CHORD ELECTRONICS Mojo DAC Amplifier for Headphone - Black

Right, so I'd heard all of the great reviews around the net for this DAC and decided that I should check it out. Was I going to find a new level of sound quality I'd previously not heard? Read on.I already have a number of, what I term, 'portable Hi-Fi' items which are all generally highly regarded. These are:Sony NW-ZX2, Oppo HA-2 (fed by a Sony NWZ-A15) and Sony NW-ZX100 ( which I no longer use).Sony MDR-1A and Oppo PM-3 headphones.None of these are what you would call 'poor' items so this little Mojo needed to be exceedingly good.Firstly, the design. Remember that this device is called the 'Mojo' for a reason: It stands for Mobile Joy.In other words, it's whole purpose (as with other DAC's) is to be fed by another device, typically a mobile but not limited to mobiles.Now (and this is important) in this respect the device design can only be described as 'poor' and hear is why.Consider the Oppo HA-2 which is a competing device. This has a surface area similar to that of a mobile and this is not by chance. A device, such as a mobile, can nestle perfectly on the surface of the Oppo. As mentioned, I use an old Sony NWZ-A15 which suits the Oppo down to the ground. Any modern mobile would do although the battery life on the NWZ-A15 is staggering. Add a bespoke USB cable (available from Amazon.com) and this is a great combo. See photo.With the Mojo, doing something similar makes that combo look poor with the phone jutting out over the sides, especially as the Mojo is quite chubby. Why oh why didn't they make it a similar shape to the Oppo????I've only ever seen one other review which points this out and they are correct in my opinion. Perhaps they assumed people would use an A & K AK100 which does match well in terms of size and shape? Whatever the reason, it's not a great design. Sorry.Okay, with that out of the way, how does it sound? I spent a lot of time comparing the sound against the Oppo and the Sony NW-ZX2. I originally returned the Sony since I'd already got a ZX100 and thought the sound was very similar (which is true). However, I really liked (and missed) the ZX-2 so I bought it again. It is definitely a more refined sound compared to the ZX100. My opinion now that it is the better unit out of the ZX100 and ZX2 although not by much but better all the same. In short, the ZX2 is magnificent.Firstly, I fed the Mojo with the Sony NWZ-A15 via the bespoke USB cable. Bear in mind, this sounds awesome when used with the Oppo. It was hear that I had my first shock. The Mojo left out the first 0.5 seconds or so, of the initial track. I've no idea why. It did this every time. Subsequent tracks that followed on seemed to be fine. Just the initial one. Most irritating and really put me off. Perhaps TOSlink and the coax may not have this issue??? The Oppo does not have this problem!As for the sound, it certainly had a harder edge when compared to the Sony NW-ZX2 but not at all unpleasant. Different, yes.However, it wasn't the revelation I was looking for. It was a similar experience with the ZX2.Essentially, all three devices sound great. What you will get with the Oppo and Mojo is the ability to drive higher impedance headphones and to louder volumes - which is the only really problem with the ZX2.Sometimes, you just want your music *really* loud and the ZX2 struggles in this regard. Don't get me wrong. In normal circumstances, it is plenty loud but occasionally, you want that additional volume. In these cases, I fire up the Oppo and pretend I'm at a concert.I have to say that the Oppo is a superb device as is the ZX2.My suggested advice would be as follows:If you have hard-to-drive headphones or crave really loud music, get the Oppo. This device goes *loud*, is highly regarded and will drive pretty much any headphones you can throw at it. It is also cheaper than the Mojo. However, all external DAC's have the same issue in that you need another device to output the 0's and 1's and that makes the two components inelegant and bulky.Therefore, unless you have the above situation, get the ZX2. It sounds superb with the PM3's and the MDR-1A's - although the PM3's do not go *quite* as loud as the MDR-1A's. The battery life is also excellent (just turn on Airplane mode, turn off Wifi, bluetooth and NFC) and the device is simply beautiful.Hope this review helps people.

I was not expecting this thing of beauty based on what i had read.When i unboxed this dac/amp i was first struck by its small size and rock solid build quality! It looks like it means business and screams high-end quality. I literally spent a few minutes saying wow doing involuntary knods of approval and believe me, i am a fussy guy.A lot of people complain about the design comparing it to the Oppo HA2 (personally i do not like the design of the HA2, it immediately looks dated with its old iphone design copy catting, the pleather is tacky and the volume knob at the top gets turned in your pocket or bag which has blasted my ears from time to time while i rush to turn the volume down) but i really appreciate the quirkyness and out of the box thinking when it comes to this design, i personally love the clear illuminated rotating ball button design, it really adds a cool factor and because they are sunk into the body they cant be accidentally pressed in your bag or pocket! The matt black finish also compliments my iphone 7 plus and they just look a class act together.I dont like the usb mini micro port, it allows the male usb end too much freedom to move and i fear it will break one day.I dont like the fact that i have to use a usb to lighting camera kit adapter at all, chord could have just added the correct iphone electronics for a straight usb micro to lightening cable work!I dont like the tiny amout of hiss (nothing compared to the HA2's what i can only describe as white noise) considering that the iphone is silent! The hiss is extememly quiet and i bet you could not hear it on in-ear monitors with less noise isolation and sensitivity.First of all i am listening with the Shure SE846 and have the iphone 7plus matte black 256gb running Tidal and the onkyo high res app. I am just using the standard usb cable supplied and have not listened above Tidal cd quality as of yet. I am a Hi-Fi enthusiast with around 10 years experience of listening to decent to serious Hi-Fi kit.Firstly the volume controls. Exceptionally smooth analogue like progression. I can't notice the steps in volume, niiice.The sound.The Mojo is a smooth operator, it sounds full of detail, detail that i was astonished to hear for the first time on some tracks momentarily raising my eye brows in awe of the detail it was digging up. Now this device is not bright at all but smooth and transparent, it reminds me of my Dac2 HGC (not as much air and sparkle though) , never harsh sounding but brings clarity that is quite rare indeed. The mids are full bodied and sound "right" to my ears, they just float perfectly in your head making the 846's disappear. Its timing and composure is quite amazing on complicated tracks, it remains composed and clear even when it gets multilayered and dynamic. Placement on the sound stage is precise and the bass, lorrrrrd have mercy, jheeeese. It's not just bass, its a weight thats present throughout the whole audio spectrum and reminds me of the sound of my JL Audio Fathom F113 and what it does to my hifi system. The bass is exemplary in depth, weight and punch with out being bloated, just amazing. From top to bottom it shines and has really impressed me.I do wish it had more top end sparkle and clarity but then thats probably what the hugo offers? I have listened to the hd800 and s model, paired with these cans i am sure the top end sparkle will be there. Maybe i need to listen to high res to get the most of it? I will update you all...Compared to the Oppo HA2 it digs up much more inner detail, is not harsh or edgy sounding, sounds more full, has better bass and a more precise sound stage. The Oppo does beat it in respect of it being slim, connecting directly to the lightnening port, being able to charge your phone (essential for the iphone 7 with one lighting port, naughty apple) but The latter has nothing to do with the sound objective of a DAC/Amp does it which is the MAIN reason your buying one of these...One last thing, i ordered the authentic Chord Mojo case and its quality is just as good as the mojo, it obviously adds a bit of bulk but looks fantastic in its quality.Bravo chord ;)UPDATE.Having listened to high res it does add a little more air, ambience and tighens everything up VERY slightly but sometimes a 24bit 44khz recording can sound much better than 196khz, its all about the mastering...I am staggered at the detail mojo is digging up, just brillant. One thing is that its quite reference in its sound quality so if your listening to poorly recorded music it will sound poor...The very top end does seem to lack a bit of air and absolute clarity so i feel like i am missing that last drop of openness that my home reference hifi brings to the table. I can tell the shure se846 is capable of more but the hugo is just too bulky so the mojo gets top marks.These usb ports, not happy. If you move the cable up or down it looses is connection and every now and again i get a strange fizzing sound which i am convinced is a fault so i will be swapping it for a new one.Looks like you loose a star for the flimsey usb ports and this fault i have but as far as sound is concerned its a 5* product!(UPDATE)So the usb connector broke which meant i have had to send it back for reembursment.I have upgraded to the shure sha900 and what an upgrade. As good as the Chord is the Shure absolutely trounces it in every department with its crystal clear sound from top to bottom. It makes the chord sound dull and bass boosted BUT detail retreval on the chord is still great but not any where near as good as the shure sha900...