[OspreyAndy]

I was doing some regular shopping via Shopee Online for audio supplies of MMCX sockets, plugs, cables etc. and this tiny DAC caught my attention. And I said myself "hey I have not seen you before", now anybody who frequent Shopee/Lazada/Aliexpress would know that the moment you do a search on Audio stuffs, there's tons and tons of Chifi DACs available for sale. Anywhere from $9 to $900, your choice spoiled to your heart contents. Apparently this is a new release by JCally and if my assumption are anywhere being viable, it was released 2-3 weeks ago as I have not seen JA21 anywhere around prior to that. I am not in the habit of DAC rolling and testing so for the most part I ignore the usual suspects. But this one priced at $6.75 (Shopee price) with FREE international shipping......well what the heck I just chucked one into my cart, my collection of MMCX and Plugs connectors cost more than this DAC.......

Four days later the DAC arrived on my doorstep. The price of this DAC is probably cheaper than your premium IEM tips or Headphone pads Equipped with CX21988 DAC and in a form factor undoubtedly among the smallest available in the market now.

Tech Specs:
Model: JCally JA21
DAC: CX21988 (Conexant) *
Decoding capacity: 24bits 96kHz
SNR: 95dB
Frequency response:20Hz-20KHz
Driver: 1Vrms@32Ω
Compatibility: Windows, Linux, Android 9
* Similar series to Google 2nd Gen USB-C to 3.5mm Adapter and Microsoft Surface USB Dongle

Without further ado, this DAC is undergoing some grueling scrutiny test now, tasked to drive my Etymotic ER4SR and with my LG V35 (Japanese version B&O tuned) as Tidal offline lossless transport. No I will not be using UAPP for this test. Just straight SE operation using native Android system for Tidal App. V35 internal Quad DAC totally disabled and bypassed. Not even gonna do the usual burn in cycle as I would normally do on bigger DACs that uses bigger capacitors. This thing is so tiny I think the fist 10 minutes would settle it in pronto.
* LG V35 like the earlier sibling V30 requires no introduction as being the reference grade for straight phone out fidelity on portable platforms. And for this impression I am switching back and forth between V35 Quad Dac PO and JA21 PO for comparison.

And yes I will NOT be using Burzum Toilet-Fi tracks or Cult of Fire songs to do the impressions. I will cycle through offline lossless Master's library of Diana Krall's "The Look of Love" and Alison Krauss' "Lonely Runs Both Ways"

Alright first thing first. This thing is tight! gotta thrust in the 3.5mm jack hard to do the first penetration. Then we're set

First immediate impression, This JA21 offers higher volume mass compared to the internal Quad DAC of LG V35, my 45 Ohm (98db) ER4SR needed 60/100 on the internal V35 DAC/Amp and JA21 only needed 50/100.

2nd immediate impression, JA21 projects closer Headstage compared to V35 which is like 2 steps back. Here I would describe this as similar to comparing Grado in your-face intimacy against Sennheiser social distancing stance. I have no qualms with this as I am not a Soundstage junkie. I need some Headstage I will listen to V35 directly. I want lush in my face presentation I can switch to JA21. Simple. Just a matter of preference to suit the type of music being listened to.

3rd observation, JA21 sonic characteristic is biased towards the AKM sound in contrast to V35 pointing towards ESS signature. Not exactly warm, but definitely more analogue sounding which I would say reminiscent of Burr Brown/Wolfson signature. While the V35 is marginally clinical, less analogue sounding. So does it mean JA21 is less detailed? I am hard pressed to declare on that, honestly I don't feel the details are inferior on the JA21. It picks up the miniscule nuances in Diana Krall's track as adeptly as the V35. Perhaps more critical listening is needed to declare on this one.

And in general, I feel that JA21 being slightly Mids focused as opposed to V35. V35 performs equally balanced on all spectrum, the JA21 offers slight Mids hump. I have no complaints here too. Both works well for me.

If I am hearing this correctly, V35 offers very slightly longer decays both on Treble and Bass, which means JA21 rolls off slightly earlier, VERY slightly....

And here's something I gonna say that probably will upset some folks, if a $6.75 DAC can perform as it is now, makes me question the need for spending over $1200 on portable DAC/Amp....of which I also own and listens to on daily basis. My Cayin N6ii is definitely reference grade and I loving it to death, N6ii E02 offers staunch output power and agility, solid timbre to die for. So am I saying that JA21 is playing on N6ii territory? well not exactly side by side, perhaps on the fence. Because my N6ii definitely offers better fidelity on body dynamics, sweet decays, absolute neutrality/transparency, reference grade attack/speed/transients and general extensions - and still sounding very analogue while being clinical. My point is, I am utterly awed by this $6.75 DAC/Amp for what it does to my very finicky and revealing ER4SR. There's no flawed elements that bothers me enough to bitch about, not at $6.75 price point. To give you some perspective, my ER4SR sounded like crap when plugged directly into my Xiaomi Mi10t Pro and HP B&O tuned laptop, so bad that I never plug it back again on those two EVER.

This JA21, it's a revelation surely. Insanely unbelievable price for the quality delivered, JA21 by contrast was able to stand neck to neck with LG Quad DAC performance from the perspective of quality. So if I am to wrap this up, for any IEM within the sensitivity level of 97 to 130db and below 50 Ohm, this JA21 has more than enough juice to make them sing, and probably will work best with any IEM/Cans designated on the bright sparkly side of things, for it introduce that analogue feel to the sound. Perhaps not so apparent on already warm sounding cans....

I just gonna shut up now and listen to my Lo-Fi Burzum, Lifelover and GODFLESH

Few hours later: Now that I am rolling my regular Metal/Rock tunes on it, this DAC definitely packs more punch compared to V35. The impact on bass and sub bass is audibly stronger than V35. Very KOSS Porta Pro-ey presentation (not so overly done that it colors the output)

Ah yes, all that power......comes at some cost. I noticed my V35 drains 20-30% faster now on battery usage, fair enough

 

[OspreyAndy]

Final Update 15 April 2021:
I have been using this JA21 on daily basis as my office Laptop DAC. And paired it with the venerable Topping NX1s (modded). With extensive time spent listening to it while at work I am able to impart my final impression on this beautiful little DAC. I did not use any special driver for it and solely depended on Windows 10 native USB DAC driver (my work laptop won’t allow installation of stuffs like Asio etc.). This combo was able to drive my highly modded AKG K52 166 Ohm to the fullest capacity, but also pushing the volume on Topping NX1s to well over 90/100 – no distortion or any undesirable effect observed.

My initial impressions remained the same. This is a very analogue sounding DAC, the timbre is organic and the presentation intimate – primarily due to closed proximity soundstage emitted. Good thing is I like this type of presentation. May not work well for those craving for widely spaced soundstage and imaging. On the imaging subject the DAC is as capable as it can be, yes things remained close to each other but the separation of layers are disciplined.

So how does it compare to my twins of Cayin N3 Pro and N6ii E02? Well I will admit the two Cayins are superior and rightfully so because of the engineering placed on them to sound good – both DAP being reference grade with true balanced dual DACs discrete design and built with Cayin meticulous precision part by part – these things are reflected on the quality of their output. The two Cayins are just simply better at much more refined fidelity. This however doesn’t mean JA21 is in any way slacking. The gaps are only apparent if I focus on comparison. If I just put the analytical hat aside and just enjoy the music, JA21 does deliver the audio indulgence to keep my feet tapping.

As it is, JA21 will remain my office laptop DAC and deservedly so.

PS:
Modded NX1s was used as the amp because NX1s is very transparent and does not add or reduce any coloration of the DAC output

 

[Budgetconstraint]

Thanks for sharing, much appreciated!
JCally have quite a few models of such USB DAC, I have the Jcally JA04 which i thought was such an improvement to the sound quality coming from my mobile phone.
The price that they are going for is very tempting for me to get others to try.
Do you have any other experience or info which other models I can try?
I have been trying to find the Jcally website without any success at all... Strange isn't it...

 

[OspreyAndy]

Thanks for sharing, much appreciated!
JCally have quite a few models of such USB DAC, I have the Jcally JA04 which i thought was such an improvement to the sound quality coming from my mobile phone.
The price that they are going for is very tempting for me to get others to try.
Do you have any other experience or info which other models I can try?
I have been trying to find the Jcally website without any success at all... Strange isn't it...

My purchase of JA21 wasn't even planned, it was simply hitching a ride in the same cart of my other audio gears when I checked out. And I haven't test any other yet. But if you want to try something else, look for JCally JM20 which I believe in their line uses superior DAC among all of them....and still very reasonably priced