Chord - Mojo 2

I had ordered Mojo 2 in July 2024 after lot of reviews and research including Raghav's DAC comparison review. One thing all the reviews had in common was the exceptional sound quality it offered. And they weren't wrong. This is my first DAC and have been super impressed with the sound output it offers. Till last year I was using as input into my 2.1 Bose system. The resoltuion and instrument separation was superb especially while streaming Apple Music directly via MacBook. Recently I upgraded to a high end 2.1 stereo system with pure analog amp and speakers. For now I have been using Mojo 2 as the DAC in my signal chain and super impressed with the sound output. The transparency, imaging and staging have all been phenomenal. It clearly is punching above its weight. It has had its quirks initially with the white noise due to the USB cable but after getting a working cable it's been performing fine. Will definitely recommend this DAC for it's versatility and sound signature.

This unit is an engineering marvel. As it doesn't rely on off the shelf chip based DACs or Amps but discretely implemented DSP solution. Market is filled with ESS or AKM based DACs and between all of them, this holds its own ground and uniqueness. Its not perfect but quite close to it when paired with the right headphone/earphones. The biggest strength lies with its capability of reproducing the 'close to perfect' tonal quality. Next that of not boosting or reducing any of the freq ranges. Its not exactly flat response but sounds neutral. Almost no unnatural peaks or dips anywhere in the listening range. At least in the most critical listening range. Thats why depending on earphone/headphone, we do not hear any irritating upper mids or shoutiness or treble sibilance or boomy bass or over thickened vocals. The DSP based EQ in this model is one of the best thing highlights. Whether increasing/decreasing volume, changing over from low to high gain or adjusting 20hz/125hz/3khz/20khz freq bands, one could hardly notice any diminish of tonal quality. It is quite subtle in that matter and does it with extreme smoothness. I am using mojo2 with TV's optical out as well as with HD600/etymotic er2se. It performs flawlessly with speakers as well as earphones/headphones with DSP EQing applied. Although some learning curve needed to understand all the buttons and settings, but once registered in memory, actually colour based navigation feels more intuitive. My brain has already registered the colour combination of settigs for different sources and different output devices. This is very well built unit and can withstand drops. I guess all kinds of protection are builtin already so never heard of pops or clicks or any kind of noise with any source or output devices.

Having option of gryphon and mojo 2, mojo 2 had the unique sound signature of splitting all the instruments and send it to your monitors. This means minute details of the track reveals out which I did not notice anytime before. Great choice if you care about the details of a track.

Firstly
Delivery: HPZ a hasslefree one. On time as committed. Thanks guys! Guess you guys get the excitement of grabbing your new gadget in hands :)
Now to the device, small footprint but mighty performance.
Yes, there is a bit of a learning curve. 10-15 mins. i think most of us will be up and using the device to the possible max extent.
I run it on Laptop and iP15 Pro and the King of uber-end ANC ML No 5909. High Gain helped the HPs to run well and the vol levels never heard before on it.
How it sounds? Clarity, Layering, Spacing, Detailing, just enough bass and plenty of DSP steps to personalize the sound, for sure you'll find some setting to your liking or somewhere as close.
I'm mighty impressed with it. It has given the new lease to my active HPs passively :). Just grab them.

What can I say about the Chord Mojo 2 that hasn't already been said?
So let me just leave it at this: I paired it with my Sennheiser HD600 and put on "Let Down" by Radiohead, and every penny's worth was repaid.

I have Shanling M6 Ultra which is a great DAP, albeit with warm and smooth sound signature and few warm IEMs in my collection were less enjoyable with it..that's why I started looking for a versatile DAC which would help me enjoy warmer IEMs and I suddenly thought of Chord Mojo 2 and decided to go for it right away. This is an excellent DAC at this price point which easily gives desktop DACs a run for its money.

Getting used to the settings is bit of a hassle however it's a minor issue since Mojo 2 more than compensates with the blissful sound signature.

Online pictures do not do this device justice, the buttons look so eccentric, but once it's in your hands and in use, the device has substantial heft, built like a tank, and the menu system to my pleasant surprise took less than 15 to become second nature. The colors are very satisfying in it's eccentric way. I like the interface, the only that would be nice is to have a recall and store for different eq settings, but it would have added a lot of complication with the current theme, and it's ok because the device more than delivers on the sound it produces, more on that later.

I don't mind the micro usb charging, I like that it's signal path is separated, which can be seen an a convenience quite easily.

The casing is solid metal, the leather case is a thing of beauty. I think it's a great departure from all the cheap feeling chi fi dongles out there.

Test tracks:
Diana Krall - Turn up the quiet (title track)
Nat King Cole - L-O-V-E (title track)
Hilary Hahn - Paganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin - No. 24 in A Minor
Anne-Sophie Mutter - Bach Double Concerto (Live from Yellow Lounge)
Joshua Redman - Elastic - Jazz Crimes
AC/DC - Back in Black - Shoot to thrill
Joe Satriani - (self titled album) - S.M.F
Wayne Krantz - Two Drinks Minimum - Lynxpaw
Keith Carlock - Vic Firth - Performance Spotlight
https://youtu.be/ei8psDCGPDU?si=iul1KcFfl-9SYEa9

Using Tidal on an M1 Ultra, KRK Rokit 5 monitors, TheiAudio Monarch MK2, HD800. USB-C connection.

Will just quickly talk about the EQ. I was skeptical, not so in reality, at 125KHz, I cranked it with the HD800, to db+ at 3Khz, that headphone is now out of retirement. It's never sounded as good as it does with the Mojo2. I was previously using it with an original lehmann BCL, well that's going into retirement. HD800 if now fun to listen to!

This bass in this case is the best I've heard, it woke the HD800 up in a way I would not have imagined a shelf eq would do, the eq is not a toy. I'm used to high end post production equipment and this is the beast lossless consumer grade eq I've heard.

The bass is refined, fast and not exaggerated like on the Moondrop Dawn Pro. It's very clean, detailed yet has heft when present in the track.

With the KRK monitors, I was shocked to hear the smooth midrange with Nat King Cole, it's a stunning recording but comparing it to the RME or the Moondrop Dawn Pro, there are huge chunks of details what were missing, not a subtle upgrade in this department. Male and female vocals, are stunning, Brad Paisley to Etta James, I had to replay At Last many times from different sources to double check, I think there's some overdrive on her voice, or it's just how she sounds when overblowing, goosebumps territory.

So yes Mids, perfection. The balance between warmth and detail is perfect for me. Guitars sound realistic, even heavily overdriven tones are great, listen to Steve Vai - Tender Surrender, it's perfect, great recording, I listen to a lot of shredders and their recordings are often below average. Or take an album like Wicked Sensation by Lynch Mob, this Mojo manages to clean it up somehow and make is sound good even though I know it's a dark mess.

With the MK2, it's a perfect pairing. Both are well matched to bring out the best, and to be frank it just such an easy synergy. My end game for a decade, will replace if either suffer any tragedy.

The treble department, hi mids included, snare drum, Lynxpaw, Mr Carlock has a way with his Hi-Hat and snare working seamlessly, the mojo 2 faithfully recreates the tones, attack, decay and power effortlessly, it's just ridiculous I can have this kind of sound with the MK2 and mojo 2 on the go or in bed. I often sit up due to the amount of wtf moments, yes I'm not sleeping well, this combo is addictive and hazardous to my circadian rhythm.

In conclusion, the mojo 2 is surpassed my expectation. I would recommend this to anybody, especially at the price it's currently available at on headphonezone.in.

Thank you headphone zone, you guys are truly a world class retailer, your upgrade program, 7 day returns policy, smooth operations, warranty experience, quick delivery, website design, etc. All in all, I'm very proud of your company.

Thank you for reading.

Whatever Robb Watts has done with the FPGA on the MoJo 2, it works. You will never know until you try it first, and even then you will have to go back and forth between DACs for the first few hours. After a few hours of listening though, it clicks. This stuff is pure black magic, and nothing else can distill down the essence of music (to your ears) like this one. Atleast, nothing else in its price bracket.