Chord Mojo(1) DAC-amp ☆★►FAQ in 3rd post!◄★☆
Oct 16, 2015 at 2:49 AM Post #451 of 42,759
There are at least 3 flavors for 3.5-mm coaxial S/PDIF connections - namely TS (2-pole) / TRS (3-pole) / TRRS (4-pole)
 

 

 
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It's so hilarious that BNC (rather than 3.5-mm) was mentioned on page 8
 
http://www.chordelectronics.co.uk/mojo/manual/Mojo-User-Manual.pdf
 
If each coaxial cable were NOT terminated with the right TS / TRS / TRRS connector, then it won't work properly.
 
Some of us learned that lesson the hard way with FiiO X5 2nd gen, that's why I couldn't understand why they still didn't clarify what's going on with the coaxial input of Mojo.
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 2:55 AM Post #452 of 42,759
  Storage capacity and easy support for higher resolution files are challenges with phones.
 
In the iPhone world you're limited to 128Gb, in the Android space, if you're willing to mess about swapping microSD cards you can go bigger, but the serious DAPs can mount almost half a terabyte of storage and retain a fully indexed catalog.  And, if you need more space, you can turn off indexing and swap cards as you need for unlimited capacity.
 
No argument about the display and user experience or cost savings if you don't need the capacity/convenience though.

 
2TB portable wireless NAS & Android phone: "2TB of mobile wireless FLAC and DSD, courtesy of RAVPower file hub, Samsung 2TB 2.5" drive, USB Audio Player Pro, Samsung Galaxy S3 (cyanogenmod) and iFi iDSD nano.  Great on the go solution for travel."
http://www.head-fi.org/t/633511/pictures-of-your-portable-rig-part-xvi/13695#post_10855950
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 3:11 AM Post #453 of 42,759
AndrewH13, this is what I've got for now and it seems to work fine. It's a bit of a joke but I don't have a shorter coaxial cable so, well, yeah.

I'm using the 3.5mm mono to RCA adaptor that came with the X5 1st gen to connect to the MoJo end. It looks like Moon Audio can make a 3.5mm mono coaxial cable with the appropriate pin configuration that I may look in to. I tried a regular 3.5mm stereo interconnect from the X5 1st gen to the MoJo and it output sound but there was a load of hiss.

 
Oct 16, 2015 at 3:15 AM Post #454 of 42,759
Okay, that fixes the capacity issue, but now you're dealing with three or four (if you use a hard-disc instead of an SDXC card) devices instead of two.
 
I'm sure that works for some people; I'm definitely not one of them though - way too fiddly/janky for me.  If I was going to go vaguely down that route, I'd go for a 2TB wireless HD rather than add an extra box in the middle.  
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 3:28 AM Post #455 of 42,759
  Comparing AK240 and iPhone 6S+as a transport, both using the Mojo as a DAC - is there any noticeable difference? Because the more I have used the 6S+, the more I feel that it actually sounds better than my AK240, straight out to my Layla and K10. I'd probably be taking a beating on this but I am just being blunt honest on what I hear. I do own way better desktop gear with top end DACs, headphone amps and headphones (LCD3, HE1000, BHSE and SR009 included) so I am pretty sure my hearing or taste is still intact. 

 
Astell&Kern stuff aren't audiophile items, they are overpriced toys. I'm not surprised iPhone 6s sounds as good. Mojo would make a real difference in sound.
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 3:51 AM Post #456 of 42,759
Following on re transports, I feel quite bad (knowing how good the QP1R is as a DAP in its own right) that I've relegated it to transport duties, but the mix of QP1R, MoJo and Layla is an absolute monster... Those that say there is no point in having high quality on the road (right this second walking around High Holborn in London, dodging people as I type) and really need to listen to a setup like this.

I guarantee most of the naysayers would change their minds :)
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 3:54 AM Post #458 of 42,759
Following on re transports, I feel quite bad (knowing how good the QP1R is as a DAP in its own right) that I've relegated it to transport duties, but the mix of QP1R, MoJo and Layla is an absolute monster... Those that say there is no point in having high quality on the road (right this second walking around High Holborn in London, dodging people as I type) and really need to listen to a setup like this.

I guarantee most of the naysayers would change their minds
smily_headphones1.gif

 
Gosh I think your setup is as good as portable audio gets.
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 3:57 AM Post #459 of 42,759
   
Astell&Kern stuff aren't audiophile items, they are overpriced toys. I'm not surprised iPhone 6s sounds as good. Mojo would make a real difference in sound.

 
While I don't, personally, particularly care for the sound of my AK120 when I have it directly driving my SE846, it certainly sounds significantly better than my iPhone 6S doing the same thing.  The DAC seems fine in the AK120, but I'm not a fan of the amp implementation.  Maybe an RWAK120 mod would fix that, but I doubt it and adding the Mojo offers a lot more flexibility.
 
Using both the AK120 and iPhone 6s as transports I couldn't tell any difference when I tried them with a Bifrost 4490, Ragnarok and LCD-2.2c.  
 
I'm sufficiently frustrated by the lack of a truly high-capacity portable DAP/transport that I'm getting very close to building one myself.
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 3:59 AM Post #460 of 42,759
There are 2 x Mojo's for sale right now on Amazon.uk
 
I've shortened the link:-
 
http://goo.gl/nqit8v
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 4:02 AM Post #462 of 42,759
Thanks for posting those Rob! :)
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 4:05 AM Post #463 of 42,759
Following on re transports, I feel quite bad (knowing how good the QP1R is as a DAP in its own right) that I've relegated it to transport duties, but the mix of QP1R, MoJo and Layla is an absolute monster... Those that say there is no point in having high quality on the road (right this second walking around High Holborn in London, dodging people as I type) and really need to listen to a setup like this.

I guarantee most of the naysayers would change their minds
smily_headphones1.gif

Yes it is impressive indeed.  Why not just use your ZX2 or even a cheaper player such as the A17 as a transport unless you need additional storage space on the QP1R.  The MOJO is really impressive in my book.  The jury is still out between the MOJO and PHA3 IMO.
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 4:06 AM Post #464 of 42,759
In my country, Mojo will only be shipped around end of Oct.
Can't wait! :)
 
Oct 16, 2015 at 4:12 AM Post #465 of 42,759
Storage capacity and easy support for higher resolution files are challenges with phones.

In the iPhone world you're limited to 128Gb, in the Android space, if you're willing to mess about swapping microSD cards you can go bigger, but the serious DAPs can mount almost half a terabyte of storage and retain a fully indexed catalog.  And, if you need more space, you can turn off indexing and swap cards as you need for unlimited capacity.

No argument about the display and user experience or cost savings if you don't need the capacity/convenience though.


With iOS and Android there are apps like Onkyo and UAPP that have no issues with high resolution files. Storage wise there are various options, but we should also remember that a phone as a transport has streaming options too. I would look at the ASUS Zenfone 2 with 128gb and a card slot allowing a further 200gb of expansion if I wanted maximum local storage (or a high capacity iPhone with an extended battery with card slot in the iOS realm), or if you're prepared to mess with your phone a bit you can use a 512gb SD card via an adapter. Can certainly see the convenience aspect for those with very large collections though.
 

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