MUSINGS: Speaking "As If..." claims are truths, Attribution Theories, and the Numerical Madness of Chord (Mojo 2 and 104-bit DSP)? (And quick note on Multichannel "Kind Of Blue".)

As you've seen, recently, I measured the Chord Mojo DAC and we discussed the imminent release of the Mojo 2 which was formally unveiled on January 31 (2022). With that of course comes the flurry of media posts, reviews and advertising material hyping the new features which might or might not be useful depending on your needs.

An interesting interview (and I'm sure one of a number in the days ahead) is the one Darko conducted with designer Rob Watts released on February 1st. As much as I've been critical of Darko over the years (like this), I appreciate the interview, the questions, and perhaps showing some guarded skepticism; good stuff John for letting Watts speak.

The DAC infrastructure of the Mojo 2 is basically an "evolutionary" upgrade to the custom sigma-delta design of the Mojo 1 which is already very good. Watts admits to this evolutionary step (12:50). As suspected, they needed to keep Poly compatibility (2:15) - a shame because I think the retention of micro-USB is a real turn-off in 2022. These days, Bluetooth in a premium product I think is a basic mobile feature. At this kind of price point >US$700 for the Mojo 2, I think it's a little silly to also have to pay another >US$700, tolerate the added bulk, just to get wireless options but still limited to Bluetooth 4.1 A2DP/SBC last I looked; no aptX, LDAC, or even AAC codec support for higher fidelity (lossless Bluetooth would not be high on my priorities, but aptX Lossless is good I guess). As a general rule-of-thumb in consumer electronics, I think expensive add-ons like this usually don't make much sense, much less insist on ongoing compatibility across generations of products in the mobile space.

REVIEW & MEASUREMENTS: Chord Mojo DAC/Headphone Amp. A note on LH Labs (Light Harmonic "subsidiary") audio crowdfunding. And Neil Young's ultimatum to Spotify. [Early Mojo 2 specs.]

Mojo as shown here in the official rubber and leather Mojo Case. Looks and feels great in the hand. Shown with AKG K371 headphone.

Well, in the "better late than never" category, when I returned my friend AudioPhil's Cayin RU6 the other week, I borrow his Chord Mojo ("Mobile Joy", ~US$475 new but I think currently discontinued) for a spin!

This DAC has been out since October 2015! That's ages ago in the world of electronics. However, to be honest, high fidelity audio reproduction is rather ageless whether the device is 10 months old or 10 years old. So long as the internal components aren't deteriorating with age ("break-down" instead of "break-in", right?).

As you've probably seen in countless reviews on the Mojo (like here, here, here), this seems to be quite a popular DAC with a good following. It has been said that Chord sold something like 100,000 of these over the years. Objectively, the Stereophile review in fact showing some impressive performance results back in 2016.

As usual, Chord gear tends toward the large bulbous glowing buttons, at times steampunk metal esthetic. Colors are used to provide feedback on volume (the pair of buttons for +/- volume) and the main power button (red in image above) which changes color for sampling rate. I think this is an acquired taste and figuring out the colors will take some time as you get used to the sequence of colors in a rainbow with red (lowest volume/samplerate) on one end and purplish/grey/white (highest) on the other..