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Review and Measurements of Chord Mojo DAC and Amp

graz_lag

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I think they’d actually argue such reports are kinda overkill and just a distraction to their average potential customer who has no use for such things and possibly their marketing guys may of thought they would have a negative impact ?

Still what’s the harm in putting the info on their website some place, maybe they will now ... ha ha

Their marketing dpt. is certainly managed by the folks of What Hi-Fi ... :p
From the 5-stars Whathifi.com's review :

Features
There’s no display as such, but the power button lights up in different colours depending on the sampling rate of the input signal (red for 44.1kHz, green for 96kHz, white for DSD). Similarly, the lighting colour behind the volume buttons changes according to level. It’s a little confusing at first, but soon becomes second nature.
We were pleased to discover that the unit’s performance doesn’t degrade notably when both connections are in use. Chord claims an output of 35mW into 600ohms, rising to 720mW into 8 ohms.
Though it runs warm generally, it can get quite hot when charging, but this is nothing to worry about, apparently.


Sound ('Cause English is not my mother language, it will take this whole week for me to digest all this below ... :p)
Once up and running this a fabulous performer. We listen to Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions on DSD and are gripped from the unmistakable opening bars of Too High right through to the end of the album. There’s plenty of detail here, and the kind of insight into the recording that nothing we’ve heard up until the Hugo can better.
But it’s not the excellent resolution that impresses us most. It’s the Mojo’s ability to organise all that information into a cohesive and music whole that makes it stand out from the competition.
It delivers the hard charging rhythm track of Higher Ground brilliantly, communicating the song’s unstoppable momentum with real enthusiasm. The presentation is solid, full-bodied but avoids any hint of excess richness at mid- and low-frequencies.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.12 (24-bit/192kHz) confirms the Mojo’s convincing tonal balance and reveals a surefooted handling of dynamics.
It can convey power and scale when the music requires but has the finesse to make the most of the subtler passages too.
We’re also happy with the unit’s refinement. Its transparency means that poor recordings (and sources) will be easy to spot, but this DAC won’t go out of its way to be nasty.
That sense of organisation is clear here, as is the Mojo’s composure when the piece becomes demanding. There’s never any sense of stress, every note is given the space and attention it deserves.
 
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amirm

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This is not really a dig at @amirm but I've been wondering about this for a while, how do you actually quantify whether a product is good or not? I've seen you waxing lyrical about micro iDSD BL performance but not as enthusiastic with Mojo which has much superior performance in a smaller footprint (both products target the portable market but I'd say micro BL is more transportable than portable) at same price tag. Sure the micro BL has more power and features but objectively (looking at the numbers alone) you're sometimes contradicting yourselves.
Thanks for reminding me of the ifi iDSD BL as I meant to mention that in the review. :) The iFi has incredible amount of power. I have been very clear about my preference ample power so there is no audible distortion due to the amplifier. Here is its power output at 300 ohm:

index.php


Here is Chord Mojo again:

index.php


The ifi has 4X more power! It is great to see so much performance available.

In contrast, I can't assign any value to filter taps/window function in Chord Mojo.

Yes, it is smaller but if you want small, there are other choices (e.g. Topping NX4 DSD).

Rob has chosen to optimize an area of performance that simply is not something that needs further optimization.

Rob is a good designer and should use those skills around an existing chip and make it great. Re-inventing the wheel there just makes no sense to me and hence my lukewarm reaction.
 

Veri

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This is not really a dig at @amirm but I've been wondering about this for a while, how do you actually quantify whether a product is good or not? I've seen you waxing lyrical about micro iDSD BL performance but not as enthusiastic with Mojo which has much superior performance in a smaller footprint (both products target the portable market but I'd say micro BL is more transportable than portable) at same price tag. Sure the micro BL has more power and features but objectively (looking at the numbers alone) you're sometimes contradicting yourselves.

For one thing the micro BL doesn't have a little more power but TONS of power, in a little transportable device taking little space, and that on battery power to top it off! That's pretty insane.

But yes, it's pretty expensive and only measures up to "tier 3" by amir's standards. If you can get one used or on sale it's a really awesome little device though, and put it next to the jotunheim and I can understand amir's enthusiasm. Put it next to the DX3 Pro and the price difference is hard to justify except if you need gobs of power.
 
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amirm

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Sound ('Cause English is not my mother language, it will take this whole week for me to digest all this below ... :p)
Once up and running this a fabulous performer. We listen to Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions on DSD and are gripped from the unmistakable opening bars of Too High right through to the end of the album. There’s plenty of detail here, and the kind of insight into the recording that nothing we’ve heard up until the Hugo can better.
But it’s not the excellent resolution that impresses us most. It’s the Mojo’s ability to organise all that information into a cohesive and music whole that makes it stand out from the competition.
It delivers the hard charging rhythm track of Higher Ground brilliantly, communicating the song’s unstoppable momentum with real enthusiasm. The presentation is solid, full-bodied but avoids any hint of excess richness at mid- and low-frequencies.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.12 (24-bit/192kHz) confirms the Mojo’s convincing tonal balance and reveals a surefooted handling of dynamics.
It can convey power and scale when the music requires but has the finesse to make the most of the subtler passages too.
We’re also happy with the unit’s refinement. Its transparency means that poor recordings (and sources) will be easy to spot, but this DAC won’t go out of its way to be nasty.
That sense of organisation is clear here, as is the Mojo’s composure when the piece becomes demanding. There’s never any sense of stress, every note is given the space and attention it deserves.
Some version of such words is used to praise every high-end gear no matter the gear, no matter the writer. :)
 

bunkbail

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Thanks for reminding me of the ifi iDSD BL as I meant to mention that in the review. :) The iFi has incredible amount of power. I have been very clear about my preference ample power so there is no audible distortion due to the amplifier. Here is its power output at 300 ohm:

index.php


Here is Chord Mojo again:

index.php


The ifi has 4X more power! It is great to see so much performance available.

In contrast, I can't assign any value to filter taps/window function in Chord Mojo.

Yes, it is smaller but if you want small, there are other choices (e.g. Topping NX4 DSD).

Rob has chosen to optimize an area of performance that simply is not something that needs further optimization.

Rob is a good designer and should use those skills around an existing chip and make it great. Re-inventing the wheel there just makes no sense to me and hence my lukewarm reaction.
So if the product is a DAC/amp combo, you put more emphasis into power output first, then DAC objective performance? Do I get that right?
 

billqs

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While the review on What HiFi is really hyped, It's not completely wrong subjectively. The Mojo sounds great. That doesn't mean it sounds a lot different from many other dacs that are higher or lower in price. The missing piece has been objective measurements which Amir has provided.

You can look at this a couple of ways: You can say, I'll pick up the Topping that costs a good bit less, or if you are curious about the Chord sound you don't have to spend $2700 for an entrance fee. You can get the performance out of a Mojo new for $550 or used around $350.
 
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Veri

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While the review on What HiFi is really hyped, It's not completely wrong subjectively. The Mojo sounds great. That doesn't mean it sounds a lot different from many other dacs that are higher or lower in price. The missing piece has been objective measurements which Amir has provided.

You can look at this a couple of ways: You can say, I'll pick up the Topping that costs a good bit less, or you can realize that you don't have to spend $2700 to get the Chord sound. You can get it new for $550 or used around $350.

Or from a simple, steep SoX profile :D

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2018/11/musings-raspberry-pi-3-b-touch.html
 
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amirm

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@amirm One other thing I have discovered about the Mojo, it is very microphone. Give the case a tap whilst performing measurements.
Oh, that may explain the variation in measurements. Will do!
 

JJB70

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There is a whole kooky dialect used by hi-fi reviewers that you need some sort of babel fish translator for if you haven' been initiated into that world. Like that guy Zeos's classic comment about there being an audiophile dark web where you can buy $1000 USB cables etc (Zeos does have his moments!) :D
 

billqs

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I went to the Archimago link. It looks really interesting, but his background and foreground colors make it almost impossible for my 50+ year old eyes to make out. I'll look at it at home. Should be fun.
 

Blumlein 88

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snip........
Rob has chosen to optimize an area of performance that simply is not something that needs further optimization.

Rob is a good designer and should use those skills around an existing chip and make it great. Re-inventing the wheel there just makes no sense to me and hence my lukewarm reaction.

I don't know about this. He optimized the marketing of an idea. He doesn't use off the shelf chips, but custom jobs. He uses unique filtering and builds inexorably this idea it is superior in all sorts of ways that actually are nebulous in measurements, but strong in the mind of those being marketed toward. Do we even need to examine his statements about things happening at - 300db which are of strong subjective importance? This builds the web of mystery around it as most don't know what he means. Indeed maybe no one does as he never quite comes clean with it.

Why would I consider this a better use of his skills than producing some SOTA DAC/amp at this price or lower? Because of 70,000 units sold at $600. That is $42 million dollars of product. I don't think he could do that by making the best measuring SOTA DAC even if it was $600 without some special story for it to ride upon.

At least Rob's work probably is inaudibly different vs other good DACs. It has a unique shape, look, feel and operation for some cachet.

Look at Schiit. They have done something similar on another end of the spectrum. We make cheap stuff which is really good cause of us. Look at us. Read our warm human story. We are quirky too, no remote and stuff. When in fact they make literal sh*t for products. Why not? Until you started exposing their issues they had no reason to do better.

I'd say Rob has used his skills just fine. Some of his most important skills go beyond digital design.

I do wonder, even with so many taps why he used such a short transition band? Seems he would have used the 2050 or 4000 hz available instead of making it only some 375 hz wide.
 

Ron Texas

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This is another very meaningful review. The product is well known, sells for an obtainable price and is currently available new. It also falls into the popular category of portable DAC/Headphone Amps.
 

graz_lag

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While the review on What HiFi is really hyped, It's not completely wrong subjectively. The Mojo sounds great. That doesn't mean it sounds a lot different from many other dacs that are higher or lower in price. The missing piece has been objective measurements which Amir has provided.

You can look at this a couple of ways: You can say, I'll pick up the Topping that costs a good bit less, or you can realize that you don't have to spend $2700 to get the Chord sound. You can get it new for $550 or used around $350.

You're right, however as engineer I'm at each occasion surprised by these marketing people who have the ability and skills to turn around the facts, to turn technical limitations into pros.
I do not resent them for having that ability, I rather admire them. :)

Certainly, you buy more future-proof value with a Mojo rather than with a Topping, if you're prone to renew your gears often.
Though, when it comes to $ (or € here in the old Europe) per pound or grams of well engineered stuff - I take the Topping.

As Amir is demonstrating here with his measurements is the objective fact that it’s absolutely possible to design ampli/DAC combos, which are well engineered and thus, measure correctly, maybe and by chance also sound well :p, which are - last but not least, reasonably priced for their real value.
Topping is 1 example.
 

xineis

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It's certainly not bad, just overpriced. Also, Schiit is literal shit, most of their products have much worse measurements than this.

I know, I know. But people seem to think that the Mojo is some magical device, much like Schiit's. At least, it is a good performer, but nothing spectacular.
 

graz_lag

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It's certainly not bad, just overpriced. Also, Schiit is literal shit, most of their products have much worse measurements than this.

Now is late here in the old Europe, will tell you my experience with Schiit soon ...
 

Shadow12347

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Wow! I had been eyeing the Mojo for some time, and on a couple occasions almost bought it haha. Glad I didn't go through with it. This is my first post on this forum, but I have been following your reviews for a few weeks now, and I have to say, thank you so much for doing this Amir. You are really saving people from a lot of wasted time and money! Looking forward to seeing how that Monoprice THX Desktop dac/amp performs, as that seems to have a lot of promise given the performance of the Massdrop THX amp!
 

Blumlein 88

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Wow! I had been eyeing the Mojo for some time, and on a couple occasions almost bought it haha. Glad I didn't go through with it. This is my first post on this forum, but I have been following your reviews for a few weeks now, and I have to say, thank you so much for doing this Amir. You are really saving people from a lot of wasted time and money! Looking forward to seeing how that Monoprice THX Desktop dac/amp performs, as that seems to have a lot of promise given the performance of the Massdrop THX amp!
Welcome to the ASR forum.

I think the compliments in your post are exactly the sort of thing Amir hopes to accomplish here. Good information for an informed buying public.
 
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