Audioquest Dragonfly Quest Red v Mojo Chord

[Beef Oven!]

I'm contemplating a new DAC. Heard a lot of good things about the Mojo. A few forumites have bigged-up the Dragonfly Red (which is much cheaper).

Any views?

Also, how does the Dragonfly Black square-up with the Red?

[richardfinegold]

Is the Red the more expensive one? From what I've read that is an improvement over the first generation Dragon Fly which is what I still use while the cheaper one was barely distinguishable from Gen 1.
The Chord Mojo is an impressive device that I've heard at an Audio Show. No comparison between that and the Gen 1 Dragon Fly that I own and I suspect it is much superior to the Red as well. See if there is a dealer that carries both and will let you audition

[Stunsworth]

Another one to add to the mix?

http://snvinyl.co.uk/Pro-Ject-Pre-Box-S2-Digital

Pro-ject S2, designed by John Westlake who designed the M-Dac for Audiolab. John designed it as a stepping stone to the state of the art DAC that he's currently working on.

[Beef Oven!]

The Red is dearer than the Black Dragonfly, but I don't know about either of them - I'm looking for a steer from any users.

The Mojo gets rave notices, but if the law of diminishing returns bites hard vis a vis the Black Dragonfly, then .................. ?

[richardfinegold]

The Red is dearer than the Black Dragonfly, but I don't know about either of them - I'm looking for a steer from any users.

The Mojo gets rave notices, but if the law of diminishing returns bites hard vis a vis the Black Dragonfly, then .................. ?

Based on what I've heard, it's hard to imagine a portable DAC that will do better than the Mojo

[Sir Velo]

I've owned the Mojo for nine months and can vouch for its sonic excellence - worth paying that little extra for, though you do need a good pair of cans or speakers to get the best from it.

Once word of warning: the software will not install on Windows 10, making it useless for playing through the PC. This is a known issue and one which Chord, not to their credit, seem unwilling to address. You, therefore, need other OS or portable audio devices (phones; Sony walkman etc) which are compatible.

[Beef Oven!]

I've owned the Mojo for nine months and can vouch for its sonic excellence - worth paying that little extra for, though you do need a good pair of cans or speakers to get the best from it.

Once word of warning: the software will not install on Windows 10, making it useless for playing through the PC. This is a known issue and one which Chord, not to their credit, seem unwilling to address. You, therefore, need other OS or portable audio devices (phones; Sony walkman etc) which are compatible.

Thanks, I didn't know about the software issue. Can I assume it works with a MacBook Pro?

[Sir Velo]

I can't comment on the Macbook though I've not heard any reports of non compatibility - seems to be restricted to Windows 10. I tend to use it on the go as the DAC for my portable devices: Walkman Hi-Res, Galaxy S5 etc where it does wonders in improving the basic sound quality.

One other caveat I should enter is that it does run hot. I made the mistake of running it plugged into the car's usb charger port and it turned itself off after an hour's listening (albeit with the volume level ramped up). In fact it should never be run while charging simultaneously. This does mean that battery life is limited to 8-10 hours depending on the volume it's set at.

[Braunschlag]

I've had the Mojo and it was very impressive indeed. It was perhaps overkill when I hooked it up to an Astell and Kern player but there was a discernible difference.
It goes criminally loud and I came to the conclusion that what I thought was an improvement might well have been down to the headphone amp section.
I could say without reservation that it would drive any headphones ever made, it packs a real punch.
However, and I understand this is a common problem, the battery loses its charge if the unit is left unused for a week or so. I don't get this drain on other devices so it eventually got sold. I probably didn't need it in the first place but it was an impressive device.
It's a very analytical dac/amp and the build quality is excellent.

[Turangalîla]

I own a Mojo, its a superb device. I already had the Chord 2-cute as the principle source for my main system so was aware of Chord's abilities with DAC's. I don't use Windows but I know that both Mac, Linux and newer versions of Android system support the asynchronous USB-2 standard natively. I had read that this was also planned in Windows. (The older 2-cute came with a Windows driver)

However I would hesitate to recommend it because for myself I have found that listening to portable music is too often compromised by background noise, interruption and whatnot. Unless you work away from home a lot or something that I would go for something cheaper.