nzvlam
100+ Head-Fier
Certainly a nice looking piece of kit!
Conductor Air pocket sized USB DAC, Headphone Amp, Remote Controlled Preamp
- Thread starter newdoughboy
- Start date
So I've been going back and forth between the V2+ and Air for a couple of hours now. I've been listening to my regular demo list with two different laptops running MediaMonkey with identical settings in both Windows and MM. I've been using my modded T50RP's and some LZ A4 prototype IEM's (wife's home so no open cans yet 
).
I've got to say that I'm super impressed with the performance from the little Air unit. It comes very close to the V2+ in sound quality and signature. I really don't like talking numbers when it comes to sound but in lack of anything better I'll do an exception and say that based on my rather short listening session with a couple of not super revealing headphones and IEM's the Air has probably 85-90% of the sound from the V2+. As a lover of the V2+ this is of course excellent news, to be able to bring most of the V2+ sq with me wherever I go.
The V2+ may have slightly more air, a bit more controlled and deeper bass but the difference is not big. Apart from that the overall signature is very similar. The V2+ of course has a lot of other features like significantly more power, toslink, coaxial and a couple of analog inputs etc.
I'll do the same exercise again when putting my review together but that time I'll be using some of my more revealing open headphones but so far this really seems as the perfect portable unit for anyone loving the sound of the V2+.
). I've got to say that I'm super impressed with the performance from the little Air unit. It comes very close to the V2+ in sound quality and signature. I really don't like talking numbers when it comes to sound but in lack of anything better I'll do an exception and say that based on my rather short listening session with a couple of not super revealing headphones and IEM's the Air has probably 85-90% of the sound from the V2+. As a lover of the V2+ this is of course excellent news, to be able to bring most of the V2+ sq with me wherever I go.
The V2+ may have slightly more air, a bit more controlled and deeper bass but the difference is not big. Apart from that the overall signature is very similar. The V2+ of course has a lot of other features like significantly more power, toslink, coaxial and a couple of analog inputs etc.
I'll do the same exercise again when putting my review together but that time I'll be using some of my more revealing open headphones but so far this really seems as the perfect portable unit for anyone loving the sound of the V2+.
YoYo JoKeR
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It's great to know that Burson released a fully portable DAC & amp unit! It's becoming a trend nowadays with gears getting more & more compact. I am pretty sure, its gonna carry the "Burson' house sound signature.
Cant wait to hear it out. Waiting is the hardest part
Cant wait to hear it out. Waiting is the hardest part
High-End-Addict
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Figured I'd chime in, I was lucky to be able to receive a review sample. I'll be doing some listening compared to a V5 STX, Schiit Stack and a Galaxy S Voodoo Mod/E11 combo. Hope you all enjoy - more to come!
I'm really busy at the moment so I don't think I'll be able to do this until the review is upat the end of this weekend.
On a more positive note I've been able to do my dream comparison today thanks to a helpful Norwegian headfier, full comparison will also be included in my review
After half an hour with the Mojo alone and one hour comparing them the early and short (and maybe also boring) impression is that they're both seriously good albeit a bit different in their presentation. In other words in line with what's been posted here before.....
pkcpga
1000+ Head-Fier
I'm really busy at the moment so I don't think I'll be able to do this until the review is upat the end of this weekend.
On a more positive note I've been able to do my dream comparison today thanks to a helpful Norwegian headfier, full comparison will also be included in my review
After half an hour with the Mojo alone and one hour comparing them the early and short (and maybe also boring) impression is that they're both seriously good albeit a bit different in their presentation. In other words in line with what's been posted here before.....
Wow I'm surprised the mojo looks smaller than the air and the mojo is self powered, I thought the air was going to be more portable since the battery was not built in.
Yeah the Mojo has smaller footprint but is considerable thicker. I wouldn't be comfortable with any of them in my jeans pocket but could have both in my jacket, or on a plane/train.
pkcpga
1000+ Head-Fier
Does the remote have to be used with the air, I think that might add too much bulk for travel.
No, there's physical buttons as well so you don't need to use the remote.
I've not been able to use the Air with Android without external power though so that will certainly limit the portability. Android is not very consequent between devices or even carriers though so this may differ.
Since the Mojo has internal power it will be the best choice if your main priority is portability imo.
pkcpga
1000+ Head-Fier
Ok thanks, I have a great home DAC so this would be for traveling only, guess I'll stick with the mojo.
OK, so I managed to steal a couple of hors of listening (very) late last night.
Was going back and forth between the V2+ and the Air with Q701, SR325is and the Fidelio X2 headphones. I still stand by my initial impression that they're very similar sounding. Like I said earlier the V2+ has slightly more air between instruments and the deepest bass has slightly more impact (most noticable with the Q's). Keppeing to percentage I'd now say that the Air is 90+% similar to the V2+. The difference between the soundsignature of the Mojo and the Air is definitely greater than that between the Air and the V2+.
So far I also prefer the Air over the Mojo with the Q's and the Grado's while I'd pick the Mojo for the X2's. This is very much personal preference and matching rather than difference in sound quality between these two. The Air has a fuller, more distinct sound whilst the Mojo has a larger soundstage width and more air to its presentation. Detail retreival is similar on both. I need to do a lot more listening with these two before making any final statements though.
I can't stress how important matching and personal preference is at this level of performance though. When I listened to the Mojo for the first time I was using my ASG-1PLUS and was not very impressed. The lean and laid back presentation of the 1PLUS was brought forward even more with the Mojo and for me this was a quite unengaging experience (relatively speaking) while I love the way the 1PLUS sounds with the Air. Moving on to other headphones I did not feel this in any way but rather appreciated the signature of the Mojo a lot as well.
I hope this helps
Was going back and forth between the V2+ and the Air with Q701, SR325is and the Fidelio X2 headphones. I still stand by my initial impression that they're very similar sounding. Like I said earlier the V2+ has slightly more air between instruments and the deepest bass has slightly more impact (most noticable with the Q's). Keppeing to percentage I'd now say that the Air is 90+% similar to the V2+. The difference between the soundsignature of the Mojo and the Air is definitely greater than that between the Air and the V2+.
So far I also prefer the Air over the Mojo with the Q's and the Grado's while I'd pick the Mojo for the X2's. This is very much personal preference and matching rather than difference in sound quality between these two. The Air has a fuller, more distinct sound whilst the Mojo has a larger soundstage width and more air to its presentation. Detail retreival is similar on both. I need to do a lot more listening with these two before making any final statements though.
I can't stress how important matching and personal preference is at this level of performance though. When I listened to the Mojo for the first time I was using my ASG-1PLUS and was not very impressed. The lean and laid back presentation of the 1PLUS was brought forward even more with the Mojo and for me this was a quite unengaging experience (relatively speaking) while I love the way the 1PLUS sounds with the Air. Moving on to other headphones I did not feel this in any way but rather appreciated the signature of the Mojo a lot as well.
I hope this helps
sydneyaudio
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Hi guys. How would the air compare to something like the ifi micro idsd when playing native dsd?
High-End-Addict
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The beauty of the Air is it's ability to work without battery.
Therefore i would not compare it to battery operated dac/amp.
IMHO Mojo competes with Oppo HA2. (And I choosed Oppo)
I purchased Air in order to connect it 4/6 hours a day to my MacBook (Air) because i don't like to feel Oppo's battery heating.
I understand Mojo is also becoming very hot when USB connected and amplifying at the same time.
Oppo HA2 and Mojo are designed specifically for smartphone / DAP usage.
Air is not .
In my view it should be compared to other portable & not battery operated Dac/Amps for PC or Mac laptops.
Therefore i would not compare it to battery operated dac/amp.
IMHO Mojo competes with Oppo HA2. (And I choosed Oppo)
I purchased Air in order to connect it 4/6 hours a day to my MacBook (Air) because i don't like to feel Oppo's battery heating.
I understand Mojo is also becoming very hot when USB connected and amplifying at the same time.
Oppo HA2 and Mojo are designed specifically for smartphone / DAP usage.
Air is not .
In my view it should be compared to other portable & not battery operated Dac/Amps for PC or Mac laptops.
I'm a simple person so for me great sound is great sound whether it comes from a 7 kg or a 185 g unit or one with our without battery for that matter.
As always ymmv and obviously does in this case.
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