After two and a half years of incredible discipline (of not spending on audio), I threw caution to the wind (and much of my bank balance) in the second week of August, 2016. For nearly three years, I was content with the combo of Clip+ and Noble 4C because my music listening sessions have dropped to maybe one per month and the cost of any upgrade was prohibitive. But, at the back of my mind, I was thinking about a DAC upgrade - something that can play DSD, something that is not a desktop rig / heavy brick, something that can work with phones as well as PC/Laptop.
The result is in the above post.
It all began with RCOM upgrading my seven-year-old CDMA connection to 4G GSM. I bought a Moto G4+ phone to use the SIM card. Since I had not much use for the phone itself, I bought a 64GB microSD card and copied all my music to it. I then bought PowerAmp to play. On a whim, I also bought Onkyo HF Player. But then, none of my DACs had the capability to play DSD - Leckerton UHA6S MKI tops out at 16/44, DacMini CX does 24/96 (I often forget that I have an unused HRT Music Streamer I, which also does only 16/44). I was just searching Head-fi out of curiosity; one thing led to another and by the end of the evening, without any solid research or thought, I had ordered a Chord Mojo from Headphonezone. That was on Friday the 12th, it might as well been Friday the 13th. The next day, still under the influence of harmful chemicals that only secrete from the brain when one browses Head-fi and has some bank balance, I went ahead and ordered a Schiit Wyrd along with a Schiit PYST cable.
The next two days were pure frustration. I had a busy schedule and was about to leave by Friday morning. I expected that Mojo would arrive on Saturday and I would be able to test it peacefully for the next two days. I assumed parcels from Chennai would reach Coimbatore the next day. After all, even if I parcel myself in a train, I reach Chennai the next morning. But that is not how Bluedart operates. It prolonged my agony and delivered everything at one go only by Tuesday evening. I didn't have much time. The only thing I did was to run DSD and Hi-res files downloaded from 2L site just to check whether Mojo actually works.
If I had loved it, of course, I'd have written a review despite the fact that
- I have left audiophile lingo far behind (I remember bass, treble, mids)
- My audio gear is antique (and hence comparisons have no relevance)
- I hate critical listening (20 mins after posting that photo, I stopped. In another time, I'd still be comparing)
- I do not have as much free time as I used to (and if I do, I'd rather sit in front of TV, which requires much less mental effort).
However, I thought I'd just post some brief, random, sporadic thoughts:
- Though many have compared Chord's design to Fisher Toys, operating the buttons on Mojo is more like operating a second (metal) cousin of the pod from eXistenZ.
- I've so far had 6-7 listening sessions of varying lengths. My impression for the first three sessions had been a big "Meh!". I was expecting to be blown away by the sound of something which was comparable to higher end DACs several times its price. After all, Hugo was the last product I read a lot about on Head-fi. MoJo was supposed to be "almost Hugo" at 1/4th the cost. What I actually got was something very similar to Leckerton UHA-6S, "may be a tad better", "may be a bit more detailed?", but not something which really blew me away. If it had, I'd have opened a new thread immediately.
- I invested a lot in the MoJo related accessories. The things I least expected to be useful have turned out to be very good.
- I bought an Anker PowerPort 5 along with Anker Powerline cable to charge Mojo while listening. It has proved to be extremely useful (as in charging both my phones / iPad)
- I didn't think Schiit Wyrd would be any useful. After all, it is just a costly single powered USB port and I always believed "digital is digital". However, after using Wyrd with both Mojo and DacMini CX, I can say it makes a great difference. It does not alter the sound signature, but adds more definition. I think it may have more to do with supplying adequate USB power (not loudness - like Clip+ can drive certain headphones 'loud enough', but you will always feel a difference running the headphone through a good amp).
- Not all of the items turned out to be good though!
- Headphonezone on initial inquiry mentioned that FiiO L21 can be used with the Coax input of Mojo. I tried to use one with Coax out of QLS QA50 Mod v2. It did not work. Turns out, the 3.5mm end of Mojo requires a 2-pole connector.
- I also bought an Audioquest JitterBug (which you can see in the photo). Both Schiit Wyrd and Jitterbug refused to work with Leckerton UHA6S. With Wyrd, the DAC is detected, but there's lot of noise. With JB, the DAC is not even detected ("The last USB device you connected has malfunctioned"). I tried it with Mojo (Moto G4+ as source) and DacMini CX (Laptop as the source). To my ears, JB adds a bit of Mid-bass (slightly recesses mids) and thickens the note (which takes away a bit of micro detail). So, I'll be returning it tomorrow.
I was briefly comparing Mojo, DacMini, and UHA6S today. Though these are not "audiophile standard" comparisons, here are a few random observations. I tested with Noble 4C as well as HD600. Mojo trumps the other two when it comes to functionality.
- It is the only one that could play DSD (and > 24/96 via USB).
- The volume control is incredible. Both the Leck and CX are loud enough at the lowest volumes. An accidental turning of the knob would render me deaf. But, from the lowest level, Mojo takes many presses of the + button, which means it is the only one which will allow low volume listening with a custom IEM (like Clip+). The transition between levels is very smooth without awkward jumps (looking at you (very old) Burson HA160 with your stepped volume control).
- The separate charging port is a great idea.
- Two headphone Jacks is a good idea as well.
- Much like UHA6S, Mojo is 'portable' (or carry-able), but not really pocketable. I could briefly 'pocket' G4+ and Mojo (tied awkwardly with a silicone band). But, it is not such a great idea to have a hot, slightly heavy metal object in your pant pocket.
- I don't know if it's just my brain, but Mojo starts to sound a bit better after say 10-15 mins. The first 2-3 tracks are sort of just 'OK'. Once, thinking that I might just be imagining this, I went back and played back the first track and 'felt' it sounded better now.
- I am not quite sure, but I've read some reviews mention that MoJo does better with Hi-Res. I only have 16/44 with a little bit of 24/96. I doubt I'd venture into DSD beyond playing the 2L test tracks once or twice. I am yet to do any serious listening comparing 16/44 and 24/96 for which I'd need both versions of the same mastering (Vinyl mastering / original 24-96 mastering may be superior in most cases, certainly in the case of Opeth's records where there's no abrupt DR (compression) transition from acoustic to 'heavy' passages in 24/96 Vinyl rips which have higher DR). But, I'll try to do a 'general' listening test of 16/44 vs 24/96 and DSD material later on.
- Going back and forth between the three, it does not feel like anything is 'inferior', just 'different'. Sure! DacMini CX suffers from the lack of good dynamic range (soft sounds are louder) and hence does not have a great sound stage depth. UHA-6S may not be as 'analytical' or micro detailed as Mojo (which does bring some brief awesome moments once in a while, not with music I am too used to, but with infrequently listened to music), but they all have a good mid range, not so shabby bass and decent highs. None of them is 'cold' sounding. The timbre is better and the micro-detail is more evident with Mojo, but I'd not do a 'dustbin mod' on UHA6S or DacMini because of Mojo. That is the general feeling I have.
- Sound stage-wise, I did not get the feel that Mojo has much depth or width than UHA6S. I did not get an "out of head" feel, but it could be due to the fact that I was using 4C. May need to try with different IEMs / Headphones.
Other general observations:
- While it takes time (I am still not used to it), the rainbow colored volume buttons are at times useful. Though it does remember the last used volume setting (like any player or DAC ought to), one time on startup, it nearly blew my ear away with Noble 4C (I used 4C last, so not sure why it went to what seemed like 'line out' level). But, intuitively, it is much easier to remember something like a volume level of 69/100 than blue with a tinge of red and blue.
- I briefly used it with QA350's optical out (using the same Sys.Concepts cable I use with QA350 -> UHA6S). It seemed like a very good transport as usual.
- I liked the combo of HD600 as well as CustomArt Music Two with Mojo.
- With 4C, I've liked some sessions, not so much into others. The session I liked most, I used Laptop -> Wyrd -> Mojo -> 4C. The session that had me a bit confused was the one with G4+ -> iKare OTG -> (Jitterbug) -> Mojo's microUSB cable -> Mojo -> 4C. While JB had the 'coloration' issue mentioned above, it also seemed like Mojo's imaging was off. The items front of the sound stage seemed fine, but the instruments at the back of the sound stage were diffuse. I don't know if I can explain it better, but it is like this - Imagine three instruments at different depths in the sound stage, one behind another. The depth position has to be clearer for you to ascertain that A is in the middle of your head, B is slightly behind and to the right and C is deeper and to the left. Now, if their exact Y and Z position seemed a little unclear and they all sound at equal volume, the brain gets a little confused about the exact X-Y-Z coordinates of each sound. With JB, it seemed that these positions were clearly defined. That was the only session where I had this effect, but not with others. Not sure if it makes any sense!
In short,
Chord Mojo ticks all the boxes in the functionality department. It clearly provides something lacking in my collection - a great volume control, format support, a separate charging port, twin headphone jacks - all in a portable form factor. But, sound quality wise, it does not sound like an "end game" DAC to me. Now, I have not listened to any high-end (or just out of my reach priced) DAC-AMPs. But, you don't have to necessarily listen to SR-009 or HD800 or HE1000 to know that HD600 is not the 'end game headphone'. In the absence of other sub-$1000 DACs (GoV2 often comes up) or $1000+ DACs (some Schiit stuff, may be), it is very difficult for me to place Chord Mojo other than to say it is a "good sounding DAC".
Will my opinion change? Will I turnaround completely and call it "DA BEST DAC MONEY CAN BUY"? I don't know. For now, I'll spend more time (whenever feasible and possible) with Mojo and try to do more comparisons (different sources / IEMs) and see how it goes. That is all I can do.
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