Disclaimer: after just a few hours with a defective unit, I purchased a Mojo for myself. That unit had its own default and was exchanged for a pristine but used Mojo. Many thanks to e-Earphone for their patience. Prior to reading this article, please read my review of Mojo at Headfonia.
The ungainly freedom ohm enjoys as non-sponsored and somewhat spottily-updated site is tremendous.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
See? Perfect, idiotic, and autarkic. For the end of 2015 this libertine will exercise his freedom to deliver a non-standard roundup. It’s a roundup of one, whatever that means. And that one is Chord’s ugly, diminutive Mojo. I didn’t even pause to think about it: it’s Mojo for the win.
Which isn’t to say that it doesn’t have problems. Mojo is hampered by a few quality control issues. Its anachronistic logo and cheap feet work against Chord’s otherwise selectively strong branding choices. Its interface is balls. But because Mojo is such a categorical performance monster, I am willing to overlook its uglies.
That is, in fact, the dominant reason it is the sole winner of this year’s audio year-end ohmage. If peace of mind is all-important, Mojo and an iPod touch is all you need to ensure you have the best signal quality to your earphones or headphones. It doesn’t require an external battery pack. You can utilise stabler mobile OSes via sleek, form-fitting DAPs and phones. No need to spend a grand or four on a high-end DAP. Of course, if you’re keen on improving the output of your 3500$ with a 600$ add-on DAC, Mojo has you covered.
It packs three digital inputs: USB (micro), SPDIF 3,5mm coaxial, and SPDIF optical toslink. If your USB is up to snuff (my 2012 iMac’s is not), it is capable of spitting loaded and unloaded signals whose quality outstrips the most expensive DAPs out there (*3, *4), and which stack squarely against reference-level desktop DACs.
Rather than amping an analogue signal, it voltage regulates the analogue stream straight from the DAC. The benefits in dynamic range, noise, distortion, among others, are evidenced in Mojo’s RMAA scores (*1). While I firmly stand behind the observation that, at normal listening levels, there is no audible advantage to 24-bit music or high-res DAPs (*2), Mojo offers peace of mind.
I purchased Mojo in order to standardise my review rig, and to make me look like a serious audiophile. And while I prefer to keep things simple - listening straight from the headphone output of an iPhone 4s - Mojo’s ability to transform almost any old player/phone into a reference-level portable rig makes it the only audio product this year to which I owe ohmage.
Well done.
* Relevant links
1. RMAA: Chord Mojo 24-bit
2. Advantages of 24-bit audio and hi-res players dissolve prior to and after hitting play
3. RMAA: AK380 24-bit
4. RMAA: Onkyo DP-X1 24-bit