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Chord Mojo thread

RoA

pfm Member
I am absolutely bowled over how much enjoyment this little item gives me.

Its difficult to put a finger on what exactly it is that it does so well. Rob Watts has his own technical explanations but to be honest, they are going over my head.

It is so coherent and ... complete that I usually forget to analyse music and just drift away with it.

I would not call it super analytical but in its own way it is. It's just that this is not done in the usual dry, lean and super widely spaced way rather it is all packed in to a wonderful 'compact' whole that has pin point staging, filigree detail, no harshness, lovely dynamics and just flows.

I think it was Currawong on Youtube that said that the remarkable thing about it is not the 'darkness' between notes but the way the Chord fills this in.

It is not Headphone or system agnostic. Although I do not have really expensive Headphones it drives them all and it does it well. Same as Stand alone DAC in my systems.

I love the 'balls' (they are not balls anymore). I find them entirely intuitive and enjoy that they are different. I take that anytime over a cramped, tiny display.

Build quality is first class.

Not so good things; As discussed many times elsewhere, Micro USB belongs in another era. Chord carried it over for use with its Poly but it's a pain. It was done for cost reasons but the Poly has been out for years so a slight re-design to USB C would not have done it any harm.

The case, although real leather and nicely made, was nearly 50 quid. Nothing gets cheaper and there are no alternatives (there is one on Amazon but it is till around £40) so I bit the bullet. Nicely protects the unit.

There are no nice accessories included. A rudamentary plastic case, even a bag and a few nice cables (ala iFi) would have been nice.

Add your thoughts, good or bad, if you have one.

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I've had a Mojo since they came out, over 5yrs now. It is superb, in its clarity, vibrancy and even handedness. I completely agree re build quality and the simplicity of the control. I like, a lot.

I've always used mine as a desktop dac, optical input from laptop, feeding my headphone amp (which is utterly transparent to it, but adds a tactile rotary volume control and hilarious diy overkill on ability to drive anything.)

At some point I'll include a photo in the 'pic of your headphones' thread.
 
Recently bought a mk1 and thought this is good but the Apple connect kit is a ball ache. But the purchase of Poly and its ability to be a new Roon end point is a game changer for me and sound quality has gone up too! I bought a leather slip case rather than the hard case for £25 which keeps both ends open for connection .. Really luv this little combo and listen to this more than my main rig.
 
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Have you been toying with the DSP features?

I have and they are very effective but I leave them usually just flat. The Chord seems to drive my HP's with less need for EQ as compared to the MB Pro M1 14 (which is said to have a good HP stage). It's easy to make adjustments on a broader scale but the DSP here is not for fine adjustments of narrower peaks or dips. Xfeed is useful too but better adjustment is available in Roon.
 
Just listening to

Duke-Ellington-Money-Jungle-album-cover-820.jpg


Roon 44khz/24 bit (Tidal)

Through MacBook USB out to Mojo and this time my lowly but lovely 58X Jubilee.

Oh my. The warmth, clarity, impact and dynamics are so nice, it takes me to a New York Studio, September 17, 1962.

High hats have an incredibly long reverb trail until they eventually disappear into thin air and there is no 'digital grain'. Drums hit hard and the double bass has that lovely wooden resonance. The music has body and dare I say ... soul.

This combination costs just over £600, source and subscriptions excluded.

There is no Hifi system in the world that probably would even approach 40% of this, probably less for this price.

It makes me wonder what the rest of Chords DAC's/HP amplifiers can do but with the Hugo TT2 costing close to £5000 I'll never find out.

I re-iterate, just how Chord can sell this for £500 (not made in the PRC), I really don't know.

To put the above in to perspective, my experience/knowledge of HeadFi is limited.

I have a Grado, Beyerdynamic, Meze, Hifiman and the above Sennheiser. I don't have any other 'specialised' Headphone amplifiers other than the Chord but both my Hegel and Cyrus amplifiers are said to have excellent Headphone stages as has my MacBook Pro M1 14 2021. None of them quite have the SQ of the Mojo though. Individually they do good things but all lack in areas.

Hope this helps anyone on the fence on whether to get this little Chord.

Of course, we all like different things but I can't imagine too many objecting to the balanced but fun signature of the Mojo 2.

Ergonomics may be another story but this user likes it, a lot.
 
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i think if i did not have Roon and used the crossfeed setting i would likely upgrade to a mojo 2 fairly quick, even tho the original mojo is sooo good!
 
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i think if i did not have Roon and used the crossfeed setting i would likely upgrade to a mojo 2 fairly quick, even tho the original mojo is sooo good!

I have not heard the Mojo 1 but differences are not said to be huge. Some prefer the original.
 
I have often been attracted to the Mojo but would want to use it in an amp/speaker setup.
I presume there would be some drawbacks with that.
 
the mojo 2 allows for permanent desktop arrangement to protect the battery, for a mojo 1 simply undo the 8 allen screws and unplug the battery from the board. The other down side tho is cables enter at both ends (headphones out one end and usb power and data the other).
 
Love my Mojo2 as well.

The balls - yep, brilliant for making adjustments in the dark or dimly lit spaces (which is how most of my headphone listening is done)

Crossfeed - Invaluable. Does a great job without sounding unnaturally intrusive (I prefer it to Roon’s, plus I’m not always connected to Roon)

Intelligent desktop charging - perfect. At home I normally have the Mojo permanently connected to a RPi4 with a pair of USB-A to micro USB cables between them, using the RPi as a streamer and a charger.

Doubtless the DSP-EQ is good as well but I don’t appear to need it with my modified HD-650’s.

I briefly compared my Mojo 2 to my TT2 in my main speaker system and didn’t think it was embarrassed. From memory I would say it could well be at about Qutest level (having compared TT2 to Qutest in the past), would have to do a side by side comparison to be sure. Obviously the Qutest is nowhere near as convenient purely for headphone listening, so well done Mojo 2.
 
I have often been attracted to the Mojo but would want to use it in an amp/speaker setup.
I presume there would be some drawbacks with that.
I use my original Mojo as my only DAC. Works perfectly in the main system. All you need is a mini-Jack to stereo phono cable, or an adapter that allows you to plug in your preferred interconnects. Easy!
 
the mojo 2 allows for permanent desktop arrangement to protect the battery, for a mojo 1 simply undo the 8 allen screws and unplug the battery from the board. The other down side tho is cables enter at both ends (headphones out one end and usb power and data the other).

Hi HiFi-Dog,

Please can you post a link to the slip case that you use for the Mojo/Poly.

Thx
 
I have been using the Mojo for a couple of years when I stay with my father. The music via my old Sennheiser HD250 Liniear IIs or Quad ERA1s is excellent.

I then got a Poly and loved the lift in sound quality that it gave. I have never used it portably.

A few weeks ago I bought the Mojo2. I would not say that this a revelation wrt the Mojo. I bought it for the battery management. That said, I DO find the crossfeed works well. I also use a Hugo TT in my near field system where I find the crossfeed to add little.

I confess I have not experimented with the DSP ....yet; enjoying what it does flat.

I was surprised when I started experimenting with Roon, which is now also installed on my laptop and so available when I am away from home. Roon + Mojo/Mojo2 I found to be better than Bubbleupnp/Mojo(2)/Poly ......and this was via the most basic of USB cables.

I grabbed £500 worth of DDC and some expensive cables and replaced the cheap USB with this via the coax input, the winner? El cheapo!

I also use The Qutest on the end of an M-Scaler in my main system. I have not played with the Mojo in either of my other systems, might have a play.
 
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I have been using the Mojo for a couple of years when I stay with my father. The music via my old Sennheiser HD250 Liniear IIs or Quad ERA1s is excellent.

I then got a Poly and loved the lift in sound quality that it gave. I have never used it portably.

A few weeks ago I bought the Mojo2. I would not say that this a revelation wrt the Mojo. I bought it for the battery management. That said, I DO find the crossfeed works well. I also use a Hugo TT in my near field system where I find the crossfeed to add little.

I confess I have not experimented with the DSP ....yet; enjoying what it does flat.

I was surprised when I started experimenting with Roon, which is now also installed on my laptop and so available when I am away from home. Roon + Mojo/Mojo2 I found to be better than Bubbleupnp/Mojo(2)/Poly ......and this was via the most basic of USB cables.

I grabbed £500 worth of DDC and some expensive cables and replaced the cheap USB with this via the coax input, the winner? El cheapo!

I also use The Qutest on the end of an M-Scaler in my main system. I have not played with the Mojo in either of my other systems, might have a play.

That is some impressive hardware you are comparing the Mojo to.
 


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