Mojo Audio Mystique EVO

Agreed! So darn good.  

I love the V3. 

The used value of a non-balanced is really closer to $2600-$2700 based on my recent purchase, past used sales and what I see a used Balanced one listed here for ($3400).  Ben asks more, and should,  as he goes through them and offers a short warranty. Just an FYI. I love the V3 and may upgrade the chokes on my own as well as some other upgrades.

I have to post on how good the Mojo Audio Evo dac sounds. While I do not own the Evo, I did upgrade my Mystique 3 to something that is very close to the Evo with most of Ben’s Evo upgrades. I have the latest usb card, op amps and best Lundahl chokes in my Mystique 3.

This dac has transformed my system by delivering a dose of realism I previously thought was unattainable in a digitally based sound system.

I am like a little kid in a candy store with the Mojo dac. I cannot get my system to ever sound loud! No kidding! No matter how much I turn up the volume the music never sounds loud! The music just swells and expands with a live musical experience happening in my space. Uncanny realism and musical delight.

Ben has a very special dac here folks and one I think is transformational sonically. Well done.

It is at least 35% better. Frankly my music is on a whole different level and the percentage improvement is just sort of impossible for me to quantify. Too vague.  

For me it elevates my listening experience more than 30-35%.  Hard to put this sort of thing in percentage improvement.

I found my upgrades needed time to break in and really come through.  Give your new unit the time Ben suggests.  He knows this dac as it is his baby!  

I hear the very same improvements. The top to bottom perfect balance and every frequency in proper and right balance is something this dac really excels at. My music never sounds loud anymore. No matter how much I turn it up the music sounds right and never loud. It grows and swells filling the space and I can feel the impact, but it never sounds pushed or “loud”.

+1 Exactly my experience lately.  

You folks missed the point and this is so important. The reason it doesn’t sound loud is the harmonic coherency…everything is in proper time and tune. Also, the absense of noise. Distortion sounds loud. 

Yes I do.   I put those in per Ben’s recommendation. 

For those interested in a used  Mojo Audio Mystique V3, I noticed there is one that just popped up on US Audio Mart.

Interesting. I purchased the very good PS Audio PWT transport two weeks ago because I have been hearing folks say what Benjamin just posted. Ben shared this with me recently. So I have a very nice Hijiri Nogami power cord on the transport and the top of the line Hijiri Million Dollar digital cable. I have been comparing the sound to my Innuos Zenith 3 server. I had to find out for myself if CD spinning is still that far ahead.

The answer is not universal or easy. It depends and that is now clear to me. My Innuos Zenith is fed by a Network Acoustics ENO filter, two ENO ethernet cables, an English Electric Switch 8 powered by a top notch LPS and a modem/router powered my a top notch LPS. I have a Tchernov Reference USB cable between the Mojo Evo and Zenith.

I have been conducting listening tests carefully listening for differences and preferences. Here is my conclusion based on my system as outlined above.
- CD spinning sounds very, very similar to CDs ripped and played off the Zenith. Very close. I would give a slight edge in dimension to the CD spinner. Very slight.
- Streaming Qobuz from Roon did not sound as good as the CD spinner. It depended on the Qobuz file quality however. Non - HD Qobuz files sounded the worst. HD Qobuz sounded much better, but still about 85% as good as the CD spinner. It sounded flat compared to CD spinning.
- Using the new Innuos Sense instead of Roon makes things much closer to CD spinning. Roon does not sound as good as the new Sense software from Innuos. Frankly, Sense is much better sounding at the date of this posting. So streaming HD Qobuz files through Innuos Sense is damn close to the CD spinner. Within 5%.

Innuos Sense is coming out with an update next week that is said to sound some 10% better according to beta testers. This will put HD Qobuz files and CD rips on par with CD spinning in my rig. What’s important to remember here is everything matters when it comes to streaming and playing files off a server. Everything matters! The music playback software used is also critical. Roon is no match to Sense sonically as of today. However, Roon continues to improve their sound quality as does Sense. This space is moving fast folks with sound quality improvements coming monthly! Network Acoustics has some new ethernet filters and switches coming that will improve streaming sound quality even more.

No easy or general answer to the question of does CD spinning or streaming/server sound better. Cannot make any broad brush conclusions as it just depends. Too many options, products and variables are at play. In addition, the streaming/server improvements are coming at a very fast rate. Innuos Sense is just one example. Going from Roon to Sense has been a sonic revelation for many of us. Both continue to improve sound quality and that is great news for sure.

Depending on how your system’s digital front end is set up CD spinning may sound much better than a server or it may not. The only way to know is to compare for yourself in your own system. Just FAR too many variables at play for the one simple answer.

Yes, the transport matters. But the digital cable and power cord also matters in terms of the sound output of the transport. The footers matter also. The fuse matters. Oh my. Very important really. So much matters.
I have the some of the best ancillaries on the PWT and do feel it is a good comparison to the Jay’s or any great spinner. Hijiri cabling, QSA fuse, Townshend footers etc….

Must hear the sonic differences or lack of them in your own system. For me spinning vs server is very close. I owned a tricked out Mini, LPS and all the software upgrades, and moving to my current server front end was a substantial sonic upgrade. At least for me in my system.

I would love to try a Jay’s or Pro-Ject transport in my rig with my cabling and footers. I would need it as a trial purchase for comparison purposes.  If it is significantly better, to my ear, than the PWT I would buy it. Better for me is not a matter of more detail or crisper leading edges, but more a matter of natural tone and fluidity.