mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
Here's a review of the Mojo that I wrote recently 
Lets start with Nina Simone’s “Don’t let me be misunderstood.” Sorry, that song wasn’t by Nina, that was by the Mojo, because the Mojo is (in my humble opinion) one of the most misunderstood DACs out there. To start with, while it looks pretty tacky with those plastic bubbly lights on photos, the build quality is actually excellent once you hold it in your hand and get a feel of it. The finish is in a very nice deep black colour, it is heavy, it is smooth and it just feels right in my hand. It comes in a very basic packaging, with one small charging cable, but ultimately that’s all you need. So far so good.
Let’s talk about the portability. While the design is somewhat misunderstood, the portability is (again, imho), severely misunderstood. The Mojo is a “portable” DAC in the sense that you can use it both while cooking on the kitchen counter, and also while you’re laying down on the couch, or at your office desk. The Mojo isn’t really “portable” in the sense that you can plug your IEMs in it and walk out on the street doing your little dance enjoying a nice day out with your music. That is, unless you want to look like a Christmas tree covered in cables from head to toe. The battery life is decent but far from excellent, so using it on a long day out will soon turn in 1) a logistical nightmare and 2) the battery might just die on you. According to spec it’s around 8 hours but I’ve found it to be a bit less than that during regular use.
Speaking of Christmas trees, the Mojo becomes somewhat portable during winter, when you find yourself having an additional jacket pocket, and you can keep the source in your trousers, adapter hanging out, USB cable connecting the adapter to the Mojo, and then your IEMs coming out of the Mojo. It also tends to heat up quite a bit, so using it during summer on the go really isn’t advisable.
On to the sound – and once again, a major misunderstanding. I got mine about 6 months ago, used it for a few days, and then stashed it away, thinking I was almost scammed as my Andromedas revealed a deeply unpleasant, constant hiss. The sound was quite bloated, not very precise, with little detail. It was a matching that was as bad as any I’ve tried, my simple Dragonfly Red did a much much better job. Scroll forward a few months, my DAP had no battery, and I found myself fiddling with the Mojo in my hands, so I figured, why not try it with my Focal Elegia. I expected nothing, but hey, when you’re bored enough anything will do.
Sweet lawd almighty. I listened to half a song, paused. Looked at the Mojo. Looked at the Elegia. Put the Elegia back on my head, listened some more. The rest of the day I don’t remember much of because I was simply entranced by the sweet perfection of the sound, it was unlike anything I imagined the Mojo or the Elegia could do. Instantly I went to the audio store and tested it with a range of headphones, all to a similar effect, even though not quite as exaggerated. I mean, the Mojo easily outperforms my RME ADI2 DAC when it comes to Elegia pairing (I’m a sworn RME fan but I simply have to admit the superiority). On a more technical level – the Mojo is quite warm, very detailed, with an extremely intimate and pleasant, fun presentation of the sound. A true hidden gem. The treble doesn’t suffer either, though it does feel slightly recessed compared to the mids, which are its absolute biggest strength from my experience.
All in all, in the correct setup, I believe that the Mojo is an absolutely stellar DAC, and has a place in any collection. It does take some effort to find a correct pairing for it though, one that allows it to really shine and show off its strengths. That being said, I believe that the time for an update/refresh is somewhat overdue. For one, I’d really appreciate it if I could bypass the battery entirely and use the Mojo as a desktop DAC with a power supply – that would get rid of the battery overheating issues and it would make it a much more lasting product. Some more options would be nice too, such as bass/treble knobs, or a gain switch. The ability to drive two headphones at the same time isn’t something I ever found myself using, and I don’t think I ever will, mostly because of the different sensitivities, meaning two sets of headphones usually require different volume levels.
Lets start with Nina Simone’s “Don’t let me be misunderstood.” Sorry, that song wasn’t by Nina, that was by the Mojo, because the Mojo is (in my humble opinion) one of the most misunderstood DACs out there. To start with, while it looks pretty tacky with those plastic bubbly lights on photos, the build quality is actually excellent once you hold it in your hand and get a feel of it. The finish is in a very nice deep black colour, it is heavy, it is smooth and it just feels right in my hand. It comes in a very basic packaging, with one small charging cable, but ultimately that’s all you need. So far so good.
Let’s talk about the portability. While the design is somewhat misunderstood, the portability is (again, imho), severely misunderstood. The Mojo is a “portable” DAC in the sense that you can use it both while cooking on the kitchen counter, and also while you’re laying down on the couch, or at your office desk. The Mojo isn’t really “portable” in the sense that you can plug your IEMs in it and walk out on the street doing your little dance enjoying a nice day out with your music. That is, unless you want to look like a Christmas tree covered in cables from head to toe. The battery life is decent but far from excellent, so using it on a long day out will soon turn in 1) a logistical nightmare and 2) the battery might just die on you. According to spec it’s around 8 hours but I’ve found it to be a bit less than that during regular use.
Speaking of Christmas trees, the Mojo becomes somewhat portable during winter, when you find yourself having an additional jacket pocket, and you can keep the source in your trousers, adapter hanging out, USB cable connecting the adapter to the Mojo, and then your IEMs coming out of the Mojo. It also tends to heat up quite a bit, so using it during summer on the go really isn’t advisable.
On to the sound – and once again, a major misunderstanding. I got mine about 6 months ago, used it for a few days, and then stashed it away, thinking I was almost scammed as my Andromedas revealed a deeply unpleasant, constant hiss. The sound was quite bloated, not very precise, with little detail. It was a matching that was as bad as any I’ve tried, my simple Dragonfly Red did a much much better job. Scroll forward a few months, my DAP had no battery, and I found myself fiddling with the Mojo in my hands, so I figured, why not try it with my Focal Elegia. I expected nothing, but hey, when you’re bored enough anything will do.
Sweet lawd almighty. I listened to half a song, paused. Looked at the Mojo. Looked at the Elegia. Put the Elegia back on my head, listened some more. The rest of the day I don’t remember much of because I was simply entranced by the sweet perfection of the sound, it was unlike anything I imagined the Mojo or the Elegia could do. Instantly I went to the audio store and tested it with a range of headphones, all to a similar effect, even though not quite as exaggerated. I mean, the Mojo easily outperforms my RME ADI2 DAC when it comes to Elegia pairing (I’m a sworn RME fan but I simply have to admit the superiority). On a more technical level – the Mojo is quite warm, very detailed, with an extremely intimate and pleasant, fun presentation of the sound. A true hidden gem. The treble doesn’t suffer either, though it does feel slightly recessed compared to the mids, which are its absolute biggest strength from my experience.
All in all, in the correct setup, I believe that the Mojo is an absolutely stellar DAC, and has a place in any collection. It does take some effort to find a correct pairing for it though, one that allows it to really shine and show off its strengths. That being said, I believe that the time for an update/refresh is somewhat overdue. For one, I’d really appreciate it if I could bypass the battery entirely and use the Mojo as a desktop DAC with a power supply – that would get rid of the battery overheating issues and it would make it a much more lasting product. Some more options would be nice too, such as bass/treble knobs, or a gain switch. The ability to drive two headphones at the same time isn’t something I ever found myself using, and I don’t think I ever will, mostly because of the different sensitivities, meaning two sets of headphones usually require different volume levels.
Then, followed by release of a new 64 Audio IEM in a few weeks where it will be "rinse and repeat again" 