Mojo (original): everything he said

162 posts and passages, oldest first, as one-line summaries in our words. Each link opens the original.

• 2015-12-13Watts says solder, metal contacts and passive parts affect sound, and that Chord boards are reflow soldered with silver paste in nitrogen, which sounds better than flow or hand soldering. Head-Fi, Dec 2015
• 2015-12-13Watts bets a new Dave against a bottle of Bollinger, and a Mojo against a beer, that they will beat the DACs a poster named for transparency and musicality. needs context Head-Fi, Dec 2015
• 2015-12-30Watts says Dave is better than Mojo/Hugo, but Hugo was the first digital device that let him enjoy music rather than sound, despite being technically close to Qute. Head-Fi, Dec 2015
• 2016-01-09Watts says Mojo draws on ideas he began 30 years ago and that his background spans silicon chip design and high-end audio such as DAVE and Mojo. What Hi-Fi? 2:43
• 2016-01-09Watts says silicon chip design is budget-limited and suffers non-linear silicon and capacitors, while an FPGA plus discrete components lets him build his own chip in Mojo without those problems. What Hi-Fi? 3:29
• 2016-01-09Watts says sound quality depends on the interpolation filter, infinite processing would perfectly recover the analog signal, and Mojo has 500 times conventional chips' processing power and 44 DSP cores. What Hi-Fi? 4:16
• 2016-01-09Watts says the 400-pound Mojo has more cores than a Pentium, so it better calculates missing information between samples, reproducing timing more faithfully for better timbre, instrument location and musicality. What Hi-Fi? 4:59
• 2016-01-09Watts says there are engineering principles behind why things sound bad, he is doing things nobody has done before, and Mojo offers this technology at an unprecedented price. What Hi-Fi? 5:44
• 2016-01-09Watts says the Mojo project grew out of Hugo and its success, and that Hugo began as a fun exercise for himself. What Hi-Fi? 7:06
• 2016-01-21Watts says Dave's FPGA has 132 DSP slices plus 34 fabric cores, his DACs reject source jitter equally, and source differences come from RF and correlated noise, removed by isolation. Head-Fi, Jan 2016
• 2016-01-29Watts gives DAVE's noise as -127 dB A-weighted at 2.5 V and distortion 0.000015 percent, and says his converters' distortion falls with signal level, unlike ladder, DSD or chip DACs. article, Jan 2016
• 2016-03-04Watts explains the pulse array modulator and seven benefits (constant switching, jitter immunity, signal-unrelated currents, 104 MHz noise shaping), why Dave has 20 elements, and Mojo versus Dave THD. Head-Fi, Mar 2016
• 2016-03-29Watts says DAC inconsistency and break-in 25 years ago led him to pulse array; Mojo units measure and sound alike, and brain break-in is now the biggest variable. Head-Fi, Mar 2016
• 2016-05-23Watts says he uses Mojo while traveling and sets up DAVE in hotels, where from cold its sound quality reaches full form within about 10 minutes. Head-Fi, May 2016
• 2016-07-24Watts says Hugo has about 26,000 taps, Mojo similar, and DAVE 164,000 taps on 166 DSP cores filtering to 2048 times; the 100,000-line WTA code repeatedly failed timing closure. Hifistatement 3:15
• 2016-07-24Watts says his DACs from Mojo to DAVE show no measurable noise floor modulation or anharmonic distortion, with distortion falling as signal falls, unlike R2R, DSD and silicon DACs. Hifistatement 44
• 2016-08-05Watts describes DAVE's power system: multistage RF filtering, a 3 milliohm output-stage supply and a discrete reference under 0.1 milliohm; he says noise floor modulation is audible to -200 dB. Head-Fi, Aug 2016
• 2016-08-09Watts explains why a PC cannot replicate DAVE's processing: FPGAs run filter taps in parallel (DAVE 166 DSP cores, Mojo 44 at 0.45 W), and algorithm design also matters. Head-Fi, Aug 2016
• 2016-08-28Watts compares DAVE and Mojo: 1% output into 300 ohms 6.8 V vs 5.4 V, THD+N at 3 V 0.00009% vs 0.00017%, THD at 2.5 V 0.000007% vs 0.0001%. Head-Fi, Aug 2016
• 2016-09-14Watts describes running three DAVE systems, including portable hotel speakers, and says DAVE usually works in demo systems but occasionally sounds flat and hard until setup is fixed. Head-Fi, Sep 2016
• 2016-09-15Watts says he uses a low-power HP Pavilion on battery and an MSI i7 laptop on the road, runs JRiver 21, and finds ASIO slightly better than WASAPI with Mojo. Head-Fi, Sep 2016
• 2016-10-16Watts argues musicality comes first and explains why Mojo and DAVE excel on transient timing (NOS errors, tap length, 1M taps), small-signal accuracy and noise floor modulation. Head-Fi, Oct 2016
• 2016-10-20Watts lists the filter stages: Hugo and Mojo use WTA 16FS, linear interpolation to 2048FS and 260 kHz low-pass filters; DAVE adds a WTA stage to 256FS, nearer ideal sinc. Head-Fi, Oct 2016
• 2016-11-01Watts says his reward is enjoying music with Mojo and DAVE, and blames himself for Blu Mk2's delay: the August prototype worked, but an improvement cost two or three months. Head-Fi, Nov 2016
• 2016-12-18Watts says ASIO and WASAPI are both bit perfect; DAVE shows no difference via isolation and battery laptop, yet ASIO sounds slightly better on Mojo, likely from less processor noise. Head-Fi, Dec 2016
• 2016-12-21Watts says the Remedy's cheap TI SRC chip is not bit perfect, adds distortion, noise and timing errors, and is possibly the fastest way to destroy Mojo or Dave's sound. Head-Fi, Dec 2016
• 2017-01-09Watts says WTA processing is identical from 44.1 to 384 kHz, explains mounting the FPGA core switching regulator underneath to limit ground-plane noise, and Blu Mk2 needing 12A. Head-Fi, Jan 2017
• 2017-01-23Watts says Dave's 26,000 to 164,000 tap step disappointed him, algorithm and 16FS mattered more, 0.5M taps was transformational, and explains reducing errors until inaudible with a biscuit-barrel analogy. Head-Fi, Jan 2017
• 2017-02-07Watts says PC upsampling has limited taps and conventional algorithms, converting to DSD degrades depth and timing, and data to Mojo, Hugo or Dave should stay bit perfect. Head-Fi, Feb 2017
• 2017-02-20Watts says DX is AES dual-data SPDIF with volume in user data; Mojo takes 768 only via USB, coax tops at 384 kHz, and Hugo 2 now accepts dual-data coax. Head-Fi, Feb 2017
• 2017-03-18Watts says the display brightness can be set as on Mojo, is fine in sunlight, and is not too bright at night on the low setting. Head-Fi, Mar 2017
• 2017-03-19Watts says Hugo 2's 'Mojo filter' only selects a 16FS WTA with Mojo-like tonal balance, and the 256FS filter gives DAVE-like incisiveness without making Hugo 2 sound like DAVE. Head-Fi, Mar 2017
• 2017-03-20Watts says full charge is 8.4 V, desktop mode drops to 8.2 to 8.0 V where life is unaffected, and Mojo was run at 8.2 V for long life. Head-Fi, Mar 2017
• 2017-03-26Watts says this was largely already in Mojo, Hugo 2 has better PSU isolation, and he will re-run tests with Mojo, Hugo 2 and DAVE after a surprising result. needs context Head-Fi, Mar 2017
• 2017-04-12Watts says output voltage into 300 ohms and volume colors match Mojo, the wheel has no click steps and shows two colors, and the remote steps volume. Head-Fi, Apr 2017
• 2017-04-15Watts says Hugo 2's FPGA 12-bit ADC monitors battery voltage and shuts down at 6.5 V, a level safe for full-current recharge, so the battery cannot be drained. Head-Fi, Apr 2017
• 2017-06-05Watts says Mojo does not need desktop mode, as it charges at a lower voltage and the charger simply matches Mojo's consumption when left connected. Head-Fi, Jun 2017
• 2017-06-18Watts says the problem is power: Mojo is so small that any more power dissipation would cause problems. needs context Head-Fi, Jun 2017
• 2017-07-09Watts says he has a production pair of Aeons, finds them exceptionally good, and calls them a good match for Mojo, Hugo 2 and DAVE. Head-Fi, Jul 2017
• 2017-07-19Watts explains how coupling capacitors, reference decoupling and LF distortion add bloom, why Hugo 2 avoids them by tackling noise floor modulation, and why its warmer filter options exist. Head-Fi, Jul 2017
• 2017-08-31Watts says Chord's production director puts Hugo 2 failure rates near 0.1%, describes its manufacture alongside Mojo, and argues no other or chip-based DACs match Chord's measured performance. Head-Fi, Aug 2017
• 2017-10-13Watts says a Xilinx FPGA family launched about 3 years ago went into Mojo and Hugo 2; he used it for Davina, then ported that work into Blu 2. miceblue425 23:55
• 2017-10-16Watts posts seminar measurement slides, saying simulation shows -301 dB signals reproduced, his designs have no measurable noise floor modulation, and jitter FFTs should replace marketing claims. Head-Fi, Oct 2017
• 2017-11-05Watts says how bad MQA is should be easy to hear on Mojo, and more apparent on Hugo 2 because of its transparency and better WTA filters. Head-Fi, Nov 2017
• 2017-11-15Watts says the M scaler's WTA coefficients match an ideal sinc to 16 bits, needing about 1 million taps and the right algorithm, which PC up-samplers lack. Head-Fi, Nov 2017
• 2017-12-05Watts says pulse array eliminated the fundamental linearity problem of his 1990s DSD256 DACs; a minus 120 dB signal now measures within a thousandth of a dB, Mojo to DAVE. RMAF 18:43
• 2017-12-05Watts shows a jitter test with no visible jitter, says Mojo nearly matches DAVE, and credits DAVE's low 19/20 kHz two-tone distortion to its second-order analog noise shaper amplifier. RMAF 50:44
• 2017-12-05Watts says skeptics bought Chord and upgraded Mojo to Hugo 2 to DAVE, every DAVE buyer buys a Blu 2, and this first show presentation aims to explain his technology. RMAF 55:28
• 2017-12-05Watts recounts a would-be dealer joke about Chord's market share, says over seventy thousand Mojos have sold, and that Chord customers could fill two football grounds. RMAF 56:42
• 2017-12-18Watts says sampling images cause transient timing errors and their out-of-band noise overloads analog stages causing noise floor modulation, which none of his DACs from Mojo to DAVE measurably show. Head-Fi, Dec 2017
• 2018-01-10Watts says 2Qute's discrete stage was never meant for low impedances; Qutest uses the Mojo output stage with more drive but is a DAC only, its impedance unmeasured. Head-Fi, Jan 2018
• 2018-01-11Watts says Mojo runs its DSP cores at 104 MHz rather than 208 MHz to save power; the same WTA filter then needs twice the cores but performs identically. Head-Fi, Jan 2018
• 2018-01-11Watts describes balancing warmth and transparency: DAVE sounded too dark until the 256FS WTA filter, cheaper products degrade evenly from BluDave, and Mojo was set warmer for cheaper headphones. Head-Fi, Jan 2018
• 2018-01-23Watts says the Hugo 2 and Mojo battery gauges need no recalibration cycles, as the FPGA's ADC and the charger reference are very accurate. Head-Fi, Jan 2018
• 2018-01-25Watts explains AES dual data mode, says Hugo 2 and Qutest auto-assign channels while DAVE needs manual connection, and says a Mojo with Nighthawks or Aeons beats far costlier systems. Head-Fi, Jan 2018
• 2018-02-14Watts says Hugo 1 and Mojo have similar depth because they share the same pulse array, noise shapers and truncators, which set small-signal linearity and hence depth. Head-Fi, Feb 2018
• 2018-02-19Watts explains his discrete single-ended DAC combines I-to-V, filtering and headphone drive in one amplifier with two resistors and two capacitors; DAVE's balanced outputs add an inverting amplifier. Head-Fi, Feb 2018
• 2018-03-17Watts says never upsample at the source into his DACs; cascading two DAVEs via DX helps slightly versus an M scaler's huge change; isolating FPGA noise was essential for DAVE. Head-Fi, Mar 2018
• 2018-03-22Watts says Qutest has the same number and packaging of transistors as Mojo, and no power button because it consumes only a couple of Watts. Head-Fi, Mar 2018
• 2018-03-31Watts says he has rejected projects simpler than Mojo because they could not reach the performance, but would do a cheaper product if it sounded better. article, Mar 2018
• 2018-03-31Watts says Mojo gives truly high-end performance for £400, can be listened to for 10 hours without the fatigue of other digital products, and is engaging, musical and transparent. article, Mar 2018
• 2018-03-31Watts names Mojo as the project he is happiest with, because of how many people bought it for its musical performance; he never expected those sales. article, Mar 2018
• 2018-04-04Watts weighs DAVE, the M scaler (1M taps, a lifetime dream) and Mojo (musicality he has heard from no non-Chord DAC), picks Mojo, and says Hugo most changed his listening. article, Apr 2018
• 2018-04-04Watts says since Hugo bad recordings became enjoyable, concluding the brain copes with noise, harmonic distortion and frequency response but not digital's unnatural distortions. Head-Fi, Apr 2018
• 2018-05-25Watts says TT2 addresses headphone power (external amps mostly add coloration) and DAVE driving efficient speakers directly; its 18 watts drives any headphones, and he drives speakers from headphone sockets. Darko Audio 50
• 2018-05-25Watts describes his power pulse array amplifiers in development (200 watts to a kilowatt, single global feedback) and says TT2 uses their output stage, delivering five amps into headphones. Darko Audio 2:10
• 2018-07-21Watts says he uses the M Scaler with Hugo 2 on planes, Hugo 2 and Qutest work fine, and he regrets not giving Mojo 768 capability. c w 29:47
• 2018-07-26Watts says Mojo can take the M Scaler's 384 kHz output but lacks dual coaxial inputs for the full 768 kHz. Head-Fi, Jul 2018
• 2018-08-04Watts says Mojo's 768 kHz works on USB only; going from 0.5M to 1M taps is a big change, so audition the M scaler with Mojo against a Hugo 2. Head-Fi, Aug 2018
• 2018-08-05Watts says Mojo gains from 0.5M taps but upgrading Mojo may be better, and Mojo lacks an extra SPDIF decoder because power mattered and no M scaler existed then. Head-Fi, Aug 2018
• 2018-08-19Watts says a claimed 10,000,000-tap filter has a very poor transition band that a few thousand taps could match; Mojo's WTA is 10 times better, and algorithm beats tap length. Head-Fi, Aug 2018
• 2018-11-11Watts says Qutest uses the same output stage as Mojo, so shorting it is a bad idea, and its powerful discrete stage gives lower distortion even into amplifier inputs. Head-Fi, Nov 2018
• 2018-12-09Watts says he rarely has airport security problems with DAVE, the M scaler or Mojo, carried on or checked, recounting questions in Indonesia and over Hugo 2 in Hanoi. Head-Fi, Dec 2018
• 2018-12-13Watts says Mojo is described as having 500 times more processing power, gives its previously unpublished tap length as 38,000 taps, and credits that processing for a 400 pound device. Pursuit Perfect System 10:21
• 2019-03-12Watts says to consider TT2's balanced output only at +6H or above, and its low gain setting is about 6 dB quieter than Mojo. Head-Fi, Mar 2019
• 2019-05-15Watts says Mojo is not jitter sensitive; apparent sensitivity depends on test equipment, and an APx555 shows no jitter errors. Head-Fi, May 2019
• 2019-09-20Watts says Qutest uses Mojo's Class A stage for easy loads, while Hugo 2's noise shaper output is crossover-distortion free into 33 ohms, with 120 dB feedback at 20 kHz. Head-Fi, Sep 2019
• 2019-10-06Watts explains 16 pulse array elements encode 5 bits, that 64-clock PWM switching raises truncator resolution to 7 bits as on Mojo, and that raw resolution is no performance indicator. Head-Fi, Oct 2019
• 2019-10-14Watts confirms Mojo uses 100uF tantalum coupling caps while his other DACs use a digital DC servo, says tantalums add softness and bloom, and lists three analog design rules. Head-Fi, Oct 2019
• 2019-10-17Watts guesses 1W for Hugo 2 and 0.75W for Mojo into 6 ohms, noting Hugo 2 measured 1.05W RMS into 8 ohms at 1% THD. Head-Fi, Oct 2019
• 2020-01-02Watts says noise floor modulation tests need identical settings with only the level reduced, and his plots show no measured modulation in any product from Mojo to DAVE. Passion for Sound 10:05
• 2020-01-27Watts says dual-BNC 768k on Mojo was dropped in 2015 to save power and the manual corrected; Mojo takes 768k on USB, and the algorithm matters more than tap length. Head-Fi, Jan 2020
• 2020-03-13Watts revises his desktop mode advice by daily use, calls it splitting hairs, and estimates battery capacity of about 70% after 13 years if turned off daily versus 65% if left on. Head-Fi, Mar 2020
• 2020-05-06Watts says USB bit errors are rare and obvious, Hugo 2 and Mojo need at least 6.5v and 8v for best output, and non-original battery swaps risk fire. Head-Fi, May 2020
• 2020-06-04Watts says TT2 matches Mojo and DAVE: -3dB is 3V RMS and four remote clicks down gives 1.89V RMS; with an M scaler set -4, as it attenuates 2.75 dB. Head-Fi, Jun 2020
• 2020-06-25Watts calls Mojo a mini DAVE anyone with a smartphone can afford, says a DAC wins if it makes you more emotional, and must make decoding easy for the brain. Part-Time Audiophile 8:26
• 2020-06-25Watts says portable designs have a power budget, 2.5 watts for Hugo and 1.7 watts for Mojo, and he shaved milliwatts on Hugo 2 to spend on performance. Part-Time Audiophile 29:37
• 2020-06-25Watts says Mojo's small size limits dissipation: 1.7 watts raises temperature about 15 degrees C from memory, charging is more like 3 or 4 watts, and about 3 watts is comfortable. Part-Time Audiophile 31:24
• 2020-07-26Watts says price is irrelevant: Mojo drives 8 ohm speakers, reconstructs transients better than Bartok's minimum phase filters and lacks Bartok's noise floor modulation. Head-Fi, Jul 2020
• 2020-09-09Watts says John Franks designs the amps; Hugo 2 sounds slightly warmer after ten minutes, and he lists RF, capacitors, bias and jitter as variability causes, mostly eliminated. Head-Fi, Sep 2020
• 2020-11-22Watts confirms that Mojo's 4e pulse array is noisier than Hugo 2's 10e. Head-Fi, Nov 2020
• 2020-12-30Watts says Mojo lacked crossfeed because of button count, power dissipation and his lesser enthusiasm then; Hugo 2's transparency and depth made crossfeed essential for him. Head-Fi, Dec 2020
• 2021-04-06Watts says volume colors mean the same voltage across DAVE, TT2, Hugo 2 and Mojo (blue is 1.0V RMS), and all desktop DACs have galvanically isolated USB. Head-Fi, Apr 2021
• 2021-09-28Watts says Qutest shares Mojo's discrete output stage, pure Class A into 300 ohms or more; on Hugo 2, TT2 and DAVE a second-order analog noise shaper eliminates crossover distortion. Head-Fi, Sep 2021
• 2021-10-13Watts advises certified USB cables over DIY, says audiophile cables can add RF brightness, explains ground-plane RF currents and Mojo's ferrites, and suggests an optical test. Head-Fi, Oct 2021
• 2021-10-18Watts covers phone RF loops with Mojo, USB cable dressing, 2G buzz, Netflix audio, USB galvanic isolators in desktop DACs and M Scaler, and why brighter cables mean more noise. Head-Fi, Oct 2021
• 2021-11-08Watts disputes that DAPs have closed the gap on Mojo, citing its zero measurable noise floor modulation, transient timing and small-signal accuracy, which DAC chips have not improved. Head-Fi, Nov 2021
• 2021-12-24Watts says solid-core cable both brightens tonal balance through transparency and warms it by reducing grain; with the more revealing Hugo 2 the warmth likely wins over Mojo. Head-Fi, Dec 2021
• 2022-01-31Watts agrees, noting the original Hugos and Mojos did the same, and says the 3.5 mm connector's advantage is that it is very small. Darko.Audio 3:34
• 2022-01-31Watts says noise floor modulation impairs instrument separation and timbre; his DACs including Mojo 2 and Mojo show none measurably, unlike all others; the third factor is transients. Darko.Audio 8:26
• 2022-01-31Watts says the change is evolutionary: original Mojo was 38 thousand taps, he improved the filter and updated its internal architecture, and the improvements are subtle. Darko.Audio 12:58
• 2022-01-31Watts says the analog stage is nearly unchanged; the supply changed so Mojo 2 runs without the battery, which original Mojo needed to keep supply noise from the amplifier. Darko.Audio 13:48
• 2022-01-31Watts says the unit can run three or four years on one charge with the battery disconnected, avoiding wear, and many people used Mojo One on desktops. Darko.Audio 15:38
• 2022-01-31Watts says one reason for dropping line-level startup was users forgetting it, powering up, plugging in IEMs and blowing their ears out. Darko.Audio 17:18
• 2022-01-31Watts says other reasons were simplifying setup alongside the new DSP and that Mojo's 3 volts is too much for many amplifiers, hence Qutest's 1, 2 and 3 volt settings. Darko.Audio 17:48
• 2022-01-31Watts says Mojo 2 replaces the coupling capacitor with Hugo 2's DC servo, losing Mojo's slightly soft, warm sound but becoming fundamentally more transparent. Darko.Audio 34:59
• 2022-01-31Watts says the improved noise shaper gave better soundstage and detail, and bass is tighter; Mojo's power limit forced him to throttle the FPGA. Darko.Audio 37:17
• 2022-01-31Watts says to adjust the shelf by a couple of dB and the 20 Hz filter by about 1 dB to make it sound warmer and softer. needs context Darko.Audio 43:03
• 2022-01-31Watts says forums show how people use products within days of launch, unlike 20 years ago, and notes one Mojo buyer will call it way too bright. Darko.Audio 43:20
• 2022-01-31Watts says another buyer calls Mojo too soft and warm; analog tone controls and conventional DSP degrade performance, while this approach adjusts response without harming transparency. Darko.Audio 44:00
• 2022-01-31Watts says with the DSP core in place crossfeed cost no gates, which matter for Mojo's power dissipation; he cannot use headphones without it, though some hear little difference. Darko.Audio 47:26
• 2022-01-31Watts says that time counts from the first PCBs; he starts thinking about the next product on finishing one, and began considering Mojo 2 as soon as Mojo was finished. Darko.Audio 50:47
• 2022-01-31Watts presents Mojo 2: coupling capacitor removed, new noise shaper, and a UHD DSP EQ he says passes -301dB amplitude, phase and NFM transparency tests that 64-bit DSP fails. Head-Fi, Jan 2022
• 2022-02-02Watts explains Mojo 2's FPGA charger, 0.5A to 2A charging, 99.3dB SPL with the HEKV2, why coupling caps soften bass, why Mojo lacked a DC servo, and USB-C for Poly. Head-Fi, Feb 2022
• 2022-02-06Watts says he considered an M Scaler mode for DAVE/TT2, TT2's 7W beats DAVE plus power amp, NFM-free treble sounds natural, and he has not started a DAVE replacement. Head-Fi, Feb 2022
• 2022-02-07Watts says he mainly uses DCA Aeon 2 Closed, and Mojo 2 uses the original Mojo DSD filter because 98% of FPGA resources were used, though its HF filter helps. Head-Fi, Feb 2022
• 2022-02-12Watts says Mojo and Mojo 2 measure identically, but Mojo's warmth came from coupling-capacitor distortion removed by the DC servo; a bass shelf boost restores it. Head-Fi, Feb 2022
• 2022-03-10Watts says no Mojo 2 EQ setting replicates Mojo, whose warmth and bass coloration came from one coupling capacitor, not frequency response; a 125Hz boost adds warmth only. Head-Fi, Mar 2022
• 2022-03-19Watts says the theory applies from Mojo 2 to DAVE, and Mojo 2 needed more FPGA power since the original Mojo used a third of its FPGA, being power limited. MFG Audio Reviews 24:26
• 2022-03-19Watts says Mojo's case can dissipate about 1.8 watts; he saved about 300 milliwatts in the analog section, spent 250 more on the FPGA, and battery capacity rose 9%. MFG Audio Reviews 25:11
• 2022-03-19Watts says Chord wanted Mojo's coupling capacitor replaced by a DC servo as on Hugo 2, but the capacitor gave Mojo its warm, soft sound, so warmth needed restoring. MFG Audio Reviews 26:14
• 2022-03-19Watts says Chord insisted only on the same size and Poly compatibility; Mojo 2 is DC coupled via a digital DC servo, and the original Mojo had 38,000 taps. MFG Audio Reviews 27:42
• 2022-03-19Watts says Mojo 2 has 40,960 taps, an updated WTA architecture and an improved noise shaper, and an improved 4 element pulse array; he was worried about a distortion bump near 70 to 200 kHz. MFG Audio Reviews 28:30
• 2022-03-19Watts gives measurements: 125 dB dynamic range and distortion much as on Mojo, but 118 dB stereo separation from better supply isolation, so the battery is isolated when running permanently. MFG Audio Reviews 44:22
• 2022-03-19Watts says the ringing is expected, the 16-bit result is state of the art with only TT2 and DAVE slightly better, and Mojo sold in large numbers after 2015. MFG Audio Reviews 45:45
• 2022-03-19Watts says optical is best but USB can sound identical; with portable sources it does not matter, but earthed, USB sounds brighter, hence isolated USB on desktop DACs. MFG Audio Reviews 56:15
• 2022-03-19Watts says Mojo and Hugo 2 lack galvanic isolation and that galvanic isolation in general is about 99% effective; optical helps with noisy servers, and his MSI desktop sounds much better on optical. MFG Audio Reviews 56:58
• 2022-03-22Watts says all represent his best at their price and time, sharing a common design thread, but Mojo (units reached, musicality) and DAVE stand out. article, Mar 2022
• 2022-03-29Watts says Mojo needed topping up after weeks on the shelf, but Mojo 2's standby current is an order of magnitude lower, taking 7 months to go flat. Head-Fi, Mar 2022
• 2022-04-04Watts says high current and low output impedance let two headphones share the output, Mojo 2 uses 98% of the FPGA versus 33%, and he avoids trivial updates. Head-Fi, Apr 2022
• 2022-04-07Watts says M scaler depth gains led him to test phase shift with amplitude (2uS, 100nS, 10nS errors), so modules must now pass -301 dB in amplitude and phase. Head-Fi, Apr 2022
• 2022-04-26Watts says Mojo's limits were size, not technology: its package can dissipate only about 2.5 watts, so the original Mojo got too hot when used while charging. Audio Force 2:44
• 2022-04-26Watts says the original Mojo was limited to about 1.8 watts, so he used only a third of its FPGA; for Mojo 2 he reworked the analog section's efficiency. Audio Force 3:29
• 2022-04-26Watts says he saved 300 or 400 milliwatts and batteries improved about 9 percent, so Mojo 2 uses 98% of the FPGA instead of 33% at lower total power. Audio Force 4:16
• 2022-04-26Watts says he and John Franks wanted to add crossfeed, which he always uses with headphones, and remove the single coupling capacitor after the pulse array, which adds warmth. Audio Force 5:22
• 2022-04-26Watts says the original Mojo was voiced warm for bright headphones, so neutral Mojo 2 needed EQ; his test: raise a PC EQ 1 dB, lower volume 1 dB. Audio Force 6:09
• 2022-04-26Watts says many original Mojos ran 24/7 as fixed-system DACs, so for Mojo 2 he made the battery fully isolated when the charger is connected. Audio Force 14:06
• 2022-04-26Watts says isolating the battery in desktop use required separate regulation in Mojo 2's analog section, since the original Mojo's analog stage fed directly from the battery. Audio Force 14:51
• 2022-04-29Watts says Mojo was never double; the USB decoder draws 253 mW and the optical receiver 13 mW, giving about 15% more battery life on optical or coax. Head-Fi, Apr 2022
• 2022-05-01Watts says Mojo 2's USB decoder has its own regulation and RF filters, he is independent of Chord, and two headphone sockets were kept for reliability and sharing. Head-Fi, May 2022
• 2022-08-19Watts says Chord's pulse array DACs, Mojo to DAVE, run a 104 MHz clock and reproduce 52 MHz; R2R mishandles 768 kHz; delta-sigma caps at 3 or 6 MHz. AVstore 27:43
• 2022-09-18Watts says Mojo 2 is a big step up from the original Mojo. The Source AV 28:39
• 2022-09-18Watts says marketing and sales push for new products, a problem for cheaper products: Mojo sales declined without reviews or buzz once audiophiles had bought one. The Source AV 29:58
• 2022-09-18Watts says Mojo was still popular, and DAVE, now 7 years old, sells as well as it did 5 years ago, which he did not expect. The Source AV 30:25
• 2022-09-18Watts says removing the coupling capacitor makes bass tighter, more extended and deeper, but the capacitor gave Mojo 1 its warmth. The Source AV 33:30
• 2022-11-09Watts says Qutest uses the same output stage as Mojo and will safely drive 25 ohm loads, so a TH-600 is no concern. Head-Fi, Nov 2022
• 2022-12-01Watts says Mojo 2 has no analog gain change; he raised volume steps from 96 to 128 for sensitive IEMs, with the menu button showing high or low range. Head-Fi, Dec 2022
• 2023-02-05Watts says Hugo must keep power low: linearly regulating 8 volts to a 1 volt, one amp FPGA core dissipates 8 watts; a Mojo-style unit manages 3 watts at most. Soundnews 25:32
• 2023-03-19Watts says phase shift with amplitude, found after the M scaler work, affects depth; tuning Mojo's noise shaper for minimal -301dB phase error led to Mojo 2's UHD DSP. Head-Fi, Mar 2023
• 2023-03-30Watts gives Stealth SPL at 0dBFS (98.3 dB Hugo/Mojo, 100.0 Dave, 103.4 TT2 headphone, 109.1 balanced), warns against long listening above 80dB, and suggests volume settings. Head-Fi, Mar 2023
• 2023-04-03Watts says improving Mojo meant adding crossfeed, essential for headphones, and moving toward Hugo 2's sound by going DC coupled, dropping the coupling capacitor that gave Mojo its warmth. Amplify Audio 10:23
• 2023-10-01Watts says products are priced from performance and bill of materials cost, and that when designing Mojo he had to stay within a budget. The Source AV 2:49
• 2023-10-01Watts says Mojo was hard work and that the Mojos are the exception, since normally he picks a performance target first. The Source AV 3:00
• 2023-10-01Watts says, seriously, that a Mojo put in a huge fancy copper box with the same performance and its contents hidden would sell at $100,000. The Source AV 7:24
• 2023-11-13Watts says Mojo's first batch had USB connectors breaking off, fixed with through-hole connectors and tighter machining used on Mojo 2, rated for 10,000 insertions. Head-Fi, Nov 2023
• 2024-01-07Watts says the 10-minute warm-up he heard on flights was most likely his ears adjusting to cabin pressure or the headphones, not the DACs, and that Mojo 2 exposes headphones with poor LF distortion. Head-Fi, Jan 2024
• 2026-03-17Watts says many designers just tweak, but for Mojo 2 he knew beforehand what he wanted: the best within budget, closer to Hugo 2, with set benefits over Mojo. ecoustics 1:19:59
• 2026-03-17Watts says he guessed Mojo 2 would have around two-thirds the performance of a Hugo 2 compared to Mojo, and listening tests matched, with no surprises. ecoustics 1:20:45
• 2026-10-02Watts says the industry is dysfunctional: despite his talking about transient timing since DAC64 in 1999, and Mojo and Mojo 2 selling well over one hundred thousand devices, nobody discusses it. HiFi Buys 2:27:55
• 2026-10-02Watts says his Mojo 2 target was two-thirds of the way from Mojo (0%) to Hugo 2 (100%) in sound quality, which he can predict on paper. HiFi Buys 2:29:40
• 2026-10-11Watts says connecting the charger audibly caused problems on Mojo 1, which does not happen with Mojo 2. Distorsiuni Interioare 43:23
• 2026-10-14Watts says DAVE and Mojo are his most famous, Mojo for audiophile performance at a phone-like price, but Quartet is his most important design, partly for its built-in ADC. Part-Time Audiophile 1:03:03

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