Chord Mojo 2

I did see that - though not sure I'm willing to shell out over $100 for 2' of digital coax cable. I came across someone on HF saying they had BJC make a custom 3.5mm > RCA digital coax, which likely cost well under $50 - I think I may pursue that option (and then possibly see if I can trial Moon Audio's Black Dragon to compare the two later on).

 

Belden 1694F (stranded) is cheap, cheerful and better than 90% if the aftermarket stuff. Also works in short or long lengths. There's a theory out there that long is better. I disagree. Don't believe it. If you believe in direction, this one seems to be better opposite the print of the samples I've tried.

https://www.markertek.com/product/1...-1694f-flexible-sdi-hdtv-rg6-bnc-cable-3-foot
The BNCs are rather transparent so just get adapters for the ends if you can't get it purpose made.

I use a crazy priced dig cable in my home system but this is close enough to anything that I tried for a couple hundred or so. Here's one I made for my MOJO.

 

Hi, I recently got the Mojo 2 and agree with your impressions here, the Resolution, Clarity, Detail... are good on the Mojo 2 but I'm missing the Slam, Organic Timbre, Wider and Larger soundstage that my EF400 can provide. Now, I know it's not fair to compare a large Desktop DAC/Amp to a tiny Portable DAC/Amp but I'm curious to know what you'd recommend to someone looking for a good portable DAC/Amp that has the above things.

As it stands, at the moment I'm not getting much engagement from the Mojo 2. Maybe, I need to get used to the signature (it's been a month) or maybe it'll pair nicely with some higher priced gear but with my Hook-X, IE 300, Edition XS & Diana, I just don't enjoy the Mojo 2. I had the micro iDSD Signature before and remember enjoying it a lot more. I sold it because it was cumbersome to use on the go.

 

I’m sorry I have been out of the portable audio game for a while now and I am not fully updated on what options are available in the portable land. I picked up the Mojo2 to act as an interim desktop DAC until I received my Abbas DAC.

Perhaps the iFi Gryphon? It has a smaller form factor and I have seen some folks prefer it over the Mojo2 for those reasons you have mentioned.

 

I see, that's unfortunate. I look into some of the other options. Thanks for your time.

 

Before you do anything else, did you try using a good source - Mojo is extremely sensitive to source, and sucks when used just with direct to pc usb connection. It sucks so much i'd rather use an Earmen Sparrow dongle.

I'll give some examples that benefit the Mojo hugely to get from robotic/unmusical/digital sounding to smooth, clean and musical.

1 ifi micro usb > mojo usb
2 ifi micro usb > m2tech hiface spdif > mojo 2
3 ifi micro usb > m2tech hiface spdif > ifi spdif decrapifier optical out > mojo 2
4 poly (local sd card files) > mojo 2
5 bonus: run Mojo 2 in desktop mode with 5v ifi xpower

All of the above net huge improvements, ranging from 20% to what seems 40% (for the optical combination i outlined).
I assume good cd transport and other decrapifiers especially with optical out will net similar results.

I find especially no 3 combination nets me desktop level sound; bettering RME ADI 2, Hiby RS6 (which got rated higher than the EF400), equalling Apogee Element (but being slightly more colored in an engaging manner).

I also have the ifi Gryphon - I like it a lot and it sound more organic but a little fuzzier/warmer/looser than the Mojo 2. Thing is if you give the right environment to the Mojo it outshines it and simply sounds more impressive by couple of levels... however if you really like the ifi burr brown sound then maybe the Griff is a better option

 

I really like the Mojo 2 from work laptop (Lenovo P16) with the iFi iGalvanic 3.0.

Besides that, I, too, found that the Poly playing SD card local produced the best sound.

 

I too rated the Poly as the "best" source for the Mojo in comparison to bunch of decrapifiers I have, however I might have to backtrack that statement a little - as using the combination below seem to net a little more relaxed, wider and more organic sound which I enjoy a bit more in comparison to Poly which is a little sanitised/robotic almost - it might be the usb vs optical on Mojo 2 characteristic, and multiple decrapifiers in sequence with optical out perhaps is superior.

ifi micro usb > m2tech hiface spdif > ifi spdif decrapifier optical out > mojo 2

It is a clusterf**k of cables though..

 

dig out from a good dedicated source (non-PC) while in fixed gain.

 

Tonight I figured out how to get audio out via optical out on the Apogee Element - plugged the optical cable in Mojo 2 and had my mind blown - never heard Mojo 2 sound so fantastic; warm, wide, explosive but also controlled - essentially it took on some of the characteristics of the Element (which is good). Apogee are wizards when it comes to digital signal processing/reclocking; i'm fairly sure it sounds better than any of my decrapifiers or sources (ifi/m2tech/Poly etc).. I'd be happy to have the Mojo at the center of my main hifi setup like this.

If you have an apple computer lying around and can get a used apogee element, it'll best most if not all sources for your Mojo.

 

As a side note. Best dig out of a PC that I've heard has been via obsolete firewire and a Weiss int 202. Other devices that used that DICE II chip like the TC Konnekt 8 were also VG via asio. Sort of meaningless in this current PC environment but I still prefer it to the current USB interfaces I've come across though it's gotten much closer.

 

Don’t know about all these decrapifiers etc with the mojo 2.

i was auditioning mine with the Ifi galvanic. Which helps my Marantz DAC quite a bit but didn’t do a thing for the mojo as far as make me like it more.

still was too laid back, timbre meh and all the other negative attribute the OP mentioned.

I actually much preferred the first mojo.

i think all this dumb SINAD stuff forced Chord to make something that was completely linear and measured great , but didn’t sound as good.

the first one had this super cool deep immersive soundstage and huge sound. It sounded like there was DSP applied to ‘ alter’ the sound. But I really liked it as a different sound.
I sort of expected the same thing when I got the mojo2 and was kinda sad when I plugged it in and it sounded like most other DACs.

 

I just got a Jack to stereo RCA adaptor and plugged in my reference coax RCA cables to my preamp
Worked like a charm.

 

We have talked about this on Discord already a few times. Mojo2 responds to Optical in from a decent source quite a bit better than a similar caliber USB source. But it still doesn’t improve it in the aspects where you dislike the Mojo2, so Optical in wouldn’t have helped in your case.

Chord had intentionally tuned the Mojo1 to be a bit warm to appeal to the mass market. But many folks found the M1 to be too warm and an odd ball in Chord’s DAC family. I am not sure why they made the move to a more neutral sound for the M2, but I am pretty confident it was for anything but submitting to ASR’s SINAD demands.

Is it possible you are reminiscing your M1 experience with rose tinted glasses? While I never got to compare the 2 devices side by side, I actually find the M2 to have a more spacious and deeper stage than the M1. And I have seen folks who own both devices confirm the same.

 

Don’t know. Maybe

i just remember at the time nothing impressed me in my then DAc search except the mojo and the benchmark DAC3 in its lows.
The mojo 1 and benchmark DAc were the ones I kept the longest and went back and forth with them.
DACs like the topping D90 SE I almost listened to for a second and hated it and put it back in the box. Lol. Well not exactly. But nothing made that DAC sound remotely good. Was one of the worst DACs if not the worst I’ve ever heard. No joke.

the mojo 1 just had this really grand sound I liked and was on the fence about keeping.
Was really different in a good way.

 

Sorry for the delayed response, I was busy with stuff at home. @limesoft thanks for your suggestions about using USB decrapifiers with the Mojo 2. My PC Gaming Motherboard has an Optical Out slot so I tried pairing the Mojo 2 with the Optical Input and there definitely is an improvement. Having said that though, I'm currently thinking of selling my Mojo 2.

The Mojo 2, when using Optical Input, sounds pretty good. The problem is, I bought the Mojo 2 for portable use and not for Desktop use. For Desktop use, my EF400 has more Organic Timbre, Wide Soundstage, better Dynamics and most importantly more Power to drive my Headphones better. The only thing that the Mojo 2 does better than the EF400 is to have a bit more precise Imaging & a bit more detailed presentation.

To improve the portable setup, I'd have to either invest in the Poly which is too overprised IMO and also there's a simple fact that I don't have any use for most of it's features or I'd have to get a DAP or source (X10 T II) that has Optical Out. It seems like too much troble for me after using DACs like BTR7, Gryphon, RU6... that had much simpler usability and weren't so source picky.

As for the Mojo vs Mojo 2, I could not stand listening to the Mojo for more than a few minutes. It was so intimate and pumped out so much detail (detail that lacked texture) in the small stage that it gave me a headache. Mojo 2 is better but even my LG V60 has better stage width, which is disappointing to me.

 

That’s actually interesting that you bring up the very intimate soundstage which bothered you after a bit.
As much as I thought the mojo 1 was cool. There were times that the super intimate soundstage got a bit claustrophobic at times.

agreed. And good observation.

 

Kicking up some dust here, but has anyone happened to compare the Bifrost 2/64 with the Mojo 2? If so, has that changed your perspective on either the B2/64 or the Mojo2?

 

I’ve been enjoying the CF Ara with the Poly/Mojo2 combo, but today I noticed a constant hiss from the Aras while plugged in.
I don’t get it from the Dragonfly Cobalt I had laying around and test it, which tells me something else is going on…
It doesn’t change with volume, it’s just there all the time.
Both outputs have the same…
And disconnected Poly, didn’t change anything.

Any ideas of what to test next, or if someone has the same combo and can report back?

I’m sure I haven’t heard hiss like this from the combo before….

EDIT: I'm pretty sure it's me being silly and not paying enough attention during the first weeks of listening + being on the road / planes / trains etc. This won't work for me. I've returned the Mojo2/Poly combo and will look for something else. Desktop combo for IEM's and potentially full size cans down the line....
But the Ara's need something else.

 

Picked up one of these during Black Friday for $550 + tax. Wow, does this user interface ever suck balls. I guess that's what you get when you spend all your budget on the DSP and enclosure and have $5 left over for everything else. I've only used it as a combo DAC/amp so far, driven off Audirvana Origin on my Mac. It seems to be a bit of a chameleon depending on the headphones. It reminds me a bit of Piety in that way though the synergies are different.

Aeon Closed X (used with no foam/filter) is a really good combo with the Mojo 2. It tightened up the somewhat blunted detail on the Aeon from top to bottom, and that in turn made the Aeon feel faster and slammier. Probably as a consequence, the tendency of the Aeon's soundstage to collapse to two planes on the outer sides of the headphone seems to greatly reduced, though not entirely gone. Really nice effect on this headphone which needed something to help it stand out in my collection. Just one bit of texture that I really enjoyed on this: Shostakovich 11, Pletnev/RNO on Pentatone (SACD DSD rip), 2nd movement, starting at about 11m40s or so. The texture of the trombones has a tendency to get lost, but here it stands out really clearly without losing anything else in the mix. Honestly just superb overall.

I was really interested to try the Deva Pro since it has surprising synergy with the Sony NW-A306's digital amplifier (and with the MMB2+Piety stack, but in a completely different way). Unfortunately the Mojo2 didn't do anything positive for it. Detail is reduced and the combo sounds thinner and perhaps a touch brighter. It's interesting since the Aeon and Deva are pretty close in impedance and, tuning aside, didn't feel all that different in detail on most amps. Piety also has an opposite effect on the Deva Pro, which mellows out and fills in while keeping the same "speakers in a treated room" presentation, and Aeon, which gets unbearably piercing.

DT1990 and 6XX both feel like they lose some bottom end on the Mojo 2. I haven't tried the DSP yet but so far it doesn't seem like it's doing hi-Z cans any favors. Zen CAN remains my favorite for both of these. Elegia gets blurrier and some ways and sharper in others. It's nice on ambient music (FSOL etc) but it doesn't do anything to fix its tonality on orchestral music.

More testing and use as a DAC on the other side of moving.