Best Dac Amps · head-to-head

Chord Mojo 2 vs SMSL DO100

A sourced, side-by-side comparison. SMSL DO100 is cheaper at $239. Every spec and price links to its source.

Which is better: the Chord Mojo 2 or SMSL DO100?

On the specs we track, they're closely matched. The SMSL DO100 is the cheaper at $239.

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Full spec sheet

✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.

Spec Chord Mojo 2 SMSL DO100
US price $650 $239
BrandChord ElectronicsSMSL
Released——
Form factor portable desktop
Dac chip FPGA ES9038Q2M
Max pcm (kHz) 768 768
Max dsd DSD256 DSD512
Max power mw 600 —
Snr (dB) 123 —
Thdn percent 0.0003 0.00008
Balanced output No No
Headphone jacks 3.5mm/4.4mm none
Digital inputs USB-C/Micro-USB/optical/coaxial USB-C/optical/coaxial/Bluetooth
Weight grams 185 —

Sources — Chord Mojo 2: chordelectronics.co.uk (verified 2026-07-11). SMSL DO100: smsl-audio.com (verified 2026-07-11).

What's the difference between the Chord Mojo 2 and SMSL DO100?

Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (6 of 11). Matching specs are omitted.

  • Form factor: Chord Mojo 2 portable vs SMSL DO100 desktop
  • Dac chip: Chord Mojo 2 FPGA vs SMSL DO100 ES9038Q2M
  • Max dsd: Chord Mojo 2 DSD256 vs SMSL DO100 DSD512
  • Thdn percent: Chord Mojo 2 0.0003 vs SMSL DO100 0.00008
  • Headphone jacks: Chord Mojo 2 3.5mm/4.4mm vs SMSL DO100 none
  • Digital inputs: Chord Mojo 2 USB-C/Micro-USB/optical/coaxial vs SMSL DO100 USB-C/optical/coaxial/Bluetooth

What reviewers say

Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.

Chord Mojo 2

All three whitelisted reviewers (What Hi-Fi?, TechRadar, Digital Trends) rate the Mojo 2 a standout portable DAC/headphone amp with musical, highly detailed sound that transforms laptop and phone audio; none ran instrumented lab measurements, though Digital Trends hands-on verified the ~8-hour battery life over about a month. All three flag the convoluted colour-coded control interface that requires the manual, and two call it too bulky to be truly portable and criticise the dated Micro-USB charging. (3 sourced reviews, 1 lab-tested.)

Praised: Musical, highly detailed, reference-grade sound that transforms laptop/phone audio; Extensive inputs and can drive two pairs of headphones at once; Customizable lossless tone/EQ via the UHD DSP to tailor headphone sound.

Flagged: Convoluted, unintuitive colour-coded control interface that needs the manual; Too big and heavy to be a truly portable device; Dated Micro-USB charging port.

SMSL DO100

No sourced tester review yet.

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