New DAC to play with - Chord Mojo2

Man of Honour
Man of Honour
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Curiosity finally got the better of me recently and I grabbed a s/h Chord Mojo2 to see what all the hype was about.

Every so often I like to see whether some of the new technology really has made older kit defunct. So far, not really. In the last year I tried an Arcam ST60 (uses an ESS9038 IIRC) and a Gustard A18 (uses an AK4497 IIRC). Neither were that special.

This time round, I thought I'd have a play with a headphone focused DAC, i.e. a Mojo2. For those unaware, Chord have for over a decade now being selling DACs that don't have the usual run of the mill ESS, AKM, AD or similar off the shelf DAC chips. Instead, they use high speed processing chips running custom code to do the conversion. I believe that the term currently used is R2R.

The Mojo2 incorporates this Chord tech into a miniature DAC that is around the size of a pack of 20 cigs.
It's a bit weird looking, but very well built. Inputs/outputs are also a bit odd, though I understand why given the space available.
Inputs are USB-C, USB-Micro, Optical and mini-jack coax. Output is two headphone 3.5mm ports. No RCA, no balanced.
From doing some reading, using the optical seems recommended, at least by one chap who I know and genuinely knows his stuff. With it's size, and the fact that is has a battery, it can also be used with a phone. I'll try that out when my new phone arrives later this month.

Initial listening, very impressed. Presents a lovely image with a paid of HD25s.
I wanted to get used to it's presentation style before conducting any genuine side by side comparisons. When I do I'll be comparing it as a headphone DAC with a Meridian Explorer 2, a Director and an MS200, then as an amp against a Head Canamp and a Little Dot3. For headphones, I'll be using the HD25s, HD600s, HD450s and Beyer 990s.
 
At some point when I'm feeling flush and there's a good used example around I keep meaning to get a Chord Qutest to connect to my Wiim as a kinda end-game solution for digital playback in my living room....although I do mostly listen to CDs and vinyl still so it's hard to justify it though! Be interested to hear how the Mojo fares...
 
Curiosity finally got the better of me recently and I grabbed a s/h Chord Mojo2 to see what all the hype was about.

Every so often I like to see whether some of the new technology really has made older kit defunct. So far, not really. In the last year I tried an Arcam ST60 (uses an ESS9038 IIRC) and a Gustard A18 (uses an AK4497 IIRC). Neither were that special.

This time round, I thought I'd have a play with a headphone focused DAC, i.e. a Mojo2. For those unaware, Chord have for over a decade now being selling DACs that don't have the usual run of the mill ESS, AKM, AD or similar off the shelf DAC chips. Instead, they use high speed processing chips running custom code to do the conversion. I believe that the term currently used is R2R.

The Mojo2 incorporates this Chord tech into a miniature DAC that is around the size of a pack of 20 cigs.
It's a bit weird looking, but very well built. Inputs/outputs are also a bit odd, though I understand why given the space available.
Inputs are USB-C, USB-Micro, Optical and mini-jack coax. Output is two headphone 3.5mm ports. No RCA, no balanced.
From doing some reading, using the optical seems recommended, at least by one chap who I know and genuinely knows his stuff. With it's size, and the fact that is has a battery, it can also be used with a phone. I'll try that out when my new phone arrives later this month.

Initial listening, very impressed. Presents a lovely image with a paid of HD25s.
I wanted to get used to it's presentation style before conducting any genuine side by side comparisons. When I do I'll be comparing it as a headphone DAC with a Meridian Explorer 2, a Director and an MS200, then as an amp against a Head Canamp and a Little Dot3. For headphones, I'll be using the HD25s, HD600s, HD450s and Beyer 990s.

Yup there was a time when I know all this about the mojo, it’s got 6 output devices to reduce the ouput impedance which means plenty of current on tap.

R2R is also known as a ladder dac, the high end ones use differential signals to minimise the error from the dac resistors. The maximum you’ll get out of a dac is about 27bits before the components themselves become a noise problem.
Each resistor corresponds to a different voltage level. The FPGA switches which is used rapidly to created the output sound.

The FPGA in the mojo runs their own proprietary transformation between the digital signals (of varying sample rate and bit depth). There’s even open source and people have created their own FPGA and other mechanisms todo the same. Just another way to cut the carrots.

The mojo has a large power reserve compared to others. Other than that it’s quite basic (not much has changed in designs for years).
 
No, haven’t tried those. I kind of assumed that the Gustard and ST60 would be vaguely representative.
 
Interesting. Owned a few dacs over the years and could never really tell a difference between them.
I wouldn't mind listening to an r2r dac to see though.
 
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Interesting. Owned a few dacs over the years and could never really tell a difference between them.
I wouldn't mind listening to an r2r dac to see though.

What if it's sourced from overseas?

Sorry, only kidding and this is NOT the right forum to discuss it in.
If you're in Surrey and fancy a listen, happy to oblige.
 
Finally got around to conducting a side by side test.
The comparison being:
  • Chord Mojo2 driving a pair of HD600s, with a Meridian MS200 as digital source
  • The Meridian MS200 (fixed output) via a Little Dot 3 headphone amp into the HD600s
  • MS200 as digital source into the Mojo2 and then out via the Little Dot 3
The MS200 can output a variable signal, so in theory could driving the HD600s directly, but it's not designed as a headphone amp, so wasn't tested.

And the results.
Yeah, plenty of detail from the Mojo2. However, just didn't sound as natural as from the MS200. For example, the bass note from the Mojo was just "too" tight, as though all the harmonics had been thrown in the bin. That lack of harmonics (or whatever it really is) helps the sound appear to be cleaner and with more detail (less veiled), but to me, just sounded less real.
I did think that putting the LD3 on the backend of the Mojo might bring some of the valve magic to the Mojo. Yes, there was a bit of a combination, but if anything it was the sum being lesser than the parts, rather than the other way around.

So, the MS200/LD3 combo stays, at least for the time being.

Update:
What I didn't think of testing yesterday was how the Mojo2 compared to the USB DAC dongle from Apple. After all, the Mojo is sold as a mobile device.
Tried that, and yes, the Mojo absolutely mullered the Apple dongle, as you'd hope with the price difference.
So, I'll be keeping the Mojo, but only using it when out and about (most commonly in the office). At home, still Meridian.
 
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Yeah, plenty of detail from the Mojo2. However, just didn't sound as natural as from the MS200. For example, the bass note from the Mojo was just "too" tight, as though all the harmonics had been thrown in the bin. That lack of harmonics (or whatever it really is) helps the sound appear to be cleaner and with more detail (less veiled), but to me, just sounded less real.

Chord was always a focus on zero distortion. The chord monoblocks were the same.

The power on reserve (would need to test this but from the design and reputation) means it's got a vice like grip on the headphone voice coil. Issue is you're into the long grass with perception starting to play.

For long term listening, not being too cold can help reduce fatigue. I'm not sure if the fatigue is made by high frequencies or by the lack of expected frequencies that your brain then attempts to cover with. Either way, somethings you can listen to for years and even though it doesn't replicate everything.. you start listening to the music and not the kit. The former being the real important piece for long term satisfaction.
 
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