MOJO – it’s a contraction of “mobile joy”, and Chord Electronics’ spanking new headphone amp/DAC aims to provide audiophiles on the move with the best that their money can buy. In the case of the Mojo, the price of entry into headfi heaven is a mere £399.
Chord promises “studio-grade” sound quality for smartphones and other playback devices connected to Mojo, which is wholly British built.
According to the press release, “Mojo processes (audio) files using the most advanced conversion technology available, to deliver genuinely unrivalled sound quality to up to two pairs of headphones.” The company touts Mojo as the “most advanced device of its kind in the world.”
Offered are three high-resolution digital inputs – micro USB, optical and 3.5mm coaxial. Selection is automatic – if more than one input is active, the priority is USB first, coaxial second and optical third.
The optical input is up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution, the other two, an incredible 32-bit/768kHz.
Mojo will play back all relevant music formats, including cutting-edge high-resolution ones… PCM, WAV, AAC, AIFF, MP3, FLAC and DSD over PCM (DSD 64, 128 and 256).
Chord employs the new Artix-7 FPGA chipset from Silicon Valley’s Xilinx on Mojo. The field programmable circuit enables in-house engineers to directly implement Chord’s proprietary digital audio expertise instead of being constrained by limitations imposed by off-the-shelf DAC chipsets.
A new “high-temperature battery technology” allows much faster charging, and full charge is reached in just four hours via
USB; Chord promises 10 hours of playback time.
Mojo’s casework is machined from solid aircraft-grade aluminium and has a hard, fine matt-black finish.
Spherical buttons are used for power on/off, volume control and file frequency information – the spheres illuminate and cycle through a range of rainbow colours.
At 82 x 60 x 22mm (l/w/d) and 180g, and given the solid built quality, the Mojo appears to be a sturdy and compact beast, fitting neatly into your palm.
Mojo is already on sale, so check with your dealer for local pricing.
