I've owned or had long term auditions with around 20.DACs focussing heavily on R2R DACs. I've owned the Mojo X for awhile and love it. I have also had several Chord DACs including the Mojo, Qutest, and Hugo TT2. They are all great and have a consistent signature that is detailed and spacious. I greatly prefer the Mojo X presentation which feels very natural to me. The details are definitely present but they are shoved in your face. I'm pretty sure that Ben will let you return the DAC if you don't like it in your system (but worth double checking). Good luck.
Mojo Audio Mystique X SE
In a recent post where I was asking for cable recommendations for my system, most recommended DAC first (my weakest link), then maybe amp, then cables. I am looking for an end game (for me) DAC. The subject DAC from a price standpoint is endgame (again for me). The form factor is perfect, the reviews are mostly great, it won the excellent 6 DAC comparison by @mitch2., although the Holo May KTE was not in the test, but is a consideration.
@soix feedback:
I haven’t heard your Qutest or the Mojo, but from everything I’ve read they’re very different sound profiles with the former being more of a white wine and the latter much more of a red, so the question becomes if it goes too far in the other direction for your tastes. If you’re looking for a warmer/fuller sound you may love the Mojo or you might find it a little too much of a good thing and/or too polite up top so having the ability to return it is key I’d think.
I am a little concerned with the potential warmth & lack of detail. Also, USB and linearly based upon the Stereophile review. However, I am looking for a DAC that is very musical & and reduces or eliminates ‘digital glare’.
The digital side of my system: Aurender N150 > Chord Qutest w/sbooster+ultra > PS Audio BHK pre > Moon 330A > KEF Reference 3’s.
Before I buy, I am looking for feedback from previous or current owners along with those who have heard the Mojo Mystique and how it would fit in my system, along with other DAC’s you might recommend. Thanks!
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I purchased the new Denafrips Pontus 15 and really liked it. Despite that and, perhaps to my detriment, I felt it was a big-DAC world and even better SQ awaited me with something grander (and more expensive). One of the stops on my DAC merry-go-round was the Mojo Mystique X SE, a demo unit from Mr. Mojo's (Benjamin's) system. After poring through the 6 DAC shootout and its truly helpful reviews, I was really enthused and expected a great deal from the Mojo. I must say that once installed and given time to settle, I was underwhelmed. In my system, it was clean, resolving and musical but didn't have the bounce and enjoyment that the new Pontus provided. Go figure. As I add better equipment, I'm hearing more than ever before, which could be a negative to my aging ears and ever more addled brain. My current DAC is a Meitner, which I'm happy with. Better than what came before? Yes. Best fit for me? Still working on that. Good luck with your quest. |
my 2 cents a few years back i tried a mojo (believe it was a mystique v3) and after extended listening i ended up returning it to ben... it is a very suave very smooth sounding dac, but in my system it I felt it lacked some drive, openness, and ultimate transient clarity provided by other nice dacs I was comparing it to (audio note 4.1, msb analog, chord tt2/scaler)... i suspect ben’s design objective and voicing target is to conservatively remove all traces of ’digititis’ from systems that may have those characteristics (either intrinsically or due to power or front end jitter/noise issues) and for those users, of which i think there are plenty out there the dacs are wonderful ... I have certainly learned that optimizing a digital feed can be quite a pain all this said, the mojos are nice super smooth dacs but to me the challenge for higher end users is to make sure the front end feed is optimized before selecting any ’keeper’ dac |
Curiousjim I helped a friend put together a second system recently, where he used some components from his main system.....and bought a new streamer and DAC for the main system. Long story short, he replaced his Denafrips Venus II 12th with a Denafrips Terminator 15th......it is as good as I had thought it would be, and much more. Admittedly I am a huge Denafrips DAC fan, so take that with a grain of salt.....but the Terminator 15th or Terminator Plus 15th will be a finalist when I upgrade my Pontus II next year. |
@vthokie83 @curiousjim While I am not ruling it out, I have & may continue to avoid Chi-fi. Also the Denafrips tend to be quite large & combining HT with 2 channel, my space is limited. Thanks I will more than likely do a buy and try with the Mojo, but have been informed by my wife that she would like me to sell R11’s (replaced with Ref 3’s), prior to replacing my DAC. As I said on another thread, patience is a virtue. Thanks to all.
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