Chord Mojo issue solutions thread.

[GreenBow]

Have you folks thought of adding a heatsink to your units. You can buy them cheaply enough from e.g. Maplin. It will only be suitable for a desktop Mojo though.
 
I was thinking of it ages ago. Just need a thermal pad and a heatsink, and maybe some strong rubber bands. Anyway my Mojo just got through two days at 30'C without switching off. I did discover though that leaving it plugged in all the time was the way to stop it heating up too much. When playing and charging from empty it gets hot, and runs the risk of cut out. (Lucky mine has not done. Plus it's silent when charging; no whine.)  
 
There is no need to worry about leaving the Mojo plugged in all the time. If left switched off and plugged in, when charged the Mojo will not draw power from the charger. It will switch off charging all together according to Rob Watts.
 
When you leave it plugged in after being fully charged, when playing music, the Mojo alternates what it does. It plays and charges for a while, then plays off battery I think. The light alternates between white for about ten minutes, then blue for about ten minutes. Therefor it is not constantly charging and getting heat building up.
 
I think I might have explained all this in the first post though.

 

[BzzzzzT]

Standing up the Mojo on it's side totally solved the heat problem. I have not had a single issue since and I live in a very hot climate and the room I have it in can gut quite warm. If you have a hot amp or component, I highly recommend the AC Infinity coolers. They have a temp control system and work GREAT! I use them on my Aragon 4004 power amp which is notorious for getting VERY hot and they keep it from turning into an oven. Try standing the device on it's side. Simple solutions are best

 

[orkney]

My Mojo is all of two days old and I'm not getting any output from the HP. Have checked USB slot and tried optical and coax to no avail. Has anyone experienced this problem? Is there a troubleshooting routine to follow?
 
thanks in advance and best,
 
o

 

[GreenBow]

  My Mojo is all of two days old and I'm not getting any output from the HP. Have checked USB slot and tried optical and coax to no avail. Has anyone experienced this problem? Is there a troubleshooting routine to follow?
 
thanks in advance and best,
 
o

 
It must be a faulty unit then. Sorry there.
 
You are getting a signal through it I presume. The power button light comes on, if so.

 

[miketlse]

  My Mojo is all of two days old and I'm not getting any output from the HP. Have checked USB slot and tried optical and coax to no avail. Has anyone experienced this problem? Is there a troubleshooting routine to follow?
 
thanks in advance and best,
 
o

 
Or have you completely drained the battery, and the battery is now waiting to be slow charged for a while, before Mojo wakes up to normal operation?

 

[Mython]

  ....  Is there a troubleshooting routine to follow?

 
You could start by telling us:
 

1. what equipment you are feeding Mojo with

 

1. what is happening with Mojos coloured button LEDs (are they illuminated, and, if so, what colours)

 

1. what is happening with Mojos tiny charging LED (located directly adjacent to the charging port)

 

1. what charger you are using

 
 
In order to help you troubleshoot the issue, we need information - otherwise we have virtually nothing to go on!

 
 

 

 

[orkney]

Thanks all. It was a faulty unit. Its replacement works perfectly.
 
best,
 
o

 

[Lightless]

  I've happily used the Mojo connected to a specially built (fanless) PC for the last 5 months.
It's never been used as a portable device.
This week Foobar 2000 has started to give me a message
"Unrecoverable playback error: Cannot load audio device driver"
Mojo does not show up anymore in the Sound Devices Panel where my sound card does show up.
I've tried ALL of the USB ports in both PCs
I've tried 6 different USB cables including the one that came with Mojo and also one that is terminated as type C at the PC end
I've unchecked the box in device manager that prevents the USB hub from sleeping to save power
I've uninstalled and reinstalled the Chord Driver to no avail
I've even reset the Windows 10 installation
I've deleted and re-installed ASIO and WASAPI
I've tried Mojo in another PC - it's exactly the same as the first PC
Mojo does not appear in the list of connected sound devices and not in device manager
The Coaxial and Optical inputs both work fine but my audio PC doesn't have those outputs.
I'm at my wits end. Can I try anything else or is my Mojo faulty?
Also I've noticed an issue where the 2 volume control lights stay lit but the power button light goes out.
Please help

 
I'm having the same issue and I rarely use the USB output.
Any workaround on this?

 

[blueninjasix]

I had to return Mojo for repair but they sent me a brand new unit back. Excellent customer service from Chord.

 

[Lightless]

So it's a hardware issue?
 
Yikes. My Mojo was already RMA'd once, cause mine was from the buzzing first-batch.

 

[LukeThyWalker]

I just got my Mojo yesterday and plugged it in to charge and after a little while it started to make a hissing noise. I read in the first post that this was a problem with earlier models and I would either need to return it or have Chord fix it siting that it was a problem with the regulator. 
 
I had purchased the Mojo from Moon audio and contacted them to tell them about the problem and see what they could do for me. Today I got an email back from Moon saying that "What you are hearing is the filtering on the USB power input doing the job correctly and removing the voltage ripple. It does not cause any harm and is absolutely nothing to do with the battery. The battery is quite safe and has several protection systems in place to prevent failure and more importantly fire. I hope this helps to put your mind at rest and you can continue to enjoy your Mojo."
 
Is this correct? I have not heard anything back from Chord yet but wanted to see if anyone here can confirm what Moon has said. 

 

[miketlse]

  I just got my Mojo yesterday and plugged it in to charge and after a little while it started to make a hissing noise. I read in the first post that this was a problem with earlier models and I would either need to return it or have Chord fix it siting that it was a problem with the regulator. 
 
I had purchased the Mojo from Moon audio and contacted them to tell them about the problem and see what they could do for me. Today I got an email back from Moon saying that "What you are hearing is the filtering on the USB power input doing the job correctly and removing the voltage ripple. It does not cause any harm and is absolutely nothing to do with the battery. The battery is quite safe and has several protection systems in place to prevent failure and more importantly fire. I hope this helps to put your mind at rest and you can continue to enjoy your Mojo."
 
Is this correct? I have not heard anything back from Chord yet but wanted to see if anyone here can confirm what Moon has said. 

 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/784602/chord-mojo-the-official-thread-please-read-the-3rd-post#
 
There is a large section in post #3 describing this issue, and how to solve it (see below). The issue is related to the charger and the cable that you use. Users have discovered the best pairings by trial and error (see below) - Apple and Samsung chargers are often recommended - i use my samsung phone charger without any issues.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Watts 
 
The noise is due to ripple voltage on the charger upsetting the inductors/capacitors within Mojo. If you use a clean quality PSU and a low resistance USB cable to the charger PSU the mechanical noise should be silent or insignificant. 
 
Rob

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Watts 
 
The problem is a noisy USB VBUS power line, and this makes the inductors in Mojo vibrate. Also, some USB cables have high resistance, and this makes the problem worse - so using a different cable can make the mechanical noise go away. The PSU itself can make it better or worse. Don't worry about it if you hear the noise, Mojo is not faulty and will continue to be reliable.
 
Rob

 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ra97oR 

Further testing on the charger and cable compatibility. Chosen Anker PowerPort 5 for good measured performance and multi-port charging with Anker PowerLine due to good construction with braid + foil shielding. All are available at a reasonable price.


Case 1: Virtually silent, only heard very minor hiss when ear is pretty much on the unit
Case 2: Only noticeable hiss when you put your ears near the unit
Case 3: Loud whine lasting the only the first few seconds, faint charging noise after that.
Case 4: Loud whine, and it goes on for a few seconds and off for a few (voltage drop causing charging circuit to shut down)



Combo 1: Sony or Samsung charger + Sony or Samsung USB cable + extension cord = Case 4

Combo 2: Sony or Samsung charger + Any cable = Case 3

Combo 3: Apple 1A charger + Sony or Samsung USB cable = Case 2

Combo 4: Anker charger + Sony or Samsung USB cable = Case 2, slightly quieter than combo 3

Combo 5: Sony or Samsung charger + long 6ft Anker cable (same cable length as Combo 1) = Case 3

Combo 6: Apple 1A charger + Anker cable/Chord Mojo's bundled cable = Case 1

Combo 7: Anker charger + Anker cable/Chord Mojo's bundled cable = Case 1, slightly quieter than combo 6 directly compared, with no pattern to the noise (always the same loudness)


Anker PowerPort is tested at it's worse case scenario(unloaded), the ripple and spike measurements are better when the charger is fully loaded with devices. The Anker charger have noticeable more steady noise pattern than the Apple charger even with the best cable connected, the Apple charger's noise ripples in loudness and the Anker one is very steady at the same amplitude.



In short:

If you already have a Apple charger handy, just getting a quality USB cable like the one I've tested will yield noticeable gain, especially if you are using longer cables.

If you don't have an Apple charger, getting an Anker charger with their PowerLine cables will yield the best possible result without going to go with a lab bench linear power supply. Having a multiport desktop charager will also allow you to run shorter cables.

Link where I bought them:
Anker PowerPort 5: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VTI8K9K
Anker PowerLine: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014H3GKZ4

 

[LukeThyWalker]

Thank you! 

 

[chrisld]

I think I know the solution to your problem. In JRiver go to Tools Options, Device Settings then select open device with exclusive access. That will prevent other programs like Steam from sending sounds to your Mojo and so the sound won't cut out.

 

[Soundizer]

Mojo Bluetooth would be great