The Fiio JM21 is a modern iPod Touch, and I love it

There are better ways to be more intentional with your time than buying a “dumbphone” like the latest Light Phone. Adding friction to accessing social media apps that take up a majority of your time is a good way to do it. Another is making those experiences less appealing while highlighting others. A music player like the JM21 intentionally highlights your music experience to pull you away from the distractions of your smartphone. At the $179 price point, is this modern iPod Touch worth considering for audiophiles?

What I like about the Fiio JM21

The reason JM21 is effectively a Swiss Army knife of the audio sphere is the 6 different built-in modes. There’s the default, Android mode, running Android 13, for ease of use and the ability to use music streaming services. Then there’s Pure Music mode, effectively the Fiio Music player pinned to the screen, for the hardcore audio enthusiasts who want to listen to their hi-res music files. The USB DAC mode is for connecting to another device that may not have a headphone jack, for those who would like to potentially upgrade their listening experience. In Bluetooth receiver mode, you can connect wired headphones wirelessly through a Bluetooth source, for the convenience of wireless listening despite using wired audio gear. Finally, for the audio enthusiasts, Roon Ready mode, to connect with the Roon service. Effectively, everything an audiophile would need in a single audio device.

Unlike your phone, there’s no internet access without a WiFi connection. This helps in being intentional with what you’re doing. Chances are, if you’re outside, and asking “Does anyone have the WiFi password?”, that’s your cue to ask yourself “Do I really want to be consuming content right now?”. You’re likely hanging out with friends, possibly touching grass on a hiking trail, or working out at the gym. The inability to have constant internet access is a good wake-up call, though you might still want to kepp your phone with you for emergencies. The Fiio JM21 comes in that familiar old-school phone shape and has Android OS, for that familiar feeling of using a phone. There is even a charm or lanyard loop on the bottom corner, familiar to millennials like me. This only adds to the nostalgic feeling of simpler times when the internet wasn’t easily available. Do people still remember phone charms? I had a Flareon charm at one point.

The Fiio JM21 is made of plastic, but it comes with a protective case. Both the texture of the case and body of the JM21 feel like cheap plastics, though still solid enough to handle some minor drops. There’s a little bit of heft that gives that well-built feel. With or without the case, the buttons on the side are tactile and easy to find. There’s no need for a tool to insert the micro SD card. You might need to remove the case, since it’s a little difficult to push in, but it’s a once-and-done situation, which makes it acceptable. On the left, there are three buttons, the lock button, and a separate volume rocker. On the right, there are three buttons, the next track, play/pause, and previous track buttons. Because there are three buttons on both sides, it took me a couple of days to get used to them. Once I did, I realized that the small size meant that I could reach every button without shifting my hand position.

After using the JM21 for a few weeks, I like the way it has impacted my life. While I did install some of the usual social media apps, YouTube, and Instagram, I’ve been using them less and focusing more on my music. The small screen size is easier to hold in one hand compared to a lot of phones. While the screen resolution is acceptable at this size, it’s small enough that it isn’t the best when watching a bunch of content. That’s the point, it’s a music player. It plays music, and has a headphone jack, both a regular 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm Pentaconn. With three modes of gain, I was able to use lots of hard-to-drive headphones with gain mode, sensitive IEMs with low gain mode, and most others with the medium option. The output volume is more than enough to handle any headphones I threw at it. There isn’t any coloration added to the sound the JM21 is outputting, but I found it slightly compressed compared to a desktop DAC. I appreciate the equalizer app that allows me to adjust the sound to my liking.

What I don’t like about the Fiio JM21

While the tactility of the buttons is enjoyable, it’s a little too easy to press, where once in a while it would pause or skip tracks while in my pocket. This may not have been a problem if it were recessed, and I found the accidental inputs happen more often when it’s in its case. The case also hinders the insertion and removal of the micro SD card, despite having the slot accessible through the case. Once the SD card is installed, you’ll have to give the JM21 permissions to scan your files, and it took such a long time that I gave up and went into the folder structure instead.

Despite being able to do many things, just like every jack of all trades, there are a lot of drawbacks that don’t make it the best to use for every scenario. Both the Bluetooth receiver modes and USB DAC modes have a noticeable amount of lag. The lag is at a point that it’s not ignorable, the moment you use it other than listening to music. The default SBC connection already has lag, and when moving the Bluetooth codec to LDAC, that lag increases. The same lag exists when in USB DAC mode, I lowered the bitrate to base-level CD quality of 16-bit at 44.1 kHz. This makes the Fiio JM21 a dedicated music-only device.

There was no equalizer out of the box, but during an update, the Fiio equalizer app was installed. I appreciate that it now has an equalizer, but it’s not the most intuitive to use. When first opening the app, there weren’t any instructions, with seemingly no way to add a custom eq. Trying to slide any of the options has the app notify you that “It is not a custom EQ”. To create a custom eq, I had to press the retro button. How was I supposed to know? This could be alleviated by adding some sort of a list icon to the side of the currently applied EQ button.

Should you buy the Fiio JM21?

The Fiio JM21 is for both audio enthusiasts and people who want to stave off their scrolling, social media addiction without having to completely go offline. It does very well in being a music player, and that’s the point. Intentionally listening to music when an album drops, or if your favourite artist puts out a new track. Just like the technology of old, such as handheld cassette players and MP3 players, it’s all about the music. The Fiio JM21 is great for listening to music, but with the wireless latency, it’s not ideal for watching a movie, or playing video games. It’s a nice-looking, well-built, physical reminder that you could be enjoying some music. That said, for $179, you could also just buy a brand new smartphone that has a headphone jack, like the Samsung A15.

Fiio JM21 review: FAQs