Chord Mojo vs Mojo 2: What Actually Changed?

The original Chord Mojo earned its reputation honestly: desktop-class sound from a device that fit in your palm, at a price that embarrassed gear several times its size. The Mojo 2 is the sequel, and the question everyone asks is whether it’s a real upgrade or just a new coat of paint. Short answer: it’s a real upgrade, but not for the reason you’d expect. If you want the full Mojo 2 rundown on its own, see my Chord Mojo 2 review.

The DAC core: refined, not reinvented

Both units are built on Chord’s FPGA approach rather than an off-the-shelf DAC chip, the original Mojo ran a 38,912-tap filter, and the Mojo 2 steps that up to 40,960 taps across 40 DSP cores. In practice they share a family sound: that detailed, natural, un-fatiguing Chord presentation. If you loved the original Mojo’s tonality, the Mojo 2 doesn’t throw it away, this is evolution, not a clean-sheet redesign.

The big change: lossless onboard EQ

The headline difference is the Mojo 2’s built-in DSP EQ. It gives you four tone-shaping bands, lower bass, mid-bass, lower treble, and high treble, each adjustable in 18 one-decibel steps, directly on the device. Crucially, Chord made it lossless (they call onboard lossless DSP tone control a world-first), so you’re shaping the sound without throwing away resolution to do it. The original Mojo had none of this, what you heard was what you got.

In practice this is a double-edged sword (something I get into in the full review): the flexibility is real, but the menu/ball control system can make it fiddly to find and hold a neutral setting. Powerful, occasionally frustrating.

Connectivity and battery

Here the Mojo 2 modernizes, partially, and it’s worth being precise about it:

• USB-C, but only for data. The Mojo 2 adds a USB-C input that the micro-USB-only original never had. The honest catch: you still charge the Mojo 2 over a separate micro-USB port, not USB-C. So it’s a half-step into the modern world, not a full one, a common and fair criticism.
• Better battery. Capacity is up roughly 9%, runtime is rated “better than eight hours,” and a new FPGA-based charging system runs faster and cooler than the original’s.
• A menu button for the new DSP/EQ features.

None of these change the core sound, but together they make the Mojo 2 a bit nicer to live with day to day.

So which should you buy?

• Buying new today: it’s effectively the Mojo 2, the original is discontinued at retail and only available used.
• Already own the original Mojo: the upgrade is worth it if you specifically want the lossless onboard EQ and the USB-C data input. If you’re happy with your Mojo’s sound and never wished for tone controls, the core sonic gain alone is subtle, keep what you have.
• Buying used to save money: a clean original Mojo is still an excellent DAC/amp and a strong value. You give up the EQ and the USB-C data port, not the Chord magic.

For where the Mojo 2 sits against Chord’s desktop option, read Chord Qutest vs Mojo 2.