Chord - Mojo 2

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.

This DAC + Amplifier is the first product I have purchased from the famed Chord Electronics group. I always found their design minimal yet quirky. Unboxing and using Mojo2 for the first few days felt like I was trying something absolutely different entirely. They have gone for a more intuitive UX, with 4 clickable buttons with lights guiding you in your endeavours. It definitely takes a user sometime to catch up with the modes and what the lights mean, but, once you're set, it feels very intuitive and easy-to-use.

Besides the UX the sound quality, depth, detail and soundtsgake are all brilliant for the size and price of the product. It definitely punches above it weight. Go for it if you want to pair it with a good pair of IEMs. You won't be disappointed.

Very musical DAC AMP. I have used it with my Meze Neo 99 and Sennheiser HD 650. You can hear a lot of detail. I have used my laptop, phones and Fiio R7 as the source and all these combinations work well. I have used it while charging, but it heats up a lot. Since then, I charge it separately and then listen to it in battery mode. I wish Chord would have made more affordable DAC AMPs model which can work directly of a power supply. No other complaints about this. One of my best purchases on Headphone Zone.

You know very rarely does an audio product actually get my skin to crawl, or bring emotion to my mouth in loud exclamations. When I casually connected the Chord to my HIFI system with Burson Audio monoblocks running KEF LS 50 Metas in my music studio, I suddenly recieved a jolt of emotion from the sound. Previously, I was running CHI-fi DACS, but here there was suddenly a soul that arose. I almost jumped out of my very skin with fright. it was supernatural this sound. I had ordered another CHI_FI DAC for my bedroom Hometheatre but then immediately got on the email with HPZ geniuses and immediately canceled and ordered, you guessed it, another Chord Mojo2 DAC. End game solution for my speaker and headphone setups. Good Lord, what sound. Mr Rob Watts and John Franks have created only what British handmade quality can look like. So proud of England. True and genuine genius rather than all others who make needless but shouty claims from Asia. Thanks to HPZ and Chord Electronics again for bringing this and other Chord products to India at a fabulous price.

Quite simply, the best DAC/Amp that I have purchased. I’ll start with the size. It’s small and extremely portable. Reminds me of the old Wills Navy Cut cigarette pack. (I don’t advise people to smoke). Fits easily in your palm.
It comes with bug eyes, the colour coded buttons which have a variety of functions. It takes time to get used to it and understand the functions. But repeated usage after referring to the guide helps memorise the functions.
It is loaded with a FPGA chip, with a custom code, proprietary to Chord Electronics.
It sounds lively and is a lean in DAC in terms of listening. It is resolving, it has a bold, vivid and exciting sound with great layer separation.
It has two 3.5 jacks for headphones so that 2 people can listen to music simultaneously. But I would have preferred a 4.4 mm jack along with 3.5 mm jack with balanced output.
The intelligent desktop mode is great idea which stops over-saturation of battery when connected for a long time.
Use of phone with Mojo 2 gives excellent result.
It gives lossless dsp and equaliser which lifts or reduces the low bass, mis bass, low treble and high treble. Really an excellent feature where we don’t have to rely on an app to attenuate the musicality. Crossfeed is also built in which allows the mixing of sound like a speaker system.
It can be used as the heart of audio system or with a DAP or phone.
It sounds brilliant. It is the best sounding DAC. It is extremely robust. It has a wonderful look and feel.
Go ahead and buy one for yourself. You will be happy.