Chord releases its Mojo – audiophile quality for your phone
Chord Electronics has just launched Mojo at a swanky bash at London’s Shard. Mojo is a headphone amplifier and DAC (digital-to-analogue convertor) that empowers smartphones and connected devices to deliver music content at up to studio-master-tape quality (high-resolution audio) via headphones. Mojo enables this, due to Chord’s advanced proprietary digital signal processing technology.
Mojo, a contraction of ‘Mobile Joy’, has been released to allow users of low-cost apps, such as Onkyo’s HF player (iOS and Android), that make high-resolution music file playback from all smartphones easy, get more out of their portable listening experience.
Mojo connects to these devices digitally, processing the files using the most advanced conversion technology available, to deliver what the company describes as “genuinely unrivalled sound quality” to up to two pairs of headphones.
Mojo will also play everyday file formats, including MP3, bringing the best possible sound quality to music collections everywhere, whatever the file quality.
Mojo connects digitally to smartphones and similar devices in a number of ways. It offers three different high-resolution digital inputs: Micro USB, optical and a 3.5mm coaxial input.
Input selection is fully automatic: if more than one input is active, they are prioritised as USB first, coaxial second and optical third.
A Micro USB to USB cable is supplied with each Mojo and Chord Electronics will be offering consumers a range of approved, low-cost connecting cables for iOS devices and various other digital connections.
Mojo utilises new high-temperature battery technology, giving much faster charging (up to twenty hours’ faster than competitor units). A full charge is reached in just four hours via USB, giving around ten hours’ playback; Mojo’s charging Micro USB port has a battery status and charging indicator light, too.
Mojo’s ultra-compact form, based on Chord’s award-winning Hugo platform, has been designed to be easily operated with no confusing or superfluous switches. Its simplicity means anyone can enjoy high-end sound quality straight out of the box.
Mojo’s casework is machined from solid aircraft-grade aluminium and has a hard, fine Matt-black finish that does not finger-mark.
Mojo is capable of playing all of today’s music formats: PCM; WAV; AAC; AIFF; MP3 and FLAC. It is designed to work with all smartphones and music players and covers specialist high-resolution formats such as DoP DSD files: DSD 64; DSD 128 and DSD 256.
Mojo’s three high-resolution digital input options comprise optical (to 192kHz), plus Micro USB and RCA (mini-jack) which operate at up to an incredible 768kHz.
Mojo uses the new Artix-7 FPGA chipset from Silicon Valley’s Xilinx, making Mojo “the most advanced DAC of its type on the planet!”
Unlike other audio products, that process digital files using off-the-shelf chips from Asia, Chord uses an FPGA — a programmable circuit that enables its skilled engineers to directly implement its own digital audio expertise, making Mojo unique in the marketplace.
Mojo uses spherical buttons for power on/off, volume control and file frequency information.
The spheres illuminate and cycle through a range of rainbow colours. The file frequency is shown clearly by an indicator colour option on the power switch: from CD-quality (44.1kHz, red), 48kHz (orange) and so on, up through a rainbow of colours to bright white for DSD. Volume levels are similarly represented using colour.
Mojo sells for £399 and is available now.
Technical specification
Digital inputs
1 x Micro USB 768kHz/32-bit capable
1 x 3.5mm jack coaxial 768kHz/32-bit capable
1 X Optical Toslink 192kHz/24-bit capable
Outputs
2. x 3.5mm headphone jacks
Charging
1 X Micro USB charging port
Output power @1kHz: 600 ohms 35mW; 8 Ohms 720mW
Output impedance: 75m ohms
Dynamic range: 125dB
THD: @3V 0.00017%
Weight: 180g
Dimensions: 82x60x22 (LxWxH mm)
