Chord "Mojo"

I would go as far as saying that neither the Chord Hugo nor Mojo can drive a full-size Heaphone properly.

 

Can't say about the Hugo but HD650 with the mojo sounds lame.

 

Think it was meant for me asking if there was anything besides it and a go v2+ for portable dac duty . really want to go for the schiit, but I am moving (constant voltage changes) and need a portable device for dac duty when using my laptop. I guess I'll just keep the Go V2+ infinity and add a alo cdm or cv5 amp, hoping the tubes will help the analytical nature. Not the best value but something I can use. No mojo.

 

Modi MB can be used readily with various voltages (115V or 230V). You just need to get a second wall-wart with the appropriate voltage specification, and use one or the other given your current location*.

* just make sure to never use the 115V wall-wart in a 230V country...

 

Nice to know!!! But is it recommended to use schiit products cold without warm up? Modi seems small. Will consider!

 

Hard to tell for sure. I have a Modi MB and by precaution (and given nervosa) I make sure it is fully warmed up before I listen to it (and never listen to it before that), but I can't say I've heard a definitive worsening/improvement with a cold/warm unit. Though I haven't looked closely into this either.

Generally speaking, though, Modi MB should be much less affected by warm-up issues than, say, Yggdrasil.

Of course it depends on your mileage, but yes Modi is indeed small and somewhat "portable".

 

I gotta say that is going a bit far. I won't be able to say until later this week how they fair with the HD 650, but they drive my more efficient HD 600 and they drive them just fine. Now, you can prefer something else more (as I do a well), but as a technical matter I think they can drive the 600. Of course, my HD 600 sounded way better out of the EC Studio as would be expected. But that is not a knock on how good I feel the Mojo does with the 600, particularly in light of their portable/transportable use case. While I don't think it is fair to compare them to desktop DAC/amp setups I will say that I prefer the Mojo to my Liquid Carbon with the 600 even when dropping the Mojo in as a DAC with the LC.

I have also tried the Mojo with other cans, including Audeze and felt they could drive them quite decently. Again, better performance form the correct dedicated gear, but I don't feel that the Mojo couldn't drive the (in the sense that I would say that an Iphone alone cannot drive any Audeze well). Will be interested when I demo my Mojo with a 800S and HD 650, hopefully each later this week.

 

In that sense even my HTC One can easily drive the HD650. I don't think we are talking about loudness levels here. In terms of gain the mojo has lots of it but the sq has quite a number of issues. Even the Modi2/magni2 sounds more convincing.

 

I think. Mojo drives the 650 fine, but it definitely sounds better through the Valhalla 2,without a doubt. But, if you don't want to carry additional shit with you, mojo is fine in a pinch. For its size and portability, I think it does well.

I'm far from a Chord fan boy, and don't think the Mojo is the end all be all off dacs, but it is a great device for its price and size. I like the dac portion, and I think it's a noticeable improvement over my Cowon P1 with Valhalla for the hd650s. Doesn't sound as good without the Mojo.

 

I am not talking about mere loudness/gain.

My Liquid Carbon can clearly drive the HD 600/650 in any meaningful audiophile sense of the word drive (not just loudness), but I don't think it is that good with them (not bad either, just meh). But because there are better choices doesn't mean it is unable to drive them. Similarly, there may be better choices/preferences than Mojo but I think they can adequately drive a significant number of full-sized headphones based on my person experience. Sure, my Iphone can make my AKG and Senn loud but they are unable to drive them in any meaningful way in that it lacks real bass response, has distortion issues at acceptable volume levels and other issues. I do not have those issues with the Mojo with these same cans.

 

What issues do you feel it has? Out of curiosity, are you running the Mojo as both dac and amp, or are you using an external amp with the Mojo? Personally, I think the amp section (or whatever you want to call it since it's technically not an amp) is the weak point of the Mojo.

 

Mojo as dac+amp is ok sounding. Good timbre, clean background, no treble glare. Pair it with a resolving amp and things go downhill. Slow and cloudy bass, average reaolution, thick mid bass, lack of refinement and air, overall congested, d̶e̶c̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶d̶y̶n̶a̶m̶i̶c̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶.̶ .
Don't know why I said that.

 

Totally agree with the black background. I add it to me creative E5 for watching movies, incredible setup for movies.

 

These many short comings :O, i never realized ... even though i was listening directly from Mojo from last 10 months

 

Remember everything is relative...and at the end of the day it is about enjoying the music. The fact there may be something better out there should in no way invalidate the real enjoyment you get out of your system. If you wait for perfection you'll be waiting forever.

 

Very true. There are some shortcomings in my existing setup as well. However it meets my threshold. I also feel that you have to live with a product to properly evaluate it. A/B comparison only tells immediate changes but not necessarily the inherent issues. Although it does give a fair idea of the potential.

 

Enjoying the Mojo very much with my newly-acquired modded HD 650. Had some concerns because the 650 is a bit harder to drive than the HD 600,but the Mojo has been a champ with the 650.

So far, the Mojo has done exactly what I wanted it to do - act as a substitute in my bedroom for a bedside table stack of some sort. It may not perform at the level of a budget schiit stack, but it is fine for the circumstances I am using it in and I like its sound signature as a DAC/amp combo. Not sure it would be the best as a stand-alone DAC although I have been dropping it into my stereo system occasionally until I get something better.

 

I will add that the Mojo is inadequate for the HD 800 though. In a pinch sure it is better than a phone, but it really doesn't do it justice, nor did I really expect it to.

 

I eventually bought the Mojo.

I had given positive impressions here before.

My friend had lent me his for a few months, and when i gave it back to him, i did seriously miss the sound, so i pressed the trigger.

After much listening and testing i can say that it is the perfect match for my inn ears (nothing too fancy, RHA T20i's, TFZ Series 3, and various cheapies).

I use it mostly together with my Fiio X3 via coaxial spdif, with the Fiio being the digital transport. Wonderful combination, i have the feeling it sounds a lot better than when i pair the Mojo with my phone via Usb OTG.

I might listen to it with my full size headphones (Sennheiser HD800 and HiFiMan HE-500), it seems to drive them adequately when you listen simple program not full orchestral. The inability to effectively drive is evident especially if you add a good headphone amp in the chain and hear the difference. I have no complaints though, because i listen to my full sized headphones mainly on my Mjolnir fed by my custom Soekris R2R dac.

Out of my various Windows pc's it sound good also but with slight (non repeatable) discrepancies in sound quality which i can only attribute to the Mojo's usb receiver. I use it very little with my PC's so no major complaints there either.

The thermal protector cutout has engaged a few times during playback and simultaneous charging, but only in the summer with ambient temperatures over 35 degrees centigrade, so understandable.