentle wiggle, how much did you find one for? Dealers have ignored me when asking about purchasing a replacement battery.

 

[dakanao]

============================================================
I find this very interesting, and in direct contradiction to at least one reply given by another person
here over a year ago that the apple dongle
sounds "thin" compared with the Mojo and even
when compared with other phones and other reasonable priced players.

My opinion is that the dongle looks thin (and also looks fragile)
but can sound really good, at least at lower to medium volumes
and with some reasonably priced audiophile headphones - my Grado SR80e, SR225e and Shure SE535 all sounding fine through the dongle -
including the Apple USB C dongle through the new iPad Pro!

And although they look fragile, my original dongles are still working fine and for well over a year.

Of course with harder to drive 'phones, at higher volumes and with uber-detailed phones - e.g. SE846 - the Mojo's superiority over the dongle will likely be obvious.

I'd like to make another point - my Grado GS1000i are 32 ohms, same as my other Grado's but is the only phone I have that
doesn't sound assured and full-bodied out of my Mojo, instead my ALO Island, which has a simpler but good dac but is
able to drive the large driver's GS with its much higher current and the sound is much better as a result.

Even at low volumes the GS is under-powered by Mojo but sounds magnificent out of the lower cost Island.

So even though it looks good on spec be aware that the Mojo may be underpowered for higher performance 'phones (I'm sure this point has
been made on these forums before many times).

....one last point: I've resisted upgrading from Mojo - e.g. to Hugo 2. It seems like an endless upgrade ladder -
Hugo 2, then M-Scaler, etc. What I've gleaned is that the Hugo 2 really only comes into its own when
paired with certain headphones, and with others may not sound that much better than Mojo.

Regardless, I'm very happy both with the musical quality of the Apple dongles out of my devices
as well as that of my Chord Mojo, and although I have heard Hugo 2 and can hear and appreciate the difference
(much bigger soundstage, better layering, air, seperation, detail, more refined, etc.it just ain't worth the outlay to me.

...so far anyway.

How do the ALO Island and Mojo differ in sound, in your opinion?

 

[miketlse]

Just a gentle wiggle, how much did you find one for? Dealers have ignored me when asking about purchasing a replacement battery.

Not a DIY solution but https://www.audiosanctuary.co.uk/chord-mojo-replacement-battery-service.html
I would have thought that a PM to @Mojo ideas or an email to Chord customer support, might generate some helpful suggestions.

 

[masterpfa]

Is there anyone out there that has the Poly and the Chord Accessory pack? Can you give me the length of the Mojo with the Accessory Pack USB Module as well as the Mojo with Poly attached.

I really appreciate your help!!!! Thanks!

I don't know the length but Mojo/Accessory pack does fit in the extended Mojo/Poly case

 

[headfry]

Your conclusions make absolutely no sense to me. The Mojo is much more powerful than the island for your 32 Ohm, 98dB/mW Grados. It’s not even close. To me it seems more likely what you are hearing is not a difference in power delivery but tuning and synergy. Also, how do you know the Island has more Current? The Mojo is capable of 500mA of Current in to 300 Ohms, which is more than some desktop amps. Given the lower power output specs of the Island at low impedance loads it would indicate that the Island doesn’t have much Current delivery capability.

It’s great that you prefer the Island with your Grado1000i, that’s what matters, but your conclusions and generalizations make no sense and are misleading. I haven’t heard the Grado1000i specifically (so I can’t be sure) but Grado headphones are known to have a ‘forward’ signature and the Mojo will not hide this. Heck, my LCD-2.2 which are much more Current hungry than the Grado1000i sound fantastic from the Mojo. Oh, and I wouldn’t call the SE846 uber-detailed either.

Yes, better synergy for sure with the GS1000i and ALO The Island than with Mojo. Mojo’s specs
are 500mw at 300ohms, The Island is 660 (unbalanced). Not a big difference, but even
at low volumes - which I usually listen at - the GS sounds somewhat underpowered by Mojo -
somewhat thin and not assured and solid-sounding is the best I can describe - yet
sounds great out of ALO -
Mojo’s decoding is obviously better - more refined, better detail and seperation,
blacker background - but the GS doesn’t sound
as it should out of Mojo. My conclusion as to why that is may be wrong but the heard
results speak for themselves.

Again, my other three phones are easier to drive and all sound great
out of Mojo!

 

[gc335]

I don't know the length but Mojo/Accessory pack does fit in the extended Mojo/Poly case

Thanks! I sent email to Chord the other day and they confirmed that the Poly and the USB module are identical in size. I'll have no issues using the Mojo/Poly case.

 

[x RELIC x]

Yes, better synergy for sure with the GS1000i and ALO The Island than with Mojo. Mojo’s specs
are 500mw at 300ohms, The Island is 660 (unbalanced). Not a big difference, but even
at low volumes - which I usually listen at - the GS sounds somewhat underpowered by Mojo -
somewhat thin and not assured and solid-sounding is the best I can describe - yet
sounds great out of ALO -
Mojo’s decoding is obviously better - more refined, better detail and seperation,
blacker background - but the GS doesn’t sound
as it should out of Mojo. My conclusion as to why that is may be wrong but the heard
results speak for themselves.

Again, my other three phones are easier to drive and all sound great
out of Mojo!

I was specifically talking about Mojo’s Current limited output of 500mA (that’s milliAmps), which you said the Mojo outputs weak Current, which it doesn’t. BTW, for the 32 Ohm GS1000i the Island will output a max of 130mW (that’s at full volume) in both balanced and unbalanced according to the manufacturer. If you aren’t maxing out the volume then you aren’t using the max power. The Mojo at 32 Ohms is 600mW, but again that’s the max volume spec. Sorry, but the island is not actually outputting more power to the GS1000i. Actually, both sources will output the exact same power at a given SPL (volume) with the same headphone. That’s how it works. When there isn’t enough power then there is a problem, but both devices have more than enough for the GS1000i (which is what you want).

Anyway, ALO makes great products that sound really nice. I miss the small ALO Pan Am tube amp which did magic with the LCD-2. I also really liked the ALO Rx for its tuning. My point is that Grado headphones in general sound thin and sharp to me. ‘Sound as it should’ is very subjective and I am simply using logic to state that power is not the issue at all, especially for such an easy to drive electrical load like the GS1000i, but rather it reads like you prefer the sound tuning synergy of the Island with the GS1000i. I’ve owned 4W amps that sound ‘thin’ and ‘under powered’. Power doesn’t exclusively equal fullness.

I suspect we will disagree given your previous reply, but I’m offering this thread a counter point based on facts and not subjective evidence like ‘it sounds better’. For the record the Mojo, Hugo(1), and HugoTT(1) have the same power output, except for the TT(1)’s higher Current bias. Take that as you will.

 

[triodesteve]

Just a gentle wiggle, how much did you find one for? Dealers have ignored me when asking about purchasing a replacement battery.

It was $89 Canadian plus shipping. You can find it via google. And it took a bit more than gentle wiggling.
I tried to find a dealer or importer to replace it and had no luck. Gave up and did it myself. Way easier than tying to work on an iPod!

 

[Slaphead]

Just a gentle wiggle, how much did you find one for? Dealers have ignored me when asking about purchasing a replacement battery.

Same here. I was quoted $250 (£192) for a battery replacement including labour. When I asked them to break down the battery and labour costs the simply said it was a fixed price for a battery replacement and the Mojo would need to be sent away. So I asked about just buying the battery and they said no.

Naturally I declined - I'm sure as hell not paying somebody $200 for a 5 minute job which involves just 8 screws, battery out and new battery in.

To be honest I'm actually happy that my Mojo is sans Battery as it works fine from a 12 watt USB power supply, and it was never used as a mobile solution anyway.