raif71
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CHORD Mojo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)
- Thread starter amirm
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- #242
As I explained earlier, the graph lacks resolution to quantify the slope there. So you need to just evaluate it by eye and see how sharp the drop off is, relative to the lazy ones that is typical.
Well, the Lecson is a real beauty, amazing design, could have been from Apple. No comparison to Chord, though.
Well, it, no doubt, will drive some more difficult headphones than the most powerful dongles to date, but in general I agree.
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If the only use case you can imagine is plugging it into your phone, then I don't totally disagree with you (unless you have fancy headphones that need a powered amp). If you're plugging it into a high-end AV system where you need an optical input and your speaker amp weighs 50 lbs, then a cheap plastic dongle wouldn't work and wouldn't seem very appropriate even if it did.
Sure, but as Amir himself seemed to suggest there are many other desktop options available at less cost that outperform this unit. I think it only competes fairly in the portable category, and even then there are other portables with more features that are arguably competitive with this. I’m not taking sides in regard to the MQA issue, but in this category and price range I suspect many consumers (not referring to me) would prefer the competition from FiiO, iFi, Zorloo, Shanling or HiBy that may not measure as well but are compatible with Tidal and cost less.
The area in which it performs admirably is in its DAC section, and even that is limited to a fairly modest voltage output (4.3V max, compared to my D90se’s 5.4). I just think Chord is resting on its laurels with their DAC designs—they cater to their devoted audience and their historical pedigree—and really aren’t offering much in the way of anything new, innovative, modern, or feature-rich.
We can also argue about the advantages of balanced connections but there must be some reason many DAC manufacturers, including portables, are adopting pentaconn outputs—folks are apparently using them. And yet Chord is wasting space and circuitry to build in two equally-powered 3.5mm headphone jacks, and who has been clamoring for that, especially in a personal device this tiny? Again, it just seems out of touch with the zeitgeist.
Anyway, just my take!
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staticV3
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Since when is 4.5Vrms lukewarm for a single-ended DAC?
Apparently you can, but I see nothing in their included accessories that offers an OTG cable that is designed for iOS devices, so I would have guessed that the CCK would be necessary—but another user on here has apparently had luck with it working without it. I think it would definitely depend on the generation of your iPad though. There are many other portable DACs, including offerings from FiiO and iFi, that now come with both iPhone and iPad OTG cables that don’t require the kit.
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Where’d you see that? Amir’s graph said it operated optimally between 3 and 4.3 volts—my Topping soars nicely at 5.4. And that extra 1.1 volts makes a big difference in clean headroom for my amplifier.
staticV3
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Amir's SINAD vs Vrms sweeps are really coarsely stepped, and so often lack resolution.
The THD+N vs Power sweeps on the other hand have much finer resolution.
69.73mW at 300Ω = 4.57Vrms
If you only care about the most features for the lowest price, then the Mojo 2 isn't the best choice regardless of category. But lots of people are willing to pay for premium quality and would rather buy an Audi than a Hyundai (or whatever example you'd like to pick) even if it doesn't go any faster or have more features.
There's also a whole continuum between "portable" and "desktop." The Mojo 2 is a great size to go along with a laptop like a MacBook Air or a full-size iPad when you're sitting on the couch, for example.
OK fair enough (although I’m not sure why Amir would offer this recommendation given his usual vigilance). But in my real-world scenario my amp can tolerate higher voltages and I experienced significant improvements when I upgraded to a higher voltage DAC. This issue was not a prominent point in my post either way—this feels a tad nitpicky. But I do defer to your expertise on the matter.
You don't need a special cable to connect the Mojo 2 to a USB-C iPad. Just a regular USB-C to USB-C cable. You're probably thinking of iPhones or old iPads with Lightning connectors.
I would hardly call this Mojo 2 an “Audi”, let alone categorize something from FiiO or the other brands I mentioned (except maybe the Zorloo) a “Hyundai”. C’mon, that couldn’t have been more attuned to their marketing materials had Watts said it himself. This is a decent unit, with a nicely-executed DAC section and nothing more—it’s bare bones in terms of features and the ones it has (such as the dual SE outputs) are superfluous.
It should be fairly evident that I’m no Chord fan, and that is primarily due to their exorbitant price points. You invoking luxury cars only feeds into that. It’s not earned, it just isn’t.
No, I’m intimately familiar with iOS devices and would not make that mistake. Not all USB DACs are compatible with Apple’s data ports, including on the iPad—although admittedly I could not say for sure without trying this one out. Many still require the CCK. If you have a Mojo 2 and it’s working with your iPad, I’ll happily defer to you and correct my statement. But that doesn’t imply that I’m out of touch.
Is this some effort to reduce the arguably fair criticisms I made into a dismantling of my brain wattage in favor of lining Chord’s pockets? What’s so exciting about this overpriced toy? I don’t get it.
You're perfectly welcome to your own opinion. Some people love certain brands of cars and some people have an aversion to those same brands. Same with DACs. I personally find the Mojo 2 to be a beautiful and elegant piece of gear, with just the right size and features for a couple of my significant use cases. It performs very well and it's got excellent build quality, a really nice finish, really great tactile buttons, and cool playful colors to indicate volume and other things. Some people might not like it, but that's true about anything (at least I have actual experience with one, unlike almost everyone else here). I personally think most of the iFi, Fiio, Topping, and similar stuff looks like junk for example (with a few exceptions).
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Well I've plugged my Mojo 2 into an iPad with a random USB-C cable and it worked great, but what do I know? As far as I know there isn't even such a thing as a USB-C camera connection kit.
In some ways arguing that a product like this is expensive misses the point for the intended market. People like me will look at this and say 'great, but for £400 it does nothing for me that I can't do perfectly well with a £10 dongle or wireless headphones'. Chord know that and aren't bothered in the slightest. They are interested in those who might actually buy this product, and then you have to consider the price in the context of what the target market wants. People buying gear like this want to spend money. And while it is not my thing, who am I to criticize others for their choices or because their take on audio is different to mine? I can think of much worse ways to spend £400.
There definitely is, I own two—but if it’s working for you, then I was mistaken. No offense intended!
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