Welcome, I’m glad you took me up on the offer. As you can see, it’s been a busy Mojo thread and @Souldriver even bought the used V2SE Ben was selling on the site. Definitely enjoying mine so I’m glad you parted ways with it.
How are you liking your V3?
Wait what, ah that’s the autogenerated garbage rules (I think the ones hastily drafted by a real person are the ones under FAQ), don’t worry about that, post whatever you feel like if you want to, ignore the other stuff. There’s really not any set rules here outside of common sense and decency lol
Also welcome!
Thanks for the welcome and appreciate the clarification on the rule, although I found it in the published Terms of Service ( 8. You may not hyperlink to images or other non-hypertext content on the forum on other webpages.) - probably pertains to images, but I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot. Here’s the link: Mojo Audio Mystique V3 Non-Oversampling R-2R Hi-Res Audio DAC The art and science of high resolution digital audio today. Review By Jeremy R. Kipnis, At Kipnis Studios (KSS)
Sorry about the confusion, I’ll remove all of that/clean that up to reduce confusion, that article looks interesting, will have to get to that afterwards (also curious on your impressions moving from the v2 to the v3)
Glad you’re enjoying the v2 SE - I’m pleased with the v3. Next on my agenda is room treatment and upgrades to speakers and possibly amplifier - I’ll be asking questions and seeking input.
Once you’ve got a good foundational piece like the V3, it’s much easier to build on a chain that has synergy as long as you know what sound characteristics you like and are seeking or wanting to move towards.
There’s a lot of experienced folks here so I’m sure you won’t find a shortage of people willing to help you in the journey.
Welcome to DAC kingdom! Where we spend about half the time discussing DACs and then the rest is fairly even!
Joking, but this is a great community, always good to see new experienced people join.
:Cough cough: It was a demo v2xa, thank you very much. I still want to see how the usb stands up to the spdif version.
@papioaf I would love to hear your thoughts on the v3 and the differences stepping up from the v2.
Mods.
Because I tinker and simply can’t leave well enough alone. The old feet from my Weiss DAC and a gimped up noise shield made of .8 mm copper sheet taped together with copper foil tape. Measured 18 times to get it right and it’s right. Now off to convince myself that it made a world of difference but the DAC will need about a day to come back up to running order.
Big ‘ol feet!!
Removing that one cat hair is probably what will really make the big difference.
alleged cat hair.
Of course, not trying to frame any felines.
I’ll attempt to answer address yours and (and @M0N) requests concerning differences betwen the v2 SE and v3, but need to state up front that I am relatively new to this hobby in terms of exposure to different systems, critical listening experience, and use of the proper terminolgy to describe my observations. I’m still establishing a “baseline” of what sounds good.
That being said, I did notice an improvement in both the detail and “body” (again apologies for the terminology) of the music with the v3 - not night and day dramatic, but the v3 revealed subtle nuances unheard before. I beleive it is due to the v3’s lower noise floor. The v3 incorporates 5X LC choke-input power supplies versus the v2’s 2X capacitive input power supplies, so it should (better be) be quieter. Those power supplies, the 20-bit AD1862 DAC chip (versus v2’s 18-bit AD1865), and USB output capability are the primary differences (as well as the cost 
) between the two.
I’ll be interested to hear your observations on any sonic differences between USB and S/PDIF output if you and @dB_Cooper “borrow” each other’s v2s. FWIW, I found the USB sounded better than S/PDIF on my system, but I wonder how much the USB cable, digital cable, USB to S/PDIF converter (SOtM dx-USB HD), and the rest of my (mid-Fi at best) system influenced my observations.
BTW, I beleive tha distinguishing feature of your v2XA is the use of Stacatto op amps in the output stages (versus Spakos in the v2 SE and V2X) borrowed from the Mystique EVO model.
Some pretty good impressions there, i would love to hear more as you get more experience and it all breaks in more. Those choke inputs are something i wish mine had.
You did well with the description. Don’t worry about the syntax though, some people never get it, and some people never move beyond being able to express the more basic differences. That doesn’t matter one bit. The important part is that you hear things you like and know how to articulate the qualities you like and the qualities you don’t like.
That’s ultimately what gets you moving in the direction you want. Don’t be afraid to use dumb analogies or visual descriptors as they can be just as valid in describing how we hear things.
Also since you said you’re eventually building on a chain to include speakers and an amp. Start with the same things you did with the DAC. What do you have now, what do you like and what direction you want to move in. Why did you pic the Mojo in the first place?
There’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with MID-Fi BTW. Every couple of months I come back and spend a week with my Bottlehead Crack- Speed Ball and my Senn HD600 (which the Mojo pairs nicely with) and I fall in love all over again.
+1. I lean on this a lot. Visual scenes and descriptors help be convey feel a lot better than most anything else.
Can confirm with an HD6XX, it pairs darn well. And never have I thought mid “mid-fi” session that I was cheating myself.
So did it make a difference after getting warmed back up?
I am fickle. I got speakers I borrowed from my neighbor on Sunday night and I’ve spent most of the time this week fiddling with them. I will give it a good listen over the weekend.
DB lives on an audiophile campus
