Chord Mojo in a main system

pete T15 posted:

fatcat posted:

Thanks for the info Phil.

Just noticed you have an LP12, so you obviously have high standards. On that basis the Mojo must be good.

Reading reviews, the Mojo’s tonal character appeals to me more than the Hugo. I’m a bit concerned about buying a battery powered device, I’d prefer a mains powered device, but the 3v output of the 2qute puts me off a little.

Is there a preference between the mojo’s variable voltage out versus the 3v line out.

Does the mojo have a variable output ? I thought I read its Line out was fixed at 3v ? 

The Mojo has a facility to power it up with the output set to a fixed level of 3V. This is more like a preset volume and you can then use the volume buttons to change this. My Naim NAC202 does not want 3V and so I have stepped it back down a long way so that I get back some volume range on the amplifier. 

The good news is that it remembers my volume level and starts it up at the same volume next time I turn it on

What NJB said.

Its just a set and forget thing. Being variable is good as it allows you to adjust any large volume differences between sources.

NJB posted:

pete T15 posted:

fatcat posted:

Thanks for the info Phil.

Just noticed you have an LP12, so you obviously have high standards. On that basis the Mojo must be good.

Reading reviews, the Mojo’s tonal character appeals to me more than the Hugo. I’m a bit concerned about buying a battery powered device, I’d prefer a mains powered device, but the 3v output of the 2qute puts me off a little.

Is there a preference between the mojo’s variable voltage out versus the 3v line out.

Does the mojo have a variable output ? I thought I read its Line out was fixed at 3v ? 

The Mojo has a facility to power it up with the output set to a fixed level of 3V. This is more like a preset volume and you can then use the volume buttons to change this. My Naim NAC202 does not want 3V and so I have stepped it back down a long way so that I get back some volume range on the amplifier. 

The good news is that it remembers my volume level and starts it up at the same volume next time I turn it on

Thanks ! I'm considering a Mojo for my travels etc but also want to build a 2nd system around my Nait2 I bought on my 18th birthday once its serviced . It could be the perfect blend of old and new . 

Hi All, 

I have had a busy week, but managed a bit of time with the Mojo.  It is a definite keeper.  I do not fully understand why, but it sounds really different to my other DACs.  I am sure that somebody can explain why because it is still turning the noughts and ones into sound, but it is almost like the others are colouring the sound and the Mojo does not.  My mate popped in and said the same.  He said that it is a pure sound but addictive; happy with that.

Great stuff njb, I don't think mojo would be out of place in any system, regardless of cost.

The Mojo is my main DAC in the system. I actually have never used it portably, and it sits next to my stack and always on. I run optical in, and coax out from a splitter in the headphone jack. I run it in line mode (both orbs blue, accessible from holding them together when unit is off then pressing power orb).

Initially I had issues with it turning off after a while, and realized after some troubleshooting that it was due to a USB charger that didn't have enough current. Once I swapped with a 2A charger, I haven't had the unit turn off on me. I leave it on perpetually and it doesn't overheat, although can get a bit hot.

To describe the sound in reference to other DACs I've used (sorry, haven't heard the Caiman II specifically) it's like looking through a window into the music that was just Windexed and wiped clean. Clear, accurate, black in the empty spots. I wouldn't call the sound overly analytical, but if you start listening to it analytically, all the detail you need is there. If that makes sense! The DAC I was using previously was a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic. In comparison to the Mojo the DAC Magic sounded flat and 1 dimensional. The Mojo sound seems to have depth and width, where the DACMagic only had width. The DACMagic was also a bit softer in presentation, not quite as detailed.

i think my mojo sounds a lot better than the meridian explorer2, even taking MQA into account

John,have you tried running an MQA title through the mojo?

jon honeyball posted:

i think my mojo sounds a lot better than the meridian explorer2, even taking MQA into account

Thanks for posting this.  I do enjoy music on Mojo every day, does the job for me.

jon honeyball posted:

i think my mojo sounds a lot better than the meridian explorer2, even taking MQA into account

Well interestingly to my mind, if you try and blow much of the mumbo jumbo away from MQA, one of the things MQA tries to do is maintain temporal information in a lossy hidef signal.... Now Rob Watts designs with his large kernel renstruction filters (taps) and his WTA apodizing filter function maintains and reconstructs  this temporal info as well albeit he uses full fat hidef as well as Redbook as opposed to lossy hidef with aliasing artefacts that you get with MQA to varying degrees... 

So both are latching onto temporal  sensitivity of our hearing, and despite what you read from MQA marketing blurb this is not new and papers within the AES (Audio Engineering Society) have been describing research on  this for years and years... 

So I commend both, but if you need bandwidth efficient lossy hidef streams and you can live with low level artefacts that you might not even notice go MQA , if you need to Redbook or regular pure hidef with good temporal responsiveness, go Chord or other quality DAC with large kernel FIR reconstruction filters.

Has anybody got a preference on the Mojo input.  I can use coax or optical, and there are subtle differences.  The coax is warmer than the optical, which I normally prefer.  However, the optical has a lightness, as Halloweenman says.  It is a tough call, both are superb and I can see me wearing out the connections by swapping back and forward.  Just curious if this difference is just my source or if it is the Mojo.

Of Hugo, of which Mojo is a derivative,  its designer Rob Watts has said "My preference has always been optical - it's much smoother, and more natural. Generally, optical is not liked as it has more jitter than coax, but all my DAC's have been able to remove incoming source jitter. The benefits optical has is that it reduces ground induced RF noise from the source, and this is responsible for the warmer sound as noise floor modulation is reduced in the analogue stages."

But that doesn't necessarily mean use the computer soundcard's optical output unless its performance is exemplary: for example with Audirvana on a Mac Mini the best output is a dedicated usb bus, when an isolator/converter can give a choice of optical and electrical connections to the DAC. But of course it all depends on the sound quality you are seeking, and if one way sounds better to you, do it that way,

Hi all,

time to get my head round all this....

Are you connecting Naim streamers (NDS/NDX) to the Mojo? If so, how? Or are you using it for Mac Mini play back if so how? And how would one do this in conjunction with a NAC?

My head hurts even thinking about the questions let alone the answers!!!!!

My streamer is not a Naim one, I feed a digital signal to the Mojo and put the analogue output into a line input on the NAC.  You need adapters for the Mojo connections but is all very straightforward 

Hi NJB,

does this mean it can't be used with Naim streamers?

Dustysox posted:

Hi NJB,

does this mean it can't be used with Naim streamers?

I cannot answer that.  However, provided that there is a digital output then it seems logical that any streamer could be used.

Dustysox posted:

Hi NJB,

does this mean it can't be used with Naim streamers?

I used Hugo with ND5XS, SPDIF with a BNC to RCA cable. Some people likewise have used Hugo with NDX. I imagine Mojo will connect in exactly the same way.

And it would need an RCA to DIN cable to feed Mojo outpur into a NAC

Innocent Bystander posted:

Dustysox posted:

Hi NJB,

does this mean it can't be used with Naim streamers?

I used Hugo with ND5XS, SPDIF with a BNC to RCA cable. Some people likewise have used Hugo with NDX. I imagine Mojo will connect in exactly the same way.

And it would need an RCA to DIN cable to feed Mojo outpur into a NAC

Chord have made the Mojo a little difficult because it uses less common connectors; both the SPDIF input and output are 3.5mm sockets.  However, I easily found converters so that I can use standard RCA terminated cables and so thus is not a huge issue.

NJB posted:

Innocent Bystander posted:

Dustysox posted:

Hi NJB,

does this mean it can't be used with Naim streamers?

I used Hugo with ND5XS, SPDIF with a BNC to RCA cable. Some people likewise have used Hugo with NDX. I imagine Mojo will connect in exactly the same way.

And it would need an RCA to DIN cable to feed Mojo outpur into a NAC

Chord have made the Mojo a little difficult because it uses less common connectors; both the SPDIF input and output are 3.5mm sockets.  However, I easily found converters so that I can use standard RCA terminated cables and so thus is not a huge issue.

Sorry, i had forgotten that! I had responded on this myself only a week ago, on this thread: see my post of 8/1 for suggestions to obtain cables. 

NJB posted:

Hi All, 

I have had a busy week, but managed a bit of time with the Mojo.  It is a definite keeper.  I do not fully understand why, but it sounds really different to my other DACs.  I am sure that somebody can explain why because it is still turning the noughts and ones into sound, but it is almost like the others are colouring the sound and the Mojo does not.  My mate popped in and said the same.  He said that it is a pure sound but addictive; happy with that.

 

Yes Mojo does sound different. It is a fully customised DAC, which unlike other companies, who use off the shelf DAC Chips.

Mojo uses an FPGA for filtering, and noise shaping, and a Chord proprietary Pulse Array DAC.

Mojo also uses long tap lengths (quite unique to chord) which then corrects for transient errors present at the ADC.  

What does it all mean though?

For me, Chord Hugo and Mojo, are the first DAC's that I heard that compare easily to playing music from Vinyl, from  musical point of view.

Although I do love what a Naim CD555 does with CD, and NDS/555, the advantage of Mojo, is size, cost and portability.

Before anyone feels sorry for the competition, the first Chord DAC 64 was invented a long, long time ago, and the competition had plenty of time to respond to change in technology.

I would also add over the years Hugo has been discussed as a replacement for an NDAC.

It is not. These 2 sources are voiced very differently.

If you want the Naim sound, then a Hugo or Mojo will not give you this sound.

A Naim source sounds very much like a live band is playing in front of you, and has an upfront and exciting presentation.

Chord themselves would say this is not their sound, and they want to be as transparent as possible to the recording.

If there is some excitement it will be apparent from the recording, that is their view. They strive for absolute transparency.

 Both approaches are equally valid. I spent some time yesterday with a CD555, and to my ears, it is still in 2016 one of the greatest CD players in the world, every single CD sounded musical and engaging to my ears.

The same songs are presented differently by a Chord DAC, not as "forward" and maybe a shade less rhythmic, but still musical and more lyrical and fluid to my ears.

Ali, I am not sure... my Hugo into my 252 /250 gives me the Naim sound I like... for me the Hugo was a progression in my musical enjoyment compared to my NDAC/555PS. Good though the latter is, and I often preferred it to the NDS/555PS, the Hugo just gave me that extra insight.. I wrote a lot about it at the time on this forum as back then it felt very  counterintuitive and I didn't trust what my ears and brain were telling me...

The NDAC, had a lovely organic sound I found appealing, although it appears the latest firmware has changed this, and has a fantastically punchy bass that really drove bass lines out with aplomb.... but my tastes evolved..

So in a Naim system you can use as NDS, NDAC or Hugo and you will get the Naim sound but each of those DACs will you something slightly different.. it depends what you want... at the end of the day DACs seem to have quite a subjective presentation... and the Hugo for example leads on temporal timing and immersiveness (Mandelbrot effect), as opposed to pumping out a heavy bass and rhythm line that the NDAC/555PS will happily do. BTW both do musical timing exceptionally well in my experience.

Something else to bear in mind: mojo can get quite warm when powered. 

analogmusic posted:

 

 Both approaches are equally valid. I spent some time yesterday with a CD555, and to my ears, it is still in 2016 one of the greatest CD players in the world, every single CD sounded musical and engaging to my ears.

The same songs are presented differently by a Chord DAC, not as "forward" and maybe a shade less rhythmic, but still musical and more lyrical and fluid to my ears.

 

As a long term owner of a CD555 and Chord DACs I couldn't disagree more that they're less rhythmic than the 555. Chord DACs have all the PRAT of Naim gear. And more...

Hi Simon

Which interconnect cable are you using between NDX and your Hugo?