CHORD Mojo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)

[thewas]

I have never claimed the battery is user replaceable. It might well be but that’s not what I was saying.

You on the other hand, claimed “the battery is non replaceable” implying once it fails, you toss the whole thing in the bin. It’s misleading and not even stated from a place of knowledge. That was my point.

This back and forth is not really serving the discussion so I’ll leave it there.

Any battery is replaceable in some way as it got in there, but this is not relevant for a sustainable and user friendly product, but only if it can be done by anyone and battery replacement is easily available, as otherwise the buyer has is in the fate of the maker company support and longevity. For example on modern flatscreen TVs changing the display often costs more than the whole TV new, this is not a real and expedient solution. This is also the reason why the "right for repair" gets more and more important in a sustainable world and will be also get into laws, for example https://repair.eu/de/news/the-european-parliament-calls-for-removable-and-replaceable-batteries/

 

[kanefsky]

I bristle at the DAVE selling for >10 grand given that it’s almost eight years old and has much in the way of obsolete tech. I disdain Rob Watts’ arrogance and many dubious scientific claims he makes about his gear to justify its price point. I am appalled by what he is charging for his portable streamer (that requires two components to work unless you buy his DAC), given that an RPI can do everything it can at a fraction of the cost. Mainly it’s about their price points, which I think are grossly unjustified.

At some point it becomes more like art, fashion, or jewelry and you're no longer paying for what the device does but for how it looks/feels or you're trying to impress other people.

 

[welsh]

Thanks for the review Amir. Overall impressive measurements for a portable DAC although expensive at $800; it's definitely a Chord product.

Can I plug my iPad into this using the USB-C input port? Do I need Apple ‘camera kit’? Advice gratefully received!

 

[Jimbob54]

Balanced connections help drive my Susvaras. Do you even own the Gryphon, or are you just trying to justify your purchase of the Chord? Can’t they both have merits and flaws?

If the Gryphon measures equally well to the Mojo 2, then by price alone the Gryphon is a far better choice. We’ll see…

I fear, being ifi, the Gryphon will not measure anywhere near as well as the Chord.

We may be surprised. And measuring less well of course does equal sounds worse. But being ifi, I would expect a spray of relatively high harmonic distortion.

 

[Garrincha]

I bristle at the DAVE selling for >10 grand given that it’s almost eight years old and has much in the way of obsolete tech. I disdain Rob Watts’ arrogance and many dubious scientific claims he makes about his gear to justify its price point. I am appalled by what he is charging for his portable streamer (that requires two components to work unless you buy his DAC), given that an RPI can do everything it can at a fraction of the cost. Mainly it’s about their price points, which I think are grossly unjustified.

Many other overpriced boutique products come at least with impeccable look and feel, whereas the Chord products, while measuring okish, are pricy AND ugly as hell.

 

[HansHolland]

Many other overpriced boutique products come at least with impeccable look and feel, whereas the Chord products, while measuring okish, are pricy AND ugly as hell.

that is your opinion, I like the looks, but not the functionality

 

[Garrincha]

that is your opinion, I like the looks, but not the functionality

So you are telling me you like the look of the $10k Chord Dave??

 

[srkbear]

I fear, being ifi, the Gryphon will not measure anywhere near as well as the Chord.

We may be surprised. And measuring less well of course does equal sounds worse. But being ifi, I would expect a spray of relatively high harmonic distortion.

I agree and I’m fully prepared for that outcome. I also own the iFi Pro iCAN Signature amp that has not been reviewed here (its predecessor has).

I bought these before I became involved in this site and thus far haven’t known what I don’t know—but I did pair the Pro iCAN Sig with a Topping D90se upon this site’s recommendations, and I love my setup. I rarely use the portable, but the inclusion of the analog bass enhancements are what drove me to both iFi products, along with the ieMatch, which solved many problems for my high-impedance cans. Amir found similar results in his review.

As far as their power conditioning woo, I just ignore it.

 

[kanefsky]

So you are telling me you like the look of the $10k Chord Dave??

I very much like the look of the Mojo 2. I very much dislike the look of the Dave. Clearly there are people who spend a fortune for paintings, sculptures, dresses, earrings, hats, or whatever that most people would consider hideous. There's no accounting for taste as they say.

 

[xykreinov]

Why would I want this rather than a DAP with a screen and android operating system?

Many DAPs, even pricey ones, have surprisingly bad audio hardware for what they are.
LG's flagship phones since the V30 have had better DACs than most DAPs, and at least some phones can be rooted for use with things like Viper4Android. I can't really stand Android without root.

Regardless, I agree portable DAC/AMPs are silly most of the time. Forget the signal-to-noise ratio of the hardware, what's the signal-to-noise ratio in regards to noise from park you're at? Or the bus you're on? Or your gym?
It's likely often difficult to hear a difference in a blind test between the external DAC and the player's DAC in a quiet room, let alone a noisy public area.
Unless you have some specific professional need or you're that guy walking around with a belt clip and giant inefficient cans, I just don't get it.

 

[srkbear]

I don't own the Gryphon, but I do own the RME ADI-2 DAC and ADI-2 Pro, Benchmark DAC3, Matrix Audio X-Sabre Pro, Qudelix 5k, iFi GO blu, Fiio Q3, Sony PHA-3, and probably some others that I forgot . There's a few I've sold or returned as well.

I'm the first guy to point out the pros and cons of anything. I've given praise to the Mojo 2 for some things but also said that I wouldn't use it at all in certain circumstances, for example. I'm not sure the Gryphon would be my choice for any of my use cases.

Those are all good options you have. I’ll send in my Gryphon and we’ll see. I’m personally happy with it, but I’m fully prepared to be disappointed by its measurements, based on iFi’s (and Burr Brown’s) track record on this site. IFi’s amps have done better on here than their DACs.

But one technology they developed that Amir gave his approbation for that has gone unnoticed on here is their ieMatch feature, which has solved many issues for me with my less sensitive cans. And it’s one of the Gryphon’s selling points for me with my Susvaras and Utopias, along with the 1000 mW of balanced power. I can get far more clean headroom without clipping with the ieMatch engaged on the 4.4mm jack.

 

[srkbear]

I very much like the look of the Mojo 2. I very much dislike the look of the Dave. Clearly there are people who spend a fortune for paintings, sculptures, dresses, earrings, hats, or whatever that most people would consider hideous. There's no accounting for taste as they say.

Well of course but all the items you just mentioned are valued primarily for their aesthetic technique and creativity alone, so their principle selection criteria pertain to taste, as do their price points. I would hardly place the design of this Chord Mojo 2 in the same category as fine art or couture (I think we can all agree that we’d be embarrassed to buy a DAC, or any other technical device, with a design pretentiously drawn from cubism or abstract Impressionism ).

I really don’t place aesthetics very high on my list of factors influencing my audio gear purchases. I just think the Chord offerings are somewhat bizarrely “toy like” in appearance, in stark contrast with their portentous claims to greatness and their ultra-premium price points. And I find their form factors very difficult to integrate into a workable system, given their frustrating lack of stackability or compatibility with rack mounts. They also seem to be teasing a modular construct of late, requiring their components to be used together to optimize performance and ergonomics, and I always find such forced “ecosystems” infuriatingly manipulative and gimmicky.

 

[HansHolland]

So you are telling me you like the look of the $10k Chord Dave??

ehh, yes

 

[dc655321]

the upgrade to the upper registers from the original Mojo is really nice.

What ”upgrade” are you referring to?
The 20-22kHz extension?

 

[kanefsky]

Well of course but all the items you just mentioned are valued primarily for their aesthetic technique and creativity alone, so their principle selection criteria pertain to taste, as do their price points.

I freely admit that the size/shape/look/feel of the DACs I've chosen has often been as important as the performance. I'm in the camp that thinks the differences in performance are very small among many of the best DACs. Just like someone might pay a lot more for a coat based on how it looks and feels even if there are many less expensive coats that are just as warm or even which have more features (e.g. pockets).

(I think we can all agree that we’d be embarrassed to buy a DAC, or any other technical device, with a design pretentiously drawn from cubism or abstract Impressionism )

DACs are a relatively new category, but if you look at things like speakers and amplifiers you'll see that there are lots of designs that are almost as outrageous. There's a recent Most aesthetically pleasing amplifiers thread on this site with some interesting examples.

I just think the Chord offerings are somewhat bizarrely “toy like” in appearance, in stark contrast with their portentous claims to greatness and their ultra-premium price points.

As I keep saying, it's a matter of taste. I don't think "toy like" is necessarily in contradiction with "premium." "Toy" can refer to the aesthetic rather than being a reference to quality. The toy like appearance of the Mojo 2 is definitely about aesthetics because the build quality is very high. There are some high-end brands like Meridian and even NAD that have a certain toy-like aesthetic but are very high quality. I think my favorite example from the aforementioned thread is this Lecson:

 

[Madlop26]

I voted low, performs quite well but...$800???, not good, when you think there are powerful dongles that measure pretty well at $100 like the E1DA 9038S Gen 3, or the more luxurious W2 131 at $300 that I am itching to get.

​

 

[manisandher]

Claim to fame of Chord DACs is their high-tap reconstruction filters. I was pleased to see it deliver the best performance I have seen in just about any DAC:
View attachment 207896

Amir, I don't understand this. How is only -40dB at Nyquist good, let alone "excellent"?

 

[srkbear]

I freely admit that the size/shape/look/feel of the DACs I've chosen has often been as important as the performance. I'm in the camp that thinks the differences in performance are very small among many of the best DACs. Just like someone might pay a lot more for a coat based on how it looks and feels even if there are many less expensive coats that are just as warm.



DACs are a relatively new category, but if you look at things like speakers and amplifiers you'll see that there are lots of designs that are almost as outrageous. There's a recent Most aesthetically pleasing amplifiers thread on this site with some interesting examples.



As I keep saying, it's a matter of taste. I don't think "toy like" is necessarily in contradiction with "premium." "Toy" can refer to the aesthetic rather than being a reference to quality. The toy like appearance of the Mojo 2 is definitely about aesthetics because the build quality is very high. There are some high-end brands like Meridian and even NAD that have a certain toy-like aesthetic but are very high quality. I think my favorite example from the aforementioned thread is this Lecson:

View attachment 208264

Oh, I have no disdain for toys! I have a huge collection of big boy toys like vintage drum machines and synthesizers and real toys like consoles and handheld games and you name it. It isn’t that I look down on toys so much as I want to paint mustaches on how dead-serious Rob Watts is about the eminence of his credentials as a heavy-weight scientific mind, and the astronomical costs he levies at those who want to buy a piece of his brilliance.

I just think Chord is a bit too enamored with themselves, and they never hesitate to disdain less costly alternatives that measure better than what they have to offer. And I think you have to gulp hard to dismiss something like a D90se, with technology that is seven years (a lifetime in technological terms) ahead of the DAVE, which remains their flagship offering.

But that’s just me. I can’t deny that their home brew tech often manages to perform exceedingly well, and I don’t judge anyone who opts to invest in their gear. I just wish that some of them weren’t so snooty about it—the DAVE thread on Head-Fi is something else…

 

[kanefsky]

Oh, I have no disdain for toys! I have a huge collection of big boy toys like vintage drum machines and synthesizers and real toys like consoles and handheld games and you name it. It isn’t that I look down on toys so much as I want to paint mustaches on how dead-serious Rob Watts is about the eminence of his credentials as a heavy-weight scientific mind, and the astronomical costs he levies at those who want to buy a piece of his brilliance.

I just think Chord is a bit too enamored with themselves, and they never hesitate to disdain less costly alternatives that measure better than what they have to offer. And I think you have to gulp hard to dismiss something like a D90se, with technology that is seven years (a lifetime in technological terms) ahead of the DAVE, which remains their flagship offering.

Now you're talking about dubious claims about performance, which I agree with 100%. To Rob's credit, at least he does achieve very good performance and he is doing something unique and non-trivial to achieve it. I don't find that nearly as objectionable as charging ridiculous prices and making ridiculous performance claims about cables, for example, or putting a fancy package around cheap off-the-shelf electronics and then making claims about the performance based upon the fancy package rather than what's inside.

 

[srkbear]

Now you're talking about dubious claims about performance, which I agree with 100%. To Rob's credit, at least he does achieve very good performance and he is doing something unique and non-trivial to achieve it. I don't find that nearly as objectionable as charging ridiculous prices and making ridiculous claims about cables, for example, or putting a fancy package around cheap off-the-shelf electronics and then making claims about the performance based upon the fancy package rather than what's inside.

On this we agree 100%.