CHORD Mojo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)

[thewas]

Are you sure about this? I thought the battery was shown to be replaceable, given the connection used.



View attachment 208048

There is no such image or option in the user manual?
Just because a battery is internally connected via a connector doesn't make it automatically officially something that a user can and is allowed to change it.

 

[Impossible]

I don't like DAPs because they are bigger, heavier and have UI that I don't like. With a device like this, you can use your phone with its familiar interface and many choices and then get optimal output power to drive headphones.

Ideally when I'm listening to music I want to be able to check and answear messages, surfe the Web, use apps and also answear calls without hassle.

This means using my phone as usual in all sorts of conditions like, in bed, outside on the move, laying down sideways on the sofa.

Keeping the mojo and phone wired in the pocket is difficult especially when it's connected to a fix length wire. It can be very tedious.

This is where wireless helps which requires the poly. This adds bulk and lowers quality.

A seperat system is much more helpful. Especially if you add the ability to add tidal, Spotify etc and can be much cheaper then mojo + poly. It also means you can have one device in one pocket and the other in another and when you need to walk away from one you can quite easily. Not to mention the ability to have balanced out, usbc.

 

[Garrincha]

I am not into portable dac/headphone amps, since I use dongles for this use case. Thus I haven't read the review of the Hidizs DH 80s before. Sure, it has a little less power, but for most headphones, using balanced output, it should be sufficient. It costs just $140. And is smaller and lighter. So the market niche for the Mojo 2 is really really small.

 

[Darkshine]

with regard to points of view, redoing the tests with another unit can be very interesting of the variation of the same product
maybe different ?

 

[PeteL]

with regard to points of view, redoing the tests with another unit can be very interesting of the variation of the same product
maybe different ?

You mean for every reviews on these pages? Or just this specific product? If the latter why this one?

 

[Darkshine]

two points of view of analysis of two models; allows to have a better evaluation all machines combined
Can awarding a rating also take something random or not?

 

[PeteL]

two points of view of analysis of two models; allows to have a better evaluation all machines combined
Can awarding a rating also take something random or not?

Yes Amir sometime does that when some measurements are controversial, if there is suspicion of faulty units, If manufacturer dispute the measurments and if there is a second unit available. But really in this case I don't see that. In PCB based electronics like that unit to unit variations is tiny unless something went wrong, unlike point to point wiring, big transformers, etc, but really I don't see how a different one would perform differently on this, unless you have a specific reason to be suspicious that's why I was asking.

 

[Somafunk]

Seeing as I rarely manage to leave the house these days due to spms I’m considering getting a decent headphone system as a change to what I hear from my Dynaudio active & sub setup, would be handy for listening whilst sat/lounging in the garden, thats if we get a few days of summer here in west Scotland. Thinking about a mojo 2 and Focal Elegia as I can get them both in a deal for £800, (mojo is usually £450 and elegia is £500ish) so the combination should be a winner. I listen mostly to electronic music so after reading reviews the elegia sounds like it’d keep me happy with the bass response and I could play about with the mojo’s dsp eq and crossfeed to tailor the sound as I want.

 

[Acerun]

Yes - but the latter is difficult to carry around in your pocket

I'd rather have an RME ADI-2 DAC FS and a Qudelix E10 with 10 band PEQ then what it would cost to buy this one thing with shipping and tax.

 

[amirm]

Seeing as I rarely manage to leave the house these days due to spms I’m considering getting a decent headphone system as a change to what I hear from my Dynaudio active & sub setup, would be handy for listening whilst sat/lounging in the garden, thats if we get a few days of summer here in west Scotland. Thinking about a mojo 2 and Focal Elegia as I can get them both in a deal for £800, (mojo is usually £450 and elegia is £500ish) so the combination should be a winner.

For stationary use, I would get the myriad of combo DAC+Amps I have tested which have more power than Mojo 2. That way the amp won't be the limiting factor. They also cost half as much as Mojo 2. This device is great if you want great performance and portability at the expense of output power.

 

[kanefsky]

I'd rather have an RME ADI-2 DAC FS and a Qudelix E10 with 10 band PEQ then what it would cost to buy this one thing with shipping and tax.

You're kind of grasping for straws when you have to compare new vs. used and include shipping and tax for one but not the other

In an apples-to-apples comparison, the RME + Qudelix (I assume you mean the 5k) costs almost double what the Mojo 2 costs (in the US at least).

Otherwise I could just as easily say I'd rather have a used Mojo 2 for 1/3 the price of a new RME + Qudelix.

There are also some people that aren't just considering cost but value simplicity, elegance, quality, aesthetics, and so on. Too many gadgets lying around can eventually drive you crazy. Trust me

 

[kanefsky]

For stationary use, I would get the myriad of combo DAC+Amps I have tested which have more power than Mojo 2. That way the amp won't be the limiting factor. They also cost half as much as Mojo 2. This device is great if you want great performance and portability at the expense of output power.

"listening whilst sat/lounging in the garden" sounds stationary, but where you'd probably be carrying the DAC back and forth all the time (I assume you wouldn't leave it outside when not in use). I think that's actually the sweet spot for the Mojo 2, although I'd still be wary of using it with USB because of the white noise issue. If it were for use while *working* in the garden then I'd suggest something more like the Qudelix 5k or iFi GO blu.

 

[Somafunk]

For stationary use, I would get the myriad of combo DAC+Amps I have tested which have more power than Mojo 2. That way the amp won't be the limiting factor. They also cost half as much as Mojo 2. This device is great if you want great performance and portability at the expense of output power.

I thought about a small desktop amp/dac from your reviews but then I’d be tied to listening in the house and at one place, my only use would be with an iPad/iPhone and camera dongle thingy so portable was my first choice so I could take it from living room/garden/bedroom as I shuffle around.

I’m not a loud listener as a rule so power shouldn’t be an issue, I very rarely listen more than 75-80 db with my dynaudios and my hearing is one of the few bodily functions that’s not buggered up by ms so I don’t wish to abuse it.

listening whilst sat/lounging in the garden" sounds stationary, but where you'd probably be carrying the DAC back and forth all the time

At the glacial speed I can move due to spms I guess a casual observer would actually say I’m stationary and there’s no chance of working in the garden, I can stand up if I’m holding onto something with both hands for support but if I let go and fall over I’m lying there till the crows finish me off

 

[srkbear]

What’s the voltage output range of the DAC? I saw that Amir tested it at 2 volts but then pushed it up “higher” but I couldn’t find how high.

This unit seems laudable enough for its limited features. But the iFi xDSD Gryphon I own is $150 cheaper, and is certainly more sophisticated and less “toy”-like in its build aesthetics. Instead of the superfluous dual SE outputs on this, it has:

—a 4.4 full balanced headphone out
—a 3.5mm SE jack
—a rear 4.4mm jack that can act as an input or output depending on whether it is being used as an external DAC
—a rear 3.5mm jack that does the same as above
—two discrete USB C jacks, one for power and one for data (although power can be added to data jack through the graphical GUI)

In addition, it offers;
—a high resolution GUI that displays sample rates and has menus to adjust filters and other features—1000 mW at 32 ohms of balanced output power vs 600 for the Chord (and I have balanced cans)
—Full MQA decoding, for those who care
—built in ieMatch (see Amir’s laudatory review of this tech)
—analog xBass and Presence enhancement tech (ASPs)
—very impressive battery life, and the unit can be run on DC power while plugged in. I can’t comment on the Chord’s battery life because this wasn’t reviewed.

I’m aware of the hit-or-miss performance of iFi’s offerings on this forum. I think it may be time for me to submit my Gryphon to Amir for testing to see if it offers a competitive alternative for this Mojo 2 (and I’ll try to do this without feeding into my long-standing vitriol against Chord as a company and Rob Watts as a “guru”—I absolutely detest the both of them and just about everything they stand for!)…

 

[kanefsky]

This unit seems laudable enough for its limited features. But the iFi xDSD Gryphon I own is $150 cheaper, and is certainly more sophisticated and less “toy”-like in its build aesthetics. Instead of the superfluous dual SE outputs on this, it has:

Other than the lighted buttons, I don't think it has a toy-like aesthetic at all. It's a very classy black metal finish. But I actually love the colored buttons. They improve my mood just looking at them, plus when I'm using it in a darkened room they make it incredibly easy to operate the device.

I'm reminded of the movie "Mars Attacks", where the Martians had these cool toy-like weapons that totally outperformed the complicated, industrial-looking American weapons

—a 3.5mm SE jack
—a rear 4.4mm jack that can act as an input or output depending on whether it is being used as an external DAC
—a rear 3.5mm jack that does the same as above
—two discrete USB C jacks, one for power and one for data (although power can be added to data jack through the graphical GUI)

More is not always better. If you don't actually need all those features and just want a DAC that does its job without unnecessary complexities or having to read and navigate tiny menu displays, then the Mojo 2 is a very nice alternative to the DACs that try to cram everything but the kitchen sink into one device.

 

[Garrincha]

I thought about a small desktop amp/dac from your reviews but then I’d be tied to listening in the house and at one place, my only use would be with an iPad/iPhone and camera dongle thingy so portable was my first choice so I could take it from living room/garden/bedroom as I shuffle around.

I’m not a loud listener as a rule so power shouldn’t be an issue, I very rarely listen more than 75-80 db with my dynaudios and my hearing is one of the few bodily functions that’s not buggered up by ms so I don’t wish to abuse it.



At the glacial speed I can move due to spms I guess a casual observer would actually say I’m stationary and there’s no chance of working in the garden, I can stand up if I’m holding onto something with both hands for support but if I let go and fall over I’m lying there till the crows finish me off

Well I would get an Topping Dx3 Pro Plus for in the house, it is about $200, and a dongle for the garden, for about $100 (e.g. Hidizs S9 Pro). The Dx3 drives about any headphone and the dongle most. It is cheap and very versatile.

 

[Garrincha]

There are also some people that aren't just considering cost but value simplicity, elegance, quality, aesthetics, and so on. Too many gadgets lying around can eventually drive you crazy. Trust me

You are seriously talking about elegance and aesthetics in relation to any chord product??? They are simply ugly as hell

 

[kanefsky]

You are seriously talking about elegance and aesthetics in relation to any chord product??? They are simply ugly as hell

Most are, but the Mojo 2 is a notable exception IMHO.

 

[amirm]

What’s the voltage output range of the DAC? I saw that Amir tested it at 2 volts but then pushed it up “higher” but I couldn’t find how high.

It is in the review.

 

[srkbear]

Other than the lighted buttons, I don't think it has a toy-like aesthetic at all. It's a very classy black metal finish. But I actually love the colored buttons. They improve my mood just looking at them, plus when I'm using it in a darkened room they make it incredibly easy to operate the device.

I'm reminded of the movie "Mars Attacks", where the Martians had these cool toy-like weapons that totally outperformed the complicated, industrial-looking American weapons




More is not always better. If you don't actually need all those features and just want a DAC that does its job without unnecessary complexities or having to read and navigate tiny menu displays, then the Mojo 2 is a very nice alternative to the DACs that try to cram everything but the kitchen sink into one device.

No menu fussiness required. The jacks are just there if you them, and I’ve used just about all of them. I have balanced Focal Utopia, Sony Z1R and Susvara cans, and the 4.4mm plug is handy (and surprising absent from all of Chord’s offerings).

There’s nothing wrong with including a significant number of features if they do the job and don’t interfere with the fundamental functions of the DAC. And in the xDSD Gryphon’s case, I don’t think they cause any problems whatsoever. However, I do find the dual 3.5mm jacks on the Mojo superfluous, but that’s just because I have no use for them.