[Music Alchemist]

I was infact curious myself so I went through the cable drawer. And wa-la mini jack to rca is got plugged in. Mojo got set to line out mode.

Result. Mojo produces alot of noise when charging, playing and in line-out mode. So while it's charging, it is produces a completely unacceptable hum both on the line and physically from the unit.

Running directly into my mainline while running on battery the hum goes away. The Mojo has boosted mid-bass compared to the Gumby, and most of the other things I said before hold true as well.

The sound just isn't a natural, it's like there is are right angles everywhere instead syn waves. Almost crunchy. After an hour, I couldn't take it anymore.

I then plugged a USB regen into the line, that smoothed things out a bit and added more air. Which was nice.

Honestly I like the Mojo better by itself than as a line out and definitely won't be using it that way... I'm guessing the Mainline + HD800 make it's flaws very apparent. Which is fine with me... it's not a Hugo... and it's got Mojo!

Thanks for your input. I have a 5V 2A wall charger permanently connected to the Mojo and get no noise. (You may have gotten one of the unlucky noisier units. But you should charge it to full while it's off, then trickle-charge it during playback, which could solve the noise issue.) I'm also using TOSLINK, which electrically isolates the DAC. (Some say it sounds better than USB.) And I'm using it as a DAC + digital preamp for active speakers. (I'll have a passive floorstanding speaker system next week.) I used to own an HD 800. The differences between the Mojo and solid state DAC/amps that cost thousands were minimal for me with that headphone. It's easier for me to assess DAC differences with speakers. I'm really curious about the Yggdrasil, so I dunno if I'll try the in-between multibit DACs. It's interesting how many conflicting opinions there are on Schiit vs Chord. For the record, they all (or rather, the Modi Multibit, Mojo, and 2Qute in my case) sound fantastic with my speakers, with each having a different presentation that enhances the core signature of the speakers in assorted ways. The 2Qute sounds considerably more realistic than the Mojo (especially in terms of resolution and dynamics), but costs a lot more, which is the main reason I parted with it. If I could only make one complaint about the Mojo, it would be that it's a little too smooth. (The opposite of crunchy in my experience.) I'm on the lookout for a more aggressive-sounding DAC that isn't particularly expensive. (Won't get back into higher-end DACs until a little later.) The Modi Multibit is the closest I've gotten to that, but it comes off as crude to me, and it also has qualities that I'd describe as tubey and emotional. (Which is nice, but not exactly what I'm looking for.) Perhaps I won't be able to find a DAC under $500 that has the aggressive, yet refined type of sound the 2Qute has.

 

[deserat]

Thanks for your input. I have a 5V 2A wall charger permanently connected to the Mojo and get no noise. (You may have gotten one of the unlucky noisier units. But you should charge it to full while it's off, then trickle-charge it during playback, which could solve the noise issue.) I'm also using TOSLINK, which electrically isolates the DAC. (Some say it sounds better than USB.) And I'm using it as a DAC + digital preamp for active speakers. (I'll have a passive floorstanding speaker system next week.) I used to own an HD 800. The differences between the Mojo and solid state DAC/amps that cost thousands were minimal for me with that headphone. It's easier for me to assess DAC differences with speakers. I'm really curious about the Yggdrasil, so I dunno if I'll try the in-between multibit DACs. It's interesting how many conflicting opinions there are on Schiit vs Chord. For the record, they all (or rather, the Modi Multibit, Mojo, and 2Qute in my case) sound fantastic with my speakers, with each having a different presentation that enhances the core signature of the speakers in assorted ways. The 2Qute sounds considerably more realistic than the Mojo (especially in terms of resolution and dynamics), but costs a lot more, which is the main reason I parted with it. If I could only make one complaint about the Mojo, it would be that it's a little too smooth. (The opposite of crunchy in my experience.) I'm on the lookout for a more aggressive-sounding DAC that isn't particularly expensive. (Won't get back into higher-end DACs until a little later.) The Modi Multibit is the closest I've gotten to that, but it comes off as crude to me, and it also has qualities that I'd describe as tubey and emotional. (Which is nice, but not exactly what I'm looking for.) Perhaps I won't be able to find a DAC under $500 that has the aggressive, yet refined type of sound the 2Qute has.

Cool. I got my Bifrost back Friday ( let a friend borrow it ), so I'll give a rundown of it vs the mojo plugged into the Lyr 2. The Gumby vs the Mojo really isn't fair. They aren't in the same class and the differences in naturalness of sound are pretty substantial. The Bimby on the had is at the same price point. Looks like I should be able to used the Schiit Eitr on both on Monday as well. It re clocks as well as providing full DAC isolation. The difference when I put it ( in the form of the USB gen 5 ) in the Gumby was not subtle.

I loaned the Mojo to another friend who has at Mimby + Asgard and while he was impressed he prefered his stack. He thought the bass wasn't as controlled or present in the mojo. He only had the mojo for a couple of hours though, and frankly my ears have never tuned that quickly to any device. Well except the HE-1, that knocked me on my butt when I heard it. But who has 50K laying around for headphones.

 

[deserat]

Have now compared the Mojo and Bimby through my Lyr 2 ( Telefunken NOS tubes ) into my Ether C Flows. Both Bimby and Mojo fed from the Schiit Eitr. There really isn't any competition, Bimby has more air, better imaging , better resolution, way better dynamics.

I spent the morning with the Bimby and the afternoon with the Mojo and then switched back for a few tracks before writing this. Listening to Mercan Dede's 800, Berliner Philharmoniker's Bethoveen Cycle 9th and some various folk and electronic tracks.

 

[theveterans]

Just goes to show that one hasn't really listed to Bimby if they're not using coaxial input. I don't have or need the Eitr since I already have a source with Coax digital out. Bimby on COAX is simply on another level compared to its Gen 2 USB input.

 

[Wreckgar7]

Have now compared the Mojo and Bimby through my Lyr 2 ( Telefunken NOS tubes ) into my Ether C Flows. Both Bimby and Mojo fed from the Schiit Eitr. There really isn't any competition, Bimby has more air, better imaging , better resolution, way better dynamics.

I spent the morning with the Bimby and the afternoon with the Mojo and then switched back for a few tracks before writing this. Listening to Mercan Dede's 800, Berliner Philharmoniker's Bethoveen Cycle 9th and some various folk and electronic tracks.

Can you please tell me how the mojo performs with and without the Eitr? Im thinking of buying one and also which cable do you use between the mojo and eitr?

 

[Music Alchemist]

Can you please tell me how the mojo performs with and without the Eitr? Im thinking of buying one and also which cable do you use between the mojo and eitr?

FYI, the designer Rob Watts said TOSLINK sounds better than coaxial and USB to him with the Mojo and Hugo.

I used a $30 Behringer UCA202 audio interface to output TOSLINK (Monoprice 1419) to the Mojo.

 

[deserat]

Can you please tell me how the mojo performs with and without the Eitr? Im thinking of buying one and also which cable do you use between the mojo and eitr?

I'll keep it short because this isn't the place to expand on the Mojo it self, there is another thread for that. The Eitr and the USB regen both add clarity and control to the usb input on the mojo. More air, less compression.

I use a bluejeans coax cable terminated with RCA connectors and an RCA to 3.5 mono mini-jack (2 pole).

As regards TOSLINK, I've not tried it yet on the mojo, mostly because it sound just like USB on everything else I own. That said all my DAC's except the mojo are Schiit, so I'd go with what Rob Watts says is best... think I have an optical around here somewhere.

 

[Music Alchemist]

.

I'm interested in a more in-depth comparison of the Eitr + coax to TOSLINK (and USB) with your Schiit DACs!

If coax is markedly better, I'd be less averse to the cost of the Eitr. (Since it's nearly as much as the Modi Multibit itself.)

 

[Dvdlucena]

I own both the Bimby, Gumby and recently picked up the Mojo. The Mojo is a cool little device but I wouldn't put it is the same class as either of the other two dacs. That may of course be the amp stage, I've not tried it in line out to my mainline or lyr 2. Lacks detail, dynamics, and imaging accuracy of the Bimby and Gumby. This is not a complaint at all, for small device I can throw in my pocket or backpack, one that equally drives my HD800 and Ether C... the mojo is pretty killer device.

Interesting to see this thread in HF where chord DACs receive all the praise and honor. Well, my first dac was the qute, than I had the mojo, 2qute, mimby and Yggdrasil. And I demoed several other DACs.... I do like the chord house sound. It is very musical. But for me, and I quote my own words in others threads, chord cannot play accurate instruments timbre. I am a retired professional musician that player the trumpet and trombone , and I don’t understand all the tech and explanation that chords designer and engineers give freely here in HF. They almost like reinvented dac... as they words seems to me like that.
But their DACs although very musical do not sound like real trumpets, real cymbals, real saxophones.... they Make a fun sound, but not real sound. You can show me that they have the best specs, the best intel, well it doesn’t matter, because they sound off. Another’s musicians friends feels the same when I play some music here in my place...
To me Yggdrasil can do that, the metrum adágio and pavane can do that... their DAVE! Yes, Dave can plays real instruments to my ears... But mojo, hugo, 2qute.. they cannot do it
I’m happy to see that some people thinks like me and are outsiders of the comercial hype... cheers dvdlucena from Spain

 

[theveterans]

^ Thanks for sharing your experience. I would ask you if the Chord DACs that you use were using were connected to an amp or just straight out of their headphone out. As I am not a musician myself and just hear music that moves you, I think Chord and Schiit did a good job on it. Both to me are musical, but comparing the lesser Bifrost Multibit to Mojo, the Bifrost layers the music better than Mojo, but tonality to me as a non-musician is spot on for both and they represent music in a more natural way than other DACs over a long time of listening.

Since you're a keen musician, would I be right that some instruments have a more kick to it on Chord DACs compared to Schiit and that's what makes it not sounding like what a real instrument should sound like?

 

[Dvdlucena]

^ Thanks for sharing your experience. I would ask you if the Chord DACs that you use were using were connected to an amp or just straight out of their headphone out. As I am not a musician myself and just hear music that moves you, I think Chord and Schiit did a good job on it. Both to me are musical, but comparing the lesser Bifrost Multibit to Mojo, the Bifrost layers the music better than Mojo, but tonality to me as a non-musician is spot on for both and they represent music in a more natural way than other DACs over a long time of listening.

Since your a keen musician, would I be right that some instruments have a more kick to it on Chord DACs compared to Schiit and that's what makes it not sounding like what a real instrument should sound like?

Yes, acoustics instruments seems more live in schiit DACs. I prefer electronic music in my 2qute thought

 

[leeperry]

What strikes me the most on a pimped Mimby is sax, it just sounds so real

 

[deserat]

What strikes me the most on a pimped Mimby is sax, it just sounds so real

What's a pimped Mimby? I mean... what's not stock? Didn't realize it was possible to mod Schiit DAC's. That could be fun.

 

[ofilippov]

Interesting to see this thread in HF where chord DACs receive all the praise and honor. Well, my first dac was the qute, than I had the mojo, 2qute, mimby and Yggdrasil. And I demoed several other DACs.... I do like the chord house sound. It is very musical. But for me, and I quote my own words in others threads, chord cannot play accurate instruments timbre. I am a retired professional musician that player the trumpet and trombone , and I don’t understand all the tech and explanation that chords designer and engineers give freely here in HF. They almost like reinvented dac... as they words seems to me like that.
But their DACs although very musical do not sound like real trumpets, real cymbals, real saxophones.... they Make a fun sound, but not real sound. You can show me that they have the best specs, the best intel, well it doesn’t matter, because they sound off. Another’s musicians friends feels the same when I play some music here in my place...
To me Yggdrasil can do that, the metrum adágio and pavane can do that... their DAVE! Yes, Dave can plays real instruments to my ears... But mojo, hugo, 2qute.. they cannot do it
I’m happy to see that some people thinks like me and are outsiders of the comercial hype... cheers dvdlucena from Spain

Muchas gracias, Dvdlucena! As I played several instruments for a little while, I'm considering musicians opinion to be much more valuable than a dozen of audio enthusiasts opinions. And luckily you covered a bunch of DACs I was considering myself By the way, have you heard Gungnir Multibit?
P.S. Was in Spain this year. What a great country!

 

[Dvdlucena]

Muchas gracias, Dvdlucena! As I played several instruments for a little while, I'm considering musicians opinion to be much more valuable than a dozen of audio enthusiasts opinions. And luckily you covered a bunch of DACs I was considering myself By the way, have you heard Gungnir Multibit?
P.S. Was in Spain this year. What a great country!

Saludo meu amigo.
Gungnir multibit it’s equal do Yggdrasil in 90% in you use Aes Ebu input!