[bflat]

this might be a really stupid question. i'm looking to upgrade my dac and amp for my pc. i pretty much only use iems and have been considering a chord mojo due to the numerous recommendations of it and description of its amazing resolution. as i am a sucker for retro design and cool looking stuff (imo the mojo is ugly), i'm really attracted to the wa8 and am thinking of saving up for one rather than buy a mojo in the near future. these are obviously not comparable in terms of price, but does the wa8 beat the chord mojo in terms of microdetail, resolution and texture?

If micro detail, resolution, and texture are important to you, stay away from tube amps. Not to say tube amps can't give you a good amount of that, but in the context of Chord DACs, the recommendation is to not amp those at all. This is of course assuming you have headphones that can resolve what the Chord DACs can deliver.

 

[Buster1679]

My recommendation is go for Mojo.

I believe the Chord products have the most detailed, resolving dacs I’ve heard.

I own Mojo, Hugo 2 and WA8.

I love them all and won’t get rid of any of them. But if I had to pick one after hearing them all & considering price. I would choose Mojo and be a very happy man.

Good luck choosing

 

[Ike1985]

My recommendation is go for Mojo.

I believe the Chord products have the most detailed, resolving dacs I’ve heard.

I own Mojo, Hugo 2 and WA8.

I love them all and won’t get rid of any of them. But if I had to pick one after hearing them all & considering price. I would choose Mojo and be a very happy man.

Good luck choosing

Nevermind

 

[Joseph Lin]

this might be a really stupid question. i'm looking to upgrade my dac and amp for my pc. i pretty much only use iems and have been considering a chord mojo due to the numerous recommendations of it and description of its amazing resolution. as i am a sucker for retro design and cool looking stuff (imo the mojo is ugly), i'm really attracted to the wa8 and am thinking of saving up for one rather than buy a mojo in the near future. these are obviously not comparable in terms of price, but does the wa8 beat the chord mojo in terms of microdetail, resolution and texture?

I think if you have right headphone/iem, then the differences between dac/amp will not be as significant. What kind of iem are you using? I have both Mojo and WA8, I found Mojo too artificial and warm. WA8 is smooth and still able to maintain details. If you are going to pair WA8 with U18t or Forte, then you will not be disappointed. If micro-detail is what you are looking for, Hugo2 maybe a good choice.

 

[491326]

f

I think if you have right headphone/iem, then the differences between dac/amp will not be as significant. What kind of iem are you using? I have both Mojo and WA8, I found Mojo too artificial and warm. WA8 is smooth and still able to maintain details. If you are going to pair WA8 with U18t or Forte, then you will not be disappointed. If micro-detail is what you are looking for, Hugo2 maybe a good choice.

funnily enough I'd be pairipg with the a12t. still waiting for it to ship tho...

it's probably not as detailed as the a18t or the fourte but when I heard the a12 I thought that was plenty articulate (i have pretty bad ears...)

in the end tho, I'll probably get all three at some point (mojo, wa8, hugo 2) (and maybe a18)

thx!

 

[Jalo]

Has anyone played with the upgrade tube for the WA8 yet? GE or Sylvania tube that replaces the 6021 tube? If so like to hear some feedback or impressions.

 

[Joseph Lin]

f

funnily enough I'd be pairipg with the a12t. still waiting for it to ship tho...

it's probably not as detailed as the a18t or the fourte but when I heard the a12 I thought that was plenty articulate (i have pretty bad ears...)

in the end tho, I'll probably get all three at some point (mojo, wa8, hugo 2) (and maybe a18)

thx!

In my opinion, you can skip mojo. I am not a fan of mojo and since you will get hugo2, why mojo again?

 

[491326]

In my opinion, you can skip mojo. I am not a fan of mojo and since you will get hugo2, why mojo again?

i see, thx for the advice, i'll skip it

 

[Ike1985]

f

funnily enough I'd be pairipg with the a12t. still waiting for it to ship tho...

it's probably not as detailed as the a18t or the fourte but when I heard the a12 I thought that was plenty articulate (i have pretty bad ears...)

in the end tho, I'll probably get all three at some point (mojo, wa8, hugo 2) (and maybe a18)

thx!

I think you can skip Mojo if you're getting Hugo2, I see no reason why I'd want to listen to Mojo if I had Hugo2.

 

[eaglejo]

I've got the Mojo and the H2. Just bought a WA8 to see how it might work into the equation. I use the Mojo at work and the H2 in my home office. I find the H2 to be a little too much of a good thing with iems. I've got Kaiser Encores and I prefer the Mojo with them. The Kaiser Encores with silver wire sound great with the Mojo. Fatiguing with the H2. Now have them cabled with some Copper Litz which is getting me closer, but not where I want to be with the H2.

I love tubes, so the final solution might be Mojo/H2 feeding the WA8 at work and in the home office.

Given my sonic preferences (front-row, meaty, energized wall of sound), I tend to go with a detailed/dynamic dac into tubes. I've always had the best success that way. By success, I mean my preferred sonic habitat.

If I could only keep one, it would be the Mojo. All of these require a decent digital signal into them. I'm using UltraRendu/LPS1.2 in the home office and a IsoRegen/LPS1.1 at work.

In my main rig (Rethm Trishnas, Triode Labs 2A3, Zotl2, Auralic Vega), I tried the Hugo 2 direct and it sounded completely flat and boring.

Not sure if this helps or simply muddies the waters. I've cycled through enough gear to know what I like. What I like is often not a mfr's top offering. You just get to a point where there's simply too much detail and it completely alters what I listen to. 99% of my listening is via Tidal, so that certainly colors the decision.

And yes, I've got a turntable and several TBs of ripped cd's. I don't want to be a d-bag vinyl-phile, but my vinyl rig consistently trounces everything else. The problem is that I'm too lazy to listen to vinyl all the time. I'll binge on it for a bit, but invariably go back to Tidal. I now simply migrate to that which results in me listening to the most music.

 

[Buster1679]

I’ve got exactly the same set up and have been loving it.

Every know and again, I disconnect the H2 and listen to it on its own and visa-versa with WA8. However, I always reconnect and use H2 as DAC and WA8 for tubes. I feel this combo is about as good as it gets.

I also have Mojo travel.

I’ve bought a few albums via HD Tracks but now I find the access to Tidal easier and just use that for music.

Interested to hear your thoughts on H2+WA8.

 

[dstubked]

I have the wa8 now with a focal utopia and I really love this combination. It gives me more joy than my desktop yggy + wa22 (yes i know i am screwed). I’m not good with audiophile terms of describing bass / treble etc etc..but when your body starts tapping to the music you will know you have a winner.

I got a H2 inbound and I am quite interested to A/B them and even do a H2 + WA8. Will post my impressions soon when I get the chance.

 

[eaglejo]

I've had the WA8 for several days now. On it's own, it is simply a great unit and I think it's sonics are completely consistent with the price. I bring it to work with me and listen to Tidal all day and then take it home for my office rig. With the H2 it simply is amazing. I view it as a transportable desktop rig. For the most part, I don't view it's sonic attributes under the guise of "for a transportable" unit. It doesn't quite have the drive/prat of the H2, but it's still really good. When you combine the two, you're getting a stellar combo with infinite flexibility. At work, I use recabled Oppo PM3s/Kaiser Encores and love the sonics of the H2/WA8 combo. For me, I know gear is really good when it doesn't alter the music I listen to.

So, if I had to sell all of my audio gear which would fund a lot of other things, say an Airstream, I'd keep the WA8/H2 combo. The f u part of the combo is that you'd be really happy with the WA8 solo, until you heard the two together.

I have to imagine the WA8/H2/Focal Utopia combo would be about as good as it gets for something transportable. You'd have to go with a mondo expensive desktop rig to beat it.

I think the Aeon Flow Closed would be a stellar combination as well with the above.

 

[Zachik]

I think the Aeon Flow Closed would be a stellar combination as well with the above.

WA8 (using internal DAC) driving Aeon Flow Closed - is an amazing combination! Speaking from personal experience

 

[bflat]

I am curious to try out the H2 or Qutest as a DAC for WA8. At the moment I am using a Schiit stack of Mimby and EITR. Compared to the internal DAC, I feel that the Schiit stack has more accurate/tighter bass and smoother highs without a loss of detail. I suspect the Chord DACs have a similar effect but add more resolution on the top end.