So I took the gamble and bought the M2. Here are some initial thoughts:
Build/Design:
I’m not revising my original thoughts on the images I saw online too much.
-In person, the four sphere buttons are less obtrusive than I thought, but the rear connectivity ports design appears half-executed and, frankly, slap-dash. I think this is a case of Rob stubbornly wanting to stick with Micro USB and finally acquiescing to the demands for USB-C at the zero hour. This is not a dig at Rob- stubbornness is a trait I excel at, and a trait I value in my friends and work partners. It belies a passion of belief that I think makes for interesting, creative people. That said, it can also bite you in the ass sometimes… Like when you dig your teeth in and hang on to an obsolete connection standard for the insane reason of compatibility with a more than half-decade old streamer add-on (that has never worked particularly well and is in dire need of a sequel itself), and you end up with a ridiculous prototype-like rear on an otherwise, in my opinion, beautiful design. Just for example.
-The four sphere buttons, which some see as one sphere button too far, do not bother me much. Sure, there is a learning curve, and if this device were a brand new model line, I might have more to say on the complexity of the 4 spheres and the multiple function hats they wear. But as this device is a sequel, and many of it’s users will be coming from the M1, I think it’s fine. Maybe not the most user-friendly for new Mojo users, but it is what it is. It’s a unique learning curve, but not a particularly difficult or unintuitive one.
Sound:
The sound is certainly a departure from the original Mojo’s signature, and to my ears, more in keeping with the classic Chord house sound than the M1 ever was. The warmth is there, but it’s not a heavy down comforter of warmth like it was with the M1. Clarity and detail have both been improved, particularly in the bass, the sub-band of which reaches somewhat lower than the original, yet presents with a more natural and detailed timbre. Soundstage has improved vastly, making for a less intimate listen than the original. The highs maintain the sweetness of the M1, but avoid rounding off, resulting in better detail there as well. The mids are simply sublime. They are among of the best I’ve heard, bar none, at any price point. Perfect.
So does the M2 sound better than the M1? Well, “sound superiority” is always a loaded proposition. Perception of sound is not identically uniform across individuals, so even objective listening, were such a thing possible, cannot truly define superiority, unless you’re painting with enormously broad strokes. And as even objective listening isn’t possible, we’re down, once again, to the classic HeadFi construct- that is to say a completely subjective personal opinion. So take my thoughts as you will.
Yes, personally, I think the Mojo 2 sounds better than the Mojo 1. Like, a lot better. And I always really liked the M1, but did occasionally find it a bit too warm for my taste at any given time, a bit too sparse on detail at times as well.
On the other hand, I personally think the Mojo 1 has a more “special” sound than the Mojo 2… The M1 sounds like nothing else, and it is perfectly balanced for what it is and it’s price point. It’s a modern classic, along the lines of the Sennheiser HD600/650. Are there a lot of better headphones around that price point these days? Sure. Are there a lot of headphones around that price point that package their sound as uniquely perfectly and cohesively, that have as strong a point of view, for lack of a better term? No. Not many- if at any at all. If I had to choose which DAC/amp to use on the daily, I’d certainly pick the M2 over the M1… while at the same time acknowledging that, at least for me, the M2 isn’t the uniquely special device that the M1 is.
Part of that comes down to the M2 aligning itself more closely with the classic Chord sound, while the M1 unapologetically took that house sound and did it’s own thing with it. I have read more than a few reviews stating that the M2’s sound lands somewhere between the M1 and the Hugo 2- and I understand why some would say that… The M1 is a very warm device with deep and very nearly wooly bass, while the H2 features a somewhat cooler, leaner, analytical sound with well-controlled and grippy bass. The M2’s sound temperature lands somewhere between the M1 and the H2, so it’s a natural comparison.
The thing is, like the M1, I don’t think the H2 is a typical example of the classic Chord sound. The H2 also does it’s own thing, perhaps in the opposite direction. For me, beyond a meet-in-the-middle sound temperature, the M2 aligns very little with the M1 or H2. No, If I were to pick a DAC/amp in Chord’s lineup that the M2 sounds most like, it would be the Dave. And perhaps that is why I have a hard time thinking of it as a device destined to be a modern classic. Because while the M1‘s unique take on the Chord sound allowed it to eschew comparison, the M2 finds itself measured against a $14,000 flagship, and in my opinion, perhaps the best-sounding DAC/amp in the hobby.
And here’s the thing, it doesn’t do too poorly. If this review so far has given the impression that I am lukewarm on the M2, let me put that to rest right now- the Mojo 2 is a hell of a device. Even throwing out all that tricky diminishing-returns math that comes into play when discussing ultra high-end exotic flagship devices, there is absolutely not $13,225 between the Mojo 2 and the Dave. I would not be disappointed in the M2’s sound at $3,000. Seriously. Which is obviously high praise, but before you get too excited, I also think the Dave should be priced around $9,000, even with that diminishing returns math, because prices have just gone, I’m sorry, ****ing bananas- but hey, there are jackasses who’ll pay $14,000 for it, so well done, Chord.
In any event, the Mojo 2‘s sound is a fantastic buy at $775, and perhaps truer to the original idea of the Mojo as an inexpensive gateway into the Chord house sound. While the Mojo 1 went all Cool Hand Luke and walked it’s own path into instant classic-dom, the Mojo 2 takes the harder and less glamorous road… that of the budget-ish entry-level model aiming high at the gauntlet thrown down by the Dave- an impossible thing to achieve at the price point, but a noble (and shockingly competent) attempt.
