Chord Mojo(1) DAC-amp ☆★►FAQ in 3rd post!◄★☆
Nov 10, 2019 at 2:07 PM Post #39,466 of 42,765
I have just picked up a Xonar DG which has an optical out. Hopefully it is better than the USB on my motherboard.

Any of the Asus Sonar cards should be fine. Plus you get some quality sound as back-up, if you're not using the Mojo.

I added picture to previous post to show what a simple and cheap solution I had. It worked.
 
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Nov 10, 2019 at 3:16 PM Post #39,467 of 42,765
Other people have tried the Jitterbug on USB and found they didn't like it. Stories like collapsed sound stage, duller sound, etc. However the JItterbug can not destroy sound, as it does not damage the music samples. What people hear with the Jitterbug, is the music as it's supposed to be. That is confirmed when we A-B between USB with Jittebug and optical.

What it means is that people liked having the noise from the PC having an effect on the Mojo. I was similar in the first moments when adding the Jitterbug. I was very surprised how obvious the difference was when adding the Jitterbug. However I told myself, that how it's supposed to be. Like all changes, I said to myself, get used to it. I carried on listening and in time I appreciated the new sound and loved the Mojo sound more. It was less bright, or less in my face, with more texture and tonality. When I did an A-B with optical it was identical, so I was happy. I would never run a Mojo without Jitterbug from PC now.

If you disagree with me, that's fine. I have said my peace/piece; whichever you prefer. For more proof, Rob Watts added noise filtering (same as Jitterbug) to the USB on the Hugo 2, and TT2. I can not hear any difference between USB and optical on either of those DACs, and I have both. I don't really use Mojo with my PC anymore, or barely at all ever. I just help out in the thread sometimes. If you disagree then I won't spend any more time on it.

Yes I do vehemently disagree and do not feel the Jitterbug delivers "sound as it should be". I do agree it does not damage samples but I do not like what it did with any of the dacs I tried it with. No need to spend any more time on it with me. cheers!
 
Nov 11, 2019 at 12:50 AM Post #39,469 of 42,765
No, that is S/PDIF...

TOSLINK is optical....

So sorry but you are wrong! @miketlse is correct S/PDIF is a protocol with embedded clock that is used with Toslink, Coax, and AES.

The problem with some setups is they use the computer clock to embed the S/PDIF clock, .......really scuzzy and the reason why Async USB kills it, if you do it right.

But ..... good cards with a separate clock form the computer that output S/PDIF can sound really good.
 
Nov 11, 2019 at 12:59 AM Post #39,471 of 42,765
He said:

“toslink is a standard that applies to both coaxial plus optical.”


TOSLINK is optical...

Let's put this to rest. S/PDIF has multiple connection formats, he just misworded the post, and you misconstrued, at least in your reply, inferring that Toslink is different than S/PDIF. Yes it is but the packet protocol is exactly the same. Let's move on shall we?

Cheers mate!
 
Nov 11, 2019 at 5:14 AM Post #39,473 of 42,765
Let's put this to rest. S/PDIF has multiple connection formats, he just misworded the post, and you misconstrued, at least in your reply, inferring that Toslink is different than S/PDIF. Yes it is but the packet protocol is exactly the same. Let's move on shall we?

Cheers mate!

"I'm right, you're wrong, let's move on!"

Lol, kind of an ass, are we?
 
Nov 13, 2019 at 1:23 PM Post #39,474 of 42,765
So instead of going with the PCI Xonar I forgot I had a Creative Titanium HD sitting downstairs gathering dust, which has a Toslink out. So I have installed the drivers and gave the mojo a quick listen to and the difference in sound is quite noticeable to say the least. The top end has a lot more air to breath. I listened to a few tracks from Unknown Pleasures and the difference in the cymbals was quite startling. I also listened to A Small Plot of Land by David Bowie, a track I really love due to its atmospheric sound. Now I know this track very well and whenever I upgrade a piece of hifi I like to give it a listen and today I heard some new sounds in the mix that I never heard before! So I am really liking the sound of the Mojo via Toslink. I wished I had used that connection years ago.
 
Nov 14, 2019 at 6:03 AM Post #39,475 of 42,765
Hi, are there any Mojo owners out there that have it paired with TempoTec V1-A, and if so how are you connecting them? I've not been able to confirm if the Tempotec can output bit-perfrect via USB-C to micro-USB.

Many thanks for any advice.
 
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Nov 15, 2019 at 11:34 AM Post #39,476 of 42,765
Well the xDuoo X10T II has arrived and I have had a very hard time keeping the Mojo off. I am smitten, enchanted, enamored. I am in love. The sound quality is absolutely sublime. I now realize that Mojo is easily one of the best DACs I've ever owned.

Don't have a cable that will connect the xDuoo to the Mojo optical input, but the coax is just perfect. The microdetails and transients, the blackness of the background, the subtlety, all just incredible. I was also able to get this unit working as a USB-TO-SPDIF converter with my phone/UAPP as a USB source.

If anyone is like me and always having some degree of nervosa over finding a proper transport to get the most out of Mojo, I enthusiastically recommend the xDuoo X10T II. Perfection *chef kiss*
 
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Nov 15, 2019 at 2:19 PM Post #39,477 of 42,765
Well the xDuoo X10T II has arrived and I have had a very hard time keeping the Mojo off. I am smitten, enchanted, enamored. I am in love. The sound quality is absolutely sublime. I now realize that Mojo is easily one of the best DACs I've ever owned.

Don't have a cable that will connect the xDuoo to the Mojo optical input, but the coax is just perfect. The microdetails and transients, the blackness of the background, the subtlety, all just incredible. I was also able to get this unit working as a USB-TO-SPDIF converter with my phone/UAPP as a USB source.

If anyone is like me and always having some degree of nervosa over finding a proper transport to get the most out of Mojo, I enthusiastically recommend the xDuoo X10T II. Perfection *chef kiss*

Glad you discovered the magic combo too :)

As far as the coax, I still prefer It in this rig over the optical. The latter Is really really clean, black background and so on, but coax sounds to me more "meaty".
 
Nov 16, 2019 at 12:46 AM Post #39,478 of 42,765
Well the xDuoo X10T II has arrived and I have had a very hard time keeping the Mojo off. I am smitten, enchanted, enamored. I am in love. The sound quality is absolutely sublime. I now realize that Mojo is easily one of the best DACs I've ever owned.

Don't have a cable that will connect the xDuoo to the Mojo optical input, but the coax is just perfect. The microdetails and transients, the blackness of the background, the subtlety, all just incredible. I was also able to get this unit working as a USB-TO-SPDIF converter with my phone/UAPP as a USB source.

If anyone is like me and always having some degree of nervosa over finding a proper transport to get the most out of Mojo, I enthusiastically recommend the xDuoo X10T II. Perfection *chef kiss*

Happy you are enjoying your setup!
Curious though - in your signature you are listing the Mojo paired with the Cayin N3 - does it really sound different with the xDuoo X10T II?
I'm using the HiBy R3 as transport and absolutely love the stackability with my 3D printed case and box.
But if the xDuoo X10T II is sonically really better, I might have to think about it....
IMG_8073.JPG IMG_8266.JPG
 
Nov 16, 2019 at 11:02 AM Post #39,479 of 42,765
An interesting discovery.

source device = 2019 iPadPro 12.9inch.
source software = Amazon Music HD [24bit/192KHz Albums]
From iPadPro >> USB-C to USB A cable >>USBA to Micro USB>>ChordMojo.

Mojo correctly lights up blue to show 192KHz. It sounds incredible. I previously preferred optical connection from my iMac computer over USB. This configuration from the USB-C iPadPro sounds amazing with 192KHz tracks. Music is downloaded on iPadPro and Amazon Music HD APP is also set to offline mode. iPadPro is on Airplane mode and WIFI is off - this is to minimise interference.
 
Nov 17, 2019 at 1:47 PM Post #39,480 of 42,765
Happy you are enjoying your setup!
Curious though - in your signature you are listing the Mojo paired with the Cayin N3 - does it really sound different with the xDuoo X10T II?
I'm using the HiBy R3 as transport and absolutely love the stackability with my 3D printed case and box.
But if the xDuoo X10T II is sonically really better, I might have to think about it....

Sorry for taking a while to reply to this, but I wanted to really go back and forth between the N3 and X10TII with some of my most well known test tracks, just to be really sure. I went back and forth between the two listening to select songs from "Awaken, My Love!" by Childish Gambino (24-bit 96kHz), Jolie Holland's "Wine Dark Sea" (24/96), and the SACD remaster of Rage Against the Machine's self titled album in 24/192. All listening from Cayin done with a HiBy USB C to 3.5mm coax cable; all listening from xDuoo from 3.5mm coax output using included xDuoo coax cable.

To answer your question, yes, the xDuoo unit is significantly better. I'm even more confident than before when I say that this is the best I've ever heard Mojo sound and puts it in the category of one of the best DACs I've ever owned, that's not even to mention that it has enough juice to drive hungry planars like the ZMF Blackwood. The most obvious difference for me is in the blackness of the background, which translates into better low-level dynamics and transient detail retrieval. This goes across the entire frequency range, but the bass in particular is noticeably deeper, faster, and more dynamic. It's generally more focused and full-bodied through the bass and mids--not quite R2R-like body, it's still clearly D/S, but sounds full in a way that I personally haven't heard D/S do before. Percussion and cymbals in particular are perfectly clear and resolved--to my ears, snares are one of those things that cheaper digital products find a hard time representing naturally and clearly, as they are complex waveforms that can easily get smoothed over. The N3 does a decent job with snare drums, much better than my phone, as you can start to hear all the tiny little details.... but the xDuoo is on a different level and absolutely nails the snap, the reverb, all the little details that make each strike of the drum unique--everything is there.

I was pretty impressed with how much more detail and dynamics that the N3 was able to squeeze out of the Mojo and was honestly a bit worried that the xDuoo might not even be able to do that much better, that the N3 was already pushing Mojo to its limits... but I was wrong. I am floored by the way the combo sounds. It is so engaging. I can't speak to the HiBy, and the X10T definitely doesn't stack on the Mojo as nicely, but sonically it is a stunning combo. YMMV but my guess is that you will not be disappointed.

Edit: Just wanted to include that I feel the xDuoo unit also wins in terms of usability and general feel. The capacitive touch buttons on the N3 are so easy to mis-strike and can be very annoying, whereas the xDuoo has physical buttons so zero issues with that. The N3 has a plastic case and is a decently attractive/good feeling unit, but the X10T with its aluminum body and physical buttons has a much more premium look and feel. It's only slightly larger than the N3.

I did notice the other day, as a con to add to the list, that EQ did not work for 24/96 files, which was a bit disappointing as I'd like to pump the bass up while listening to Purity Ring's "Another Eternity" in 24/96. I'm assuming that, like the N3, there's a cutoff in sampling rates over which the unit doesn't have the processing power to add EQ. Disappointing, to be sure, but not critical... I can always put on bassier headphones.
 
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