Right after I sold my FiiO Q3S, I happened to see the announcement for the FiiO Q7, and there was a launch discount, so I got carried away and bought it. Then I barely listened to the thing before hastily selling it off. Maybe I just didn’t like it. Or maybe I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. I remember the Q7 arriving around October 14, 2022. As FiiO’s new-generation flagship DAC, the Q7’s packaging can only be described as “lavish,” and its spec sheet as “extravagant.” 3.5/4.4/2.5 balanced outputs Dual DAC chips Independent amp stage Large battery Supports bypassing the battery to run on wall power Works as a desktop unit or as a portable DAC/amp combo A display in the middle showing the current status It also came with a pile of accessories: a genuine leather case, a screen protector already applied, and even a cooling stand so you can use it as a desktop unit.

A while back, for some reason I lost my mind and went back down the audiophile money-pit road. This time I was noticeably more broke about it: no four-figure new releases, no $199 AKG n5005, just a calm little DAC purchase. The reason was simple enough. I had some fairly specific requirements: The DAC has to support a 4.4 balanced output It also has to have a 3.5 headphone jack It has to be portable, suitable for laptop use It needs its own power, a battery, but also an option to toggle between “battery power” and “USB power” It has to be cheap. I know about the Mojo 2, I just can’t afford it Decoding specs shouldn’t be too low Eventually I found this magical thing, the “FiiO Q3S.” Magical because I have no idea when it came out, FiiO’s official store doesn’t sell it anymore, but you can definitely find traces of it on eBay and Mercari. It matched my decoder needs perfectly — everything I wanted was there, the price wasn’t bad either, just 850, and it even supported installment payments, so I got carried away and bought it.

My brain short-circuited again and I want to spend money. I thought I was over this hobby, but no, I still want an external sound card for my laptop. My requirements were pretty clear: Built-in battery USB Type-C power Support for 4.4 balanced and 3.5 Sound that’s passable Portable As cheap as possible So, bored, I got a recommendation and found this brand called “Weiyi,” created by the guy they call “Brother Dao.” There I saw a portable DAC selling for just 299, the “Megatron,” officially nicknamed “Dawei.”

The Chord Mojo is a DAC/headphone amp combo that’s been getting a lot of buzz lately, mostly because it’s tiny yet supposedly packs a serious punch. According to Digital Multi (数码多), the Mojo’s whole deal is its technical sophistication and advanced build, which is how they got it so small. Science and technology are the primary productive forces, as they say, and I couldn’t resist the temptation to grab one — at the very least it takes up less room in my backpack. Honestly, after getting my hands on it, it feels like a solid deal. The sound is decent, and the tinkering potential is through the roof.