When I first heard about the Chord Poly, I wasn’t sure what the allure was. It adds a little bulk and I didn’t feel like I would be using it often. Being wirelessly untethered from the phone and laptop is a plus…but is it a $679 USD plus? This accessory costs more than the Mojo itself ($529 USD)! Is it really worth ditching the USB cable for? I was a bit apprehensive.
Just to be clear, the Poly is not one of those “convert your wired buds to wireless” devices. Those devices don’t even have close to the amplification or DAC capabilities of the Mojo, which provides superior sound quality while being able to drive larger cans. The focus of the Poly is actually the utilization of WiFi for the transmission of hi-res sound and not the lower-grade Bluetooth.
Obviously, this device aims to provide additional value to current Mojo owners. You’ll need one in order to use the Poly. Those with high-end DAPs, such as those from Sony or Astell & Kern, would have already been enjoying wireless streaming and local storage. We Mojo owners have to attach awkward USB adapters to our phones and laptops to enjoy the sound off our portable devices. I have to admit, it was kinda weird putting my cell phone, jitterbug, adapters, cables, and Mojo on my lap during train rides on LA’s Metro. It draws unwanted attention to the pretty Mojo lights and is just plain cumbersome. Also, many cell phones lack an external memory card option and limit you to 32GB-128GB of storage. Storing music is the only reason why I even bought a 128GB Google Pixel smartphone. Unfortuantely, this only provides space for some Tidal downloads and a small percentage of my library.
I started to see why Chord decided to develop Poly and welcomed it with open arms.
As always, the build quality of the Poly matches that of the Mojo. The coloration is a little darker black than my Mojo but isn’t really noticeable. It fits right in my Mojo and sits flat without any tilt on the tabletop. There’s a USB connector, microSD slot, and two LED indicators for P (Poly) and M (Mojo) battery status. The P. status lights also changes depending on Poly modes and settings. I won’t get into what the various colors mean because you’ll forget anyway. Please take a look at the manual for that.
It comes with a metal configuration pin, a short micro-USB cable, and an adorable foldout manual.
Poly was named after its numerous streaming features, including:
The firmware upgrade procedure is a bit awkward (until the GoFigure app is out). Basically just make sure your Poly has a WiFi connection, leave it on for 20 minutes, turn it off, and turn it back on for another 20 minutes. You’ll see red/green/blue sequence flashing when the update is being performed. DO NOT turn off your Poly if you see these lights. You may inadvertently damage the Poly. I’m sure Chord will allow the option of non-auto updates and provide a way to check status in the future.
Charge your Poly before use! Preferably with 2 amps for a quicker charge (4 hours). Most computer USB ports only supply 0.5A and will take about 10 hours to charge fully. Most wall-plug chargers will do 2.1A. When charging the Mojo and Poly together, Mojo gets the juice first so it’s important to use quicker chargers. FYI, The Mojo and Poly both get quite warm while charging.
The reference IEM I’ll be using for the Poly review is the Periodic Audio Be. It is an absolutely amazing match with the Chord Mojo.
I typically don’t read the manual but the one for the Poly is worth reading.
The instruction manual will mention the GoFigure app which hasn’t been released yet. This app will help make the connections easier in the future. Mobile hotspot is also disabled at the time of this review so we’ll ignore that option.
One thing to note about the config button: All it does is puts the Poly in Access Point mode, where you could log into it and configure it. It does not reset your settings. Other than deleting the stored WiFi connections, there is currently no way to factory reset the Poly. So if you’re moving from your home network to an off-site office, you’ll need to bring this metal pin with you to setup new WiFi environments. Chord recommends putting it on your keychain. A paperclip won’t work 😉
In order to use the Poly, you must set it up with a WiFi connection (2.5Ghz only). The Bluetooth connection won’t work until you configure the Poly. The WiFi sign-on screen does not scan networks for you so you’ll have to enter your SSID and password manually. A password is mandatory for the network connection.
From the push of the power button, I was able to stream Roon within 20 seconds.
Roon endpoint is off in this mode. This will enable both DLNA and Airplay. Roon could also play via Airplay to the Poly, albeit at degraded levels (Airplay only supports 44.1/16). I used BubbleUPnP on my Google Pixel to stream Tidal (MQA passthrough). Just set the Poly as the renderer. There are ways to actually access your NAS music files away from home but that’s outside the scope of this article for now.
Some have mentioned dropouts while streaming but that was a very rare occurrence for me. So much so, I forgot about them. For those curious, my Poly’s SN starts with P020 and Mojo M024. I’m using firmware version 1.0.17.
Now for the use cases. Using Chord’s promotional video as a guide:
I didn’t expect to go over sound quality because the award-winning performance of the Mojo has already been established. The Poly is just an accessory…right?
After some random testing with various modes of streaming, I transferred some high-res FLAC files to my laptop, a microSD card, and my Roon server. Playing the exact files through Roon, Bluetooth, BubbleUPnP, and direct USB all produced a different sound.
It turns out the Mojo sounds its best with the Poly and in my testing, better than even a direct USB cable. So not only are you cutting the wire out, you’re actually getting better sound. We all know our PCs are noisy and USB conditioners could only do so much. This is a very compelling case for using WiFi to transmit high-res files. Although I’ve heard WiFi will compress the music being streamed, I’ve actually never tested this (or heard it). All I know is…streaming from the Poly’s internal card reader has given the Mojo a new life it didn’t know it needed.
Example track: Sara Bareilles – I Just Want You (Live) (Brave Enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse) – 24-bit / 96 kHz
In order of best connection to worse:
I’ll admit, the Poly wasn’t on my wish list. At first blush, I thought it was just a wireless accessory and figured I’ll just deal with the cable, especially for the asking price. I was wrong on many levels.
Everyone mentions how versatile the Poly is and how it has the same great “Mojo” sound but I don’t think people realize how NEXT LEVEL it sounds when you’re playing high-res files from the microSD card. Not to mention the benefits of WiFi streaming in this application.
The Chord Poly offers numerous benefits:
Admittedly, the Poly isn’t quite plug-n-play yet. There are a few kinks to iron out but once the GoFigure app rolls out, I’m sure setup will be simplified. I’m glad Chord released the Poly when they did. Mojo owners could start enjoying this extra performance boost while they wait for the updates. Time to market is important and I think they did a fine job with timing this release.
I underestimate how flexible the Chord Poly was and certainly didn’t expect this level of improvement in sound quality. If you enjoy the signature of the Mojo, the only way to hear it at its best is to get a Poly and store your library in the microSD slot. Even Roon streaming provides appreciable performance over USB. The BubbleUPnP interface isn’t the best but its Tidal interface was more than sufficient for casual listening. Those who are using Mojo as their desktop or home audio DAC will be very pleased to cut wires and cognitive overhead while at the same time, enjoying better sound.
All in all, I’m blown away. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mojo + Poly combo reveals itself as the best portable audiophile configuration we have today.
Now we just need its Hugo 2 counterpart…
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Really does need the app we have been waiting for. Lots more on the Head-Fi forum https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-☆-poly-☆-wireless-microsd-module-for-mojo-☆★►useful-info-on-1st-page-◄★☆.831347/page-437#post-14018882
Agree. Assuming hotspot mode is implemented correctly, i have a feeling it will be a game changer in the DAP world.
Those look like Dunu 2000 iems.
Nice review!
Hi Jay
Thanks for the great review. I am interested to know how the poly (when serving FLAC files from SD card) compares to the sound of the mojo plugged into the end of your SOTM trifecta??
I ask because I am using a mojo in my speaker setup and currently have a sonicTransporter i5 (powered by sps-500) running roon to a GS105 switch (powered by LPS-1) to an sms-200 (powered by sps-500) via curious cable into the mojo. So I am very interested to know if the poly serving files from the SD card can better the performance of my current system
That's an interesting scenario. I'll keep you posted. My guess would be that the Poly will sound better with SD card and Roon.
Great review! When I heard the Poly was released I was curious to know how well it sounded compared to using a USB cable.
I am considering upgrading from the Mojo to the Hugo 2. How would you compare the Mojo + Poly sound quality to the Hugo 2?
Many lower S/N# units have been replaced by Chord. In many cases turning on Mojo does not immediately turn on Poly. Still waiting for GoFigure app.
Great review. Why hasn't anyone admitted the obvious the Mojo/Poly is the next level of DAP players.
your brazen lies about Chord Poly are quite dramatic too...