[surfgeorge]

Got my Mojo 2 today and just wanted to ask whar is the best way to concocted to HiBy R3? Via USB-C -> USB-C
or
USB-C -> and cox, toslink.. etc?

So confused sorry, Thanks!

I have been using the original mojo with the R3 for years, and have been using it with both the Hiby USB-C to Coax cable and the Shanling L2 USB-C to Micro USB cable.
The L2 sounds a bit brighter, the coax cable a bit smoother, cleaner and darker. Since the coax is also mechanically more robust I have been using it now for a long time.
The disadvantage of the coax cable is that the volume control of the R3 remains active - so you have to be careful to always keep the R3 at full volume to prevent any processing of the digital data in the R3. At least I hope that at 100% volume the R3's sound processor is bypassed and the digital data is not changed in any form.

I love this stack, the form factor is good and I can operate both the Mojo and the R3 blind.
But there is one issue - the original Mojo has RFI when the R3's Wifi is enabled and they are stacked. This makes it impossible to use the R3's Tidal implementation.
The workaround is to connect the Mojo to the PC (which is a bad USB source) or the phone, in my case iPhone, with an additional MEENOVA Lightning to micro-USB cable.

Could you check if you get interference when you stack the Mojo2 and the R3 with active Wifi? It would be great if the Mojo 2 would solve that issue.

 

[SRKRAM]

The workaround is to connect the Mojo to the PC (which is a bad USB source)

Why is a PC a bad USB source?

 

[surfgeorge]

Why is a PC a bad USB source?

I did several comparisons using different sources for my Mojo and Hugo 2, and there are quite clear differences between various digital sources. Using an HP notebook (with docking station, connected to mains) gave the worst SQ of all options.
Personally I liked Toslink (from MBP 2014) best, followed by coax and then USB.
Generally I found USB to be more prone to sounding brighter, less smooth and with a less black background.
But it really depends which device is feeding the digital data through the USB connection. My MacBook Pro 2014 on battery was very good.

 

[PANURUS]

Why is a PC a bad USB source?

In order to determine whether a PC provided a poor quality USB signal, it can be useful to perform the following test.
Take a compressed Flac file, and convert it to WAV file.
Then compare to listening the 2 files.
If the WAV file has the listening is better, then it means that the surplus of processor activity, when decompressing the FLAC, adds a surplus of noise to the USB interface.
This test will not demonstrate that the noise generated by the network card or hard disk is non-existent or USB keys.
Until I find a quality streamer, I converted all my FLAC files into wav despite the opposition of the theorists saying that FLAC format was without loss and that use a format or other had to lead to the same result.
I had observed the same phenomenon on some DVD players like OPPO BDP103D. I even bought a Streamer with 2 USB bus powered separately to escape the problem but I only waste 3500 euros.

 

[SRKRAM]

In order to determine whether a PC provided a poor quality USB signal, it can be useful to perform the following test.
Take a compressed Flac file, and convert it to WAV file.
Then compare to listening the 2 files.
If the WAV file has the listening is better, then it means that the surplus of processor activity, when decompressing the FLAC, adds a surplus of noise to the USB interface.
This test will not demonstrate that the noise generated by the network card or hard disk is non-existent or USB keys.
Until I find a quality streamer, I converted all my FLAC files into wav despite the opposition of the theorists saying that FLAC format was without loss and that use a format or other had to lead to the same result.
I had observed the same phenomenon on some DVD players like OPPO BDP103D. I even bought a Streamer with 2 USB bus powered separately to escape the problem but I only waste 3500 euros.

I'm currently running Tidal, which utilises FLAC, and it's consuming around 0.5% CPU. How much less could it take to play WAV, and would this lead to any meaningful difference in noise? If you perceive any difference it may well be expectation bias. However, as this hobby is all about perceiving audio, if you perceive a difference that's all that matters.

 

[ChrisGB]

I tried the Mojo 2 connected to a heavy duty workstation, a Samsung Galaxy Tab 12s on battery power, a Shanling M6 and a OnePlus 9pro. Streaming from Amazon Music HD, the least pleasing combination was with the Samsung, with lots of intrusive noise on the sound and generally very poor sound quality. Hooked up to the workstation things were considerably better, with no noticable noise and a much better overall sound. Both the Shanling M6 and OnePlus 9 pro were much closer to each other and noticably better than either PC solution, the M6 giving the best results.

 

[MrPanda]

I'm really enjoying the Mojo 2, which strikes me as just a little below Hugo 2 in resolution, but in some ways, better because of the easy to use DSP, which is remarkably transparent. The speed of the Mojo 2 makes it clean, fast, and articulate. It's my new office rig along with a DCA Aeon 2 Noire and sometimes Stellia, but at home where I can use open backs it's got a fantastic synergy with Focal Clear MG. The crossfeed functions really make older jazz recordings and early stereo a pleasure to listen to. Only issue I have is when I'm using an iPhone 13 with the camera connector kit, the Mojo2 loses audio when the screen lock kicks in. I hate having the phone open when I'm at work, etc, so I'm wondering if anyone else has had that issue and found a work-around, other than disabling the screen lock in the iPhone settings....

 

[someyoungguy]

Why is a PC a bad USB source?

I always used my first Mojo with my PC via USB, mainly because I had my whole music library on my PC and it was easier than connecting to my phone (with more limited music selection). Then when I started experimenting with dongles I noticed that they sounded much better when I used them with my iPhone than with my PC & Audirvana. Seems like I'd been listening to Mojo OG with a worse digital source all that time. My only advice would be to experiment and see what sounds best for you, hard to know what results different people will get since we all have different phone, computer and tablet set-ups.

 

[spruce]

...after a week with the Mojo 2 I've gone back to the OG for comparison.....while the 2 is substantially better and fully worth the purchase for me, the OG's sound isn't that far off and is also extremely musical...it sounds a bit simplified, especially in the bass clarity/resolution (tho the quantity and slam is nice!) and smaller soundstage/somewhat flatter depth but this is quickly forgotten when I immerse into the music. Anyone who has the OG and is fully satisfied....the 2 is likely an optional purchase. If money isn't the issue and you want the latest and best...have a listen to the 2 with your headphone(s) and decide. I now wish that the OG had a USB-C input, a much more secure connection and sounds great with just an Apple USB-C charge cable.

Right now, I'm happy to own and use both and my OG is in rotation when I feel the need to hear a somewhat different presentation (and
to save the battery on the 2!). I'm totally satisfied and (if you're reading this) Mr. Watts, I think you are amazing!

Thanks! I was thinking if I do upgrade I would probably rotate to enjoy the different presentations when the mood struck. My OG is still in great condition.

 

[Sam L]

Anyone compare the ifi gryphon vs mojo 2?

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Anyone compare the ifi gryphon vs mojo 2?

Both are quite different in terms of sound and use case. Gryphon to me is very smooth, musical, relaxed, almost R-2R like.

Mojo 2 reminds me a bit like Sabre based DAC. Very clean, detailed. But more engaging where it demands your attention. Authoritative. Crisp and fast bass lines. It's got some meat and grunt to it too.

 

[Another Audiophile]

Anyone compare the ifi gryphon vs mojo 2?

I received a review unit and doing the comparison. Will be publishing my review in a couple of weeks.

 

[lwells]

I'm currently running Tidal, which utilises FLAC, and it's consuming around 0.5% CPU. How much less could it take to play WAV, and would this lead to any meaningful difference in noise? If you perceive any difference it may well be expectation bias. However, as this hobby is all about perceiving audio, if you perceive a difference that's all that matters.

I don't understand the FLAC v. WAV idea. But noisy USB ports are definitely an issue I've faced. If you're on a desktop, listen for the differences between ports on the front of your PC and ones on the motherboard IO panel. Better yet, compare that to a daughter USB PCI card. For a laptop, compare the left to right side of your computer. If you have a laptop dock, compare the dock's USB ports. I'm willing to bet you find some ports you like more than others. I've never found one I like as much as coax or spdif though. On a noisy port, I notice the soundstage collapse and the addition of shimmering around the drums.

 

[Currawong]

Rob Watts has explained the issue elsewhere, but, basically, a computer connected to the mains can transmit noise through the ground plane to the Mojo via USB. If you have a device disconnected from the mains, then this can't happen. He suggested if testing different set-ups, whichever sounds darker is the one with less noise. I've noticed as I improved my power set-up on my main system that the sound became progressively darker.

 

[ChrisGB]

Rob Watts has explained the issue elsewhere, but, basically, a computer connected to the mains can transmit noise through the ground plane to the Mojo via USB. If you have a device disconnected from the mains, then this can't happen. He suggested if testing different set-ups, whichever sounds darker is the one with less noise. I've noticed as I improved my power set-up on my main system that the sound became progressively darker.

Interesting. I found my laptop on battery to be by far the noisiest source, it was unlistenable. Obviously more at play than just ground plane noise on my case. I fixed it by buying a Hugo 2 / 2go combination.