New Mojo Mystique X

Thank you. I never knew how to do that. I can see why it could have been confusing.

@longinc,  a long informative post which I appreciate. The fixation with detail above all else is IMO heading in the wrong direction. I want to know what a component does for the enjoyment of music and your post addressed that.

“Taste is first and foremost distaste, disgust and visceral intolerance of the taste of others.”
― Pierre Bourdieu

This thread makes me wonder how much of our experience of hifi is affected by non-musical factors, including intangibles that go to audiophile identity. Some call this pride of ownership, which is distinct but very much related. Why are some audiophiles drawn to boutique manufacturers with whom they can have a direct relationship? Or even larger companies that have a distinct identity (Naim, to name a classic example).

These affiliations can veer into the (overly) emotional/tribal, as if I'm watching a Celtics fan yelling at a Lakers fan for having the audacity to be born in L.A. (e.g., folks who vehemently defend a certain brand...your hifi isn't, or shouldn't be, your identity, man. Let's face it, it's usually men who are like this). Not saying Mojo owners in this thread have been like that, but there's been a little flavor of defensiveness. A certain disappointment or at least disbelief that someone might have different taste.

Mojo, in this thread and on the website, have laid out their mission statement -- what they value in a good DAC. It's an attractive philosophy and one that many, including myself, share. I don't know if they execute well on the philosophy, but I like the philosophy. So when I hear a DAC built by someone that shares my approach to hifi...does that make me more inclined to like it? Because it's validation, an affirmation of my identity as an audiophile -- I'm a music-first audiophile, not one of those folks obsessed with gear, etc.

@longinc Thx for the comments. I haven't heard anyone describe a BorderPatrol DAC or a totaldac as analytical before....you're off your rocker. I'm kidding to make a point. I had a very different experience from yours but again, it all goes to how subjective sonic impressions are, and how precarious system-matching can be.

@lemonhaze for sure (happy to help). if you have more questions, feel free to post here or send me a message. One point you made about "fixation with details" - respectfully, I take a slightly different view on that. I actually think "details" and a resolving system are great things. I think that if you can extract as much details from the source (assuming it’s a decent recording) and those details are conveyed with the "right timing and coherence", the "details" sound enjoyable and better conveys the intent of the musician(s) and you are able to better follow the nuances and tune of the music. (btw, i am not referring to hearing the side chatter in a live jazz bar recording - that type of detail can be a little distracting at least to me:) ) An analogy I like to think of is, if details were all that bad, then most people won’t likely enjoy a live performance. when we sit in front of a group of musicians we hear all the details in their glory (we hear the interplay between the musicians, the energy each musician is bringing into the musical mix, the timbral accuracy/richness of instruments/voices etc). Anyways, my 2 cents, but take it with a grain of salt since we all hear differently.

@metaldetektor i think you grossly misinterpreted/misread my comments about the BorderPatrol (BP) and TotalDac DACs. You haven’t heard anyone describe them as analytical and I didn’t describe them as analytical. They are far from "analytical". In fact, I would say quite the opposite. Quoting from my previous post "Although these previous DAC’s had moments of "pop" and "excitement", but in the back of mind, those moments always felt exaggerated." - this is not a suggestion of the DACs being analytical. What I was saying is that they try to convey "emotion"/"drama" but at times in an exaggerated way (at least to my ears) especially the TotalDac. Not saying good or bad, and for some music lovers/audiophiles this exaggerated drama is awesome (no judgement there). The BP smooths over the digital edge and conveys a sense of "analog smoothness" at some expense of good details, imho. Perhaps you might have inferred "analytical" when I wrote "When I added the EVO into the setup, I (finally) started to enjoy and listen and move to the music, and stopped thinking about and analyzing the sound." - this again was not to suggest the other DACs were analytical, what i was hoping to convey, was that with the EVO getting "timing", "coherence" and "timbre" so right that I just enjoyed the music and I didn’t have to fall back to analyzing the usual audiophile attributes to "justify" the purchase.

Your point about buying for a variety of reasons. I agree with that. And, in this hobby i think that’s even more pronounced for the simple logistical reality that we can’t just "walk into a Best Buy" and audition all of these products at the same time (and not everyone has the time or opportunity to attend an audio show) and to make a purchase decision based solely on which sounds best to us. So we make a purchase decision that includes other factors (e.g. the designer’s approach, what reviews say, the brand has "Mojo" in it - kidding on this last one) . But where I disagree with you is the suggestion of "defensiveness" coming from owners on this thread. You have past/current owners offering their (positive/negative) opinions. And for the negative, i think the designer is entitled to respond to explain his design and voicing philosophy - in fact, given we buy for a variety of reasons, i actually appreciate a strong POV from the designer. Then you have the other posts, from posters who have NOT heard the product and are making assertions about the product, I would expect its quite natural for those who have heard the product to "jump on" those posts to offer a counter opinion based on their experience(s) of the product or to ask for more context from the poster. On one hand, you celebrate the diverse views of this thread/forum, but you are quick to "label" some of these responses as "owner defensiveness". Aren’t you (perhaps inadvertently) curbing diverse voices by negatively labeling some of these owner responses?

Photos of our new 100% machined chassis are now up on our website:

https://www.mojo-audio.com/mystique-evo-pro-21-d-a-converter/

Our next gen EVO63 will use a similar chassis.

Later today I’ll post a spread sheet to address any questions some of you may have as to the differences between the Mystique X and the X SE.
I understand how it can be a bit confusing.