Phone + Chord Mojo vs DAP Alone

[Vigrith]

Bit late to the party maybe but the AK70 is brilliant and brand new, looks beautiful and I personally feel it's great for the price (599 in the US I believe? I'm in Europe) - Astell & Kern players do not do Tidal just yet (that's what I mainly use too) but there has been talk of them implementing it for ages now and last update I read by them, a week or two ago maybe, said it should be ready very soon.
 
That said I don't know how it'd fare compared to your phone + Mojo setup, the Mojo is widely appreciated and I know for a fact it's nigh perfect for the price but still, food for thought I suppose, especially if you're wary the stack is a bit clunky - the AK is slick, fairly light, looks and feels extremely luxurious.

 

[fuhransahis]

Bit late to the party maybe but the AK70 is brilliant and brand new, looks beautiful and I personally feel it's great for the price (599 in the US I believe? I'm in Europe) - Astell & Kern players do not do Tidal just yet (that's what I mainly use too) but there has been talk of them implementing it for ages now and last update I read by them, a week or two ago maybe, said it should be ready very soon.

That said I don't know how it'd fare compared to your phone + Mojo setup, the Mojo is widely appreciated and I know for a fact it's nigh perfect for the price but still, food for thought I suppose, especially if you're wary the stack is a bit clunky - the AK is slick, fairly light, looks and feels extremely luxurious.

Thanks for the tip! So would they add on support for Tidal as an update to the firmware?

And any idea on the sound quality difference between the AK70 and the Mojo?

 

[Vigrith]

Thanks for the tip! So would they add on support for Tidal as an update to the firmware?

And any idea on the sound quality difference between the AK70 and the Mojo?

 
Yea I'm pretty sure they'd just add the Tidal support as an update, admittedly I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to DAPs (in fact, the AK70 I ordered is my first one ever since my iPod touch from like 10 years ago) but I'm sure that's how it's handled.
 
I only had a brief audition with the A&K at a local store, it was the first unit they received and the only one they had, I thought it sounded great though I admit the better part of it was my shallow side giving in to how sexy it looked and felt, just oozed excellency and I could not resist thus put an order in. The Mojo is special though, as one of the most reviewed devices in the audio world (by individuals more qualified than myself) I'm sure you won't be short on detailed explanations of its sound but if I had to rough something out I'd say the Mojo feels seductive and intimate and the AK felt a little more neutral, though slightly on the warmer side still which for me is a big plus (I'm treble sensitive and prone to fatigue).
 
That said, the AK70 is the first in A&K's line to feature USB making it and the Mojo ideal companions through an OTG cable, always nice to have easy access to upgradability if you buy the DAP and wanna add the Chord to the mix later down the line or the other way around. 

 
 
Edit: they stack up decently too, the mojo's a bit shorter but still.
 

 

[siwolfman]

Agreed. Phone and the Mojo is the way to go. The Mojo can power your cans and even high impedance headphones like a 300ohm Sennheiser. Additionally, the Mojo can power to sets of headphones at the same time.

 

[darkdoorway]

Was recently at canjam London and theBit was there demoing their Audio-Opus x11 DAC (and their unreleased very expensive x2 DAP). The x11 was a beautiful super thin DAC (thinner than the oppo) and is lite enough to velcro easily to your phone. I A/bed it with the mojo and with 16 ohn CIEMs, very comparable.

 

[kydu]

Love chord mojo with VE zen 2.0 and ra2.0 amp!!

 

[kydu]

Agreed. Phone and the Mojo is the way to go. The Mojo can power your cans and even high impedance headphones like a 300ohm Sennheiser. Additionally, the Mojo can power to sets of headphones at the same time.

I found mojos amp lacking in bass reinforcement and soundstage width and depth compared to using it with a number of portable amps. It's worth a shot IMO especially when using high impedance headphones. The $98 VE runabout plus amp and mojo is a excellent combination with the hd600. It adds some warmth, the bass is incomparably more defined, and soundstage as well.

 

[kydu]

So far this is Chord mojo at its best. I don't think 2017 is going to bring a portable dac to compete with it, sure hope I am wrong.

 

[Trommelfellriss]

The Audeze Sine is the pefect partner for the Mojo, and the Mojo for the Sine.

The Sine beats the Headphones AKG 712, Grado RS2e, Shure E4c, Ultrasone IQ Pro, B&O H6, Sennheiser HD 650 AND the Audeze EL-8C with my Mojo!
It delivers not the best "Stage" nor the best Bass, but the most "natural" music, could be listened for hours!

The Mojo shines with the Sine!
iPhone 6S, ibasso DX50, ibasso DX80, HRT iDSP, Dragonfly Red, or the AK 240 ... the Mojo was the winner on the Sines!

Some of the Headphones i testet working better with other DAP/DAC, they are all specialists.

The iBasso DX80 and the IQ Pro's worked good, but they sound tinny with the Mojo.
Grado was boring with the iBassos, but not bad with the iPhones!

But for me the best setup is Audeze Sine with Chord Mojo!
I use Anker Charger and Anker USB powerline+ cables, no weird errors, works good.
And: As a Team they are matching industrial design, all black like Batman or Vader love it...

Here you spend the same money in good headgear and good electronics.

They are in love!