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CHORD Mojo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)

Rate this product:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 11 2.9%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 39 10.2%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 154 40.2%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 179 46.7%

  • Total voters
    383
Once it goes into 'desktop mode' the battery is completely disconnected from the playback circuit. Power comes fully from the 5Vdc external power.

So should significantly save battery cycles.

This has changed from Mojo 1.

Yes this is a nice feature, but it's still annoying that you have to connect a second USB cable to the dedicated USB power port and there's no way for it to run off a single USB cable for both power and data.
 
"I am unclear why in this day and age of personalized music consumption, one would want to share the device with another person listening to the same content."

Maybe you can use the second headphone jack to drive a Bone Fone as a portable subwoofer. You really need separate EQ for that output though. At least a low pass filter. Maybe with a Loudness button.

 
I voted this as "Fine" due to the very high price and fugliness! Otherwise it's a very good product.
 
It should be compared with ifi Gryphon, however not so powerful, absence of usb type c and absence of a 4.4 pentaconn.
 
It should be compared with ifi Gryphon, however not so powerful, absence of usb type c and absence of a 4.4 pentaconn.

Mojo 2 does have USB-C. It also has an optical input that the Gryphon lacks, much more flexible EQ, and is about 1/3 smaller. Much nicer looking too IMHO.
 
Mojo 2 does have USB-C. It also has an optical input that the Gryphon lacks,
This is not correct about the Gryphon
1653112448486.png



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When I used headphones I used the original Mojo with MrSpeakers Aeon and had no issues at all. This unit is apparently an improvement, along with better battery life and connections.

Proof that you don't have to go to China for fabulous audio!
 
This is not correct about the Gryphon
View attachment 207916


View attachment 207915
I don't know how good it measures, but it is cheaper and 1000x more beautiful than the Chord Mojo 2. The problem is just that there is little use for it which can not be satisfied with a good dongle + smartphone. Unless you don't want to carry the Hifimann HE6se around. The crux lies in this picture (where is the source?):
iFi-xDSD-Gryphon-7.jpg
 
I don't know how good it measures, but it is cheaper and 1000x more beautiful than the Chord Mojo 2. The problem is just that there is little use for it which can not be satisfied with a good dongle + smartphone. Unless you don't want to carry the Hifimann HE6se around. The crux lies in this picture (where is the source?):

It's personal preference obviously, but I think the Mojo 2 is much more attractive with its smaller, minimalist design and cool colored buttons versus the much busier design of the Gryphon. I think I've already answered the question about why dongles are insufficient or undesirable for many use cases.
 
It's personal preference obviously, but I think the Mojo 2 is much more attractive with its smaller, minimalist design and cool colored buttons versus the much busier design of the Gryphon. I think I've already answered the question about why dongles are insufficient or undesirable for many use cases.
Yes you answered it, but I unfortunately didn't get it. What is it, the optical input or power or battery? Because I think all this three problems can be overcome.
 
Serious question, what is the technical difficulty in building such a sharp reconstruction filter?
1. higher latency (audio delay)
2. higher memory/CPU usage

It would be interesting to see how this one performs in terms of latency compared to some other DACs.
 
Yes you answered it, but I unfortunately didn't get it. What is it, the optical input or power or battery? Because I think all this three problems can be overcome.

The optical/coax input is the big one, since my sources are an AV system and digital piano that don't have USB audio (plus I need to use 20-30' cables). The battery is only important in the sense that it allows for a more powerful amplifier than you can get via a dongle with only a tiny bit of power available over the USB data connection.
 
Nice review @amirm , I wasn’t expecting a Mojo 2 to be reviewed for a few more months!

Attach a Poly to this and you have a very small all in one package. I still find it amazing when I’m travelling that this combo is holding 1tb of my music collection, no cables involved and gives me some EQ options and crossfeed (for me personally, essential for headphone listening). Fold down a pair of Dan Clark’s and you’ve got a terrific system that can be taken anywhere.

I know historically the Poly was plagued with software issues but I’ve only had one in the last year when most things appear to be resolved. I’ve had zero issues, works perfectly for me.
 
Ignoring Robs copious BS mixed in with genuine researched science when addressing info-hungry lay audio people at his presentations, he does do some great designs (I suspect his business and marketing head rules though). I'd only want a small desktop dac to hide away and you can (still) get some good ones at a fraction of the price (although Topping is getting more expensive now for various reasons and maybe others will follow).

Am I the only one who detests with a passion those ghastly Micro USB sockets? I'd suggest they can fail if only slightly 'strained' by snagged cables...
 
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Great work @amirm, did you get any funny RFI or whistling caps noise? I sold my Mojo (Original) because of that. Otherwise is a decent one indeed but I am happy with E50 and D50 :)
 
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