I would pay for better sound quality in a Mojo2, whether derived from a more powerful FPGA with more taps, or better filtering or analog output power, but I would not be interested in a new cable connection option or even improved battery life, SQ being equal. It seems a waste of both Chord’s resources and mine.
Not to mention having to redesign the poly. If they replace the micro usb with usb c for example, the poly (a significantly more expensive and complicated product) would have to follow suit. Now they have 2 sets of virtually identical products to maintain. Same If they changed the form factor or other inputs of the Mojo.
I’d agree with Jarnopp on this one. Only a significant update in the FPGA might make sense. If Rob says the Mojo is the best designed product he could do for its class, I’d believe him.
I agree there’s not much to fix in the mojo as is. I really enjoy it with the R3 and coax. The auto shutoff feature after a few minutes of the R3 being done playing is nice. I wonder if that could be possible with USB via a firmware update? When using with an iOS device, it can drain down the battery if you forget to turn it off.
Also, wrt 2G support causing the RF issues with phones, is there a way to disable that feature in iOS? I haven’t found it.
Mojo as a DAP can’t compete with the latest and greatest from AK, shanking, Sony, etc...
Mojo as a DAC/amp, especially combined with the poly and Roon, has no true equal.
Yeah, carrying 50k songs plus in your pocket is cool and all, but actually listening to the music you own (plus integrating with tidal or Qobuz) is so much easier using the above combination.
Mojo as a DAP can’t compete with the latest and greatest from AK, shanking, Sony, etc...
Mojo as a DAC/amp, especially combined with the poly and Roon, has no true equal.
Yeah, carrying 50k songs plus in your pocket is cool and all, but actually listening to the music you own (plus integrating with tidal or Qobuz) is so much easier using the above combination.
It has no equal in its Roon function. It’s the only true portable Roon endpoint.
Everything else I’ve found is a DAP that uses the Roon app as the endpoint. That implementation is not as seamless as the mojo/poly.
I’m not referring to sound quality. That, as you pointed out, is very subjective. I’m referring to the functional comparison of the mojo to another DAP. I think that’s not fair to Mojo. It’s a DAC/amp. Add the poly and you have a DAC/amp with on board music storage, streaming, and tidal/Qobuz integration. Even with all that, it’s still not going to be a fair comparison function wise to the dx160.
I think Mojo caters to those who have a front end they like (Roon, iPhone, DAP) and are looking for a DAC/ amp to drive their headphones. I don’t think it’s meant to compete with the likes of the kann cube or wmz1.
It has no equal in its Roon function. It’s the only true portable Roon endpoint.
Everything else I’ve found is a DAP that uses the Roon app as the endpoint. That implementation is not as seamless as the mojo/poly.
I’m not referring to sound quality. That, as you pointed out, is very subjective. I’m referring to the functional comparison of the mojo to another DAP. I think that’s not fair to Mojo. It’s a DAC/amp. Add the poly and you have a DAC/amp with on board music storage, streaming, and tidal/Qobuz integration. Even with all that, it’s still not going to be a fair comparison function wise to the dx160.
I think Mojo caters to those who have a front end they like (Roon, iPhone, DAP) and are looking for a DAC/ amp to drive their headphones. I don’t think it’s meant to compete with the likes of the kann cube or wmz1.
I think we all understand that you don't like the Mojo.
That is your preference.
Based on that conclusion, why are you spending your free time trolling the Mojo thread?
It has no equal in its Roon function. It’s the only true portable Roon endpoint.
Everything else I’ve found is a DAP that uses the Roon app as the endpoint. That implementation is not as seamless as the mojo/poly.
I’m not referring to sound quality. That, as you pointed out, is very subjective. I’m referring to the functional comparison of the mojo to another DAP. I think that’s not fair to Mojo. It’s a DAC/amp. Add the poly and you have a DAC/amp with on board music storage, streaming, and tidal/Qobuz integration. Even with all that, it’s still not going to be a fair comparison function wise to the dx160.
I think Mojo caters to those who have a front end they like (Roon, iPhone, DAP) and are looking for a DAC/ amp to drive their headphones. I don’t think it’s meant to compete with the likes of the kann cube or wmz1.
I have a question. In summary, what is going on with the Poly? Why does it have such a low rating on Amazon... it works for some people and doesn't for others depending on the system, or some people just can't figure out how to use it?
I have a question. In summary, what is going on with the Poly? Why does it have such a low rating on Amazon... it works for some people and doesn't for others depending on the system, or some people just can't figure out how to use it?
A good point. The sister thread (poly/mojo thread) on this forum made an astute observation. Prior to firmware 2.0, the poly was challenging to set up and use. That’s being kind. After 2.0, it’s not perfect, but darn near the plug and play option Chord visioned. I’m sure that most of the Amazon reviews incorporate reviews from the early growing pains.
To be honest, portable streaming DAC/amps are a niche market today. Wireless earbuds and headphones sound much better than when the mojo first came out. The gap between “audiophile” and mainstream technology has narrowed. I get about 80% sound quality of the kse1200/polymojo combination when I use my AirPod pros. $3300 vs $250 total invested. I think the extra is worth it, but I bet the greater majority of people won’t.
I have a question. In summary, what is going on with the Poly? Why does it have such a low rating on Amazon... it works for some people and doesn't for others depending on the system, or some people just can't figure out how to use it?
I think it's a bit of several factors. This is not a diss at Chord, but rather an honest attempt at an overview of why some owners got frustrated and posted low ratings for Poly experience.
Chord have posted about lessons being learnt, so I think their future streamer products will be far more mature on eis.:
the Poly hardware has turned out to have been almost 100% mature at launch - the only change publicly announced was to modify the Poly boot up procedure when waiting for the wake-up signal from the Mojo. True some owners would have preferred a physical on/off switch, so maybe that is a lesson learnt for the future
the Poly firmware, and lack of a configuration app at launch proved the start of the frustration for most owners. Poly was not switch it on and the firmware/apps work perfectly from day 1, so this inevitably disappointed many owners used to the apple style of product releases. It took 18 months of firmware updates, plus the release of the iOS and Android versions of the GoFigure configuration app, to reach an overall product maturity that most owners are now comfortable with. Ok, there are still some loose ends to tie up, such as chromecast and spotify support, but probably 98% of the functionality promised at launch is now available, and working well for most owners. The journey contained much frustration, which may explain the Amazon ratings, but for the past few months the Poly thread has been calm and focused on providing help to new owners.
Some people just can't figure out how to use it? - undoubtedly true during the early days until the Gofigure apps and poly firmware were mature. Connecting Poly to apps/routers/phones seemed to benefit from an understanding of network protocols, IP addresses, router configurations, etc. That knowledge is not my strong point, so i know that i would have struggled if I had been one of the early owners.
Availability of user guidance/support - always going to be a difficult one, when a product has been undergoing regular updates to firmware/apps etc. During the first 18 months of the Poly experience, it was inevitable that Chord ended up with an owner base who had Polys using various versions of the Poly firmware. This means that the paper user manual for poly was almost out of date, as soon as the box was opened. In hindsight the Poly thread on head-fi demonstrated the benefits/strengths of an online community, with owners posting advice/workarounds/videos, plus Chord providing user help/guidance whenever possible. Some of this knowledge has now migrated to the Poly FAQ on the Chord website. Inevitably most Poly owners do not access head-fi so they will probably been unaware of much of the user help on the poly thread. Conclusion that anyone who did not visit head-fi, may well have been frustrated when trying to use Poly.
I am sure that other owners could add other bullet points, but I have run out of ideas.
Probably the key point to remember is that the Poly has emerged from all this a strong product, which bodes well for the future.
In five years, few will remember the initial teething troubles.
^ I’d say that’s a pretty comprehensive summary. Thanks.
I’d add that Chord overall is a boutique audiophile company. The poly even more boutique product. I would say a Mojo user would look on Amazon for a Poly to get best price or convenience. I don’t think many would buy it because it popped up in their suggestions or on spontaneity. I’d also say the reviews left would bias toward negative.
I gave away my opus #2, and my ak240 is collecting dust since I switched to the mojo/poly/Roon chain.
I rate the Chord Mojo very high. Very good soundquality and easy to use together with my Samsung smartphone using the Uapp music app. That app is fantastic and i use the equalizer.
I compared the sound with the FiioM11 , Cowon Plenue D2 and AK380 and i think they are all very good. The AK380 far to expensive.
Which one had the best soundquality? Difficult to say. They are different. If i was not going to stream Tidal music i would buy the Cowon Plenue D2.
But since i like Tidal and streaming and already have a smartphone the Chord Mojo costing 400 euros here this was the best option for me.
And soundquality from Chord Mojo is similar. I have the Sennheiser Hd 600 which i love.
I only listen to music at home so portability is not so important.
it seems like some people make a mistake when connecting the Chord Mojo to an android phone they dont use an Otg cable and then ofcourse no improvement in soundquality
Posters have pointed out in the past, that keeping the battery at elevated temperature for a long time, is detrimental to battery life expectancy.
Apart from that, I have never read any posts about the battery catching fire.
I think the battery was designed to operate at 160 C max, but there are 3 thermal shutdown circuits that operate at 60 C, so the risk of fire is minimized.
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