Amazon.com: Customer reviews: CHORD Electronics Mojo, ultimate DAC/Headphone Amplifier, USB, Coaxial, and Optical, Black

Top positive review

Audiophile Quality and Sonic Detail at a Very Reasonable Price

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2016

I guess I'm somewhat of an "audiophile" in that I'm very picky about sound. I also work in the high-end musical instruments industry so I know very well what musicians seek in audio quality. That being said, there's definitely a point when there are diminishing returns when it comes to high-end musical instruments and audio gear as well. There are some people who are willing to pay double the price of something that's very good for marginal (3~5%) perceived improvement when it comes to sound. That's what high-end musical instruments and audio gear industries are like and there's just no end to how far some people will go to have something a little "better" than what they had before.

I owned a pretty decent portable DAC/headphone amp that I was happy with since I travel to Asia a lot on business trips but wondered if there was anything out there that could get "desktop" or "tabletop" quality in a very small package. I had invested in a custom ear-mold IEM (Jerry Harvey Audio) and wanted a DAC/headphone amp that could get the best out of it without breaking the bank. While doing my due diligence, I found out about the Chord Electronics Mojo and was immediately intrigued.

After reading various reviews I decided that I can't go wrong with this and my expectations were fairly high. Well, after several days with the Mojo and doing some A/B tests with my incumbent DAC/headphone amp, I have to say that it has exceeded those expectations and then some. What a beautiful sounding little unit! It left my previous unit in the dust and I really liked that one and used it happily for years. It is super compact so makes it ideal for long flights and 2~3 week business trips when you often crave great sound to soothe the frazzled mind and the soul while dealing with long lines at airports, constant flight delays and all the other foibles of business travel.

So what makes the Mojo so special? More than anything else, it's the huge soundstage and the clarity without sounding harsh or sterile. Sonically, it's on the bright/brilliant side of the spectrum than mellow/warm but it's balanced from the very low to the very high and there's an inherent musicality to its sound that is hard to describe but is something you know when you hear it. I was able to hear minute details of instruments and of the overall mix that I simply could not hear before while providing a pleasing sound across the stereo field.

The extremely broad soundstage is what clearly set the Mojo apart from the other DAC/headphone amps I've tried in the past. I only play Apple Lossless or high-resolution audio files like FLAC or DSD on my iPhone because I care very much about hearing the details of the hi-hat cymbals and feeling the thump of the kick drum as well as the orchestra from left to right as if I was sitting right at the center about 20~30 rows back in a concert hall.

When plugged direct into the iPhone's headphone jack, it's as though the soundstage only covers from around 11 o'clock to 1 o'clock. My previous unit was more like 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock in soundstage coverage but the Mojo is more like 8 o'clock to 4 o'clock - a huge improvement where I felt like I'm starting to hear things below or even behind me. The soundstage of the Mojo is that wide. But it still sounds natural and organic, not some electronic gimmick that artificially expands the soundstage. The lows are big and punchy but tight and focused and not at all sounding tubby or boomy like some other units I've tried in the past. It's certainly not for the Beats crowd.

Overall, I think it's in the mids and the highs that the Mojo shines sonically. It's about hearing the details of the string section in an orchestra or the pick attack of an electric guitar or drawing in of the air by the vocalist. The mids are rich but still crisp with excellent separation between various instruments in an ensemble and between the strings of an acoustic guitar. The highs are clear as a bell but still sweet sounding without any hint of harshness. I hate hearing the "ess" on the highs and the Mojo exhibits none of that. It's still silky when other units can make you cringe on the very highs.

The build quality is excellent. It's compact and feels a bit dense but in a pleasing way. You can sense the quality just holding it in your hand. The odd yet cute power and volume control buttons are easy to get used to and soon become endearing to fiddle with. It's also a great feature to have two headphone outs to listen to music with someone else. I always wondered why more manufacturers don't do this. I doubt I would ever need to use the optical or coaxial inputs but I'm sure some others will appreciate them.

The Mojo is simple and compact like so many other devices of this type but it stands - no - it *towers* above the rest. The build quality is superb but it's really the sound that sets the Mojo apart. Everything else is only skin deep. Ultimately, it has to deliver the sound and the Mojo sounds quite amazing. This is one of those products that not only wows you with quality but with its value. I talked about the "diminishing return" factor of high-end musical instruments and audiophile gear where you pay up through the nose to hear slightly sweeter highs or wee bit wider soundstage, etc. In comparison to such products (and I've heard and tried - although not owned - plenty with five figures being the norm for amps/speakers and four figures being the norm for DACs and even cables), the Mojo is literally a steal. It's one of those rare products that smash the diminishing return factor and something that all music lovers on the go (or even at home) should seriously consider owning.

42 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Stephen Denagy

Short life expectancy

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2019

Update 4-11-2020:
Sadly, Chord never stepped up to solve my problem. They did respond to my emails. First wondering whether I had been naughty with the unit. Failing that avenue, they just stopped responding. Meanwhile, the xDSD is STILL going strong, and I have added other DACs. To my mind, the greatest failing of the unit--in addition to the issues below--now is its lack of Bluetooth connectivity. You can do it...but its solution is an expensive add-on, and arcane interface. I had added the excellent FiiO T5s, mainly because it supports balanced headphone output. Both are going strong, sound great, and can drive Shure 846's as well as Beyerdynamic 300 ohm headphones. Which is more than I can say for my expensive Mojo paperweight.

Original Review:
I am writing after ownership of 16 months. Acoustically it is an outstanding DAC and really opened my eyes to the value of an outboard DAC. The power reserve adds punch to the bass line, and the excellent decoding adds remarkable clarity to the music. It allows excellent ear/headphones to shine (like Shure SE846 and Beyerdynamic T2)

That said, I now regret the purchase. When I bought it, there were relatively few excellent portable DAC units out there. Since then, many competitors have become available. In and of itself that is of no consequence, but the device reflects a rather odd user interface. That itself is OK, but I have several minor complaints and one major one.

Minor: The device is amazingly sensitive to electrical interference. If I start the iPhone to the unit (as advised) I will hear very high-frequency RF interference that sounds like it is "hearing" the electrical switching inside the iPhone. Very annoying, and hard to avoid. Really unacceptable from an FCC or ESA perspective. Second, it runs VERY HOT. As we all know, hot is bad for electronics and Lithium batteries. Almost too hot to touch when coming off use and immediate charge. Third, the odd display is completely undecipherable. The power buttons glow various colors. Why? To tell the state of the DAC and music digital frequencies. I would need a card to help me decipher this. Then the volume buttons also glow with odd colors. To be fair, Chord has the "code" on the box. Like, I am going to keep the box on me in my travels? Silliness.

MAJOR: The Chord gave up its ghost last week. Out of warranty. I have an email sent to Chord to see if there is any satisfaction available. Doubtful. The unit powers on, then the power button cycles through the rainbow of colors (I assume it is a self-test). Then one hears a click, and the power light is off, but the volume buttons are on. This suggests to me an internal fault. Maybe software?

All in all, the world has passed Mojo by. It is a credible DAC, excellent amplifier. But it is quirky, hot and more importantly, lacks durability.

I had since moved on to the excellent iFi xDSD, and just this week received the FiiO Q5s. Both are cheaper. The FiiO I purchased for the balanced output option, I was otherwise well satisfied with the iFi device. I kept the Mojo as a reference device. A gentle retirement, of sorts. Alas, Mojo has not taken to retirement!

Chord, please up your game.

I will update as to the response of Chord to the device failure.

79 people found this helpful

281 total ratings, 200 with reviews

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From the United States

Virtuoso Fan

Audiophile Quality and Sonic Detail at a Very Reasonable Price

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2016

Verified Purchase

42 people found this helpful

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Clifford S. Dayton

Great all around DAC that shines with on the move.

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

This does what it should do with power and detail. I had no trouble driving HD 600 and T1 2nd cans, both needing a lot of power to drive correctly. I never tried to use two hard to drive cans at the same time but I do not see that being common.

I'm using the cord when traveling. It will depend on where I'm going but I'll use either good headphones or high-end earbuds.

My first test was a doctors appointment. Unlike many doctors you hear about we seldom have to wait more than a few minutes to see our doctor but it got a short test. I used a Samsung do drive the Mojo. I used Astell&Kern Rosie earbuds and my wife used DUNU DN 2002 earbuds. The sound is outstanding. Amazing music coming from such a small device. I was using Tidal in HiFi mode. So it passed with flying colors.

I have tested the Mojo with sound files up to 24/196 at home and it is sweet. However I prefer my desk gear for home listening, so it was just a test. I don't have a data plan big enough to try without WiFi and playing big files. It is hard to enjoy that level of music on the road. Tidal is CD quality, which is more than enough on the road. (I lower the quality when I'm bike riding to save data. Wind noise will drown out any HiFI anyway.

The Moto is rather spartan. Th instructions are on the box and the only cord is a USB micro for charging. You need your own OTG or anything else you might need. I'm tempted to lower a point except I have never seen a portable DAC supply an OTG cable so it would not be fair. You can pick them up for 5 to 9 dollars on Amazon. I needed one for USB C anyway.

After charging it overnight it ran for a good four hours without a blink. I did not check the charge level. (you need the box) so I don't know how much more time I had. Generally, four hours is enough but glad it might go six or more.

I've been trying not to buy this for years because of their lack of a balanced output. I finally gave up because I really needed a high-quality DAC that was not like carrying half a brick around. I could get 2.5mm to 3.5mm adaptor and that this is the best in the price range. I'm told that you cannot get better for less than double the money. I have a Sony PHA 3 in balance mode that I believe give it a run for the money but I have not done any close study. The Sony is over twice as big and uses pono output, which is hard to get with earbuds. So the Sony is for visiting a home, not anyplace I would not want to take expensive and bulky gear.

I would recommend this to anyone on the road a lot. If you are on a budget and can only afford one big-ticket hi-fi item, I recommend the Cord Mojo. It can be used as a desktop DAC and plug into a HiFI system like it was born to be used there. Nothing fancy, just pure music with a build like a brick.

I've used this for a few years and have a lot to compare it with. Some are better but only at twice the cost and size. Most of my items sit on a shelf to be charged once a month. I find I use my dx220 more as I can carry half a 512 mg of music with it.

The Mojo is always the pick if I need to use it with two people. It is always best if you go light. With the cost down to 400 I cannot recomend this enough. The best sound, dual output, small and light. Really, there is nothing at this price point that can touch it.

If you care about good music but are not ready to spend a grand, get this and two chicom earbuds. All you need after that is a phone. I got two outstanding earbuds just for the mojo, as you need a 3.5mm connection. All my others setups use 2.5mm. I also have two quality headsets for when we will not be in public. My wife refused to use them where people can see us.

If you are in the military (Marines here) you need this. There are smaller but they will burn you power and don't sound as good.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Rave

It’s after midnight and I still raise the volume

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

The first two days, this product felt like a normal headphone DAC and Amp combo. One of several I had owned before. It improves the sound over my native PC headphones out, but is it really that significant? Then after couple of days of getting used to it, when you switch it back, you really appreciate the difference that you are hearing.
On using the Sennheiser HD6xx, Mojo sounded fuller with more body than the UAD arrow (another product I had at the time) and just a tad bit more melodious to my ears (more fluid if you will). There is absolutely no distortion on turning the volume up. In fact, everything just becomes bigger and bolder and I enjoy listening at a bit higher than average listening volumes. Sometimes, I am listening late at night, a good song comes along and I find myself pushing the volume with ease. It doesn’t wake me up. Everything is just so sublimely smooth and melodic. The mojo also sounds good with just about any kind of files. Of course, FLACs and lossless audio formats sound good, but I’ve been listening to my Spotify library a lot more just because even that sounds so much better. And this is perhaps the best compliment I can give mojo. It is not picky about the source or file format. It can play just about anything and makes even lossy audio sound good. The Mojo has had rave reviews on just about every audio review outlet out there so I felt compelled to try it. And I'm glad that I did. I initially gave this product 5 stars.

EDIT (Important): Changing the original rating to 4/5. After my initial review (because of extended time at home due to pandemic), I decided to try a different option. I got the Loxjie P20 tube amp and D10 DAC. With this combo I can notice obvious improvements in the sound over Chord Mojo, and it costs about half the price. If portability isn't your main criteria (which wasn't mine), I fail to see why you'd spend double the money on this. This is still a very good portable option mind you, and capable of delivering plenty of power. However, I bought it purely for that Chord sound that people swear by and whilst good, better options are available.

2 people found this helpful

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Stephen Denagy

Short life expectancy

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2019

Verified Purchase

79 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

the sound is better with higher volume and much sweeter

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2016

Verified Purchase

I have a long debate between Chord mojo and Dragonfly Red. So I purchased both to compare and what I found is very interesting. When you connect the original apple CCK and the new CCK 3.0 to DFR, the DFR sounds resolving but somewhat dry. However, when you connect apple CCK to a USB 3.0 hub powered by a portable battery, the sound is better with higher volume and much sweeter. I guess this means that, the DFR will benefit from external voltage and current in addition to iphone's own limited power output from the lightening port. That probably explain that DFR generally sounds better when connecting to computer because the advantage of drawing current from the computer's USB port. I am on iphone 6 plus with iOS 9.3.3 128GB. Overall, the sound from DFR is 20-30% better than the default iphone 6 plus' own dac. I am still waiting for the MOJO which will be arriving later today.

Update#1: I just received the chord mojo. When playing with the chord mojo, the soundstage and the musical instrument separation is unbelievable!!! The cleanness sound from mojo is unprecedented in portable DACs that I have listened. It can drive K701 and HD600 with unbelievable volumes. For classical music, DFR can drive the K701 maybe 60-70%. Chord mojo can drive these headphones 120%. The sound from the mojo is unforgettable. I am still in a little shock now because how good the mojo sounds. I would say the mojo improves the iphone 6 plus' default sound by 100%.

Update#2: The chord mojo is absolutely the best portable DAC I have heard so far. It has two headphone out and is able to drive my HD600 and K701 simultaneously with perfect volume. It can make both headphones extremely loud if you want. Listening chord mojo with DSD music in iphone 6 plus is the best music I have heard in many years.

Update#3: After 1 month of listening with Mojo, I decided to return it and upgraded to Chord Hugo. The mojo still sounds fantastic but there are two areas which is lacking: small soundstage and dark treble. After I upgraded to Hugo, the treble is very smooth and soundstage is significantly improved.

Update#4: After 3 months of using Hugo, I sold the Hugo with hope of upgrading to either Hugo 2 or Dave. Hugo does sound better than mojo for soundstage, treble, bass, resolution. However, the treble from Hugo is kind of fatiguing and the amp section of Hugo is generally not very smooth. The best part of Hugo is its DSD music renditions which gives you a 3D soundstage.

Update#5: What I have learnt so far is that no matter how good your DACs are, your ears will quickly adapt to it over the next 2-3 months. After that, you will hardly notice any major difference between different DACs because when you are playing a familiar music with an average DAC, your mind will partially compensate and retrieve those musical information from previous memory of using higher end DAC. Now I am back to the phone out port of my iphone 6 plus and does not have any complains.

Final thought: The contents of the music is much much much more important than the equipments that playback the music. If you really want to get the highest end fidelity of music playback, I would suggest you either go to live concerts or learn playing a musical instrument yourself. That will solve 99% of audiophile's DAC fever. Because no DA and AD technology at this time of the 21st century can truly replicate the feel of the musical note.

36 people found this helpful

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scoto #1

The sound I've been searching for

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

I'm old enough to remember $$$ turntables with their rich musical (but noisey) sound and then the advent of digital music which had greater clarity but just was missing something. Well friends the mojo with it's massive processing power and complex filtering algorithms and very simple/discrete analogue stage delivers the razor sharp detail and clarity of digital AND also the musicality of analogue. Think a top of the line Sony CD player or Sharp minidisc but with Tons more soundstage and resolution and POWER.

Quite simply the best portable sound source I've ever heard by far, and deserves all the hype it gets. Piano notes have never sounded so real, or cymbals or pretty much everything. When I heard the piano on the break on Yes's 'South side of the Sky' I nearly shat myself. Only through my multi tens of thousands home system have I heard the piano have weight and depth like that.

It takes a while to realize just how much info is being thrown at your ears, at first I was like well this is different. But after a while you realize just how special the mojo sound is. If you want to hear sound as it was recorded and not have a 'hot' fatiguing dap but still have more detail than the others mojo is for you. And the thing is literally built like a tank. I can't give it anymore praise as you really have to listen to it and spend some time with it to really appreciate it. All my daps just sound 'off' compared to mojo.

Highly recommended . And Gramophone was amazing to deal with and have sent me several follow up emails to ensure everything was copcetic. :) good stuff all around.

Edit , after more extensive listening I think the thing that makes the mojo so special in it's sound Sig is besides being fast and effortless with very natural sound is the dynamics. The dynamics are very impactful when they need to be, more so than any dap I've used. This just makes things sound more real and alive. That along with the mojo never sounding 'stressed' or thin but with super detail = super listening.

10 people found this helpful

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todayamerican

Pure magic

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2019

Verified Purchase

Blows away all the competition at this price point of $479 currently. Don’t believe the fake reviews on YouTube which say the cobalt sounds better - they are lying!

This is way more clearer, way more detailed, way more enjoyable to listen to than either the cobalt or the jds labs element.

- jds labs is sterile to hear
- cobalt is too thin, and shrilly and broken sound
- mojo is pure velvet magic

I do not believe the fiio sounds better than this.

I have not heard anything yet which makes music sound this good.

I have these low quality Bose headphones (Bluetooth ones which have cable as well). The chord mojo makes this lousy headphone sound better than the focal Kevlar speakers in my car through Kenwood, better than the Sonos, better than anything I’ve ever heard before.

If it can do that with the Bose headphone, imagine what the sound from an audeze would be!! Waiting for them now.

I went through a lot of reviews online. I tried some Dacs at the local store as well.

You cannot go wrong with this one. Stop wondering whether some other DAC can do the job - I have researched them all!!! Ones with good reviews have quality issues, I can assure you that the bad reviews you can see online for this product are all fake.

Build quality is excellent. This is a keeper.

If you actually buy this, I can assure you - you will not return it and get anything else. It is that good. And it is super small and cute unlike what you see in the zoomed in photos or videos online. This is very small, very cute, solidly built.

How does this play sub bass through my headphones???? Blows my mind every single time it does that!!!! Blows my mind!!!!!

7 people found this helpful

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Rhamnetin

Amazing sound in a tiny package

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

An amazing piece of technology, the Mojo has made me a believer in the FPGA technology that Chord employs. FPGA or R2R are the only ways to go with DACs in my opinion, but good luck finding a truly good R2R DAC for under $1,000. The Mojo outperforms my previous Bel Canto DAC 3 despite being tiny and battery powered, and the Bel Canto DAC 3 was once an extremely well respected $3000+ DAC. This really opened my eyes to the limitations of delta sigma DACs.

The Mojo didn't beat the Bel Canto DAC 3 in detail retrieval or dynamics, but it wins in transparency and musicality. The Mojo just sounds so euphoric and lovely, and has a surprisingly potent headphone amp that can power my ZMF Blackwood well on its own. Though my comparisons to the Bel Canto DAC 3 were made with my Stax system (SR-007A + KGSS).

The Mojo has a splendid external build quality and is tiny, great for portable use and it of course sounds far better than any smartphone with high end headphones. The battery life is about 3 hours, it has dual outputs which can be used simultaneously; they can power (and amplify) headphones or be used as line level outputs by pressing both volume buttons while the unit is turning on.

Just beware that the Mojo gets HOT. I never bothered getting a case for it.

6 people found this helpful

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Mark

Good sound quality, bad cables

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2020

Verified Purchase

The Mojo has a lot of clarity and a bit of warmth. Very good sound quality for the price range. What I didn't like is the volume controls. I would really rather have just a simple dial of some sort than holding down buttons to turn it up or down. But still not really a big deal.

It uses a different port to charge vs input - but using the same cable. Charging is really clear when it is done. It is a very small light right where you plug in the cable. Sure if you still have 20/20 vision, maybe you can see it easy, but for me it is a little small to clearly see when it is done charging.

What bothered me the most is that the cable it comes with is not very durable. Only had mine a few weeks of light use when the USB cable I used to hook it to my laptop started having problems. It will loose connection to where you can't here sound. If I move it a bit then the sound comes back - kind of like the wires inside might have a break it in and it has to be bent just right now to work.

All I have done is put it in one of my laptop cases pouches to take with me (to work, on vacation, and back home, etc..) - after all it is supposed to be portable. And just doing that over a few weeks seems to have damaged the cable. The Calbes really should be more durable than that.

I have had it over a year now and I can still make the cable work, but I am tired of having to keep adjusting it. I just ordered a received a cable kit for it, so hopefully the new cables last longer.

Helpful

Jason Humphries

Amazing power packed into a tiny box

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

PROS: The MOJO is nothing short of amazing. My Sennheiser PXC 450s are literally a different pair of headphones - they just come alive! The sound is so much deeper and richer, and the volume goes up to levels that make my ears bleed and I'm still only about two thirds of the way up the Mojo's total volume output! The power that Chord have packed into such a small box is just incredible. I run Amazon Music HD streaming service out of my Google Pixel 3 phone and into the Mojo with my Sennheisers on the other side. The power ball changing colors to reflect different sample rates detected is a nice touch.

CONS: I would give 5 stars but am going to knock one off for the complete lack of instructions included in the box - you just get the amp, a USB cable and a safety guide in 30 languages. For the user manual, you have to go online and grab the PDF. In the PDF - the URL to the Chord website is wrong (they say chord-electronics.co.uk - should be chordelectronics.co.uk (no '-' hyphen). The colors of the volume buttons are also confusing and not intuitive at all. I also highly recommend getting the official leather case from Chord as the Mojo is a mobile amp so it is very easy to pick up scuffs and scratches, but $100 for a tiny leather case is pretty ridiculous.

3 people found this helpful

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