Chord Mojo issue solutions thread.

[miketlse]

I found this quote while looking for some thoughts on battery drainage. Can somebody point me in the direction of said discussion? I tried the search but no success so far...

I am a bit disappointed by the Mojo's battery life. It needs to be measured yet but my estimate is around 4-5 hours. That's about half of what other people get out of it. I use the Mojo with Sony MDR-1A headphones, they have an impedance of 48. Listening level is mostly between "red" and "yellow". Sources are mostly FiiO X3II (via coax) or Google Chormecast Audio (via optical).

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Here is an example of those posts https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...in-3rd-post-◄★☆.784602/page-972#post-12455466
Try searching on the main Mojo thread, using your HP as the search term, and maybe someone has posted about that model.

 

[miketlse]

This is the worse designed dac on earth!!!!!!!!

A company that doesnt care about its products or service, is no company worth a damn.

You are obviously very frustrated, but why do you have to be so insulting to Chord?
This week Chord have had the company founder, the manufacturing director, and the chief dac consultant, responding to customer posts about issues.
You won't get such good customer service from Apple, or other big companies.

 

[MBit]

Thanks for that helpful reply miketlse! I will try that.

 

[Superfrag]

You are obviously very frustrated, but why do you have to be so insulting to Chord?
This week Chord have had the company founder, the manufacturing director, and the chief dac consultant, responding to customer posts about issues.
You won't get such good customer service from Apple, or other big companies.

That's really good of them, but it's annoying that a failure is the microUSB port not working, and having to pay $300 to replace the whole board because of that, when the DAC/Amp etc is working fine with other inputs.

I haven't been able to open the Mojo yet, this weekend for sure, was swamped all week. Part of me just wants to ignore the microUSB not working, and stick to the other working ports. $300 is a bit too much to pay. Let's hope for the best.

 

[miketlse]

That's really good of them, but it's annoying that a failure is the microUSB port not working, and having to pay $300 to replace the whole board because of that, when the DAC/Amp etc is working fine with other inputs.

I haven't been able to open the Mojo yet, this weekend for sure, was swamped all week. Part of me just wants to ignore the microUSB not working, and stick to the other working ports. $300 is a bit too much to pay. Let's hope for the best.

Annoying yes.
Open your mojo up, and please post a photo of the USB sockets on this thread.

Your worst case scenario, is that everything looks similar to this post from two months ago. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-mojo-issue-solutions-thread.788913/page-50#post-13719693
The socket had been clearly pulled from the circuit board, so I think a resolder was impractical, and chord arranged for a new board.
Your best case scenario, is that the issue is dust/lint inside the socket, which you can remove yourself with a vacuum cleaner.

Everything else is in the middle, from a small solder repair by yourself, to a full board replacement.
$300 does seem a bit steep - does that comprise the board, plus insured postage both ways, plus the repair at a service centre?

 

[Superfrag]

I opened it up, and took as many photos as I could.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EETfuX2hdqx1EDTy1

I can't see anything wrong with it, physically. There doesn't seem to be any dust or particles. The weird thing is, Mojo is detecting a cable being inserted, as the optical input from the PS4 gets cut off whenever I insert the cable.

I don't know what's wrong with it, or if there's an easy fix from my side. If any of y'all can see what's wrong in the above photos, it would be great.

I've decided not to hand it in for servicing, as it doesn't make sense $300 on it, and I decided to solve this problem in another way.

I ordered this from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FEDHHKE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And I'll use the coaxial out from the above device into the Mojo, and get audio from the MBP in this way. 16/48 is the highest the above device can output, but that should be more than enough for everything from the MBP, even when I'm gaming in Windows. (eGPU setup)

I am looking for better USB to coaxial output devices, one which can send 24/96 through coaxial out digitally for the Mojo to accept. (should preferably cost less than $50)

George Meyer has a minimum charge of $75, and he said cost of replacing the board altogether is $300, which is often the solution, which doesn't make sense to me since charging & optical input works, and I'm confident coaxial works as well, which I will find out tomorrow when the above device reaches me.

 

[cerspense]

It looks okay. If you are comfortable soldering, I would definitely give it a try. Also what macbook do you have? Most macbook pros after 2009 already have mini-toslink built into he 3.5mm jack, so you don't need an external converter for that, but you should check to make sure your model does have it.

I had my Mojo fixed for the same issue at George Meyer and it was $300. They charge $75 upfront for a quote, which is deducted from the final price. They told me the board itself was about $80.

 

[Superfrag]

It looks okay. If you are comfortable soldering, I would definitely give it a try. Also what macbook do you have? Most macbook pros after 2009 already have mini-toslink built into he 3.5mm jack, so you don't need an external converter for that, but you should check to make sure your model does have it.

I had my Mojo fixed for the same issue at George Meyer and it was $300. They charge $75 upfront for a quote, which is deducted from the final price. They told me the board itself was about $80.

The new USB-C MBPs don't have it built into the 3.5mm jack anymore. Otherwise that would've been the perfect solution.

Yup, I got the same pricing/quote, and I'm pretty sure it'll cost me $300 as well. I just got the Mojo a month back, for $410 from Head-Fi sales forum, so I don't really want to spend more. That's the risk with buying it 2nd hand/out of warranty.

In any case, if the coaxial port works, I'll use that along with optical. I'm just really confused as to how it randomly stopped working.. especially since I pretty much use it as a desktop DAC/Amp, and don't move it at all. I guess the constant plugging/unplugging of the microUSB cable did something to it. (since I need to unplug the cable when I'm using the optical port)

 

[cerspense]

The new USB-C MBPs don't have it built into the 3.5mm jack anymore. Otherwise that would've been the perfect solution.

Yup, I got the same pricing/quote, and I'm pretty sure it'll cost me $300 as well. I just got the Mojo a month back, for $410 from Head-Fi sales forum, so I don't really want to spend more. That's the risk with buying it 2nd hand/out of warranty.

In any case, if the coaxial port works, I'll use that along with optical. I'm just really confused as to how it randomly stopped working.. especially since I pretty much use it as a desktop DAC/Amp, and don't move it at all. I guess the constant plugging/unplugging of the microUSB cable did something to it. (since I need to unplug the cable when I'm using the optical port)

Damn I got mine second hand as well and it died just two days later after using for one day in my pocket. The micro usb series is designed to be plugged and unplugged around 10000 times without failing and its supposed to damage the cable when it fails. But that is not the case in the real world. If the cable is/was jammed in or pulled out at a bad angle that will greatly reduce its lifespan and most of the time this damages the connector, not the cable. Its pretty crappy that such a small and common problem with usb can disable such an expensive and awesome device, but its not really something that Chord could control at the time. Maybe if they switched to a type C connector, we wouldn't have these issues, but for now I am going to be super careful with my Mojo's connectors because spending another $300 on this would totally crush my soul.

 

[Superfrag]

Damn I got mine second hand as well and it died just two days later after using for one day in my pocket. The micro usb series is designed to be plugged and unplugged around 10000 times without failing and its supposed to damage the cable when it fails. But that is not the case in the real world. If the cable is/was jammed in or pulled out at a bad angle that will greatly reduce its lifespan and most of the time this damages the connector, not the cable. Its pretty crappy that such a small and common problem with usb can disable such an expensive and awesome device, but its not really something that Chord could control at the time. Maybe if they switched to a type C connector, we wouldn't have these issues, but for now I am going to be super careful with my Mojo's connectors because spending another $300 on this would totally crush my soul.

Yeah I totally understand your feeling. What sucks for me is that I don't even unplug from the microUSB often, only when I'm using the PS4, which is a few times a week. Oh well. At least I managed to solve my problem in an inexpensive manner. I hope the optical and coaxial ports last long.

 

[miketlse]

I opened it up, and took as many photos as I could.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EETfuX2hdqx1EDTy1

I can't see anything wrong with it, physically. There doesn't seem to be any dust or particles. The weird thing is, Mojo is detecting a cable being inserted, as the optical input from the PS4 gets cut off whenever I insert the cable.

I don't know what's wrong with it, or if there's an easy fix from my side. If any of y'all can see what's wrong in the above photos, it would be great.

http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-connector-pinout

It looks like pins 1 is ok, because the Mojo detects the usb plug, and deselects the optical input.

Presumably your problem is with a break in signal through pins 2 & 3, which stops your MBP detecting the Mojo.

Potential root causes that i can think of are:

1. the MBP or app settings have been changed to not output music via usb - you can check this
2. the MBP usb socket is malfunctioning - you can test whether the MBP can transmit data via that socket to other devices
3. the cable is defective - you can try using a different cable
4. the Mojo socket is blocked by dust/lint - but you have already checked this
5. the Mojo socket is defective - try the existing cable (plus any others that you have spare), to connect the Mojo to a different source (phone, dap, PC, etc). If they can detect the mojo (plus send a music signal to it), then you know that the mojo socket is ok
6. the Mojo usb decoder circuit alone is defective - I don't think that you can test this scenario, so this would be a return to dealer solution, plus a probable replace board solution.

 

[Superfrag]

http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-connector-pinout

It looks like pins 1 is ok, because the Mojo detects the usb plug, and deselects the optical input.

Presumably your problem is with a break in signal through pins 2 & 3, which stops your MBP detecting the Mojo.

Potential root causes that i can think of are:

1. the MBP or app settings have been changed to not output music via usb - you can check this
2. the MBP usb socket is malfunctioning - you can test whether the MBP can transmit data via that socket to other devices
3. the cable is defective - you can try using a different cable
4. the Mojo socket is blocked by dust/lint - but you have already checked this
5. the Mojo socket is defective - try the existing cable (plus any others that you have spare), to connect the Mojo to a different source (phone, dap, PC, etc). If they can detect the mojo (plus send a music signal to it), then you know that the mojo socket is ok
6. the Mojo usb decoder circuit alone is defective - I don't think that you can test this scenario, so this would be a return to dealer solution, plus a probable replace board solution.

I already ruled out 1-3 earlier, and I tried cleaning the socket as well, as much as I could. Unfortunately I got the wrong RCA coaxial to 3.5mm cable, but for now MBP USB to Signstek USB to Signstek Optical to Mojo works, so I have sound from the MBP through this way. I don't know which is the right coaxial cable to get, since I need RCA out from the Signstek to 3.5mm in for the Mojo. Otherwise I'll get another optical cable, and swap the input cables depending on PS4 or MBP, and I'll be set that way.

I got this cable but it doesn't work, I think it's the cable rather than the port. - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019OWCID6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[x RELIC x]

I already ruled out 1-3 earlier, and I tried cleaning the socket as well, as much as I could. Unfortunately I got the wrong RCA coaxial to 3.5mm cable, but for now MBP USB to Signstek USB to Signstek Optical to Mojo works, so I have sound from the MBP through this way. I don't know which is the right coaxial cable to get, since I need RCA out from the Signstek to 3.5mm in for the Mojo. Otherwise I'll get another optical cable, and swap the input cables depending on PS4 or MBP, and I'll be set that way.

I got this cable but it doesn't work, I think it's the cable rather than the port. - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019OWCID6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The FiiO L21 cable is specifically for FiiO players and the wiring won’t work with the Mojo because the signal and ground are reversed/unconventional. Just look for an RCA to mono cable.

This one will work:

https://www.dysonaudio.com/collecti...o-dap-dac-hp-amp-75-ohm-digital-jumper-ts-rca

Or this:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/6ft-RCA-Pho...785249?hash=item238eed81a1:g:JE4AAOSwjghZzd~Q

 

[Superfrag]

The FiiO L21 cable is specifically for FiiO players and the wiring won’t work with the Mojo because the signal and ground are reversed/unconventional. Just look for an RCA to mono cable.

This one will work:

https://www.dysonaudio.com/collecti...o-dap-dac-hp-amp-75-ohm-digital-jumper-ts-rca

Or this:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/6ft-RCA-Pho...785249?hash=item238eed81a1:g:JE4AAOSwjghZzd~Q

Oh, just a regular mono 3.5mm pin will work? I saw those on Amazon, I thought they wouldn't work lol.

Thanks!

 

[mathi8vadhanan]

I opened it up, and took as many photos as I could.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EETfuX2hdqx1EDTy1
I can't see anything wrong with it, physically. There doesn't seem to be any dust or particles. The weird thing is, Mojo is detecting a cable being inserted, as the optical input from the PS4 gets cut off whenever I insert the cable.

Is there any contacts shorting with case on the back side of the board?
Did you try powering it on and testing the board outside of the case?
If you have a multi-meter, you can also test of continuity from the usb-a side contacts to the board contacts (after plugging the cable in). This way, we can identify any issue with contacts.