[jwjw]

Hey guys, been a long time off here for me - but recently bought a Chord Mojo from another forumite who was using it swimmingly on Apple devices.

Since purchasing - it wasn't detectable on my Win10 PC despite downloading drivers. I had to do an entire Win10 reinstall and reinstall drivers for the Mojo to be detected and operate. However a day after, after going out of battery twice, upon several hours downtime recharging I reconnected the Mojo and... nothing.
Not picked up by my PC again, I've uninstalled and reinstalled Chord drivers multiple times and had no luck with their support. The Mojo itself recognises it's USB connected to something, with the power button turning to red but it's not picked up by my computer.

I'm guessing that the charge cycles were a red herring and as some other users have found, possibly a Win10 auto update re-invalidated things, however I can't test this without a full install again which seems a disproportionate solution to what should be a plug n play device. Not sure if there is any experience with this here?

 

[xtr4]

Hey guys, been a long time off here for me - but recently bought a Chord Mojo from another forumite who was using it swimmingly on Apple devices.

Since purchasing - it wasn't detectable on my Win10 PC despite downloading drivers. I had to do an entire Win10 reinstall and reinstall drivers for the Mojo to be detected and operate. However a day after, after going out of battery twice, upon several hours downtime recharging I reconnected the Mojo and... nothing.
Not picked up by my PC again, I've uninstalled and reinstalled Chord drivers multiple times and had no luck with their support. The Mojo itself recognises it's USB connected to something, with the power button turning to red but it's not picked up by my computer.

I'm guessing that the charge cycles were a red herring and as some other users have found, possibly a Win10 auto update re-invalidated things, however I can't test this without a full install again which seems a disproportionate solution to what should be a plug n play device. Not sure if there is any experience with this here?

Have you tried other ports on your PC?

 

[jwjw]

Have you tried other ports on your PC?

Yeah alas tried usb 2.0, 3.0 from both my case and motherboard outputs

 

[TheMadcap]

Hello,

I have a mojo since 2016 but I haven't used it regularly and i think it affected battery badly. Last week it stopped working, I think battery is dead. When I try to turn it on it starts colors cycling on the volume button but when cycle stops it turns itself off with a double click sound (one click for opening the relay i guess and one for turning off). The charging led doesn't go off even after a day.

I'd like to turn it into a desktop dac so I stumbled on web that some people just disconnected the battery and their mojo worked with dc power. Mine doesn't work like this.

Is there a diy solution for me? I saw that replacement batteries are for 100 usd, I am on tight budget right now and I wouldn't like to pay that much. Is there a cheap battery alternative or a way to convert this to a desktop dac?

 

[miketlse]

Hello,

I have a mojo since 2016 but I haven't used it regularly and i think it affected battery badly. Last week it stopped working, I think battery is dead. When I try to turn it on it starts colors cycling on the volume button but when cycle stops it turns itself off with a double click sound (one click for opening the relay i guess and one for turning off). The charging led doesn't go off even after a day.

I'd like to turn it into a desktop dac so I stumbled on web that some people just disconnected the battery and their mojo worked with dc power. Mine doesn't work like this.

Is there a diy solution for me? I saw that replacement batteries are for 100 usd, I am on tight budget right now and I wouldn't like to pay that much. Is there a cheap battery alternative or a way to convert this to a desktop dac?

Your battery sounds flat - the big unknown is whether it is because of a fault with the battery, or the charging circuitry is failing to charge the battery properly.
I am assuming that you have been using a charger that supplies enough current.

1 - You will read posts saying that $10 RC model batteries work fine.
They won't contain the battery management circuitry incorporated into the official Chord battery.
Anyone who uses those $10 batteries does so at their own risk.

2 - Plenty of dealers will ship the official battery to you, but they will cost nearer to the 100usd you mention.
That may seem expensive, but there are posts on the main Mojo thread, describing service centres asking $350 to replace the battery.
Asking an extra $250 for the 5 minutes it takes to open the case, replace the battery, and then close the case again, is just a rip-off.

3 - Yes you can remove the battery, and run the Mojo as a desktop dac, but it will only work if you have connected the charging cable to a power source.
The big proviso is:

• there are quite a few owners who post about removing the battery, and their Mojo continues to work - so technically there is evidence that this works
• that has to be balanced against the fact that the Mojo was never designed for this use case, and consequently was never tested (and validated) by Chord as a short/mid/long term solution. So permanently removing the battery, counts as a mod, and would void the warranty - but this may not be a big issue for owners with Mojos that are several years old, and it is cheaper than throwing the Mojo in the bin, and buying a new desktop dac.

There are plenty of videos describing how to open the case, and remove or replace the battery.

4 - First things first - no batteries like being left at full, or zero, charge for a long time.
So open the case, and visually inspect the battery. If the battery is swollen, then that is a bad sign, and you should remove the battery straight away, and place it where it will not represent a fire risk.
A badly swollen battery could also flex the circuit board, and possibly break some of the copper tracks - this is another reason why it is good to remove a swollen battery, before things go from bad to worse.

If the battery looks physically OK, then you can choose whether to remove or replace it.

 

[TheMadcap]

Your battery sounds flat - the big unknown is whether it is because of a fault with the battery, or the charging circuitry is failing to charge the battery properly.
I am assuming that you have been using a charger that supplies enough current.

1 - You will read posts saying that $10 RC model batteries work fine.
They won't contain the battery management circuitry incorporated into the official Chord battery.
Anyone who uses those $10 batteries does so at their own risk.

2 - Plenty of dealers will ship the official battery to you, but they will cost nearer to the 100usd you mention.
That may seem expensive, but there are posts on the main Mojo thread, describing service centres asking $350 to replace the battery.
Asking an extra $250 for the 5 minutes it takes to open the case, replace the battery, and then close the case again, is just a rip-off.

3 - Yes you can remove the battery, and run the Mojo as a desktop dac, but it will only work if you have connected the charging cable to a power source.
The big proviso is:

• there are quite a few owners who post about removing the battery, and their Mojo continues to work - so technically there is evidence that this works
• that has to be balanced against the fact that the Mojo was never designed for this use case, and consequently was never tested (and validated) by Chord as a short/mid/long term solution. So permanently removing the battery, counts as a mod, and would void the warranty - but this may not be a big issue for owners with Mojos that are several years old, and it is cheaper than throwing the Mojo in the bin, and buying a new desktop dac.

There are plenty of videos describing how to open the case, and remove or replace the battery.

4 - First things first - no batteries like being left at full, or zero, charge for a long time.
So open the case, and visually inspect the battery. If the battery is swollen, then that is a bad sign, and you should remove the battery straight away, and place it where it will not represent a fire risk.
A badly swollen battery could also flex the circuit board, and possibly break some of the copper tracks - this is another reason why it is good to remove a swollen battery, before things go from bad to worse.

If the battery looks physically OK, then you can choose whether to remove or replace it.

1- I am fine going without battery, as desktop dac. However I am also wondering, there some li-ion battery protection circuits, for low voltage limiting etc. I think it would be safe to use it with such a circuitry.

2- Right now I'm not even sure if new battery would make it work, hence niether I want to risk 100 dollars nor I want to spend that much even for working fix. I need it to work as cheap as possible.

3- I already tried this. Indeed it is very easy to disassemble mojo. However, battery connected or not, it doesn't work. Let me also say, of course it is connected to a 5v 2.4a phone charger all the time, with or without battery. Both scenarios have the same result tho. Mojo goes into boot cycle, turns on the relay and immediately turns itself off, so I hear relay click twice in a second. So what I think is, battery of mojo is 2s lion battery, which means its working range is between 7.4V - 8.4V. So I think battery is dead and not able to reach that voltage level, I can quickly check this with a voltmeter. When I disconnect battery and replug the dc power, It also doesn't see the required voltage level on the control circuitry and turns itself off. So i think if I connect a DC supply of 8 volts to the mojo battery pins, it would work? Does anyone have any idea about that. I think Chord changed the charging circuitry and that's why it some peoples mojo keeps working w/o battery plugged in the wall. Mine was one of the first iterations and probably doesn't support that. Does chord has any disclaimer about that. Maybe they would upgrade mainboard without a fee?

4- Battery is not swollen.

 

[miketlse]

1- I am fine going without battery, as desktop dac. However I am also wondering, there some li-ion battery protection circuits, for low voltage limiting etc. I think it would be safe to use it with such a circuitry.

2- Right now I'm not even sure if new battery would make it work, hence niether I want to risk 100 dollars nor I want to spend that much even for working fix. I need it to work as cheap as possible.

3- I already tried this. Indeed it is very easy to disassemble mojo. However, battery connected or not, it doesn't work. Let me also say, of course it is connected to a 5v 2.4a phone charger all the time, with or without battery. Both scenarios have the same result tho. Mojo goes into boot cycle, turns on the relay and immediately turns itself off, so I hear relay click twice in a second. So what I think is, battery of mojo is 2s lion battery, which means its working range is between 7.4V - 8.4V. So I think battery is dead and not able to reach that voltage level, I can quickly check this with a voltmeter. When I disconnect battery and replug the dc power, It also doesn't see the required voltage level on the control circuitry and turns itself off. So i think if I connect a DC supply of 8 volts to the mojo battery pins, it would work? Does anyone have any idea about that. I think Chord changed the charging circuitry and that's why it some peoples mojo keeps working w/o battery plugged in the wall. Mine was one of the first iterations and probably doesn't support that. Does chord has any disclaimer about that. Maybe they would upgrade mainboard without a fee?

4- Battery is not swollen.

In that case, two things to check are:

• has the battery been deeply discharged (quite possible if you didn't use Mojo for a long time), and the battery management circuit needs recalibration (see link below)
• are those Apple chargers 'smart chargers' ? Smart chargers can cause problems, because some have the tendency to switch off early, without warning the owner who innocently assumes their battery has been charging for 8 hours, but has only been charging for half an hour for example. So it would be worthwile you trying to charge but using a different non-smart charger.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-mojo-dac-amp-☆★►faq-in-3rd-post-◄★☆.784602/post-15523080

If recalibrating the battery does not work, then we have run out of simple things to check at home, and you might as well email support@chordelectronics.co.uk and see if they have any suggestions.

 

[TheMadcap]

In that case, two things to check are:

• has the battery been deeply discharged (quite possible if you didn't use Mojo for a long time), and the battery management circuit needs recalibration (see link below)
• are those Apple chargers 'smart chargers' ? Smart chargers can cause problems, because some have the tendency to switch off early, without warning the owner who innocently assumes their battery has been charging for 8 hours, but has only been charging for half an hour for example. So it would be worthwile you trying to charge but using a different non-smart charger.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-mojo-dac-amp-☆★►faq-in-3rd-post-◄★☆.784602/post-15523080

If recalibrating the battery does not work, then we have run out of simple things to check at home, and you might as well email support@chordelectronics.co.uk and see if they have any suggestions.

Today I just connected a DC power supply to battery pins of the mojo. Red cable of the battery is positive and black one is negative. I set power supply to 8V, connected it, and it worked like a charm, didn't try with earphone tho'. At least I made sure mojo works fine. Now I need to implement a permanent fix. Interesting thing is I checked battery voltage with a voltmeter, and it showed around 0 volt. I was expecting to see something around 6 volts, I was surprised.

 

[TheMadcap]

I want to order a 2pin connector to replace battery with a diy power supply. Is there a name for chord mojo battery 2 pin connector so that I wouldn't order something wrong? I guess I need pitch distance to order correct connector.

 

[senpopquerom]

[Chord Mojo Issues]

Hi all, new to HeadFi so I hope that this is in the right place!

I've been loving my Chord Mojo/Meze Rai Solo setup for the past few months over lockdown. The only bugbear is a background hissing/white noise with the Mezes and any other low impedance iem/headphone I have tried with the Mojo (Meze Rai Solo, Mee Audio M6 Pro, Soundmagic E10k and B&O H4). This happens whenever the unit is switched on, regardless whether it's plugged in or not, though I have tried multiple sources and cables. It's also distinct from the issue of rf interference from phones discussed on this thread I sent all this to Chord and they replied:

"Can you confirm if an inline attenuator in the headphone output of the Mojo has any effect please? This should allow the volume to be raised and effectively allow the Mojo to run outside the point where signal is abeyance to noise."

1. I feel this might work as a solution, higher impedance headphones don't have the same problem. However, artificially increasing the impedance of iems to eliminate noise on an expensive bit of kit often touted for its low noise floor/distortion seems like a bit of a fudge. Is this a reasonable solution?
2. Does anyone have any ideas about what the issue could be, or know of a solution other than that offered by Chord?

Thanks!!

 

[FreakingWaves]

Hey all,

My Chord Mojo is working fine. However, when I connect it via USB-C to my iMac (2017) it sounds really bland. I would almost rather not plug in the Mojo...
When I connect the same mojo via USB-C to my Android phone the same high-quality tracks sound wonderfully spaceous.

Does anyone know why this difference in sound quality occurs and how I can solve it?
My only thought is that maybe MacOS doesn't allow the Mojo to use asynchronous usb? That would be rather weird because my focusrite does essentially the same and that device does sound ok.

 

[534743]

Hey all,

My Chord Mojo is working fine. However, when I connect it via USB-C to my iMac (2017) it sounds really bland. I would almost rather not plug in the Mojo...
When I connect the same mojo via USB-C to my Android phone the same high-quality tracks sound wonderfully spaceous.

Does anyone know why this difference in sound quality occurs and how I can solve it?
My only thought is that maybe MacOS doesn't allow the Mojo to use asynchronous usb? That would be rather weird because my focusrite does essentially the same and that device does sound ok.

My Mojo sounds fine with a Mac Mini. But i am also using the BitPerfect software, maybe that's it? I also mostly use the optical output but connected with a usb-cable it sounded fine, too.

 

[GreenBow]

[Chord Mojo Issues]

Hi all, new to HeadFi so I hope that this is in the right place!

I've been loving my Chord Mojo/Meze Rai Solo setup for the past few months over lockdown. The only bugbear is a background hissing/white noise with the Mezes and any other low impedance iem/headphone I have tried with the Mojo (Meze Rai Solo, Mee Audio M6 Pro, Soundmagic E10k and B&O H4). This happens whenever the unit is switched on, regardless whether it's plugged in or not, though I have tried multiple sources and cables. It's also distinct from the issue of rf interference from phones discussed on this thread I sent all this to Chord and they replied:

"Can you confirm if an inline attenuator in the headphone output of the Mojo has any effect please? This should allow the volume to be raised and effectively allow the Mojo to run outside the point where signal is abeyance to noise."

1. I feel this might work as a solution, higher impedance headphones don't have the same problem. However, artificially increasing the impedance of iems to eliminate noise on an expensive bit of kit often touted for its low noise floor/distortion seems like a bit of a fudge. Is this a reasonable solution?
2. Does anyone have any ideas about what the issue could be, or know of a solution other than that offered by Chord?

Thanks!!

There is stuff on hissing in the Mojo thread. Try first post as well for FAQ.

My Mojo sounds fine with a Mac Mini. But i am also using the BitPerfect software, maybe that's it? I also mostly use the optical output but connected with a usb-cable it sounded fine, too.

No idea. Mojo would work without a driver on a Mac. You must have something set up wrong in your Mac output settings.

 

[534743]

No idea. Mojo would work without a driver on a Mac. You must have something set up wrong in your Mac output settings.

No everything's fine. It also works without BitPerfect. But you can use Integer Mode with BitPerfect. You can also upsample and output native DSD with BitPerfect, that's why i use it (I know upsampling is not needed with the Mojo).

 

[FreakingWaves]

There is stuff on hissing in the Mojo thread. Try first post as well for FAQ.



No idea. Mojo would work without a driver on a Mac. You must have something set up wrong in your Mac output settings.

I have asked Chord and they say that additional mediaplayer software is necessary for employing advanced MIDI-settings. The Chord Mojo works when connected via USB, but it doesn't sound brilliantly. A program like Audirvana should enable the advanced MIDI-settings according to Chord. I haven't tried it yet. Up until now I just used VLC for playing my files.