Fiio JA11

After a few months of using it, it's time to review this small beauty. I have never been a fan of Fiio, not because of bad products or anything; actually, Fiio makes amazing products, but they are kind of above my budget. However, this small dongle is very affordable. It's great for starters as well as for people who are longer in this hobby. It's very possible that most of you already have this little dongle...

Disclaimer:

JA11 was purchased with my own money. Everything you read is my opinion. I'll try not to bombard you with details; the review should be short and sweet.

Pros:

- Very affordable, around $10
- Technical beast for the price
- Light design
- PEQ supported
- Microphone support
- Durable—I've been using it for several months, and it still feels like new
- Low consumption

Cons:

- For this price, almost none; maybe a better firmware upgrade. Some people have suffered due to it, but I will write more about that.

Gear/Software:

- LG V50
- Poco F3
- Motorola G54
- PC (with USB adapter)
- Standard Android software from Hiby Player, Fiio software which is often underrated, and UAPP (best app for dongle/DAC usage). I also use Wavelet when I'm not in bitrate or USB mode, followed by YouTube or Spotify.

Design, Durability, and Some Specs:

Classic design like every cable dongle—very light but still very well built. The 3.5 connector is made of metal, and the cable is braided with a material like silicone. On Fiio's website, there are more information about product. The cable is elastic, not flimsy like some ordinary dongles. I've used this dongle for nearly five+ months, and it still lasts, unlike my other dongles that died due to cable pressure after a month or two. I even sleeved mine (took the idea from Hokago Reviews). Specs about this dongle are a little mysterious; no one knows for sure which DAC chip they used. However, we do know it supports standard decoding of PCM 384kHz/32bit and DSD128. The output power is 30mW per channel, which is more than enough for non-demanding IEMs. The length is about 10cm.

Sound:

The sound signature is neutral or uncolored, with enough detail. More attention is focused on the mids and highs. Yes, the bass is okay but not enough rumble, and its not pronounced as the mid/high area. Other technicalities are above average for this price range. There’s no sibliance or some crazy noises overall, it's a nice, friendly dongle with safe tuning, ideal for critical listening.


Lows:

While it isn’t a bassy dongle like its older brother KA11, the JA11 has enough bass. It’s very tight, precise, and controlled, making it ideal for treble heads like myself. The sub-bass is present and average for this price range.

Mids:

The mid area is one of the key features of this little dongle. As I mentioned, the mids are pronounced much more and are a little forward. Vocals and instruments are nicely executed, above average, and very clear. The clarity for such a little dongle is WOW. I could write much more, but...

Highs:

Surprisingly, highs are smooth and very detailed, engaging with sufficient energy. There is a decent layer of separation between instruments and vocals, which honestly surprised me. The resolution is more than acceptable, as well as the imaging.

Soundstage:

Even though it’s not the shining star of this dongle, it's more than acceptable. The soundstage is rather wide but not spacious; on certain songs, I could say it’s even intimate. Mids are positioned forward while lows are slightly back and to the side.

Imaging:

Could be better, but for this price, it’s okay. I could easily pinpoint where the vocals are in complex tracks and where the instruments are positioned. It’s not a miracle but it does the job.

Gaming/Media:

I tried a few shooting mobile games, and it was okay. Everything from gunfire to footsteps and other details was more than acceptable; I couldn’t really complain. Movies, TV shows, and casts are okay—everything is standard.

Comparison:

JA11 vs. KA11: Even the older brother KA11 delivers a much stronger punch due to powerful output. KA11 is bassier with a better soundstage and a warmer signature. Details are okay on KA11, but not as good as on JA11; these two are like Yin and Yang.

JA11 vs. Apple dongle: The legendary Apple dongle is one of the most recommended dongles in this hobby. Even though the price is slightly different, while the Apple dongle offers better soundstage, it lacks in details, where JA11 easily takes the lead on details. Both have a neutral signature. One downside of the Apple dongle is its build quality; it's so fragile. My Apple dongle is half-dead (the cable is snapped in a few places, and with a little movement, it stops working), while the JA11 gets punished hard and is still kicking.

JA11 vs. CX Pro: Even though I’m not a fan of Conexant, it’s still on the market, and plenty of people love it. It’s super fragile and lasts only about a month and a half. In terms of sound, CX Pro has a better soundstage, even though it’s slightly more resolving, but all other aspects aren’t close enough to the JA11.

Controversy:

Believe it or not, this dongle is full of surprises. Some people had problems after updating the firmware, which resulted in "bricking" the dongle. However, in fact, all this dongles haven't actually been bricked, they were just faultily upgraded and couldn’t work for the time. It’s repairable. The bug happens when you try to update the dongle using an Android phone or tablet, which isn't the best or safest course of action. You should use a PC and follow instructions on how to update it. If you are "bricked" or tried to update your device and got stuck, the solution to the problem is in the link below. Why this bug happens, no one knows for sure, but what is certain is that it occurs over the Android Fiio app.
Fiio Link of repairing Dongle

Conclusion:

Fiio Jade JA11 is a budget-friendly entry-level dongle that delivers much more than expected. It’s a safe option and the cheapest dongle by Fiio, costing about the same as a coffee and sandwich. Next dongle review will feature its older brother (KA11).

Photos of JA11 and KA11

General/Packaging/Build
The JA11 is the latest dongle from Fiio, not to be confused with the KA11 which is similar in terms of form factor. The packaging is very straightforward, the dongle itself in the plastic storage pack, which is highly justifiable given the asking price. Build quality is rather solid as both the usb and 3.5mm jack is metal, and the cable is not soft and flimsy like Apple’s Type C dongle.

Specifications (Grabbed from product page)


Gears used for this review

• Macbook Air M2 -> Foobar/Tidal
• JA11
• 7Hz Aero
• NF Audio NM2+

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Driving Power

• On paper, the numbers aren’t looking too good for sure, 30mw+30mw for both L and R, but on actual listening experience, of course with the right expectation, it is actually quite good on most IEMs that i have, we’ll talk a bit more on that in the sound impression below

Features

• Upgradable firmware, at the time of writing, firmware v1.9 is available and it supports adjusting the PEQ’s parameter on the web page instead of via Fiio’s control app
• Support PEQ for this ultra budget dongle
• In line microphone support (enabled via Fiio’s control app)

Sound Impression
The tuning of the JA11 is quite neutral and transparent to my ears, it does push the mids a little forward based on my listening experience with the NF Audio’s NM2+. Technicalities aren’t the best but for the asking price, it is actually very good. Timbre reproduction is quite natural and it doesn’t sound thin nor overly thick.

Listening Impression with the following gears
NF Audio NM2+

• NM2+’s sound profile is leaning towards neutral bright, somehow pairing it with the JA11, it somehow tame the highs a little and makes the overall listening experience more pleasant on certain track
• Not much changes in terms of soundstage and imaging, the soundstage is rather 2D-ish and slightly fuzzy imaging on certain complex track, nonetheless, at this price point, i wouldn’t complain much
• I think the NM2+ is driven to 70-80% of its potential with the JA11

7Hz Aero

• The Aero is the latest budget release from 7Hz, the sound profile is leaning towards U shaped with sub bass boost
• The JA11 has quite good synergy with the Aero, Aero itself is not hard to drive, but with amplification, it does sounds fuller and more dynamic, with the JA11, i would say it is roughly 60-70% there in terms of SQ for Aero

Comparison (Apple’s Type C Dongle)

• Apple’s Type C dongle’s sound signature is leaning towards neutral warm
• Overall note weight is slightly thicker compared to JA11
• Build quality is horrendous for Apple’s Type C dongle, both ends are plastic and the cable is very very flimsy and there has been multiple reports where the cable breaks
• Pricing is more or less similar
• In terms of power efficiency, both are quite similar in terms of drawing power from the phone

Final Thoughts
Daily driving the JA11 for almost an entire week when i’m out and about, i have to say i have very good experience in terms of sound quality, also the efficiency in terms of power draw, which is a plus point considering i’m using an iPhone 15, not to mention it also supports PEQ if you need it, so it's definitely packing some features at a very attractive price point. If you are looking for a daily banger, and also something that you can use while you need to have a meeting and use it with cables that come with an inline microphone, the JA11 is the one to get.




*A big thanks to Fiio for sending this over for the purpose of this review. I thank them for their support and opportunity

Head over to their official store if you are interested in getting one:

Fiio JA11 Official Store Link - Non affiliated
Fiio JA11 Product Page

Jade Audio is FiiO's sister brand that produces high quality audio products at very competitive prices. The brand currently makes two USB DAC dongles (the KA5 and KA13) and two USB DAC audio cables, the KA11 and their latest release, the JA11. The brand name might be Jade Audio but most people call them FiiO, as I am also going to do for the rest of the review.



FiiO (Jade Audio) JA11

The FiiO JA11 is a short (95mm long) and very lightweight (5g) USB type-C cable with a 3.5mm headphone output and an embedded DAC/amp chip. It supports sampling rates up to 384kHz/32bit PCM and DSD128, and various operating systems, but for iOS you have to buy an extra adapter.

The power output is 30mWpc/32Ω with a 0.5Ω of output impedance. It gets pretty clear that the FiiO JA11 is only suitable for sensitive earphones and nothing else. The FiiO JA11 is not to be confused with a full sized USB DAC dongle, its main job is to add a 3.5mm jack when not available or enhance the subpar audio quality of the generic 3.5mm jack that most phones and PCs usually have.



Non Audio stuff

Don't let the price fool you as the FiiO JA11 is exceptionally well made with aluminum-magnesium plugs and a high quality cable that uses oxygen-free, palladium-plated copper wires and dual-layer sheathing made of silicone and braided yarn. The FiiO JA11 is not only very beautiful looking but is also extremely lightweight and easy to handle. It will not add clutter to your phone and you can leave it always plugged in. The FiiO JA11 is available in black and silver.

FiiO control application and features

For such an affordable device it comes as a surprise that the JA11 is supported by the FiiO control application and features a user configurable PEQ. You can't only make your own frequency curve but you can also share it or have access to other users' curves that are shared through the application. The PEQ has a global effect so that you can use it with streaming services but the curve is not saved in the device memory. Every time you must connect with the FiiO control application and enable the PEQ.

The FiiO JA11 also supports earphones with microphone input and CTIA/OMTP in-line controls. You can enable or disable this feature from the FiiO control application. A 60-steps fine volume adjustment is also supported. The only limitation is that the FiiO JA11 can only be controlled by the Android version of the FiiO control application.



Accessories

There are no accessories included.

Power consumption

The FiiO JA11 was mainly tested with the FiiO JD1 and the Meze Audio Alba that are both easy to drive. The power consumption was measured at a mere 0.03A/0.16W, the JA11 is ultra efficient and will not deplete your phone's battery. Furthermore the JA11 will not consume any power until you plug in an earphone.

The FiiO JA11 is silent without background noise, it doesn't make any pop or click noises and it stays cool during use.



Audio stuff

The FiiO JA11 has a neutral sound signature with good clarity and transparency given its entry level status. The sound quality is way better than my Xiaomi phone’s 3.5mm jack and the power is enough for driving sensitive earphones. Treble and low-end are extended without any audible roll off, definition and separation are up to the task while the timbre is natural enough without too much artificiality or brightness.

Technicalities are also good, the bass is quite tight and controlled, fast and dynamic enough, the mid-range is well defined and articulated, the treble has plenty of energy and definition while the soundstage is open and spacious with decent imaging.



Comparison

Given the size and the price, it would be rather unfair to compare the FiiO JA11 with normal sized USB DAC dongles. However, comparing it with other, tiny sized USB adapters or cables, like the ddHiFi TC35B or the Zorloo Ztella, the FiiO JA11 is more affordable and is the only one to support user configurable PEQ. The JA11 is similar to the USB audio cable that is included with the Meze Audio Alba but it has more functions, it is better made and looks more durable.



Conclusion

Before jumping out to hasty conclusions, it is essential to understand the scope of usage. The FiiO JA11 is a very affordable USB DAC cable that is intended to upgrade the sound quality of a generic 3.5mm jack (or add one if it is missing) and drive sensitive earphones for everyday casual listening on the go. This is not a full sized USB DAC dongle so you can't expect miracles when it comes to sound performance and power output. It would be unfair to compare it with something like the FiiO KA17 or expect it to drive the Sennheiser HD650.

Considering all the above, it is safe to conclude that the FiiO JA11 is a highly recommended tiny USB audio cable because it offers instant sonic enhancement over every generic 3.5mm jack, it is exceptionally well made, ultra lightweight and power efficient, it supports customizable PEQ and is dirt cheap. Job accomplished.

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. The price of the FiiO JA11 is $14.99 and you can buy it from here.

DISCLAIMER

I bought the Fiio x Jade Audio JA11 from Aliexpress during the last sale: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007168009481.html (no affiliate links).




SPECIFICATIONS/COMPATIBILITY



Tested at $14.99 USD (it was available for a discounted price of $9.89 USD during my purchase).


The JA11 is a plug-and-play dongle. There is no need for installation of additional drivers on Windows 10 and above. I am not an Apple user and cannot vouch for its compatibility with such devices, but this dongle was easily recognized by various Windows and Android devices I paired it with.

In stock firmware, there were reports of channel imbalance with certain Android phones, but this was speedily resolved with a firmware issued by Fiio the next day. This firmware can be found here: https://www.fiio.com/newsinfo/930654.html and I installed it without fuss (please remember not to touch or move dongles during firmware updates as this may brick any dongle).

The JA11 is compatible with the complimentary Fiio Control App - this is only available for Android devices as of the time of writing - which brings the JA11 to the next level. The app unlocks a 5-band PEQ with some fixed EQ selections. Within the custom PEQ tab, we have advanced options for low or high gain, peak/low-shelf/high-shelf settings and Q from 0.25 to 8.00. One can also save and share EQ settings around, which is certainly useful.




The App also allows users to toggle between UAC 1.0 and 2.0. The 1.0 mode is a useful setting for gaming devices such as the Switch and PS5. We also can fine-tune volume steps (up to the most fine cut-off of 60), in addition to turning on/off the mic and visualizing the bitrate of the current music playback.




The JA11 supports mic and in-line control usage, and would be a handy tool for online meetings, calls or conferences.

All things considered, for a $15 USD dongle, these goodies are certainly impressive, as we see pricier dongles without these features.


ACCESSORIES



The JA11 is an ultra-budget dongle at sub $20 USD - and no surprises here - it does not come with any accessories. We only have a small green bag that the dongle comes in, with some paper warranty and guide forms.

Users hence have to source for your own USB-A to USB-C adapters if you want to connect it to a PC/laptop, or Lightning adapters for our Apple friends.


DESIGN/FUNCTION



The JA11 is fashioned from matte aluminum-magnesium alloy, and the build is really solid for such a low-cost item. During ordering, one can opt for a shiny silver or a jet-black finish.

Weighing a mere 5 g, and sporting a Lilliputian size akin to an Apple dongle, the JA11 is ultra-light and extremely portable.




The JA11 has a non-detachable cable, but this cable is very well-braided, and is made from oxygen-free pallidium plated copper. The cable is flexible yet tough, covered by a dual-layered silicone and yarn sheath, and I think durability shouldn't be much of an issue compared to the noodle-thin cable on the Apple dongle for example.

This dongle has no volume control buttons, so one has to perform the volume/skip controls on the upstream source. As stated above, via the Fiio Control App, one can fine-tune the volume steps to 60 (or less), and at the finest 60, the volume steps are well-spaced, with no big jump between steps.



The JA11 only comes in a 3.5 mm termination (single-ended), so there is no balanced output. One end of the dongle has the 3.5 mm port, while the other end has the USB-C port.


INTERNALS

We have no information on the DAC chip used in the JA11. However, it supports music files up to 384 kHz/32 bit and DSD 128.


SOUND/PERFORMANCE

I tested the JA11 with only Android phones and Windows laptops and PCs. Once again, as I am not an Apple ecosystem user, I can't vouch for its performance with Apple devices.

On phones, I used the HiBy Music Player, with USB bit perfect OTG activated. I cannot vouch for usage with other USB exclusive music apps.


Tonally, in stock form, the JA11 is neutral bright and relatively uncoloured. It lets the connected transducer do the flavouring and would be a superb option for the die-hard purist. End-to-end extension is good with no roll-off at either extremes.

The JA11's selling point - and biggest strength - is its PEQ function via the Fiio Control App. Beyond the stock neutralish signature, one can modify this dongle to any tonal balance you wish for with PEQ, and hence it is extremely versatile.

The JA11 boasts of good technicalities for a sub-$20 USD dongle. We hear an above average soundstage with excellent micro-detailing. Imaging and instrument separation are very commendable for the coin.

Fiio advertises that this dongle pumps out 30 mW at 32 ohm, with a THD+N<1%. Power-wise, it can drive most IEMs out there with adequate headroom, but the output is not sufficient for harder-to-drive behemoths, such as those with low sensitivity and/or high impedance.

My acid tests for source evaluation include 3 of my hardest to drive gear:
1) Final Audio E5000 (low sensitivity at 93dB/mW)
2) Sennheiser HD650 (high impedance at 300ohm)
3) Yinman 600 ohm (600 ohm impedance and 87db/mW sensitivity)

The E5000 was driven to sufficient volume, but bass texturing and dynamics were left a bit wanting. Likewise, for the Senn HD650, it was somewhat compressed in soundstage and dynamics, though we had sufficient headroom without running into distortion.

The final boss - the Yinman 600 ohm with an ultra-low sensitivity and ultra-high impedance - is not driven well by the vast majority of portable sources or even expensive DAPs. It is no surprise the JA11 struggles to free the Yinmans from bass bloat and a claustrophobic soundstage, but it is no shame nevertheless, as dongles that cost multiples of the JA11 also fail in this endeavour.

Once again, doing these drivability tests may be too critical on my end, as this dongle only costs $15 (or even cheaper when on sales), so expecting it to drive tough customers like the above gear is really nitpicky of me. But for sure, the JA11 fares very well when paired with the majority of IEMs (other than the above outliers like the E5000).

I did not find any hiss with fastidious high sensitivity IEMs. No EMI was detected with my Samsung S22 phone. With a rated output impedance of 0.5 ohm, the JA11 is an excellent pairing for low impedance IEMs, as it will not skew the frequency response.

During usage, the JA11 runs as cool as a cucumber, and does not get warm, let alone hot. There is no nasty loud "pop" on removing transducers too.

Power output aside, these other non-sonic implementations described above inside the chassis of a sub-$20 dongle are really remarkable, as there are way pricier dongle rivals that have deal-breaking issues such as too high output impedance, hiss or EMI, or even running hot as a baked potato. Worse still, is a dongle greeting users with a shocking and unexpected loud "pop" on attaching or removing gear (cough cough looking at you, Penon Tail).




COMPARISONS

The JA11 will be compared against some ultra-budget non-detachable cable dongles, with only 3.5 mm (single-ended) output.


Apple Dongle

The Apple dongle is marginally cheaper at sub-$10 USD, but has a more filmsy noodle-thin non-detachable cable, and the overall build is less solid. Indeed I had one Apple dongle that frayed at the cable after a few months of usage.

The Apple dongle is dead neutral, but it has no PEQ options to vary the tonality, so versatility is still king with the JA11.

In power output, the Apple Dongle (non EU volume capped version) has about similar juice, and both can't drive very demanding low sensitivity and/or high impedance gear properly (not a matter of volume but for bass tightness, soundstage and dynamics).

The Apple dongle has a similar soundstage. However, it has worse imaging and instrument separation compared to the JA11.

For the tech geeks amongst us, the Apple dongle is capped to a 48 kHz/24 bit maximum sample rate, whereas the JA11 scales up to 384 kHz/32 bit and DSD 128.


Fiio KA11

The KA11 is the JA11's older and more expensive sibling from the Fiio brand. Tonally, the KA11 is warmer, and sounds bassier with a thicker note weight. However, the KA11 does not have a PEQ option in the pocket, so versatility loses to the younger brother JA11.

The KA11 pushes out 200 mW at 32 Ω, which dwarves that of the 30 mW of the JA11, so the older brother KA11 can drive way more demanding transducers. However, the KA11 has worse battery drain and runs much hotter than the JA11.

The KA11 surprisingly loses out to the cheaper JA11 in technicalities, with a hair smaller soundstage, weaker imaging and less micro-detailing.

The KA11 can handle music files up to 384 kHz/32 bit and DSD 256, so it has slightly higher playback in the aspect of DSD files.


CONCLUSIONS



The JA11 is a very affordable dongle with price-to-performance ratio shooting through the roof. Retailing at $14.99 USD, it can also be gotten on sales for around 9 bucks, which is cheaper than an average restaurant meal!

The JA11 is very light and compact, yet robust in build. It has a stock neutral bright tuning with good technical chops that belies its sub-$20 pricing. There are many well-implemented features to talk about, such as no loud "pop" on removal of gear, no hiss/EMI, and a low output impedance which promises a suitable pairing for fussy IEMs. Additionally, it does not get warm during usage.

With a mic and inline controls, this allows the JA11 to be used for more than music, in areas such as calls and online meetings. There's even a UAC 1.0 mode for gamers! Indeed, this cheap dongle is a very nifty everyday carry device for a multitude of case needs.

The JA11's best selling point, is its PEQ function via the Fiio Control App. This unlocks great versatility through toggling different tonalities, so you can tune this source bassier or brighter. However, this PEQ function is only available for Android devices currently.

Some negatives are that the JA11 comes with zero accessories, and has no volume controls. Thankfully, the volume steps are fine-tuned when changed via an upstream source (one has the option to lengthen or shorten the volume steps via the Fiio app). It has enough power to drive most IEMs, but can't deal with more challenging high impedance/low sensitivity goliaths. The JA11 only comes in a 3.5 mm (single-ended) port, which is non-detachable, but this cable is well-braided and tough, unlike the noodle-thin one on the Apple dongle.

Speaking about the measurebators' gold standard in the Apple dongle, the JA11 bests this device in build and its PEQ versatility, in addition to having slightly better technicalities than the Apple dongle. The JA11 can also play stuff at a higher bitrate. Even when compared to its older and pricier sibling - the Fiio KA11 - the JA11 has less power, but doesn't run as warm (or drain as much battery); the younger brother also has better technicalities and versatility due to the PEQ on offer.

First adopters ran into some teething issues at launch: channel imbalance was found with some smartphones, but Fiio speedily released a new firmware update the next day that fixes this completely. Thereafter, I was quite happy with this purchase (do download the latest firmware https://www.fiio.com/newsinfo/930654.html if needed!)

For the $15 USD pricing, the JA11 is a dongle with great value proposition, especially if the target audience are users driving IEMs. The JA11 also covers calls and meetings well with the mic option. If you are a PEQ user, this dongle may even be a game-changer. I bought the JA11 at the last Aliexpress sale, but will be looking to buy a few more as gifts, and spares to replace my fraying Apple dongle.