I am not sure I want a box which behaves differently on USB and optical.
Or perhaps the problem is coming from the source, could be a resampling or something like this...
The box behaves the same fed the same quality input. Any preferences beyond that you likely will not hear. All DACs with different style inputs (optical, coax, USB) have the potential for subtle differences in sound. The question is if you can hear them or even care to try.
The Mojo2 sounds phenomenal for what it is. Don't let the debate on the subtleties between inputs cloud that fact. You likely will not experience any audible differences between inputs as long as you are feeding it with a good source and good cables.
No evidence of this. Power is the same in desktop mode or battery. There is no need to disconnect battery of Mojo2 like Mojo1 given the upgraded desktop mode of the Mojo2. IIRC batteries provide more power on demand and quicker compared to AC sources.
One thing I am unsure about is how the onboard soundcard handles the optical out. If its a pure line out, or it adds something to it? Also I figure you are then using your onboard soundcard drivers to handle apps, such as Tidal etc. loosing benefits of Chord's exclusive modes and ASIO drivers, as well as probably higher res sampling rate\possibly also worse latency?
I am very unsure how you guys hear any differences with USB and optical. Maybe it has to do that I am using a PC with a very clean motherboard, which has optimized electrical pathing, thus removing a lot of noises and essentially providing a very clean signal.
A sub $1k HiFi small portable DAC/amp. I'm sure it punches up farther than this, but my only >$1K DACs are the Hugo2 and Yggdrasil OG. Not enough data points for my taste. Most of my DACs, DAPs and DAC/amps are <$1k.
IMHO, to get significantly better in the Chord lineup, you need to go TT2 territory. That's many multiples more expensive than the Mojo2.
The only DACs I use, out of the ones I currently own, are Yggdrasil OG and the Mojo2. The rest sit in a drawer or the onboard DAC is bypassed. I'm 99% headphone/iem usage. Although I've heard the Mojo2 many times off of high end (>$30k) 2 channel systems and was highly impressed.
Bottom line is that the Mojo2 is just plain phenomenal.
These categories are all relative to the individual listener. Instead, I'd echo what @Daniel Johnston says above. It's as good as (or better than) any other DAC I've tried under $1k, and I would probably have to spend closer to $1.5k to get something that sounds like an audible improvement (which I have no interest in doing). And on top of being an excellent desktop DAC in the under $1k price range, it can also be used as a portable DAC/amp. Very few (if any) other DACs can claim as much.
Just received it and couldn't get qobuz on the pc to recognise using usb-c so I switched to the supplied micro and it connected. First thing I noticed using the same headphones but coming from using the Fiio K7 is alot more punch low end. Both units are pretty much brand new so no burn in really to have taken effect. It kinda made me pause for a sec cause it hit so much harder. The sound stage is a bit narrower, which I'm ok with. Mojo demands you to listen, the Fiio K7 still sounds great but it doesn't stiffen your muscles up. The mojo can be enjoyed at much lower volumes as I had to turn the K7 up quite a bit to get the music to come alive
I'm giving it a other go. I have a question about sampling rates. Iirc the optical in on the mojo 2 is limited to 96k, in just trying to understand if there is a conversion before the optical out and than another one at the mojo2. I have an optical out on my rme babyface pro that I use. Can you explain a little if you can about what exactly you find better? Thanks.
The DCA Aeon Noire is a great pairing with Mojo/Mojo2. If the E3 is in your budget, it’s an amazing upgrade. If you need portability, Mojo2/E3 is an end-game level system. Add Poly if you can take it (I.e., if it works for your use cases, like mostly Roon on your local WiFi).
Like my LCD-X (2021) with the Mojo 2, I find it has more dynamic slam than HE1000 SE, it sounds better for low dynamic range music (for example many old rock and heavy metal recordings), SE resolves more though and trumps the LCD-X in most parameters if the recording is good.
One thing I am unsure about is how the onboard soundcard handles the optical out. If its a pure line out, or it adds something to it? Also I figure you are then using your onboard soundcard drivers to handle apps, such as Tidal etc. loosing benefits of Chord's exclusive modes and ASIO drivers, as well as probably higher res sampling rate\possibly also worse latency?
I am very unsure how you guys hear any differences with USB and optical. Maybe it has to do that I am using a PC with a very clean motherboard, which has optimized electrical pathing, thus removing a lot of noises and essentially providing a very clean signal.
I think I had it wrong, I thought one or the other was limited and didn't try beyond 96k, reading your comment I checked the rme manual, it does support upto 194k.
1 x TOSLINK
Standard: 8 channels 24 bit, up to 48 kHz
Double Speed (S/MUX): 4 channels 24 bit 96 kHz
Quad Speed (S/MUX4) : 2 channels 24 bit 192 kHz
Bitclock PLL ensures perfect synchronisation even in varispeed operation
Lock Range: 31.5 kHz – 50 kHz
Jitter suppression: > 50 dB (2.4 kHz)
Number of channels is a pro audio thing for IO expansion, if it can do two channel 192 stereo, theoretically it could do 384k!
Long story short I tried it, 192k works perfectly. This is awesome.
I am not sure I want a box which behaves differently on USB and optical.
Or perhaps the problem is coming from the source, could be a resampling or something like this...
I was going to add another para and I hit the cancel button instead, I had track refs etc, bummer. Wanted to say, the differences are minute and very mix dependent. There some sub bass extension, some peaks were smoother. Both input sound just killer, I don't want to discourage anybody, I love this device. It's like the monarch mk2/3, you're probably going to have to spend a LOT more to get a bump. And the colored buttons are just fantastic, this thing is just pure joy.
I have the same experience that you have described under "Edit". If I use USB connection, the sound is much more analytical, and can get quite fatiguing very quickly. Don't forget, that my source is a gaming PC, so the superior results of using optical connection might come from the fact that when using optical cable, I have galvanic isolation, which gets rid of unwanted noise coming from my PC.
It's like having two great flavours, a lot of electrical noise is certainly eliminated via optical, there may be some circuitry that Rob Watts has included in the USB paths to eliminate noise and other things that account for the different tonality, though these differences are minimal. The basic character of the mojo2 is present in either.
I think we should all watch the q&a section of that talk he gave about the mojo2, this was brought up and he did clarify, I saw it too long ago to remember anything worth paraphrasing with any accuracy.
edit: I found the clip and have queued it to the exact concern of optical vs usb!
In short he says:
There is no difference between usb and optical when using with mobile devices, ie: when not connected to earthed devices.
When plugged into earthed devices, the usb will be brighter, by how much, depends from source to source, in this case optical is the better input always.
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