I just tested the best iPhone audio upgrade ever
As someone who cares a lot about sound quality, there are many reasons why I still choose wired headphones over wirelessalthough some of the the best wireless headphones they produce great sound despite the bandwidth limitations of Bluetooth even with the latest sophisticated codecs.
As an audio editor, I’m lucky enough to try all kinds of headphones in all kinds of shapes and sizes, from Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones for the recently launched Bowers & Wilkins Px8 flagship headphones (pictured), which facilitate both wired and wireless connectivity, with wired-only in-ear monitors such as Sennheiser IE 600.
While I spend a lot of time listening to music using an iPhone connected to whatever pair of wireless headphones or earbuds I’m reviewing, for personal listening I’ve recently found myself gravitating to wired headphones to stay grounded for what the uncompressed audio signal sounds like on a pair of headphones without digital processing signal.
Chord Mojo 2 simply makes your headphones and whatever music you’re listening to sing.
Listening to music on the go through wired headphones isn’t as easy as it used to be. Of course, using an iPhone (or almost any smartphone) as a source for music playback is difficult in the wireless world that has emerged since Apple ditched the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 in 2016.
But there are a bunch of portable devices called DACs that can bring significant audio gains to any modern digital playback device with a port. And I was introduced to a new generation model that improved my music listening experience on the go.
DAC magic
The Chord Electronics Mojo 2 DAC I used is also a headphone amp, and on $775 on Amazon (opens in new tab) it is definitely intended for lovers of quality sound with very deep pockets. That sounds steep, I know, but if you care about the sound quality of your music and already have a subscription to one of the the best music streaming services delivering lossless CD-quality and/or hi-res streams, then you owe it to yourself to hear your music through a DAC connected to a pair of wired headphones.
I reviewed the original Chord Mojo in a previous role, and the Mojo 2 is even better. For a device that fits in the palm of your hand, it’s a great choice for music lovers who want to improve their sound quality on the go. Although undeniably expensive, it can be easily teamed with portable playback devices connected via USB port or digital optical audio. To link it to mine iPhone 12 ProI invested in the price of a Lightning to USB camera adapter $10 on Amazon (opens in new tab).
It’s a bit of an adjustment getting reacquainted with a cable music system after the freedom that wireless brings, but any slight inconvenience is worth it, and the audio benefits speak for themselves. Music sounded richer and more natural without any boost to enhance certain frequencies, although the Mojo has an EQ adjustment if you really need to mess with the frequency balance.
The soundstage was tighter with vocals clearly placed at the center of the music creating an almost physical, three-dimensional soundscape in my head, and the instruments simply sounded cleaner and far more real than anything I heard using the same headphones connected wirelessly. Mojo 2 simply makes your headphones and whatever music you’re listening to sing.
As hi res audio becoming the norm with major players including Apple Music and Spotify HiFi (albeit with a delay) bringing lossless audio to the masses, the appeal of an additional DAC that can do sonic justice to high-quality audio files is more appealing than ever. And it can improve the sound of compressed music streams.
What is a DAC?
Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of DAC; You are not alone. Simply put, a DAC is a ‘digital-to-analog converter’, which as the name suggests, means it takes a digital audio signal (from something like a music streaming service, say) and converts it to analog.
You see, analog signals, not digital, drive the speakers inside the audio device you’re listening to. So some form of conversion must take place between the audio signal served by whatever digital music file you play and the analog speakers that produce the sounds that reach your ears.
DACs are found in all types of audio playback devices, including best laptopsand best pillsbut adding a standalone DAC will always help it sound better.
You might wonder why this is the case when surely digital signal conversion is expertly taken care of by the DAC inside whatever playback device you’ve connected your headphones to. The thing is, music doesn’t always sound as good as it could through the built-in DAC on many devices, and adding a quality DAC like Chord’s Mojo 2 will result in a better audio experience for audiophiles and music lovers alike.
#tested #iPhone #audio #upgrade
