[TWerk]

We Agree

Today I had a moment to just do some comparison between my iPhone 6+ with Denon MM400 headphones vs my portable Peachtree Shift. I'm aware that this thread is comparing to a Mojo. However my point is that when listening to comfort levels that is not damaging the ear drums the iPhone 6+ I have vs my Peachtree there is VERY LITTLE difference in SQ. I'm absolutely 100% certain that even if there is a difference it's not worth the cost of the Mojo.

There is probably an enjoyable difference but if you had to analyze your wallet vs SQ difference ........... You can appreciate the onboard DAC with built in headphone Jack in the existing apple products.

I've heard FLAC from Astell&Kern, ifi, fiio and pretty much all of the portable offerings at my local headphone shop and they can all sound good.

It's Human nature is to justify a purchase. Some are blunt and will say it's a marginal upgrade and some will glorify a purchase due to cost $$$$$

I've listened to the Audeze Sine with cipher cable and it sounded lifeless with no musical characteristics while my iPhone 6+ sounded ever so slight marginally less detail but more musical. I threw those same exact Sine headphones on a higher end Astell & Kern player and it transformed into a much more cleaner sound but my subjective ears found it having an analytical sound. The less superior dac found in the Peachtree shift amp kinda surprised me in how lush with just enough detail to satisfy musically .

I tested the Red dragon fly with my Iphone 6+ and it was mediocre at best. I found it as gritty and not refined just like my old Samsung Note 4 internal DAC /headphone jack. The factory inboard DAC in the iPhone worked really well compared to spending money on a Red dragon fly.

I could have purchased the MOJO many times but for the cost and SQ difference with my iPhone 6+ I did not see a need. Now that I'll be buying either the iPhone 8+ or "X" I cannot and will not use the factory lightning / 3.5mm jack adapter. The built in dac in that apple adapter is garbage IMO.

I'll be looking forward in comparing my reasonably priced Peachtree shift vs the new upcoming Mytek headphone amp (Cheaper street price than Mojo).

I still enjoy HP's but it's definitely a cheaper audio "fix" than 2 channel hifi stereo.

I think anyone really curious should test a friends iphone 6 series or Apple portable device and compare with a dedicated portable amp. The only crucial question is the type of headphone your testing. My HD800 is easier to drive compared to an HE 560 or HE 400i with my power Peachtree amp. IEM buds should sound great with the Apple products with dedicated jack.

Really it comes down to satisfying your own ears. No one else to impress but yourself.........

Indeed, the onboard of an Iphone or macbook device is just as good as way more expensive alternatives, this really surprised me too... Huge waste of money for a no difference.

That stuff must just be made for people who don't own apple stuff!!

Not only does it sound better but it's less hassle than running through another device only to downgrade the SQ. Spend those hard earned dollars on something other than placebo effect!

 

[Jimster480]

Indeed, the onboard of an Iphone or macbook device is just as good as way more expensive alternatives, this really surprised me too... Huge waste of money for a no difference.

That stuff must just be made for people who don't own apple stuff!!

Not only does it sound better but it's less hassle than running through another device only to downgrade the SQ. Spend those hard earned dollars on something other than placebo effect!

This really depends on your ears and what headphones you have.
Overall the amp that comes in apple products is decent but its all cheapie off the shelf stuff.
Not to say that, that stuff cannot sound good. There are many super high priced audio products that do not deliver in this day in age.

 

[EarDrumExplode]

I use my mojo with my iPad Pro 9.7 and recently upgraded the USB cable that came with it to a 1ft silver dragon (100 + hours break in) from moon and it really pulls the most out those 16 / 24 tracks from iTunes. It shines with movies though. The original cable was really bad not just sound but quality I Still don't get why they put such horrible cables with portable amps. I still have waiting for someone to upgrade the apple camera cable.

 

[Jimster480]

I use my mojo with my iPad Pro 9.7 and recently upgraded the USB cable that came with it to a 1ft silver dragon (100 + hours break in) from moon and it really pulls the most out those 16 / 24 tracks from iTunes. It shines with movies though. The original cable was really bad not just sound but quality I Still don't get why they put such horrible cables with portable amps. I still have waiting for someone to upgrade the apple camera cable.

USB data is digital and you cannot get "cleaner 1's and 0's".
The only difference in cables is if one cable doesn't have shielding at all and you have high EMF for some reason. This will cause drop outs/dips in your music but "quality" will not be altered other than these obvious annoying drops/pops/etc.

Any $5 cable would do just the same as your special magic silver cable. Just letting you know so you don't go around spreading false information to others who in turn spend their money on the same things.

 

[EarDrumExplode]

USB data is digital and you cannot get "cleaner 1's and 0's".
The only difference in cables is if one cable doesn't have shielding at all and you have high EMF for some reason. This will cause drop outs/dips in your music but "quality" will not be altered other than these obvious annoying drops/pops/etc.

Any $5 cable would do just the same as your special magic silver cable. Just letting you know so you don't go around spreading false information to others who in turn spend their money on the same things.

USB data is digital and you cannot get "cleaner 1's and 0's".
The only difference in cables is if one cable doesn't have shielding at all and you have high EMF for some reason. This will cause drop outs/dips in your music but "quality" will not be altered other than these obvious annoying drops/pops/etc.

Any $5 cable would do just the same as your special magic silver cable. Just letting you know so you don't go around spreading false information to others who in turn spend their money on the same things.

False info? My posts reflect my opinion. 1's and 0's, emf I'm okay with that but would would you drink water from a rusty pipe or a nice clean one?

 

[AlanU]

USB data is digital and you cannot get "cleaner 1's and 0's".
The only difference in cables is if one cable doesn't have shielding at all and you have high EMF for some reason. This will cause drop outs/dips in your music but "quality" will not be altered other than these obvious annoying drops/pops/etc.

Any $5 cable would do just the same as your special magic silver cable. Just letting you know so you don't go around spreading false information to others who in turn spend their money on the same things.

Very subjective view. I look at usb cables as a path. Every cable can "work" but there can be some differences. I guess this topic can be touchy.......... No my concern what people spend their money on

Convenience of not using a amplifier is so nice. When I use my laptop I like using my portable headphone amp.

I know some can get ultra critical with headphone use. I'm more concerned with my 2 channel stereo compared to my portable use headphones.

 

[Jimster480]

False info? My posts reflect my opinion. 1's and 0's, emf I'm okay with that but would would you drink water from a rusty pipe or a nice clean one?

A rusty pipe and you drinking water has literally NOTHING to do with cables and transferring data.
USB cables do not affect audio quality unless one of them is damaged/not shielded. And when that happens you get drop outs / pops in your music not "reduced quality" because that is NOT POSSIBLE with Digital data.
You cannot get a "fuzzy signal" like analog TV's or a radio station.

 

[TWerk]

USB data is digital and you cannot get "cleaner 1's and 0's".
The only difference in cables is if one cable doesn't have shielding at all and you have high EMF for some reason. This will cause drop outs/dips in your music but "quality" will not be altered other than these obvious annoying drops/pops/etc.

Any $5 cable would do just the same as your special magic silver cable. Just letting you know so you don't go around spreading false information to others who in turn spend their money on the same things.

I think cables can also effect impedence or something of that nature. Like Tyll measured the imp of the cable included stock with the fidelio X1 and suggested everyone replace it with something else because it made the bass more loose and boomy.

(That's headphone cable though, not usb cable)

 

[Jimster480]

I think cables can also effect impedence or something of that nature. Like Tyll measured the imp of the cable included stock with the fidelio X1 and suggested everyone replace it with something else because it made the bass more loose and boomy.

(That's headphone cable though, not usb cable)

Impedance yes and that can sometimes affect the sound signature especially depending on the output device. But for USB impedance doesn't mean anything since signals don't require specific voltages and the information is digital.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Yup: USB Cables carry information and power but not sound itself. The information is a digital sequence of 1/0. Unless the cable is broken and no longer carrying information, it will not affect what the information sounds like upon delivery to the "client" side.

 

[Dvdlucena]

I finally found the difference using HE1000v2, the mojo sounds rounder more controlled and nicer then the iPad, the iPad is harder in sound and the top is more messy. I can't say the same for my ie800, if i really try i can tell a tiny difference in some songs, but its almost not noticeable, these are really easy to drive compared to HE1000v2. I use questyle cma800i for those. The mojo was supposed to go with my ie800, but i won't be keeping it.

Same here
I’m having a hard time with stack, iPhone plus mojo plus cables... just tried my iPad Pro, the mojo it’s 5-10% better... using shure 846
I’m selling mojo and going to try another dap, maybe the Sony signature series will be a step up

 

[Dvdlucena]

+1

My mojo sounds great with every source I’ve tried it with, but I can’t tell ANY difference when using it with my iPad 10.5 vs. straight out of the iPad headphone jack. I’m not sure if this means the Mojo is providing poorer quality via the iPad, or it’s just that the iPad has a really good dac of its own. I’m running iOS 11 beta 2, but I get the same result via my iPhone 7 Plus on iOS 10.3.3. I’ve listened with Elears, TH-X00, and HD600s, same results on all of them. Tidal, Pandora, and local Apple lossless files via the Apple Music app...same issue.

The only difference I can think of is that the connection to the iPad/iPhone is via the Camera Connection Kit adapter and lightening port, where all other connections are through usb or optical. Not sure if it is an issue on the Apple side, the cable connection, or something in the Mojo. Frustrating, as I bought the Mojo to enhance my iPad music while not in front of my PC.

Same here... I’m so pissed. Mojo it’s a little better, but hey... I don’t know if it justify the trouble of a stack and the mojo price...

 

[Bla4444]

There is a review here in headfi about the hrt idsp. It claims it is better than the iphone out. It is under 100 $ and if i consider the results of theese discussions it must be better (sq wise) than mojo. ( Altough it is hard to belive).

 

[Jimster480]

Yup: USB Cables carry information and power but not sound itself. The information is a digital sequence of 1/0. Unless the cable is broken and no longer carrying information, it will not affect what the information sounds like upon delivery to the "client" side.

I'm glad to find someone else who understands

 

[AlanU]

I think we typically have some form of justification when it comes to $$$$ purchases. There's something definitely disturbing the idea that Mojo should be destroying the iPad/apple products but sadly it's not. Seems this little IQ difference is depending on the IEM/headphones used.

The discussion of some saying it's worlds different is fine as well because the subjective ears in those individuals must only please their personal eardrums....not others

So in other words subjective matter is only important to the person themselves.

I am just appreciating what my iPhone provides me. Possibly Android users (I use both) can't imagine an Apple product is "more than decent" for sq.

I'll say that i do not personally own a Mojo. However I do think if there's situations where I want to use my iPhone to stream at my kitchen table it's easier to put my hd650, Hd800 or even inexpensive 400i using my Peachtree shift amp. I know my laptop and iPhone cannot provide high quality SQ using some Headphones.

However I'm now thinking of buying an iPhone 8+ or "X" and then lug my iPhone 6+ with headphone jack instead of lugging my Peachtree amp. After testing so many portable amps i just "settled" with happiness with the SQ the Peachtree produces with Tidal stream. Goes to show I am still in quite disbelief that an apple product is quite good for ridiculous simplicity. Iphone 7 with factory lighning 3.5mm headphone adapter is just unacceptable though....