The inputs are autosensing, with USB taking priority over the optical and coax. And the Mojo rechargeable battery gives you 8 hours of music playback on the go, though it runs warm while in use. This small sound powerhouse connects to any audio device that outputs audio in micro USB, Optical, or Coax ports.
You should charge it for 10 hours straight out of the box and install the device-specific drivers from Chord’s website. It has no dedicated display, but the colors on power and volume buttons change to indicate the input signal’s sampling rate and status.Įverything is housed in an aircraft-grade aluminum casing, well machined to give the Mojo a sleek high standard look. It combines the Hugo series and Dave reference converter technologies from the same manufacturer to effortlessly drive any pair of headphones.Ĭhord gave the Mojo a minimalistic design, with three ball-like buttons for power on/off and volume control.
The Chord Audio Mojo is a Britain-made portable DAC/Amp combo the size of a pack of cards. However, this tiny and attractive device won’t need any extraneous components to perform as it should as its analog circuit directly connects to the ESS converter chip’s output. This device will drive headphones under 250 ohms without breaking a sweat but may struggle with higher impedance and inefficient headphones. The indicator is red when on standby, purple when decoding MQA, green for 44.1 kHz, blue for 48 kHz, yellow for 88.2 kHz, and light blue for 96 kHz. The smart LED indicator shows you the sample rate and signal status.
It competes exemplarily with multi-clock DACs in sound resolution and clarity thanks to a StreamLength asynchronous USB code that minimizes jitters, packet errors, and resource load errors. With its 24-bit/96 kHz resolution and monoClock technology, the Cobalt handles most audio formats like MP3, MQA, and high-res codecs nicely. It outputs an audio signal through a 3.5mm jack to headphones, powered speakers, receivers, and amplifiers. The DragonFly Cobalt is compatible with Windows, iOS, Android, and Mac devices.
The improved performance results from the combined efforts of the ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip, a PIC32MX274 microcontroller, and a 64-bit digital volume controller.įurthermore, the whole circuit is optimized to draw less current and improve power filtering, resulting in low interferences from Wi-Fi, cellular, and Bluetooth signals. If you had used the prior models, you’d certainly notice the improved sound quality in the Cobalt.
The advanced chip betters the Cobalt’s power management while improving the processing speed. It retains the much-loved features of its predecessors like digital volume controls, 2.1v headphone output, and the MQA renderer. It’s a revision of the 2015 Red and Black models, though with a better chip. The device natively connects to a USB Type-A port but can also connect to a USB Type-C port via an adapter. DAC/AmpĭragonFly Cobalt is a USB drive-sized portable DAC/Amp combo from Audioquest. The DAC/Amp Combo achieves the sound quality by converting the digital signal to analog audio and amplifying it before sending the sound to the headphones.Īnd to make sure you go straight to listening, we present to you eight best portable DAC/Amp Combos you can buy. The sound becomes clearer, higher-quality, and with more captivating bass. Now, put a quality portable DAC/Amp combo and quality headphones into the equation, and the sound quality gets to a whole new level. And technically, electronic devices like phones, computers, and gaming consoles have in-built digital audio converters (DACs) that play with regular headphones just fine. Music is as good as the equipment playing it.