This Review Unit was Generously provided by Geekwills. You can purchase FiiO JM21 and many other Audio and Computer related products with very fast international shipping from them using this link.
https://www.geekwills.com/fiio-jm21-digital-audio-player.html
Technical Parameters
- DAC: Dual Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs
- Processor: 6nm 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 680
- Storage: 3G RAM+32G ROM
- Amplification: 700mW + 700mW output power
- Screen: 4.7-inch high-resolution display
- Battery Life: 12.5-hour playback time (Single-ended), 9.5hours ( balanced)
- Operating System: Android 13
- Audio Outputs: 4.4mm balanced+3.5mm single-ended headphone jacks
- Connectivity: Supports SPDIF and USB audio output.
- Bluetooth Version: 5.0
- Bluetooth Transmission: SBC/AAC/aptX/aptX HD/LHDC/LDAC
- Bluetooth Reception: SBC/AAC/LDAC
Packaging
FiiO JM21 comes in a nice Little slide to open box. The unit comes with a transparent TPU cover, USB data cable , User Manual and Warranty Card. Another person commented and the screen comes with screen protector pre installed on it but I honestly can't figure out if my unite came with pre installed screen protector or not. If it does then it must be very thin one they did a real good job installing it.
Build and User Interface
FiiO JM21 is build quality is very good and is mainly made of quality hard plastic. There are three buttons on the right side of the player for Play/Pause, Forward and Back. A little down there is Micro SD card Slot which can support up to 2TB. I tried Sandisk 1TB card which worked fine. On the left side of the player there is a power button which also work as lock/unlock button along with a small LED which remains on when unit is unlocked and in use and turn off when screen locks or player goes to sleep. Below that there is a single Volume button for both up and down functions. The 3.5mm, 4.4mm Balanced headphone jacks and USB port are located the bottom side of the player.
Display is rather sharp for the price of this player though it is a little dim. You will have to keep brightness at more than fifty percent even indoors. But again for the price both the display size and resolution is excellent.
Overall for the price player is decently build. While it will not rival more expensive players with metal body frame or glass back keeping in mind that this player is slightly more expensive than some USB dongles build quality is very acceptable.
It comes with Android 13 out of the Box with Google Play store installed. There is also a FiiO's own App store which has FiiO's applications along with other third party music applications like Spotify, Deezer and others which you can download. Apart from it there are usual Google Applications pre installed and almost no other third party app comes pre installed. The interface is very clean and smooth. I did not encounter any hiccups or bugs yet.
There are some custom audio options available like mode selection. You can choose to operate it in full Android mode or Pure Music Mode which will only have essential Music Apps without other Android features. There is USB DAC mode, Airplay mode and Bluetooth receiving mode as well where it will work as Bluetooth receiver. I personally used it in Android Mode mostly.
Sound
My testing was done with Focal Clear MG. FiiO JM21 is Very smooth sounding player with non offensive signature. It does remain fairly neutral without going boring or sterile.
Treble
Treble is very well extended and does not feel harsh at any point. It remains smooth yet engaging. You can easily listen to for hours at once. Detail is decent with plenty of clarity. My main concern with treble always usually is when it is too fatiguing which is not the case here. Even at high volume it does not become a concern. Comparing to My Dethonray Pegasus SG1 which is Bluetooth only DAC/AMP it does not quite well extended and can sound little muted but SG1 is also expensive and is not a full fledged player.
Midrange
Midrange is well extended and has good definition. While it was not as pronounced as I would have liked but again we have be realistic with the price. Both Male and Female Vocals sound rich and layered and I did not find that it emphasize one over the other. Comparing with SG1 the JM21 sounds good but not quite there so I prefer SG1 here as well. But it does very good on it own.
Bass
Bass of JM21 has a very good presence and extension. Sub Bass is there but you will have to look for it. Bass slams are tight but lack the bite a little It has good quality though might lack a little in quantity. Again Compared to my SG1 I definitely prefer SG1's bass which is superior in quantity and quality. It goes deeper than JM21 and is tighter as well. There are some digital filters available:
Fast Roll-Off-Minimum Phase Filter
Slow Roll-Off-Minimum Phase Filter
Fast Roll-Off-Linear Phase Filter
Slow Roll-Off-Linear Phase Filter
Wideband flatness filter
Non Oversampling filter
I am not a big fan of digital altercation so I kept it the default one which is Fast Roll-Off-Linear Phase Filter.
Soundstage
Soundstage of JM21 good but nothing extra ordinary. I find the width to be fairly good but it lacks the height and depth. Again comparing to my SG1 it beats JM21. SG1 sounds fuller and make Clear MGs sound like a real flagship which JM21 was not able to do.
Battery
Battery Life is decent while I did not test it fully. But since the display is not as bright you will have to keep brightness above fifty percent to be usable which in turn will affect battery life. Though it will be close enough to claimed 9.5 hours from balanced port. Player does get a little warm while in use but nothing excessive.
Overall I really recommend this player and I think that this budget player will be a big sell. In this price range you will only find some older Hiby Players like M300 or R3 both of those fall short compared to feature that JM21 provides. With FiiO JM21 you are getting almost flagship level audio specification for a price of a dongle.
Once again Big Thanks to Geekwills for providing the review unit. All thoughts in this review are my own.
