Okay—I learned that I should try to resist the allure of a pretty face.
Okay, I confess: I have never been able to resist the allure of a pretty face. Which is why, when I first clapped eyes on the Mojo D/A headphone amplifier from English company Chord Electronics, at an event hosted by Manhattan retailer Stereo Exchange (see photo a few paragraphs below), I had to borrow a sample for review.
Yes, at $599, the Mojo—the name is short for Mobile Joy—is a little more expensive than some similar…
Description: D/A headphone amplifier. Data inputs: USB Micro B 2.0 port, S/PDIF on TosLink optical, coaxial on 3.5mm jack. Charging port: USB Micro B 2.0. Outputs: two 3.5mm headphone jacks. Resolution: 24 bits on TosLink, 32 bits on other inputs. Maximum sample rate: 192kHz on S/PDIF, 768kHz and DSD256 on USB, 384kHz on coaxial. Maximum output power at 1kHz: 35mW into 600 ohms, 720mW into 8 ohms. Output impedance: 0.075 ohm. THD+N: 0.00017% at 3V. Dynamic range: 125dB. Power: internal battery. Charging: 5V, 1A via USB bus. Supplied accessory: charging cable.…
Digital Sources: MacBook Pro laptop computer running Pure Music 2.0 for PCM files, Audirvana 1.5.12 for DSD files; iPad 2 with Apple camera connection kit; Astell&Kern AK100 portable player.
Headphone Amplifiers: Apogee Groove, Aurender Flow.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X, AudioQuest NightHawk, Sennheiser HD600, Ultimate Ears 18 Pro.—John Atkinson
I measured the Chord Mojo with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"). The Mojo's battery was fully charged at the start of the measurements. The data sources were USB from my 2012 MacBook Pro running on battery power, using Pure Music 2.0 to play the files, and S/PDIF on TosLink from the SYS2722. Macintosh's USB Prober utility reported the Mojo's product string as "Mojo" from "Chord Electronics Ltd," and confirmed that its USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. Apple's AudioMIDI utility…
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Oracle Delphi Mk.VI Second Generation: Belt-driven, suspended-subchassis turntable. Motor: AC synchronous. Speeds: 331/3, 45rpm.
Dimensions: 18.5" (475mm) W by 5.9" (150mm) H by 14.2" (363mm) D. Weight: 35 lbs (16kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 11087.
Prices: $8950 with wall-wart power supply; add $800 for Turbo power supply ($1150 if purchased separately).
Oracle SME Tonearm: Pivoted, dynamically balanced, nominally 9" tonearm with one-piece, die-cast, magnesium-alloy armtube. Pivot to spindle: 215.35mm. Effective length: 233.15mm.…
Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; Abis SA-1.2, EMT 997 tonearms; EMT OFD 25 & OFD 15 & TSD 15 pickup heads; Denon DL-103, Miyajima Premium BE Mono II cartridges.
Digital Sources: Halide Designs DAC HD USB D/A converter; Apple iMac G5 computer running Audirvana Plus 1.5.12; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Hommage T2 step-up transformer, Shindo Laboratory Aurieges Equalizer Amplifier phono preamplifier & Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Laboratory Corton-Charlemagne (monoblocks)…