[miketlse]

I’m suddenly having a strange volume issue with my Mojo. My standard mobile rig for the last two years has been an iPhone (now XS Max) with camera connector kit hooked up to the Mojo powering a pair of Shure SE530 IEMs. For 99% of my listening, the volume balls never have to go much beyond cherry red to provide sufficient volume, even on airplanes.

Last night, however, when plugging everything together, I suddenly found that my standard catalog of lossless CD rips to iTunes were barely audible at the normal volume setting. I had to crank the volume all the way up to where the balls were an icy blue color to get anywhere close to a normal listening level - and I only did that for a second, knowing that something isn’t right. The sound quality itself doesn’t seem to be affected, meaning channel separation is normal and there’s no static or popping. The sound volume is just tremendously reduced.

I’m on the road at the moment, so I don’t have the ability to swap out any components, but there’s nothing at this point to indicate an issue with anything else in the listening chain. Of course I double checked that all the connections were secure, plugged the headphones into both of the output jacks, completely powered off the iPhone and made sure the Mojo was on a full charge, all to no avail. Any ideas what might be up?

Sounds unusual so best to email support@chordelectronics.co.uk

 

[ok3wire]

that can be frustrating especially while travelling. Have you tried increasing the phone volume? I know it sounds basic, but many time you need full output at the source

Thanks for the response. I’ve never known the Mojo to be sensitive to the volume level on the iPhone - which would seem to make sense given my understanding that the phone is only delivering the digital coding to the Mojo. But that being said, out of pure desperation, I did vary the volume level on the phone and it made no difference.

 

[ok3wire]

Sounds unusual so best to email support@chordelectronics.co.uk

Thanks, Mike. I’ll give it a shot and see what they have to say.

 

[ok3wire]

Another strange thing I’m just now noticing is that, once you get beyond the violet color, the center ball doesn’t really seem to be changing color at all itself, as much as just reflecting some of the color of the ball right next to it.

 

[ok3wire]

One more data point - I was able to substitute another family member’s iPhone for my own and the results were the same. That would seem to rule out both the iPhone and the Apple camera connector kit as the culprit.

 

[chimney189]

So I connected my Mojo to my laptop through usb input with it's stock cable that's provide... I'm only hearing noise from my right driver and it's barely audible.

Any solutions?

 

[Fishdo]

I’ve been hanging around here for a while now and I just registered on the forum. Firstly and most importantly thank you all for the information you’re willing to share and advice your all willing to give. Thank you.

I have just purchased a Mojo and I should have it shortly...

But reading through this thread and some of the issues guys have had especially with the USB connection I wanted to ask how easy or not it might be to accidentally select the ‘in-line’ operation of the Mojo and if that could cause damage to either the DAC itself or the earphones?

Also I have a couple of Meenova cables I have used on other DACs of mine (Topping NX4 DSD and Onkyo HA200) as I have an iPhone XS Max and they work perfectly with my earphones (RHA T20 wireless, RHA T10i and Audeze iSine 10’s) but a previous poster here suggested that some of those reported (here) issues maybe because of using non Apple certified cables like the Meenova so my question is please... should I avoid using that particular cable or indeed any non Apple certified cables with my Mojo am I likely to damage the Mojo doing so..?

I do use a HIFi IEmatch cable on my output with the Onkyo as I want to be safe using my more Sensitive earphones which have a Linum G2 Bax cable but I’m assuming I won’t need to with the Mojo?

I wanted to check here because I saved for a good while to buy the Mojo and I don’t want to risk causing any damage.

Just to confirm I prefer to use the Meenova cable due to its length and size as I spend more time using it in a portable setup and the Chord and Apple CCK tend to be rather cumbersome on the move...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated... thanks again for all your advice here and on other threads so far... it’s really been a great help

 

[Fishdo]

Would anyone know if using the Mojo usb charging cable (supplied) is also the best option for transferring the audio signal from an iPhone and CCK? Or would a ‘better ‘ quality cable provide a noticeable difference say something like the Silver Dragon?

One thing I did learn is that a few noise issues do arise if you charge the Mojo with a 1 Amp plug like the one you get with an iPhone for charging is used as generally these plugs perform with less than 1 Amp and Chord says the plug must be a minimum of 1 Amp so you’re better off getting a plug you know will provide that minimum like the bigger iPad plugs you get now which are over 2 amps... by doing so apparently you avoid noises like hissing etc coming through the Mojo..

 

[miketlse]

The answers to most of your questions, are in the faq in post #3 of the main mojo thread. It is a good start point for newbies.

 

[Olafcx]

Would anyone know if using the Mojo usb charging cable (supplied) is also the best option for transferring the audio signal from an iPhone and CCK? Or would a ‘better ‘ quality cable provide a noticeable difference say something like the Silver Dragon?

One thing I did learn is that a few noise issues do arise if you charge the Mojo with a 1 Amp plug like the one you get with an iPhone for charging is used as generally these plugs perform with less than 1 Amp and Chord says the plug must be a minimum of 1 Amp so you’re better off getting a plug you know will provide that minimum like the bigger iPad plugs you get now which are over 2 amps... by doing so apparently you avoid noises like hissing etc coming through the Mojo..

You could use a coat hanger to get the signal to the mojo and it wouldn’t make a difference. It’s digital. Hissing issues have nothing to do with the power you charge them at, which I know from experience. Best to use a 12W charger or so because it’s a pretty big battery. New batch mojo’s don’t have the hissing issue. It’s also really not a big deal.

 

[miketlse]

Would anyone know if using the Mojo usb charging cable (supplied) is also the best option for transferring the audio signal from an iPhone and CCK? Or would a ‘better ‘ quality cable provide a noticeable difference say something like the Silver Dragon?

One thing I did learn is that a few noise issues do arise if you charge the Mojo with a 1 Amp plug like the one you get with an iPhone for charging is used as generally these plugs perform with less than 1 Amp and Chord says the plug must be a minimum of 1 Amp so you’re better off getting a plug you know will provide that minimum like the bigger iPad plugs you get now which are over 2 amps... by doing so apparently you avoid noises like hissing etc coming through the Mojo..

The hissing is often caused by using chargers which produce too much ripple current. This is well documented in the FAQ in post #3 of the main mojo thread.
Samsung, Apple and Anker were the most popular brands of reliable chargers.

 

[Fishdo]

You could use a coat hanger to get the signal to the mojo and it wouldn’t make a difference. It’s digital. Hissing issues have nothing to do with the power you charge them at, which I know from experience. Best to use a 12W charger or so because it’s a pretty big battery. New batch mojo’s don’t have the hissing issue. It’s also really not a big deal.

Thanks for your reply mate.,.

The reason I mentioned that is because Chord says that is the case and likely cause of any hissing noise... Chord uses the word hissing in their trouble shooting FAQs.... so I was going from that.., they also explained why but I cannot remember right now...


Thanks again for all your replies guys

 

[Olafcx]

Strange, I get this hissing with all chargers, even when charging from batteries, so as clean as DC gets. 5W apple, 10W apple, 12W belkin, 5W samsung, all the same.

 

[Earbones]

Hey lads! Just bought a Mojo but instead of getting the Apple CCK cable, I would like to get a Micro USB to Type C cable to connect the Mojo directly to the iPhone or iPad Pro, for sure I am not the first one with this question but... any suggestion?? (I guess quality matters...) thanks!!!

No Type-C for iPhone. For iPad Pro, you can get the Shanling L2 for Fiio CL06

Assuming you normally use your iPad Pro in the landscape format with the Smart Keyboard, the Shanling L2 will be too short. Any USB-C to Micro USB cable that supports data will do.

I prefer cables with an angled USB-C, around 10 inches long. Amazon sells a couple of options for like $8.

 

[miketlse]

Strange, I get this hissing with all chargers, even when charging from batteries, so as clean as DC gets. 5W apple, 10W apple, 12W belkin, 5W samsung, all the same.

From the FAQ in post #3 of the main mojo thread:


↑
is it normal to have the mojo make a hissing sound (ie the unit itself, audio output is fine) when plugged in to power? brand new unit but it makes this weird noise when its plugged in (both when off and on). the hissing dies down when i plug in the signal cable (unit still off), not sure if i should send my unit back.
It's normal - it is the charging regulator going into low power mode. Don't worry, there is nothing wrong.

Rob
↑
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