Question Advice on DAC

[suburbansky]

I'm currently looking into adding an external DAC to my stereo system, mainly to be able to experiment a bit and compare the inbuilt DACs of my Marantz 6006 CDP and the Bluesound Node to a dedicated machine. I need some advice, though:

In theory, the Chord Qutest is likely what I'm looking for - but it's too expensive for now.

The Mojo 2 seems to be an alternative - but it's not really intended to be used in a fixed setup, though people seem to hook it up nonetheless, just connecting the Mojo's headphone out to an unbalanced input of their amp... but doesn't that lead to audible distortion? My little Fiio M9 player can be switched between headphone and line out for that reason but I can see no such feature with the Mojo.

Also, the Cambridge DAC Magic 200 seems great on paper - especially for it's MQA support, as I listen to Tidal a lot - but the real reviews are a bit "meh". Any first-hand experience?

Oh, and how would the Mojo handle Tidal's MQA files, with no native MQA support? Same quality but without the label? Or would it even be a step down from the Bluesound Node (which has native MQA support)?

 

[nopiano]

I can’t advise you, but an acquaintance with a very grand Hifi system (inc MBL speakers that now cost about £20k) reckons that the Mojo is his favourite Chord DAC for its listening qualities. I don’t believe it’ll have any issues with a line output, as Chords tend to be very generously specified.

Bear in mind there’s a new Mojo out, so either try a brand new, improved one, or nab a bargain as quite a few early ones are on eBay.

 

[suburbansky]

I can’t advise you, but an acquaintance with a very grand Hifi system (inc MBL speakers that now cost about £20k) reckons that the Mojo is his favourite Chord DAC for its listening qualities. I don’t believe it’ll have any issues with a line output, as Chords tend to be very generously specified.

Bear in mind there’s a new Mojo out, so either try a brand new, improved one, or nab a bargain as quite a few early ones are on eBay.

Thanks for your thoughts... I've done some research about the Mojo as part of a fixed setup. Apparently, it would work, as the output can be switched to Line Out - yet apparently flops back to Headphone as soon as the device is switched off. Not my idea of hassle-free. Also, Chord seems to recommend against such a usage, at least implicitely, as a permanent mains connection slowly kills the battery.

Well, on a whim, I pulled the trigger on the Dacmagic 200 which arrived today. Looking forward to trying it out.