This Award-winning Chord DAC is the cheapest we’ve ever seen in this blistering Black Friday deal

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Some acts might seem impossible to follow but then the sequel turns out to be better than the original. The Godfather and Batman Begins are two great films but in many people’s eyes, The Godfather II and The Dark Knight bettered their respective originals. In the case of the Chord Mojo 2, however, it isn’t a matter of opinion: it definitely improved upon the original.

Mind you, the original Chord Mojo is a previous What Hi-Fi? Award-winner, so it was already a high bar: and the current Mojo 2 DAC and headphone amplifier improved upon it considerably. A multiple Award winner, it sounds incredibly musical and features several customisation options.

Despite its compact size, the Mojo 2 packs in plenty of useful features. In addition to two 3.5mm headphone outputs for simultaneous listening, it has optical, 3.5mm coaxial, USB-C and Micro USB inputs. The charging port also takes the form of Micro USB, while Chord claims its battery life is “better than 8 hours” for use on the go.

Whether it’s for using within your hi-fi system, or boosting the quality of your desktop-based headphone listening, the Mojo 2 will elevate the sound considerably. A 104-bit UHD DSP processor supports hi-resolution audio up to DSD256 and PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz. It also allows for tonal adjustments across the frequency range, so you can tweak the sound to your liking.

During our testing, we ran a laptop and smartphone through it and found the Mojo 2 had advanced on its predecessor in virtually every regard sonically. We said, “The Mojo’s soundstage has been opened up for the sequel and that extra depth and dimension has been filled with greater resolution that is not only unmistakably present thanks to a big boost in clarity but also more precisely placed.” The refinements made also meant it has a “more neutral, crisper and livelier character”.

The unit’s colour-coded buttons – which also indicate volume and the sample rate played – are a little convoluted, but such a minor gripe is easy to ignore when the Mojo 2 sounds as good as it does and especially now its price has dropped by nearly £150. £249 at Peter Tyson really is a brilliant Black Friday deal on a great-sounding, highly portable DAC and we encourage you to check it out.

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James Cook is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi?. He spent several years writing for various business publications, before completing a National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Diploma in Journalism. Outside of work, James spends his time playing bass guitar, watching TV and motivating himself to keep fit, often unsuccessfully.

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