Listening to music with your phone on the go is one of life's great conveniences. It's capable of playing pretty good quality streams, and connects incredibly easily to your best wireless headphones so that you can listen to The Backstreet Boys on the bus without annoying fellow passengers.
But it’s not without its downsides. Phone storage is often limited, file conversion tools aren’t always robust, and constant notifications can pull you out of the moment. That’s why I also like to carry a DAP — a digital audio player — when I head out.
A DAP eliminates distractions from calls and messages, letting me immerse myself in music. The internal components are usually higher quality, allowing for better audio performance and support for high-resolution tracks. Plus, they often have enough power to drive more demanding wired headphones.
The catch? They’re not cheap. My current go-to, the Fiio M15S, costs around $1,000.
Enter the Fiio JM21. It's a DAP that doesn't cost the earth, only coming in at $199. It's packed with loads of excellent features that mean you don't need to worry about audio shortcomings on the go, while costing less than a second hand Nintendo Switch. I've been testing it for the last couple of months, and I've discovered it's a great device for the price.
What's that funny looking connector?
Alongside a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB-C port for charging and data transfer, the JM21 offers something special: a balanced connector. That might not mean much to most people — especially if you’re using Bluetooth headphones — but for audio enthusiasts, it’s a big deal.
A balanced connector, specifically the 4.4mm type found here, is becoming increasingly common among wired headphones, and for good reason.
Without diving too deep into the technical details, it separates the left and right audio channels and delivers them independently to each earcup. The result? Reduced distortion and, often, noticeably improved sound quality.
It’s a feature clearly aimed at audiophiles, and for anyone curious about getting into high-end wired audio, the JM21 makes for an excellent entry point.
Like an iPod touch for 2025
The JM21 evokes a time when phones and music players where seperate because they had to be. When you'd have an iPod in one pocket, and your phone in the other. It's like going back in time and seeing what an iPod touch might be capable of now, if Apple continued development of the idea.
Everything is easy to use by virtue of a relatively un-molested version of Android. That means you can install all your favorite streaming apps, like Qobuz and Tidal, so that you can stream hi-res tracks without them taking up disc space.
There are playback controls on the side so that you don't have to pull the device out of your pocket when you just want to play, pause or skip a track. There are plenty of small details that make it super simple to use — I really enjoy it.
Thoroughly modern touches
Despite it's focus on wired playback and hi-res music either from the internal storage (which can be expanded with micro-sd card slot) or streamed, there's some features so that you can jump straight in without an extra pair of headphones.
There's a 5.0 Bluetooth connection, with support for LDAC and aptX of various guises. You can connect it to your laptop as a higher quality DAC so that you can play tunes to your headphones from there.
You can even turn it into a Bluetooth reciever, so that you can play your music through a wireless source and listen on your favorite wired headphones. It's even Roon ready so that you can hook it up to a Roon system — it's a very modern device, despite its lower price than similar options.
Not all is perfect
There are a couple of things holding the JM21 back from perfection. I understand that more power is required to run a balanced connector and the more powerful audio circuitry on board, but it would be nice to have more than 9 or so hours of use out the of the device.
There are some lag problems when it comes to the Bluetooth and wireless connection (although WiFi streaming is totally fine) that takes a little off the lustre. But then the JM21 is only $199, making those problems a whole lot more palatable.
Is the JM21 as good as my $1,000 daily driver DAP? No, but I'd be very worried if it was. If you're looking to get into hi-res audio or you want to step up your sound quality game, then the JM21 might just be the perfect stepping stone into audiophile-dom.
Just be aware that's it's a very expensive slippery slope.
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