[EllieFreckles]

But here's the thing. I needed a portable, so the Mojo suited me. This isn't necessarily the case for you., and I can't comment on the quality of the Schiit products. Better than the Mojo? Don't know. Maybe you want to roll tubes later? Get the Schiit. Want to avoid that temptation? Get the Mojo. See? Lots to think about.

One thing I can tell you. My desktop amp is worth about 1k. I added 2 highly regarded NOS tubes worth $400. Adding the Mojo to that setup improves the SQ, just to give you an idea of the relative quality of the Mojo.

But, if God herself vouched for the price/performance ratio of the Mojo, you would still have other things to consider before pulling the trigger

 
Cheers. The Mojo is def tempting since I'm using an E17 DAC. And my original idea was to have an $800 budget to get an "inbetween" set up. Basically, not endgame, but something to hold me over for the next 2-3 years. I'm almost willing to give the Mojo a shot, and it it sounds much better then my current Lyr/ E17 set up, that totally might be the perfect thing to hold me over for 3 years. What's crazy is, a lot of people aren't even viewing the Mojo that way, because they say it's THAT good.

So it's def something I want to try now. It really sounds amazing. 

 

[lukeap69]

   
Cheers. The Mojo is def tempting since I'm using an E17 DAC. And my original idea was to have an $800 budget to get an "inbetween" set up. Basically, not endgame, but something to hold me over for the next 2-3 years. I'm almost willing to give the Mojo a shot, and it it sounds much better then my current Lyr/ E17 set up, that totally might be the perfect thing to hold me over for 3 years. What's crazy is, a lot of people aren't even viewing the Mojo that way, because they say it's THAT good.

So it's def something I want to try now. It really sounds amazing. 

I have a Mojo and Lyr2 with Amperex OG. For me, Mojo is 'okay' with the HD800 but I prefer Audio-gd DAC-19 + Lyr 2 instead. Since you have Lyr, another option for you perhaps is to check out the DAC-19. Then in future you can save up for a 'better' amp. Of course, all are IMO.
 
PS - I have always maintained that when my Lyr 2 was paired with my DS DAC like Audio-gd NFB-1DAC, I didn't quite appreciate the combo. But with DAC-19, my opinion of Lyr 2 had changed (positively.) YMMV.

 

[Hansotek]

Lol! I know the feeling cscales, it took me about the same amount of time to fall in love with the Cavalli sound. I remember it so clearly... Plugging the HE1000 into the Liquid Spark prototype... Hearing the air in the room like never before... And then I heard that first bass impact... I could swear my heart stopped for a few seconds. And I hadn't even touched the Liquid Crimson or Gold yet.

So yeah, I know the feeling well. When you say something similar about the Mojo, I feel like I have to know now! I'd really like to try it, but unless somebody has one at the next Chicago meet, I might just buy it. I gotta know!

 

[sheldaze]

Mojo is that good, but the sound is not for everyone.
 
That is, the technique used by the Chord proprietary FPGA conversion from digital to analog is not the same as the Audio-gd DAC-19 or the Schiit Multibit DACs. You cannot compare or contrast the two simply. I highly recommend a listen, especially with your own cans. I had a person at a recent meet prefer the Schiit Fulla over the Chord Mojo - the difference is that dramatic.
 
I like the Mojo. I have used Mojo as a DAC, but prefer it directly into my headphones. I works quite well on many of my headphones, but not to my ears on my HD800.
 
This is definitely a case of you must have a listen.

 

[mrmarano]

  Hey guys, I'm new here. 
 
Hopefully this is the right thread to ask this. If not, I'll edit my post (I apologize). I recently got the HD800. Been dreaming about getting them ever since they first were released. The money was finally right, and so was the timing. So I grabbed one for my birthday/christmas gift. But I made the classic mistake of not having the proper equipment to drive them (so I bought the headphone first, rather than the set up to properly use them). I know, really stupid. I guess I've just been dreaming about them for so long, I let it finally get the better of me. (I actually cried when I finally got them).
 
 

 
No, not stupid. Given Sennheiser raised the price at least 2x since their release, you may have saved yourself some money in the long run.

 

[EllieFreckles]

  Mojo is that good, but the sound is not for everyone.
 
That is, the technique used by the Chord proprietary FPGA conversion from digital to analog is not the same as the Audio-gd DAC-19 or the Schiit Multibit DACs. You cannot compare or contrast the two simply. I highly recommend a listen, especially with your own cans. I had a person at a recent meet prefer the Schiit Fulla over the Chord Mojo - the difference is that dramatic.
 
I like the Mojo. I have used Mojo as a DAC, but prefer it directly into my headphones. I works quite well on many of my headphones, but not to my ears on my HD800.
 
This is definitely a case of you must have a listen.

 
 
Ah. Unfortunately I have no place to check them out (no hi-fi shops near me, and I would have to wait for the next Headphone convention and drive 4 hours to it). And Amazon isn't selling it (so no 30 day return). Hmm. I'll have to think on this. The more I read about the Chord Mojo, the more it seems like THE perfect thing for me. SO many people are praising its sound, and saying it actually drives and pairs well with the HD800. But interesting that you think it pairs well with a lot of other headphones, and not the HD800.
 
I think my bias is obviously with Schiit, because I've  had the Lyr for 3 years or so now. And I like how it sounds. Hell, I even like the way it sounds with my HD800 with an E17. But it's one of those things where, I'm a casual audiophile. And I haven't had other DAC/AMPS to really compare. So not having that comparison, means I don't really know how much better the HD800 could really sound. I've always heard they scaled a lot depending on set up. I just figured my E17 and Lyr were not a good pair, so I wanted like an inbetween decent set up for around $800, and then that would hold me over for 3 years until I could afford really nice DAC/AMP that pairs well with the HD800. 
 
I think at this point, I'm leaning towards just getting the Bifrost Multi, and either keeping my Lyr, or going with Valhalla 2 over my Lyr. I'm looking at this from the point of view, that this will be a temporary set up to hold me over, and not endgame. But all the praise and reviews of the Mojo is tempting me to try that. But given I don't have a way to try it out....
 
Dumb question. But do you think the Mojo would sound better than the Lyr/E17 set up I currently have? I say dumb, because I know it's subjective. SO if it's a case of, I need to just hear for myself, then you don't have to answer that question. 

 

[sheldaze]

   
 
Ah. Unfortunately I have no place to check them out (no hi-fi shops near me, and I would have to wait for the next Headphone convention and drive 4 hours to it). And Amazon isn't selling it (so no 30 day return). Hmm. I'll have to think on this. The more I read about the Chord Mojo, the more it seems like THE perfect thing for me. SO many people are praising its sound, and saying it actually drives and pairs well with the HD800. But interesting that you think it pairs well with a lot of other headphones, and not the HD800.
 
I think my bias is obviously with Schiit, because I've  had the Lyr for 3 years or so now. And I like how it sounds. Hell, I even like the way it sounds with my HD800 with an E17. But it's one of those things where, I'm a casual audiophile. And I haven't had other DAC/AMPS to really compare. So not having that comparison, means I don't really know how much better the HD800 could really sound. I've always heard they scaled a lot depending on set up. I just figured my E17 and Lyr were not a good pair, so I wanted like an inbetween decent set up for around $800, and then that would hold me over for 3 years until I could afford really nice DAC/AMP that pairs well with the HD800. 
 
I think at this point, I'm leaning towards just getting the Bifrost Multi, and either keeping my Lyr, or going with Valhalla 2 over my Lyr. I'm looking at this from the point of view, that this will be a temporary set up to hold me over, and not endgame. But all the praise and reviews of the Mojo is tempting me to try that. But given I don't have a way to try it out....
 
Dumb question. But do you think the Mojo would sound better than the Lyr/E17 set up I currently have? I say dumb, because I know it's subjective. SO if it's a case of, I need to just hear for myself, then you don't have to answer that question. 

I think your plan, getting the Bifrost Multi, is a good path forward. One of the local guys uses it and a Lyr 2. He recently purchased an HD800 and said the pairing was great! It's probably one of the most versatile setups available.
 
I have not heard the E17 - but after hearing the 3 flavors of Multi from Schiit, I'm done with DACs. More specifically, all the non-Multi DACs that I plan to keep are for one reason only - mobility.

 

[cscales]

Lol! I know the feeling cscales, it took me about the same amount of time to fall in love with the Cavalli sound. I remember it so clearly... Plugging the HE1000 into the Liquid Spark prototype... Hearing the air in the room like never before... And then I heard that first bass impact... I could swear my heart stopped for a few seconds. And I hadn't even touched the Liquid Crimson or Gold yet.

So yeah, I know the feeling well. When you say something similar about the Mojo, I feel like I have to know now! I'd really like to try it, but unless somebody has one at the next Chicago meet, I might just buy it. I gotta know!

Mojo-Cavalli combo!?!?! I found your post in the Spark thread. I wish I could justify going to those meets, sounds awesome!

Here's my issue presently: I love my Mojo. It is "natural sounding and effortless" (thanks Mortalcoil for a good turn of phrase) to my relatively inexperienced ears. But... I have a "problem".

I recently heard a McIntosh MHA100 with my HD800. Now I know what natural and effortless REALLY sounds like. There is a full on 3D effect with that amp. What else do you call it when the bass player is only 2 feet behind the vocalist and each has such a clearly defined sense of space that you can "see" the positioning? I know what it sounds like when the drum kit is at the back of a 30 ft stage and the vocalist is front and center, many amps do that well, but the resolution of the McIntosh was on a whole other level.

I don't get this with the Mojo listening to the same song. And I want it!

For various reasons the McIntosh is out of the question. So, with the Mojo and McIntosh as 2 reference points for discussion, I am looking for comments from people who have heard and lust for that kind of holographic playback and have heard amps that are perhaps a little more reasonably priced than the McIntosh.

To be clear, I love the Mojo to death with my Senn's but it doesn't do what the McIntosh does. How far up the food chain do I need to go? I can't be flipping amps and absorbing the losses as I go. Any definite recommendations from anyone who can relate specifically to the holographic qualities of an amp?

 

[JamieMcC]

 What else do you call it when the bass player is only 2 feet behind the vocalist and each has such a clearly defined sense of space that you can "see" the positioning?

 
Once you get a taste for Summit fi its hard to go back.

 

[Hansotek]

 

 What else do you call it when the bass player is only 2 feet behind the vocalist and each has such a clearly defined sense of space that you can "see" the positioning?

 
Once you get a taste for Summit fi its hard to go back.

 
Yep. Sorry @cscales, you're kinda screwed.  

 

[cscales]

I think your plan, getting the Bifrost Multi, is a good path forward. One of the local guys uses it and a Lyr 2. He recently purchased an HD800 and said the pairing was great! It's probably one of the most versatile setups available.

I have not heard the E17 - but after hearing the 3 flavors of Multi from Schiit, I'm done with DACs. More specifically, all the non-Multi DACs that I plan to keep are for one reason only - mobility.

+1 to that idea.

I can relate, Ellie. We seem to be mostly at the same point in our Headgear journey, so I just wanted to add:

One useful OBJECTIVE measure of worth (as opposed to subjective qualities like SQ) is how much talk a product generates. Some threads here top out at 40 or 140 posts then...nothing. Look at the HD800; 21000+!!

Same for Chord and Schiit products. Lots of buzz. What this means for me and thee is we can feel OK about taking the plunge because down the road (yah, 6 months from now) someone will want our used gear, no problem. We can afford to take the loss once or twice, at least, right?

Hope that makes deciding easier. Good luck on the journey!

 

[cscales]

Yep. Sorry @cscales
, you're kinda screwed.  

LOL! Thanks, guys. Big help you are...

 

[Fearless1]

Once you get a taste for Summit fi its hard to go back.

Unfortunately, this is so true.

 

[Mortalcoil]

I am looking for comments from people who have heard and lust for that kind of holographic playback and have heard amps that are perhaps a little more reasonably priced than the McIntosh.

To be clear, I love the Mojo to death with my Senn's but it doesn't do what the McIntosh does. How far up the food chain do I need to go? I can't be flipping amps and absorbing the losses as I go. Any definite recommendations from anyone who can relate specifically to the holographic qualities of an amp?

 
 
Look into the Bryston BHA-1.  A great value no nonsense amp with a 20 year warranty, balanced, and plays nice with the 800.
 
It offers a taste of the "holographicness" you are looking for.
 
Its on the leaner side of things as far as sound sigs go, but it has plenty of power and snap.  Its a very prescice sounding amp (hesitant to say analytical). 

 

[JamieMcC]

For various reasons the McIntosh is out of the question. So, with the Mojo and McIntosh as 2 reference points for discussion, I am looking for comments from people who have heard and lust for that kind of holographic playback and have heard amps that are perhaps a little more reasonably priced than the McIntosh.

To be clear, I love the Mojo to death with my Senn's but it doesn't do what the McIntosh does. How far up the food chain do I need to go? I can't be flipping amps and absorbing the losses as I go. Any definite recommendations from anyone who can relate specifically to the holographic qualities of an amp?

 
It would take something pretty special to see me part with my Bottlehead Mainline a Tricked out DNA Stratus would be top of the wish list but that's hard for me to justify at nearly three times the cost of the Mainline.