|
|
Post by julesd68 on Jun 12, 2021 16:31:26 GMT
So, the Chord Mojo.
It's a bit good.
Fired up in anger for the first time today but only with cans. Played a lot of my test tracks and what's reassuringly impressive is that even with my modestly priced Philips headphones it is very revealing of source - all my tracks in terms of sq ranged from good to very good, to exceptional. I was expecting some of the recent productions to sound great but what impressed me most is what it managed to dig out of my 80's playlist grooves. This track from Mr Mister being a prime example - wide open, highly dynamic sound with lots of air, attack and separation.
My conclusions are that it's a long-term keeper even just for headphone use - it's so good I might even upgrade my cans at some point, as I am sure there is more to come from it. Talking of which, I am looking forward to trying it in place of the Topping in my main system.
|
|
|
|
digititis
Jun 12, 2021 16:33:54 GMT
via mobile
Post by jandl100 on Jun 12, 2021 16:33:54 GMT
Yup, I like the Mojo a lot. The best Chord DAC up to and including at least the Hugo2 imo.
|
|
|
|
Post by user211 on Jun 12, 2021 17:34:17 GMT
Mr Mojo Risin  That's an anagram of Jim Morrison, case yer didn't know. I am hoping you did, though;) |
|
|
|
Post by julesd68 on Jun 20, 2021 19:23:21 GMT
So I'm spending a lot of time at home right now as I'm waiting for my knackered ankle to heal. Looking for stuff to do I had the bright idea to resurrect my beautiful Chario Syntar 100 speakers for TV duty. They're a bit bigger than my little Denons but they are definitely staying in place. Watching the football even with low volume you get a lovely thud when the ball is kicked thanks to the excellent downwards firing bass. They are the best small speaker I ever had for sure and would never part with them as belonged to my mum. I once bought the floorstander Syntar thinking it would be an upgrade but they just didn't have the superb imaging and cohesion that the little ones have. Great to be reacquainted with my precious.  |
|
|
|
Post by julesd68 on Jun 24, 2021 11:22:30 GMT
Some interesting headphone experiments this morning with the Mojo, including a bit of a surprise ... First up, I decided to connect the Mojo to the Mac Mini. 'Instant upgrade' from using my phone and no surprise there as I remembered it was the same when I was using the Topping NX4. This works very well as I just use my phone for track selection on Spotify, controlling the Mini. Next up, swapped the generic USB cable for one I bought a while back from Ghent Audio, and this did surprise me as I heard an immediate improvement in clarity and dynamics; everything sounded a bit louder too. Happy days; the cable wasn't expensive either. It's quite a substantial cable and a little bit stiff. "Teflon Silver-plated Star Quad OFC, Braided shield with exceptional RFI and EMI protection"www.ghentaudio.com/usb/u05.html And for my final trick I hooked up the Mojo to my Tinker and reclocker from the main system, anticipating sonic fireworks. Boom!  Disappointment much. No benefit whatsoever that I could hear, in fact I was more enthusiastic about the sound from the Mini. I'm wondering why this could be, as I was expecting the use of ethernet and reclocker to up the ante a bit. Any ideas why this fell flat??  |
|
|
|
Post by julesd68 on Jun 30, 2021 18:49:34 GMT
My headphone musings were obviously such a huge hit I will have to bore you with some more.  If anyone wants some 'proper' headphones for peanuts then look no further than the Superlux HD668B. Listening to YouTube in HD this evening reminded me just how good they are. There surely can't be better for 30 quid.  |
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Jun 30, 2021 20:23:53 GMT
Agreed, I love mine despite not using them much.
|
|
|
|
Post by julesd68 on Aug 7, 2021 16:44:12 GMT
Here are my thoughts on the Allo USBridge Signature.
I was intrigued by its use of the CM3+ ‘industrial version’ of the Pi, motherboard developed by Allo and supposedly ultra-low noise power distribution bla bla etc etc
The first thing I noticed about the unit is the case. Aesthetically it isn’t offensive but is of very low quality to keep costs down no doubt - it’s super thin and flimsy which doesn’t inspire much confidence IMO.
Anyway, the most important thing is how it sounds of course. I flashed a new Volumio SD card and got it up and running very quickly. Initial impressions were disappointing yet after checking and changing a few options in Volumio, I wasn't able to make significant improvements. I found the sound to be sterile, lacking body, texture and width. Dynamics felt squashed and it lacked sparkle at the top end and authority in the bass. I tried it with and without my Oehlbach reclocker but this made no difference - I couldn’t get a sound out of it that I could live with, let alone beat the Asus.
Putting the Asus straight back in immediately made the system come alive. With the Asus I get a superb feeling of musical space and flow, with much better performance at frequency extremes - it just has a feeling of harmony about it. Dynamics and slam were just in a different league. I then decided to try the Asus without the Oehlbach and guess what, I decided that I preferred the sound without it! At the very least it adds nothing beneficial, so it is now gone and the system is further simplified which I like. |
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Aug 7, 2021 17:32:27 GMT
I can only conclude, as before, that the Pi-based streamers fundamentally suck the life out of the music.
Not so the Asus and certainly not so the xxxRendu series.
|
|
|
|
digititis
Aug 7, 2021 18:52:21 GMT
via mobile
Post by julesd68 on Aug 7, 2021 18:52:21 GMT
I actually got good results with the Digione - way superior to the USBridge. I'm somewhat surprised it couldn't do better.
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Aug 7, 2021 20:25:37 GMT
Yes, you're right, it's the USB outputs of the Pi that really suck. I thought that the USBridge have their own, though.
|
|
|
|
Post by wannarock2 on Aug 7, 2021 21:57:53 GMT
.without the Oehlbach ... blasphemy! |
|
|
|
Post by julesd68 on Aug 8, 2021 0:45:59 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by julesd68 on Aug 19, 2021 11:19:04 GMT
It’s nice that my son is starting to appreciate good audio.
I’ve just set him up on Spotify Family so he gets Premium too. Instant uplift in SQ and that’s just using his PC’s sound card.
Next for him will be an external DAC / headphone amp for the full effect.
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Aug 20, 2021 5:35:49 GMT
As a cheap suggestion I am still blown away by the Fifo BT5 pair it with a decent headphones and it sounds great. It make music portable dose not cost a lot and sounds way better than expected. If Paris has a Android phone and headphones a no brainer imho He will have to go into settings on his phone to get LDAC set up but that quite easy.
|
|
|
|
digititis
Aug 20, 2021 12:29:05 GMT
via mobile
Post by julesd68 on Aug 20, 2021 12:29:05 GMT
Thanks John - I'm not familiar with that product and no joy on Google - do you have a link?
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Aug 20, 2021 18:24:22 GMT
|
|
|
|
digititis
Aug 20, 2021 19:40:24 GMT
via mobile
Post by julesd68 on Aug 20, 2021 19:40:24 GMT
Looks like a great choice for portable use but I'm thinking a desktop USB DAC would be best bet as most of his listening is done at the PC.
|
|
|
|
Post by julesd68 on Aug 26, 2021 13:15:20 GMT
I'm a happy bunny today.
The first LP I have bought since moving to streaming and the first time ever I have bought one not caring that the vinyl isn't 'NM', reason being I have bought it for the cover rather than the disc.
Gillian Welch's wonderful The Harrow and the Harvest normally goes for well over £100 on vinyl but I didn't want to pay that as I want it just so I can have the stellar artwork on my wall. It's one of my favourite album covers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Slinger on Aug 26, 2021 13:44:51 GMT
Good choice, Jules.
|
|
📶NAS > Gustard x26p DAC > Benchmark LA4 Pre-Amp > NAD M22-V2 Amplifier > Revel F228Be Speakers
