Are you Looking for a powerful and portable amplifier/DAC to elevate your music? Try the Chord Mojo! Just beware – a few of its features haven’t aged perfectly. With reportedly more than 70,000 units sold since its October 2015 release, Chord’s Mo(bile) Jo(y) has become a personal Hi-Fi style and design icon.
Immediately recognizable and passionately loved by many, the Mojo remains a staple for audiophiles on the go.
Despite slightly showing its age in certain regards, the Mojo shows no signs of slowing down. It’s still a popular choice among audiophiles looking for a great amplifier/DAC to take with them on the go.
Between then and now it’s won the What Hi-Fi 2018 Award for Best DAC £300-£500 and the EISA Award Best Product 2016-2017 for the best USB DAC/Headphone Amplifier.
If this isn’t an indicator of quality then nothing is.
But let’s take a look at just what it is that the Chord Mojo has to offer to the audiophile looking for a portable amplifier/DAC in 2021.
Mojo Unique Packaging
Simplicity is the name of the game here. The Mojo comes nestled in a small black cardboard box. Slide off the top and you will find the Mojo ensconced in white foam and wrapped in a protective plastic bag.
Under the Mojo is a 10cm micro USB cable that can be used for charging or for connection to a source (phone, computer, transport, etc.).
The sample rate frequency guide is printed on both sides of the slip-in box. This is a 10-step color chart ranging from 44 to 768 and DSD.
Since the power button, volume buttons, and the battery state indicator LED all cycle through colors to indicate level, it would have been nice to include these visual graphics on the other side, rather than repeating the same frequency guide information on both sides.
No manual is included, so Chord must expect users to have some experience in hooking up such devices or to read the online manual.
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The Durability of Chord Mojo
The Chord Mojo is instantly recognizable thanks to its unique and quirky exterior. With a size barely larger than a deck of cards and a tough aluminum exterior, the Mojo is the embodiment of portability.
The build quality here is second to none, as the last several years have attested to – you’ll be hard-pressed to find complaints online about the Mojo breaking or malfunctioning.
It’s tough! The only thing that has shown to be a problem in certain cases is the battery needing a replacement, but more on that later.
Battery and Charging Simplified
Battery life is approximately 8 hours and it takes about 4 hours to charge the Mojo using a 2A 5V charger.
There is a small LED indicator located below the micro USB charging port that changes color to indicate the battery level.
It is possible to listen to the Mojo while charging, but the charge will take longer than if the Mojo is powered off.
This will also make the Mojo quite warm. There have been reports of unwanted audible noise and hum being introduced by certain chargers, so it may take some trial and error to find a charger that works for you.
Chord Mojo Sound Quality
Mojo is primarily designed as a portable device. Yes, it can be used as a stationary desktop DAC, but let’s face it, internal battery plus compact size equal portability.
This means the bulk of my listening was completed using my Apple iPhone X.
However, the comments in this section are my generalizations for all sources unless noted.
Ironically for a tiny portable device, I found the Mojo to shine the most with full-size headphones.
Not to say it doesn’t work great with IEMs, but the diminutive size belays the power and ease that it can drive difficult-to-power large cans.
Got the 600-Ohm Beyerdynamic T1? No problem here.
It isn’t just the power that impressed me when listening to the Mojo-powered T1. I’ve paired the T1 with a number of amps, both tube, and solid-state, in an effort to tame their clinically unforgiving high-end.
Somehow the diminutive Mojo combines shockingly well with the notoriously upper-frequency focused T1.
I think this speaks directly to the overall sound signature of the Mojo. It’s a warm, detailed, and musical-sounding little device.
If anything, while the high end Is smooth and without grain, it may roll-off the highest-frequencies a touch.
The treble comes across on the relaxed side and is just the ticket for taming an upper frequency dominant can like the T1 without losing clarity or a feeling of transparency.
The overall impression is of listening to a much larger amp, one that is on the warmer side of neutral, powerful but tightly controlled.
The bass response is very full and oh-so-smooth-sounding up into the mid-range. Resolution and detail reproduction is terrific. Vocals and instruments have a natural but weighty quality.
I tried a variety of full-sized headphones from the challenging-to-drive MrSpeakers Alpha Dogs, to the Sennheiser HD58X and the Meze 99 Classics.
Regardless of design, sensitivity, or impedance, the mighty little Mojo drove them all effortlessly.
Did I mention you can plug in two headphones at once? Other than dramatic volume differences between headphones of different requirements, two folks can simultaneously listen to high-quality headphones with superior sound.
The Mojo brings out the best qualities of the headphones that are connected. The bright T1 feels warmer and fuller.
The occasionally loose lower end on the 99 Classics tightens up. The mid-bass becomes a visceral presence in the music that demands head-bobbing and toe-tapping (yet without becoming overbearing).
Overall Recommendation
If you are serious about great headphone listening on-the-go or even at home, we’ve never heard anything that can perform as well as the Mojo in so many situations.
If you’ve invested in a good pair of headphones or a set of powered speakers, you really owe it to yourself to hear them with the Mojo.
For its pocketable size, the Mojo will blow you away. It’s also expandable.
Attach it to Chord Poly and you’ve turned your little Mojo into a fully-featured wireless music streamer! For anyone on the move, it’s a no-brainer.
With just the Mojo, you’ll have everything you need to make headphones come to life on-the-go or even at home. Get the Mojo!
We think $499.00 is a small investment for the significant upgrade to the sound quality you’ll get. BUY HERE.
Well, we have come to the end of this amazing review, if you come to a decision to get the Chord Mojo, you know what to do. Meanwhile, please hit the share button and recommend this article. Thank You.
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