I use my Hugo with Sennheiser entry level ear IEM, and sounds great to me. More than enough bass (I dislike very much excessive bass). Which $1-200 DAC can beat the Mojo?
No expensive headphones are needed to appreciate the music.
I agree with that! My Liquid Carbon makes a lot of my more affordable headphones shine. I bet the Mojo can do the same.
EDIT: of course you can argue the investment angle: should you invest rather in better headphones than in a mojo, will you have a better experience from doing that?...
I agree with that! My Liquid Carbon makes a lot of my more affordable headphones shine. I bet the Mojo can do the same.
EDIT: of course you can argue the investment angle: should you invest rather in better headphones than in a mojo, will you have a better experience from doing that?...
Source first. No headphone on the planet can add back what was never there from the DAC. The Mojo is another league of DAC compared to everything else out there.
I have used my Hugo with the cheapest headphones and can still hear what it does clearly.
And what it does it make music fun and engaging to listen to, like live music !
Amazing separation, speed, no fatigue, clarity, but most of all musical/engaging something I could not dream possible I heard Hugo.
You are entitled to your view and I can understand it, but if you listen to a live piano then Hugo into entry level headphones and any 200 dollar dac into 2000 dollar headphones you might find that the Hugo is able to match the starting and stopping of piano notes and the other dac can't. And no headphone can remedy this - and by this I mean that the music isn't reproduced properly by the source.
Of course if all you want is bass and no musicality then that is your choice but live music is all about emotions and engagement.
Also I have heard the some of the best headphones driven by average DAC and I didn't bother to listen more than 2 songs. Poor musicality
Even on bass heavy tracks by 50 cent, When I heard them on a Naim amplifier and speaker rig (known for accurate timing), it brought the track to life.
The DAC is the heart of the music, and nothing downstream can compensate for the shortcomings of a poor or average DAC
Yeah, eh, people can go at whichever order they they want. I guess it comes down to whether you want headphones that shows the full capability of the mojo or the mojo to show the full capability of the headphones.
That said, I don't have any headphones more expensive than the mojo (unless you count cumulative price ) and price is such a murky way to judge performance anyway.
I use my Hugo with Sennheiser entry level ear IEM, and sounds great to me. More than enough bass (I dislike very much excessive bass). Which $1-200 DAC can beat the Mojo?
No expensive headphones are needed to appreciate the music.
I am now 44 years old, and some of you may not be old enough to remember or have enjoyed the analog era of Vinyl and tapes, where music sounded so enjoyable and musical.
In those days FM radio sounded so engaging, and I remember days of rocking all out to Rock albums on a simple tape player and speakers. (Edit : Now we can do the same with Mojo into simple powered speakers)
Sadly with badly designed and compromised digital these rocking out sessions were in the past. When I heard the first CD players I was shocked how bad they sounded, and while there have been improvements in musicality, nothing like what I now hear from the Hugo. CD players from the Naim/Linn camp did sound musical, but I arrived late to the Naim/Linn party (and too expensive for me in those days), and anyway the Hugo/Mojo is more closer to the engagement and musicality of Vinyl and analog (and in many ways, much better)
What I am saying is that I'm an all analog guy and hopefully many of the younger generation will appreciate the sheer scale of Rob Watts achievements in the Mojo in terms of how this little gem makes music enjoyable, and engaging to listen to again !
It wasn't easy to get here and it took Mr Watts 30 years of research !
Not sure, but I thought the benefits you get for a $900aud iem (ie800) using with a phone would be better than a mojo $900aud with a $50 iem. Maybe I'm wrong.
Yeah, eh, people can go at whichever order they they want. I guess it comes down to whether you want headphones that shows the full capability of the mojo or the mojo to show the full capability of the headphones.
That said, I don't have any headphones more expensive than the mojo (unless you count cumulative price ) and price is such a murky way to judge performance anyway.
Source first. No headphone on the planet can add back what was never there from the DAC. The Mojo is another league of DAC compared to everything else out there.
I have used my Hugo with the cheapest headphones and can still hear what it does clearly.
And what it does it make music fun and engaging to listen to, like live music !
Amazing separation, speed, no fatigue, clarity, but most of all musical/engaging something I could not dream possible I heard Hugo.
There may be a time @KowalskiFUT will want to spend more on Headphones, IEM's source equipment and cables. But they have asked about a reasonably priced set of IEM's.
All the above arguments and points of view are correct. I started with the Mojo and I was able to afford to upgrade my Headphones, IEM's and source equipment in time But it's the individuals needs matter most
Not sure, but I thought the benefits you get for a $900aud iem (ie800) using with a phone would be better than a mojo $900aud with a $50 iem. Maybe I'm wrong.
Most reasonably prices headphones are surprisingly capable, but most digital sources are predictably very poor. The weaker link is the source/DAC rather than the headphone
anyway just try it for yourselves, and choose simple Chopin Piano recordings, which one sounds more like a real Piano.
Most reasonably prices headphones are surprisingly capable, but most digital sources are predictably very poor. The weaker link is the source/DAC rather than the headphone
I don't think it's about whether one item is more capable within their field. But rather which item would give you the better sound quality if you were to choose one. I'm not sure if I'm right, but I would have thought having an ie 800 and a phone would provide that more than a mojo and a cheap iem. But I might be wrong.
Im about to buy Mojo, which will be paired with Sony Xperia smartphone. Could anyone recommend good pair of IEMs for it? I listen to jazz (fusion), classical music, and some dub and reggae. I aint basshead, but would like some nice, articulated bass. Budget is 150-200 euros.
Zero Audio Duoza - (dual dynamic drivers) can recommend, for me just best synergy - cost in japan under 80$
NAD Viso HP20 (single dynamic driver) in second favorite place - cost around 150 - maybe you can find cheaper
reproducing recorded music properly to sound like live music is a very tricky and extremely difficult technical challenge indeed and spending more money on headphones is not a solution to a defective source.
In my experience, once the damage is done at the source, no amplifier, speaker or headphone can remedy this.
Some of the top Hi-fi companies in the world like Naim advise the same exact advice. Get the source right, first before anything else.
Get a Chord mojo !
PS : I don't work for chord, I just am a big, big fan of the Hugo
@analogmusic, you are absolutely right. back then when fm was there to play music from vinyl and that too from mastered analog sources, the sound was much more realistic specially the vocals. slowly came CDs which never could create the same feel until Hugo and mojo came. yesterday I listened some familiar Bollywood tracks though mojo on Beyer dt880 600ohm and yes there were goose bumps.
I don't think it's about whether one item is more capable within their field. But rather which item would give you the better sound quality if you were to choose one. I'm not sure if I'm right, but I would have thought having an ie 800 and a phone would provide that more than a mojo and a cheap iem. But I might be wrong.
It would really depend on the combination. For example IE800 and LG V10 or iPhone 6S could be a great combination, not necessarily the same with a Samsung Galaxy Mini and IE800
But Mojo and cheap IEM's could also be a good combo (just dependent of your idea of cheap), bundled earpads with most phones maybe not, but with something in the £45+ area I think could give a good impression and a decent sound.
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) and price is such a murky way to judge performance anyway.
