Mojo Audio - Mystique Y NC DAC
It's hard to describe the size and scope of the leap this DAC has delivered. I don’t have years of experience with the ability to hear or articulate micro audio details yet so it takes macro for me sometimes.
“Huge improvement” is a good start. I'm just stunned. Had no idea. Thought all DACs were more or less the same until a couple months ago.
Everything is much fuller, bigger, deeper and smoother. I didn’t know this was possible. I was already very happy.
Music I wasn't playing much because the sound was "meh"…that I dismissed as poor recording… is way better and my favorites just kill. From mid-bass to mid-treble is more wholesome...and not just a little. Deep bass is tighter and reaches lower with nothing muddled. Individual instruments and voices have improved clarity and definition. Separation between musicians is noticeable and I now hear black space around and behind them. It's like my speakers are on steroids.
The 3D image has exploded. It got much deeper and a little wider (and taller?). I have heard about and read about systems where the speakers disappear into a holographic soundstage. For the first time, I am in that....like finally walking through an unmarked alley door into the secret club.
It will take me a few weeks to digest this magic black box. I have a couple speaker cable upgrades and some better pre-amp tubes on hand to try out but I have to wait until my brain and ears settle again.
I'd quantize this as a 25% improvement…like a big lunar leap from the top of great speakers.
Eversolo DMP A-8 > Mojo Mystique Y NC DAC (via USB) > Rogue Cronus Magnum III > PureAudioProject Trio15 Classics.
This should be a fun thread, since I purchased an X SE with AD1862N-Z chips and Nano Crystal Chokes just a few weeks ago and I am currently comparing it with my EVO Pro that also has AD1862N-Z chips. I previously owned a regular X SE (non Z, non NC) and preferred my EVO Pro. Based on what I have heard of the upgraded X SE so far, this is a far closer comparison, yet similar characteristics. |
@mitch2 Just checking in on your New Mojo DAC compared to the old one. I called Mojo Audio yesterday and was talking to Benjamin about some of his DAC's. How did you get the Z chip? I thought he had already sold all his stock. |
Hello. I purchased most of the Mojo Audio DACs I have owned new, except for the two I have now. The EVO Pro, I purchased from a reviewer and I don't believe either of us knew it had Z-chips in it. My more recent purchase of the X SE NC Z DAC was from the original owner. The comparison has been interesting and ended a little different than what I expected it would. I do have a write-up but need to find time to go through it and then will post, hopefully by this weekend. Before I found the most recent X SE etc. DAC, I too contacted Benjamin and learned he was out of the Z-chips, so I had decided to wait and use my EVO Pro, until he developed something new (rumors of a DAC with BB PCM chips, maybe in 2025?). However, when I saw the X SE DAC for sale with nano-crystal chokes and Z-chips, I didn't pass it up. As a short summary, I believe the X SE I have here is an improvement on the regular X SE that I owned previously. Unfortunately, I cannot say whether the improvement is because of the Z-chips or the nano-crystal chokes, since it has both. |
You can now find my impressions of the two DACs here. |
