Need your inputs for Sienhiesser HD 599 @7600/- and Chord Mojo@25K combo

[mandeep]

Hello dear all,

I am new to the headphone world
Please share your valueable inputs to this combo. "Sienhiesser HD 599 + chord Mojo".

Should i buy these? What would be the sound quality like?

The combo price is just with my budget.

I request all to help soon  as these prices are for limited period only.

Thanks in advance.

Regards.

 

[marsilians]

Excellent sounding headphone and very versatile for music, gaming, movies or whatever you throw at it.. haven’t heard with chord so can’t comment on the combo. 599 is much easier to drive however, so work with portable and non amps. Down the road, you can upgrade the pads and cable and it can compete well with much higher priced ones including the heavy hitter Audeze EL-8 which I own.

 

[mandeep]

Excellent sounding headphone and very versatile for music, gaming, movies or whatever you throw at it.. haven’t heard with chord so can’t comment on the combo. 599 is much easier to drive however, so work with portable and non amps. Down the road, you can upgrade the pads and cable and it can compete well with much higher priced ones including the heavy hitter Audeze EL-8 which I own.

@marsilians.. Hello dear
Thanks.
Nice to know that u own the HD 599.
Very nice offer too on amazon.in on these right now.

There is a huge jump in price when u go any higher in the series. The Sienhiesser HD 660s is Rs 39, 990/-.

Have u ever heard/demo the sienhiesser 6 series?

HHow much difference in sound quality is there between these two.

Need user review and info about chord mojo.

Can anyone using the chord mojo guide me here?

Will i be able to use it easily with iphone 6s ?

 

[kartikay]

I would recommend to flip the budget, 25k for hp, and 7-8k odd for dac/amp.. Btw Mojo is decent dac, but its not an amp basically a dac stage with 3v rms out having volume control.. and people have reported issues while using it with phones (EM/RF noise)..
FYI also look at hifiman sundara, around 25k (you will need to talk dealer directly) clearly an upgrade over hd599 or even hd660 imho..

 

[mandeep]

I would recommend to flip the budget, 25k for hp, and 7-8k odd for dac/amp.. Btw Mojo is decent dac, but its not an amp basically a dac stage with 3v rms out having volume control.. and people have reported issues while using it with phones (EM/RF noise)..
FYI also look at hifiman sundara, around 25k (you will need to talk dealer directly) clearly an upgrade over hd599 or even hd660 imho..

Thanks for your valueable suggestions.
Chord mojo seems to have a problem with internal battery, it gets swollen. Replacement battery is too costly also.

 

[marsilians]

@marsilians.. Hello dear
Thanks.
Nice to know that u own the HD 599.
Very nice offer too on amazon.in on these right now.

There is a huge jump in price when u go any higher in the series. The Sienhiesser HD 660s is Rs 39, 990/-.

Have u ever heard/demo the sienhiesser 6 series?

HHow much difference in sound quality is there between these two.

The 6xx series of sennheiser is targeted to the audiophile world. Not that 599 is any slouch as it’s the latest version upgrade on the quite popular 598 model which sold a lot in its day. The fact that they brought it back means that it’s popularity never waned much.

OTOH, the 6xx series very careful pairing of the amp as it’s impedance in very high, a must in cable upgrade long burn in etc. I actually sold my 600 to buy the Audeze but wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the 599 as it’s a great entry to listen to a top notch brand. In my limited experience I have tried AKG, Grado, Senn, Beyerdynamic and Audeze for over the ear, open back models. I have stuck to Senn and Audeze at this time.

Lastly, I wouldn’t recommend a 25K headphone for starter. Rather I would start with something up to 10-12K and get used to sound so cost of entry into high quality sound is not very high.

For amp, check LittleDot products on eBay or the Schitt brand. Both offer excellent headphone amps

 

[docharsha89]

Need user review and info about chord mojo.

Can anyone using the chord mojo guide me here?

Will i be able to use it easily with iphone 6s ?

Hi I'm an ex Chord Mojo user. I sold it recently and now use a Hugo 2. Coming to the Chord Mojo, Let me just tell you, in my opinion, it's straight away the best sounding amp/dac below $1000. You won't be able to get a significantly better sound, unless you spend a lot more. Now coming to the sound profile, The Mojo sounds just "right". It has the CHORD signature to its sound which makes it very very alluring and emotional. The bass is well proportioned, the mids sound luscious and smooth, with a tube like quality to it. The highs are a bit rolled off at the extreme end, to make sure there's no problem of sibilance. It has a reasonably wide and deep sound stage. Driveability wise, I used it to drive my Senn HD650, and the mojo got it very very loud, at about 50% volume. So you can see it's a very powerful device. My opinion is go for it, but if possible get a better headphone to pair with it. The mojo deserves more than a HD599 All the best.
Dr.Harsha

 

[mannukiddo]

Second the recommendation about swapping these budgets for a dac amp and a HP. The 599 even though a pretty decent one, but there are better ones out there.

 

[docharsha89]

I would recommend to flip the budget, 25k for hp, and 7-8k odd for dac/amp.. Btw Mojo is decent dac, but its not an amp basically a dac stage with 3v rms out having volume control.. and people have reported issues while using it with phones (EM/RF noise)..
FYI also look at hifiman sundara, around 25k (you will need to talk dealer directly) clearly an upgrade over hd599 or even hd660 imho..

Few points based on my personal observation.
> Mojo sounds best with optical input
> USB sounds nearly as good as optical, so long as source material is bit perfect.
> EMI or RF is a problem if you place it very close or on top of your phone, and you're actively on a phone call. Or else it's no big deal.
> Mojo doesn't have a separate amp stage. It's a AMP and DAC built into one. The best one
Regards, Dr. Harsha

Thanks for your valueable suggestions.
Chord mojo seems to have a problem with internal battery, it gets swollen. Replacement battery is too costly also.

Swollen battery is an issue, only if you keep it plugged into charging all the time. The Mojo has a battery life of 7-8 hours, long enough for more than a couple of listening sessions. Also, you can charge it when you listen, so that battery drain is minimal.
Regards, Dr Harsha

 

[kartikay]

Few points based on my personal observation.
> Mojo sounds best with optical input
> USB sounds nearly as good as optical, so long as source material is bit perfect.
> EMI or RF is a problem if you place it very close or on top of your phone, and you're actively on a phone call. Or else it's no big deal.
> Mojo doesn't have a separate amp stage. It's a AMP and DAC built into one. The best one
Regards, Dr. Harsha

there is no amp stage on mojo, calling something an amp means there is voltage gain stage somewhere in the path.. here is more on same on chord FAQ page in head-fi (https://www.head-fi.org/articles/ch...W406W2i60wyDIoqqD3TJchGGjSVsOsHYbsZshImw8NywY)

For clarity, setting line level output does not bypass the analogue section as it's basically just the analogue output stage of the powerful DAC output. There is no seperate amp 'section' like in traditional setups. Mojo's headphone output is much more simple than what people are used to in a DAC/amp and is basically the same as Hugo with some minor hardware changes to accommodate the diminutive size. I think of it as always line level from the DAC with output power control. To sum up you don't activate or deactivate the analogue section. You simply set the voltage level to 3V when activating the line level.

regarding SQ i'll leave it the user, i have heard much better stuff at fraction of cost of Mojo..

 

[mandeep]

there is no amp stage on mojo, calling something an amp means there is voltage gain stage somewhere in the path.. here is more on same on chord FAQ page in head-fi (https://www.head-fi.org/articles/ch...W406W2i60wyDIoqqD3TJchGGjSVsOsHYbsZshImw8NywY)

For clarity, setting line level output does not bypass the analogue section as it's basically just the analogue output stage of the powerful DAC output. There is no seperate amp 'section' like in traditional setups. Mojo's headphone output is much more simple than what people are used to in a DAC/amp and is basically the same as Hugo with some minor hardware changes to accommodate the diminutive size. I think of it as always line level from the DAC with output power control. To sum up you don't activate or deactivate the analogue section. You simply set the voltage level to 3V when activating the line level.

regarding SQ i'll leave it the user, i have heard much better stuff at fraction of cost of Mojo..

Thanks dear.
Which other dac/amp do u recommend as a replacement to mojo.

 

[kartikay]

Thanks dear.
Which other dac/amp do u recommend as a replacement to mojo.

Q5 is good option, you can get a used one in 15-18k range on TIAF.. geek out dac/amps are also good but issue of availability. Fulla 2 will also be in your budget.

 

[hifitoaster]

Hi I'm an ex Chord Mojo user. I sold it recently and now use a Hugo 2. Coming to the Chord Mojo, Let me just tell you, in my opinion, it's straight away the best sounding amp/dac below $1000. You won't be able to get a significantly better sound, unless you spend a lot more. Now coming to the sound profile, The Mojo sounds just "right". It has the CHORD signature to its sound which makes it very very alluring and emotional. The bass is well proportioned, the mids sound luscious and smooth, with a tube like quality to it. The highs are a bit rolled off at the extreme end, to make sure there's no problem of sibilance. It has a reasonably wide and deep sound stage. Driveability wise, I used it to drive my Senn HD650, and the mojo got it very very loud, at about 50% volume. So you can see it's a very powerful device. My opinion is go for it, but if possible get a better headphone to pair with it. The mojo deserves more than a HD599 All the best.
Dr.Harsha

What I like about mojo is the sound is very less digital sounding compared to cheaper dacs. Depending on what headphones u use, u may appreciate the mojo. I had tried it with cheap earphones and headphones which never brought the resolution it can produce to light. I use it with a Audioquest nightowl carbon. Previously I had a astell and kern ak70 and dragonfly red. With my older headphone which was a AKG k553 mojo and dragonfly were not much different in terms of detail as headphone itself was bottlenecking. It clearly beats my cd player which is a marantz pm KI edition one, in terms of layering seperation and body, but slightly loosing on soundstage size. Once I got used to that less digital glaring profile, I could easily hate a cheaper dac because despite the detail they all sound very edgy artificial to me.

 

[mandeep]

Q5 is good option, you can get a used one in 15-18k range on TIAF.. geek out dac/amps are also good but issue of availability. Fulla 2 will also be in your budget.

Thanks dear
How about the new Fiio Q5s ?
will it be any good compared to the mojo?
Its available on amazon india for Rs 29990/-.

What I like about mojo is the sound is very less digital sounding compared to cheaper dacs. Depending on what headphones u use, u may appreciate the mojo. I had tried it with cheap earphones and headphones which never brought the resolution it can produce to light. I use it with a Audioquest nightowl carbon. Previously I had a astell and kern ak70 and dragonfly red. With my older headphone which was a AKG k553 mojo and dragonfly were not much different in terms of detail as headphone itself was bottlenecking. It clearly beats my cd player which is a marantz pm KI edition one, in terms of layering seperation and body, but slightly loosing on soundstage size. Once I got used to that less digital glaring profile, I could easily hate a cheaper dac because despite the detail they all sound very edgy artificial to me.

Thanks a lot dear
Any other DAC and Amp you recommend apart from mojo and below the Rs 25k mark?

Hi I'm an ex Chord Mojo user. I sold it recently and now use a Hugo 2. Coming to the Chord Mojo, Let me just tell you, in my opinion, it's straight away the best sounding amp/dac below $1000. You won't be able to get a significantly better sound, unless you spend a lot more. Now coming to the sound profile, The Mojo sounds just "right". It has the CHORD signature to its sound which makes it very very alluring and emotional. The bass is well proportioned, the mids sound luscious and smooth, with a tube like quality to it. The highs are a bit rolled off at the extreme end, to make sure there's no problem of sibilance. It has a reasonably wide and deep sound stage. Driveability wise, I used it to drive my Senn HD650, and the mojo got it very very loud, at about 50% volume. So you can see it's a very powerful device. My opinion is go for it, but if possible get a better headphone to pair with it. The mojo deserves more than a HD599 All the best.
Dr.Harsha

Thanks a lot dear docharsha89.
please do recommend any other mojo replacement under 25K .
From headphone zone or amazon.in only.

 

[docharsha89]

Thanks a lot dear docharsha89.
please do recommend any other mojo replacement under 25K .
From headphone zone or amazon.in only.

The closest I feel would compete the Mojo is the JDS Labs Element. Like I mentioned earlier, you need to spend more than Rs. 80,000/-, if you want to beat the Mojo sound.

 

[hifitoaster]

The closest I feel would compete the Mojo is the JDS Labs Element. Like I mentioned earlier, you need to spend more than Rs. 80,000/-, if you want to beat the Mojo sound.

I have listened to the element at a show, its not better than the the moJo for sure. The thing with mojo is its a totally different type of implementation unlike the conventional dac where they work on a off the shelf chip. Detail wise there are things that can match it around 50 k but never on smoothness. Consider ifi black label if you can get one.

 

[mannukiddo]

A Fiio Q5 should easily beat a Mojo and with the opamp mod exceed it by quite a few times.

 

[hifitoaster]

A Fiio Q5 should easily beat a Mojo and with the opamp mod exceed it by quite a few times.

U had both ? Can you elaborate how was the sound different? On what headphones did you try? How easy is the mod for a layman?

 

[mandeep]

A Fiio Q5 should easily beat a Mojo and with the opamp mod exceed it by quite a few times.

Thanks dear.
I think the Fiio Q5s meets my needs perfectly. It has bluetooth 5.0, supports LDAC, which my phone has. Mojo can work but only with the inclusion of Poly module. Online reviews are also quite favorable FOR Fiio Q5s. You can also swap amplifier section with better ones. Fiio also have quite decent reliability. Have the requisite certifications from apple, sony etc also. Which the mojo lacks and require apple CCK adapter to connect with mojo. Fiio Q5s is no mojo, mojo as a dac /amp is a little better than Fiio Q5s.

 

[mannukiddo]

U had both ? Can you elaborate how was the sound different? On what headphones did you try? How easy is the mod for a layman?

Not owned, but heard them in our numerous meets with other head-fiers. Headphones tried were Senn 650, HE4XX, HE500 and a lot of iems too. The mod is swapping the stock Opamps with a OPA2156 in the gain stage of the amp and filter stage of the DAC. Needs some practise with soldering and stuff.