[rlanger]

For my information ?

“ …….. for a portable …….. “

That is what I said. Mojo does a good job but it has limitations due to the compromises needed to make it portable.

What limitations does it have that would make a more powerful desktop amp a better choice for my Edition XS? Really curious.

 

[BS5711]

What limitations does it have that would make a more powerful desktop amp a better choice for my Edition XS? Really curious.

As a “Headphoneus Supremus”, whatever that is exactly, with 16 years here, and goodness knows how much previous experience, I am sure you have figured out what works for your listening preferences, situation, various headphones and IEM power requirements, portability needs etc and don’t need me suggesting what might benefit you.

I briefly outlined in what manner my Asgard 3 outperforms my Mojo with one specific headphone, I am sure you can assess for yourself what benefit you might or might not get from a more powerful amp paired with your particular headphones and considering your preferences and needs.

 

[rlanger]

As a “Headphoneus Supremus”, whatever that is exactly, with 16 years here, and goodness knows how much previous experience, I am sure you have figured out what works for your listening preferences, situation, various headphones and IEM power requirements, portability needs etc and don’t need me suggesting what might benefit you.

I briefly outlined in what manner my Asgard 3 outperforms my Mojo with one specific headphone, I am sure you can assess for yourself what benefit you might or might not get from a more powerful amp paired with your particular headphones and considering your preferences and needs.

Supremus doesn't mean anything except a lot of posts. And I will never think I've got anything figured out, which is why I asked the question. It seems you've taken it the wrong way.

 

[BS5711]

Supremus doesn't mean anything except a lot of posts. And I will never think I've got anything figured out, which is why I asked the question. It seems you've taken it the wrong way.

I don’t think I have taken it wrong, it just seems logical that with your experience you don’t need me to explain anything.

But, since you asked ……

The Aeon Noire off Mojo was specifically the conversation since that is what was previously asked about and what I was responding to, anything else is immaterial here.

For me, Chord Mojo, ifi Gryphon and ifi Diablo all do a decent job with Dan Clark Audio Aeon Noire but when pushed hard all three will clip/distort due to their inability to output the current that the very low 13 ohm impedance and relatively low sensitivity Aeon requires.

They all sound good and at normal listening levels they all do fine. My Asgard 3 however will drive them with no distortion even at a volume that is unlistenable for more than a moment or two.

For me I like that the Asgard 3 is a “technically” better match as it has a much more robust power supply and has more power into the low impedance load and can drive that load effortlessly.

The limitations of all of the portable devices I mentioned with the Aeon is the power output into a low impedance load due largely to design choices and power supply limitations because it comes from a battery because they need to be portable.

On a different angle however, not specific to my original comment, Diablo into a higher impedance load is another story because the current requirements are much less important and good voltage swing is needed. Balanced 4.4mm out into 300 ohm HD600 and the Diablo I think is fully the measure of the Asgard 3 and possibly outperforms it.

 

[rlanger]

I don’t think I have taken it wrong, it just seems logical that with your experience you don’t need me to explain anything.

But, since you asked ……

The Aeon Noire off Mojo was specifically the conversation since that is what was previously asked about and what I was responding to, anything else is immaterial here.

For me, Chord Mojo, ifi Gryphon and ifi Diablo all do a decent job with Dan Clark Audio Aeon Noire but when pushed hard all three will clip/distort due to their inability to output the current that the very low 13 ohm impedance and relatively low sensitivity Aeon requires.

They all sound good and at normal listening levels they all do fine. My Asgard 3 however will drive them with no distortion even at a volume that is unlistenable for more than a moment or two.

For me I like that the Asgard 3 is a “technically” better match as it has a much more robust power supply and has more power into the low impedance load and can drive that load effortlessly.

The limitations of all of the portable devices I mentioned with the Aeon is the power output into a low impedance load due largely to design choices and power supply limitations because it comes from a battery because they need to be portable.

On a different angle however, not specific to my original comment, Diablo into a higher impedance load is another story because the current requirements are much less important and good voltage swing is needed. Balanced 4.4mm out into 300 ohm HD600 and the Diablo I think is fully the measure of the Asgard 3 and possibly outperforms it.

Thanks. That's exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for.

Not sure what kind of experience you think I have? While I have had the opportunity to listen to a lot of different gear, I've only ever owned one desktop amp, a Woo WA6 from 2007 to 2009. I sold it to buy some custom IEMs, which I used exclusively until 2 years ago when I got back into headphones.

I've been powering my Sundara, and now XS with portable amps (XDuoo XD-05 BAL, which I sold to get the Mojo 2) due to space constraints, and they've both been more than powerful enough for these headphones. So, I really have no idea how they might be limited or how I might actually benefit from moving to a desktop amp.

From your comments, yes, I can see how they might not be powerful enough for other cans.

 

[Morganator]

Hi all, apologies if this question has been asked before but I've never been able to find a clear answer.

I currently use the Mojo 2 (and before that the OG Mojo) with a Hiby R3 Pro. I'm thinking of upgrading the Hiby, mostly because I'd like a player that runs android natively and so supports offline Tidal playback. There are a few options, but the difference mainly comes down to the audio quality of the DAP. So, here's my question - does the Mojo entirely bypass the DAC in the audio player, or does it enhance it? In other words, would a £200 player sound the same through Mojo as a £1,000 one? I suspect the Mojo enhances it, but I know Android has some weird issues with drivers so though I should find out before rather than wasting money on a player with a better built-in DAC that won't get used.

Would be grateful for any guidance! Thanks

 

[jarnopp]

Hi all, apologies if this question has been asked before but I've never been able to find a clear answer.

I currently use the Mojo 2 (and before that the OG Mojo) with a Hiby R3 Pro. I'm thinking of upgrading the Hiby, mostly because I'd like a player that runs android natively and so supports offline Tidal playback. There are a few options, but the difference mainly comes down to the audio quality of the DAP. So, here's my question - does the Mojo entirely bypass the DAC in the audio player, or does it enhance it? In other words, would a £200 player sound the same through Mojo as a £1,000 one? I suspect the Mojo enhances it, but I know Android has some weird issues with drivers so though I should find out before rather than wasting money on a player with a better built-in DAC that won't get used.

Would be grateful for any guidance! Thanks

Any DAC (digital to audio conversion) function would have to be bypassed for Mojo/2 to work, since it can only take a digital signal. The upstream device may have some digital signal processing (tone controls, parametric eq, volume, loudness, etc.) and you would need to decide if that sounds better than Mojo2 DSP. Paying more for audio quality (the analog output) would not enhance your use case, since it would be used by Mojo/2.

 

[Nick24JJ]

If I want to connect my FiiO M3K with the Mojo 2, is this the cable I need?

 

[syazwaned]

It is worth it to have Mojo 2 + Xduoo Bt Adapter + Topping Nx7 over Fiio Q7?

I would love to have Mojo 2 DSP features, but it is quite a hassle to charge three items at the everytime.

Fiio Q7 one the other hands has 1.5 w battery mode and 3 w DC mode, embedded with Bluetooth, though no Bluetooth so I stuck with Fiio Q7 house sound forever.

 

[dsrk]

It is worth it to have Mojo 2 + Xduoo Bt Adapter + Topping Nx7 over Fiio Q7?

I would love to have Mojo 2 DSP features, but it is quite a hassle to charge three items at the everytime.

Mojo 2 sound quality, DSP, form factor and NX7 clean power is hard to beat. But as you said it's a big hassle to carry three devices.

Q7 has the power to match NX7 but we need to wait and see if it can match the sound quality of Mojo 2.

Fiio Q7 one the other hands has 1.5 w battery mode and 3 w DC mode, embedded with Bluetooth, though no Bluetooth so I stuck with Fiio Q7 house sound forever.

You can check Xduoo XD-05 Pro which is very powerful and comes with swappable DAC modules.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/xduoo-xd05pro.964620/

 

[BS5711]

Hi all, apologies if this question has been asked before but I've never been able to find a clear answer.

I currently use the Mojo 2 (and before that the OG Mojo) with a Hiby R3 Pro. I'm thinking of upgrading the Hiby, mostly because I'd like a player that runs android natively and so supports offline Tidal playback. There are a few options, but the difference mainly comes down to the audio quality of the DAP. So, here's my question - does the Mojo entirely bypass the DAC in the audio player, or does it enhance it? In other words, would a £200 player sound the same through Mojo as a £1,000 one? I suspect the Mojo enhances it, but I know Android has some weird issues with drivers so though I should find out before rather than wasting money on a player with a better built-in DAC that won't get used.

Would be grateful for any guidance! Thanks

What comes out of the DAP via USB or coaxial is bit perfect digital data not subject to an processing unless you choose to via EQ. That assumes a decent DAP that has internal hi res and designed to bypass the usual Android audio limitations as typically exist from a smart phone.

I have a Fiio M11 Plus and it does internal hi res through Tidal, Qobuz and Apple Music native apps as well as local files outputting through USB or coaxial.

With proper internal hi res yes the DAC in the DAP isn’t used it is only a streaming source but I personally think it is worth investing in a DAP with internal hi res and a decent on board DAC and amplifier. That way it can be used standalone, line out into an amplifier and USB or coaxial out into a DAC or DAC/Amp. I personally use my M11 Plus in all of those ways regularly.

 

[Nick24JJ]

If I want to connect my FiiO M3K with the Mojo 2, is this the cable I need?

Can anyone answer to me, as well, please? I think the above cable will not work. I believe that I will need an OTG Cable Micro USB Adapter and from there a USB cable to the Mojo 2. Is this correct? Is there not a single cable I could use (to connect the FiiO M3K to the Mojo 2)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[rlanger]

Mojo 2 sound quality, DSP, form factor and NX7 clean power is hard to beat. But as you said it's a big hassle to carry three devices.

Q7 has the power to match NX7 but we need to wait and see if it can match the sound quality of Mojo 2.

You can check Xduoo XD-05 Pro which is very powerful and comes with swappable DAC modules.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/xduoo-xd05pro.964620/

I think you mean swappable op-amps. You can't swap the DAC in the XDuoo.

 

[BS5711]

If I want to connect my FiiO M3K with the Mojo 2, is this the cable I need?

No.

 

[BS5711]

Can anyone answer to me, as well, please? I think the above cable will not work. I believe that I will need an OTG Cable Micro USB Adapter and from there a USB cable to the Mojo 2. Is this correct? Is there not a single cable I could use (to connect the FiiO M3K to the Mojo 2)?

Thanks in advance!

I am not familiar with the M3K but you should be able to connect it to the Mojo 2 with a Micro USB to Micro USB cable or a Micro USB to USB-C cable. There should be no reason to double up cable like you suggested.

I would think this one would work, I have a number of Cable Creations products and they are decent quality. They are so cheap get a couple because Micro USB can be a bit fussy with fit I have found.

I have the same cable in a C to Micro that I have used on a Fiio M11 Plus to Mojo original and it works fine.

https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-Micro-Compatible-Android-Tablet/dp/B0744BW2B2?th=1&psc=1