Got my (Chord) Mojo goin' and I'm gone baby, gone real bad.....

Well it's been a while with my CXA60 amp and the audiophile in me has been getting restless. I quickly decided the Schiit Bifrost 4490, which I had upgraded from the Uber was a better DAC than the Wolfson WM8740 that is built into the CXA60, but it is convenient to use the Wolfson with the TV and the Bifrost for music. Just for the convenience of switching with the remote. The Bifrost seems to have a bigger sound stage and a softer upper range.

But then I read John Darko's review of the Schiit Gungnir Multibit (http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/01/zesty-and-sweet-the-stunning-schiit-gungnir-multibit-dac/) and I began to think about spending over A$2000 on an upgrade.... How much do I value my marriage? But wait, the Chord Mojo (http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/02/chord-electronics-mojo-lost-found/) is a whole lot cheaper and he rates it up there with Gungnir.... (http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/the-darko-dac-index/) And so do many others! (http://chordelectronics.co.uk/mojo/#nav-reviews , http://www.stereophile.com/content/chord-electronics-mojo-da-headphone-amplifier#XrV15eiY4du1u5rG.97  and just google it!) And you can use it as a portable with up to 10 hours of playing time or you can use it as a desktop with your computer or with your lounge room system. One wonders about the long term reliability of the battery, but I had to audition a Mojo, which I did through headphones (NAD Viso HP50) at VAF in Adelaide and then I had to bring it home.

I have in the past sat around analysing DACs for their subtle and not so subtle differences. No such problem with the Mojo! The differences are are simply there.. right in you face in a dramatic and even astounding way. The dynamism, the imaging, the clarity and the detail bring the music to life. It's just brilliant sound. At first I wondered if it was all too much, but the clincher for me was that I would soon give up on comparisons and simply listen. Even to very familiar music, to the end. Spotting the difference between sources, CD, Sonos Connect or whatever is much more of a challenge than the difference between the Mojo and my other DACs. This is, in my opinion an improvement worth paying for. Now if I want to listen at home or at work with headphones, I can have a wonderful sound quality with me....  Maybe one day I will have the spare cash for a Gungnir, or a 2Qute but for now I don't feel deprived.... I've got my Mojo going!

What makes a good HI-Fi sound from me....

For me, a good Hi-Fi system sounds like a good curry tastes. A good curry has a well-balanced spiciness with rich complex flavours and enough chilli to bring it all to life. Not enough fresh spiciness (read nuance, detail etc) and you have a bland unengaging presentation and with too much chilli (read punchiness or bass), the subtleties are drowned out by the heat. Each to their own, but that’s how I like it.

The new Cambridge CXA60 amplifier played through my "Adelaide Speakers", reviewed previously, comes close to this ideal.... for now....