Home Before You Buy Series Before You Buy A Chord Mojo, READ THIS!!

Before You Buy A Chord Mojo, READ THIS!!

by Stuart Charles Black
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Part of the “Before You Buy” Series

 

Is the Chord Mojo worth the investment in today’s crowded Amp/DAC sphere? Is it an overhyped product sound-wise? Is it overpriced? Let’s dive in and find out…

Greetings bass head and welcome aboard… Stuart Charles here, HomeStudioBasics.com helping YOU make sound decisions leading to a beautiful audio experience that will make you fall in love with music, all over again so… don’t want to read?!

Video Discussion

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Is the Mojo worth it? It depends.

Is it overhyped sound wise? Absolutely not.

Is it overpriced? I would say yes but hang with me and I’ll explain.

Let’s talk about it’s worth first. Do stick around ‘til the end of this article as I’ll be going over a couple of potential alternatives to the Mojo, should you decide against it.

Big thanks to all of those on my FB, Instagram, and YT who brought these issues to my attention, some of which I knew about, but have gotten worse lately.

I didn’t personally have any problems during my time demoing this product, but I also don’t own one.

The problem with the Mojo nowadays is one of Quality Control, unfortunately. There are a few caveats with it that you must be made aware of:

  1. It runs hot. This isn’t too big of a deal for most people including me being that it’s a Class A amplifier. Plus, I like it hot. OH BEHAVE!!
  2. For many people, the battery fails to hold a charge – usually around the 1-year mark or before.
  3. Customer support seems to be non-existent in many cases.
  4. The unit dies unexpectedly or behaves erratically.

For the asking price of the Mojo, none of the above should EVER happen. I read a review that said Chord wanted $200 to replace the battery, so he did it himself. This is simply not acceptable.

Now for some good news.

Is it overhyped soundwise? No.

Many of you homies who have been with me a while know that out of all the Amp/DACS I’ve tried (Over 40 at the time of this review), 2 stand out above the rest in terms of sound.

The first is the Bryston BHA-1, the second is indeed the Mojo. It’s head and shoulders above pretty much every DAC in the lower-tiered price brackets and outclasses amps costing 3 and 4 times as much. YEAH, I said it! What of it?

You wanna step to me? XD

Imagine feeling almost as if you could reach out and touch the vocalist’s face as she’s singing to you. Perhaps give her a Lil kiss. MWAH!

Everything about the Mojo is better, from intimacy to resolution and clarity, to Soundstage, detail retrieval, tonality. It’s all perfect. Pair one with a Dan Clark Aeon Flow Closed and be transported to heaven. The impact it had on me cannot be overstated. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.

Add to that you can use it on console via its optical input, it’s got 2 3.5mm jacks for sharing, and it can be used on your desktop or portably.

As for the burning question:

Is it overpriced?

It’s hard to say. I think $300 is a good deal if you don’t end up having any problems down the road. The question is are you willing to take that gamble?

For retail at around $500-550, I would probably look for something else – something you know is going to hold up well over time. iFi products immediately come to mind with regard to well made, extremely reliable, and easy to use Amps and DACS. I’ve been demoing their gear for over 2 years and haven’t had one single issue with anything I’ve tried: The Black Label, xDSD & xCAN, Zen Amp/DAC, Zen CAN Signature 6XX, hip-dac, Zen Blue, Neo iDSD, etc.

Zen CAN Signature 6XX (Amp portion)

They have all functioned flawlessly and sound great.

So what about a couple of alternatives?

A small, portable Amp/DAC that can also be used on your desk? Something that rivals the sound quality of the Mojo?

I’d go with the Black Label. Tons of power, amazingly crisp and clean sound, a plethora of features and connections, and so much value that I can’t even begin to scratch the surface in this video…

I’ll leave a link down below to my review as well as where to buy. If it’s unavailable, go with the Nano iDSD. If you have any questions, let me know!

In the meantime, check out the next article in the Before you buy, read this series. I know it will help you out immensely on your journey. See you there!

 

Well, that’s about it for today my friend! I hope you’ve enjoyed this discussion/review on Chord Mojo and are now better equipped to make a purchasing decision!

If you love what I do here and want to support the blog and channel in a more personal way, check me out on Patreon and discover all the value I have to offer you.

Questions? Comments? Requests? Did I miss the mark on something? Please let me know down below or Contact me!!

Would you take a gamble on the Mojo? I would love to hear your thoughts. Until next time…

All the best and God bless,

 

 

-Stu

[Xtr@Ba$eHitZ]

Can’t decide which headphones to purchase? Interested in a complete buyers guide outlining over 40 of the best options on the market? Click on over to the best audiophile headphones to learn more!!

Be sure to also check out my Reviews and Resources page for more helpful and informative articles!

Chord Mojo

4.4

Build/Reliability

3.3/5

Sound

5.0/5

Features

5.0/5

Ease of Use

4.3/5

Pros

  • Amazing sound
  • Versatile
  • Dual 3.5mm jacks
  • Optical input

Cons

  • Runs hot
  • Unit dies unexpectedly
  • Won't hold charge

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4 comments

Jolie January 9, 2021 - 1:59 pm

Great write up! Always good to know about any little ‘gotchas’ in reviews like this before purchasing.. I noticed the Chord Mojo comes with a 12 month manufacturer warranty too, so if one happened to get issued a dodgy unit at least you might be able to fall back on that (assuming any issues happen within the warranty period). Though the manufacturer is located in the UK so there’s always return shipping costs to be aware of.
Awesome to hear that the audio performance is not overhyped too – there’s nothing worse than splashing out on something only to get it home and be disappointed in the performance!!

Are there any issues with amps running hot in general? I’ve heard that can result in lower lifetime of components overall, but not sure if that’s actually the case.

Reply
Stuart Charles Black January 11, 2021 - 3:30 am

Oh hai Jolie! Thank you for stopping by! Yeah, that’s true! I was reading of some people having issues like right after the warranty period was up. I really think Chord needs to come out with a revision to the Mojo and fix all of these issues. It’s still the best Amp/DAC I’ve heard alongside a Bryston BHA-1 and the Mojo also outclasses Amps and DACS costing 3-4 times as much.

Class A amps tend to run hot because of reasons. LOL. I write a bit about it in the CentranceDACport HD review.

Reply
David Wilton September 2, 2021 - 2:06 pm

I have been giving thought to buying one used but the battery life comments have me rethinking this. other than this comment it seems that it will do everything i would like it to do. I’m a newbie in this hobby so the learning curve is still happening. Currently have the focal clear with a cobalt dragonfly and for portability, I have picked up the newly released IE 900 earbuds. Curious how this unit compares to the cobalt dragonfly.

Reply
Stuart Charles Black September 4, 2021 - 8:05 pm

Hey man great question! Check out this article: https://homestudiobasics.com/audioquest-dragonfly-red-vs-cobalt-vs-chord-mojo/ Keep me posted with questions!

Reply

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