Chord Mojo 2 Thread ___ [product released January 31, 2022 -- starting on page 95 of thread]

[albertop]

on ASR the results will always say that a Topping will always be better than anything else. I use a Mojo 2 with Andromeda 2020 and they are a fantastic pair for me, except for the hiss caused by the hypersensitivity of Andromeda, but which disappears as soon as I press play, but otherwise it is pure enjoyment.

No doubt they are both good enough to sound transparent. But I have the same issue with the original Chord Mojo, as the Andromeda are very sensitive. So, I thought that having the possibility to change gain (with the Topping) could be nice.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

No doubt they are both good enough to sound transparent. But I have the same issue with the original Chord Mojo, as the Andromeda are very sensitive. So, I thought that having the possibility to change gain (with the Topping) could be nice.

If Andromeda's hiss bothers you, I can confirm that with Mojo 2 you will still hear it when the music isn't playing. The issue can definitely be resolved by intervening on the impedance with an iEMatch+ from iFi, but as far as I'm concerned Andromeda becomes less hot (which is not a bad thing) but too bright for my tastes.

With the G5 I'm not sure if the Andromeda doesn't hiss, you'd have to ask someone who adopts both

 

[Daniel Johnston]

I have been using the original Chord Mojo for a number of years with my Senn HD600 and my IEMs. I wonder if the Topping G5 is a better upgrade than the Chord Mojo 2. Measurements posted at ASR suggest that both products would be audibly transparent (with the Topping being slightly better performing), but it appeals to be the possibility of the Topping to change gain. I find my Andromeda 2020 to be too sensitive for the mojo, and I can't adjust the volume properly...

The Topping is not a better upgrade than the Mojo 2, it is a different optIon. It doesn't have the built-in crossfeed or UHD EQ. It has better BT options, and theoretically has more power. Two completely different devices.

Audible transparency is a misleading ASR term. SINAD at 1khz with a 300ohm load at 2V input is one data point of a DAC/amp performance. It doesn't mean the Mojo 2 and Topping G5 actually sound the same. That's for your ears and headphones/iems to decide.

Since the topping is considerably cheaper, get it from a shop with a good return policy. Compare it to your Mojo 1 (which is "audibly transparent" per ASR methodology but not SOTA). You could save yourself money.

 

[albertop]

The Topping is not a better upgrade than the Mojo 2, it is a different optIon. It doesn't have the built-in crossfeed or UHD EQ. It has better BT options, and theoretically has more power. Two completely different devices.

Audible transparency is a misleading ASR term. SINAD at 1khz with a 300ohm load at 2V input is one data point of a DAC/amp performance. It doesn't mean the Mojo 2 and Topping G5 actually sound the same. That's for your ears and headphones/iems to decide.

Since the topping is considerably cheaper, get it from a shop with a good return policy. Compare it to your Mojo 1 (which is "audibly transparent" per ASR methodology but not SOTA). You could save yourself money.

Fair point. They are two completely different devices. I wouldn't upgrade to Mojo 2 because I feel completely okay with Mojo 1, but I realise that I am not using it much on the go. It's primarily for home listening or travelling (but when I'm sitting in a room). So portability is not really an issue. I'll have a think about it.

The other option I am considering is to sell the Andromedas and just do HD600 at home, as well as speakers

 

[albertop]

If Andromeda's hiss bothers you, I can confirm that with Mojo 2 you will still hear it when the music isn't playing. The issue can definitely be resolved by intervening on the impedance with an iEMatch+ from iFi, but as far as I'm concerned Andromeda becomes less hot (which is not a bad thing) but too bright for my tastes.

With the G5 I'm not sure if the Andromeda doesn't hiss, you'd have to ask someone who adopts both

Thanks for confirming.

 

[ducnsh]

Thanks for confirming.

Give the IEMatch+ a try, I think the absence of the hiss and more fine-tuning volume range is worth it, the 1Ohm output impedance of the IEMatch is not a nightmare for the Andromeda if you think that.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

Give the IEMatch+ a try, I think the absence of the hiss and more fine-tuning volume range is worth it, the 1Ohm output impedance of the IEMatch is not a nightmare for the Andromeda if you think that.

I confirm that iEMatch+ completely resolves the hiss of the Andromeda and it may be that 1Ohm is still acceptable, however using iEMatch+ with Andromeda gave me a terrible experience, I simply don't like the resulting sound

 

[ducnsh]

I confirm that iEMatch+ completely resolves the hiss of the Andromeda and it may be that 1Ohm is still acceptable, however using iEMatch+ with Andromeda gave me a terrible experience, I simply don't like the resulting sound

what terrible experience were you referring to?

 

[Guy Fawkes]

what terrible experience were you referring to?

a less warm presentation (not necessarily a flaw) but it gets too bright for my taste, Andromeda is very sensitive to small variations in impedance.

 

[Cam9102]

I would like to share my brief experience with the Mojo 2. A couple of weeks ago I ordered the Mojo 2 from Peter Tyson which included an Audioquest usb-c cable and a case. I connected it to my Google Pixel 7 pro phone and all was well and it sounded amazing, I was really happy with my purchase. So the next morning I again hooked it up with a set of my IEMs and the next thing I got blasted with the white noise I'd read about. As you can imagine with it being IEMs, it was seriously loud and I jumped and ripped them out my ears and the Mojo, my ears were left ringing for quite a bit of time. Later on I tried again, there was no white noise this time but there was some noise coming from the right channel. I contacted Peter Tyson who were amazing, great customer service and were understanding and more than happy for me to return the Mojo 2 for a refund, they even arranged for it to be picked up, rare to get this level of service these days.

I honestly don't think the Mojo 2 is a safe device to use. With it being a mobile device, it can used in many different situations and if the white noise issue was to suddenly happen, it could lead to some sort of accident. As I said to Peter Tyson, I think the product should be recalled or at least be stopped from being sold until the issue has been investigated and resolved.

I would still love to have the Mojo 2 but it would be like Russian Roulette with my earphones which is a risk I couldn't face. I'm just glad I wasn't using my more expensive IEMs at the time, it could have been a very expensive experience. I know others have connected it with cables however this should still not happen and does seem to be an issue with the Mojo.

I wish I was one of the many customers who have never had the issue because as it stands, I can't seem to find an alternative to the Mojo 2, it is really does sound that good.

I just wanted to make people aware that this issue is real and from my point of view, quite dangerous. And to all the happy owners who haven't had the issue, I am jealous!

 

[daveya]

I would like to share my brief experience with the Mojo 2. A couple of weeks ago I ordered the Mojo 2 from Peter Tyson which included an Audioquest usb-c cable and a case. I connected it to my Google Pixel 7 pro phone and all was well and it sounded amazing, I was really happy with my purchase. So the next morning I again hooked it up with a set of my IEMs and the next thing I got blasted with the white noise I'd read about. As you can imagine with it being IEMs, it was seriously loud and I jumped and ripped them out my ears and the Mojo, my ears were left ringing for quite a bit of time. Later on I tried again, there was no white noise this time but there was some noise coming from the right channel. I contacted Peter Tyson who were amazing, great customer service and were understanding and more than happy for me to return the Mojo 2 for a refund, they even arranged for it to be picked up, rare to get this level of service these days.

I honestly don't think the Mojo 2 is a safe device to use. With it being a mobile device, it can used in many different situations and if the white noise issue was to suddenly happen, it could lead to some sort of accident. As I said to Peter Tyson, I think the product should be recalled or at least be stopped from being sold until the issue has been investigated and resolved.

I would still love to have the Mojo 2 but it would be like Russian Roulette with my earphones which is a risk I couldn't face. I'm just glad I wasn't using my more expensive IEMs at the time, it could have been a very expensive experience.

I wish I was one of the many customers who have never had the issue because as it stands, I can't seem to find an alternative to the Mojo 2, it is really does sound that good.

I just wanted to make people aware that this issue is real and from my point of view, quite dangerous. And to all the happy owners who haven't had the issue, I am jealous!

The instructions make it clear there are two levels of volume and once you get to the second level the indicator turns white so anyone with IEMs knows to turn it down

 

[Cam9102]

The instructions make it clear there are two levels of volume and once you get to the second level the indicator turns white so anyone with IEMs knows to turn it down

Hi there,

I don't think this relates to the white noise issue. This came out at full volume, nothing I could have done and it was the same IEMs I had used the day before.

 

[daveya]

Hi there,

I don't think this relates to the white noise issue. This came out at full volume, nothing I could have done and it was the same IEMs I had used the day before.

But then again the white noise issue isn't related to using IEMs either

 

[Cam9102]

But then again the white noise issue isn't related to using IEMs either

Indeed, it's an issue with the Mojo 2 , I was merely saying that nothing had changed from listening to it the day before.

At the end of the day, the Mojo 2 has a design fault, might only be in some devices or it's a ticking timebomb for all owners, I hope this isn't the case.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Indeed, it's an issue with the Mojo 2 , I was merely saying that nothing had changed from listening to it the day before.

At the end of the day, the Mojo 2 has a design fault, might only be in some devices or it's a ticking timebomb for all owners, I hope this isn't the case.

It's not a design fault as much as a software issue. I've only had white noise issue once with the Mojo 2 and it was due to my Sony player acting odd. A reboot of the Sony fixed the issue. In your case with white noise and the bad channel, this could've been a defective unit. Getting a new unit will unlikely have the same issue. I don't blame you for being cautious, but you're going to see a disproportionate amount of issues reported in this thread vs. real life issues. Chord did issue a "recall" of sorts when multiple Mac users reported the white noise issue on their M1 based computers. Again, software issue and not a design flaw. Some argue that the USB chip used in the Mojo 2 is substandard compared to other chips.

White noise happens with multiple other DACs--it's not a Mojo specific issue. Most of the white noise reported here boils down to the USB C cable being used. The boutique cables (not necessarily Audioquest) aren't always built to USB 2 specifications. Some cheap cables also cause issues. And finally, a software glitch on the phone side of your chain can cause an issue.

If you don't want to chance another Mojo 2, that's understandable. However, it's not accurate to say that the Mojo 2 is a ticking time bomb waiting to blow up our iems.