In this feature, we review the FiiO JD1 which is a single 10mm LCP dynamic driver universal IEM developed in partnership with Jade Audio. It is priced at $14.99.
Disclaimer: This was sent to us as a sample in exchange for our honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or services. We thank FiiO for its support.
You can click here to learn more about the FiiO audio products we have previously assessed on Headfonics.
Note, that this post follows our current scoring guidelines which you can read in more detail here.
FiiO has just recently updated its road map for 2024 with a slew of new ‘everything’ right across the board.
However, they will be hard-pressed to beat the $14.99 price point of their new JD1 single dynamic driver IEM. This was a recent release at the tail-end of 2023 and another partnership project with their sub-brand, Jade Audio alongside our recently reviewed flagship JH5 and their previous single dynamic driver JD7.
Luckily, we have a few single dynamic driver IEMs floating around the office here at a similar price point so ultra-budget is not something new to this website. The only question now is, what does the JD1 bring to the table that is new or improved on the competition?
Tech Highlights
The FiiO JD1 uses a 10mm liquid crystal polymer dynamic driver or an LCP driver for short. This has been the go-to dynamic driver for a while now in other IEMs as well.
But thanks to that, this liquid crystal polymer dynamic driver makes IEMs lightweight and versatile. It’s also capable of giving strong and plentiful bass.
This type of driver is also able to prevent static and distortion while giving enough detail retrieval. This versatility is the reason why FiiO went with this for the FiiO JD1. It also uses the same asymmetrical internal and external design for the drivers. This design leads to a stronger and improved sound overall.
Aside from that, it uses the 0.78mm 2-pin as its connectors. If you’re ever in the mood to upgrade its cable, then the FiiO JD1 has that available for customization.
Lastly, due to the LCP dynamic driver, the FiiO JD1 is quite lightweight. The exact weight of the IEM itself is only 7 grams per unit.
Design
The FiiO JD1 was an IEM collab with JadeAudio which is known to create IEMs that resemble jade. The one I got is in black and the faceplate is well polished creating a shiny shimmering effect.
The shell of the FiiO JD1 is translucent black and is see-through. You can see the internals, chambers, and drivers due to this design.
Its shell is also comfortable. Due to it being lightweight, 7 grams to be exact, it feels like a feather when I’m using it. This shell design is relatively small as well. Due to its shape, there’s a good enough seal to prevent bass leakage which is a good thing.
To prevent pressure build-up, it has a small hole in the shell directly above the driver. This design is unusual though since that hole is being blocked by your ear.
I wonder why they couldn’t put the vent on the faceplate. That way the pressure release vent isn’t blocked. Nonetheless, I don’t feel any pressure build-up since this is a very light IEM.
Looking at its design, it has the words JadeAudio on its faceplate. There aren’t any engravings for FiiO’s name though.
Overall, the design is basic despite the attempt at a polished finish. This isn’t a stunner or a looker for me, but rather just a normal-looking IEM.
Comfort & Isolation
This is one of the favorite aspects of the FiiO JD1 that I like. Comfort and isolation are done really well with the FiiO JD1.
Although it doesn’t have special curves and grooves to make it conform to the ear, it still fits well in my ears. It goes deep enough into my ears that I can lay on my side comfortably.
Comfort aside, its isolation is also great. I normally have my volume around 65 to 70 dB in all my listening sessions, and this IEM was still able to give me great isolation despite that level.
Wearing the FiiO JD1, I couldn’t hear the barking dogs and sounds of vehicles while wearing while playing music. It’s that good with my experience.
Without factoring the sound in yet, this is an excellent choice for those needing sleeping or commuting IEMs. The fit, comfort, isolation, and ease of being powered make it a great choice.
Tips
There aren’t many interesting or unique tips here. The FiiO JD1 has those run-on-the-mill silicone tips that nearly every IEM has out of the box.
My listening sessions with the FiiO JD1 were done with the stock tips already on it. Despite being the basic silicone tips, it was still able to do its job without issue. It’s still grippy and sealed enough. This will serve anyone well enough in my opinion.
Stock Cable
The FiiO JD1’s stock cable looks nice. It has a green-blue color to it which makes it seem stylish and pretty.
This is a 2-core cable splitting to 1 wire. The durability is questionable with how thin the cable is, but since the FiiO JD1 has detachable cables, you can replace it if need be.
Packaging & Accessories
There isn’t much to see and get out of the box. The FiiO JD1 has its cable, IEM, tips, and some manual cards inside.
The pouch is nowhere to be found as well. If this is your first IEM, you’ll have to make do with putting them in your zipper or so. Aside from that, there isn’t anything else in the box. It’s your standard unboxing experience overall.
Sound Impressions
Bass
The FiiO JD1’s bass can be explained in 1 word: plentiful. This is packing a lot of bass for such a small and comfortable fit-wise experience.
I feel the bass here unlike in other IEMs. It doesn’t give you bass rumble, rather it gives you big bass. It makes use of its wonderful dynamic driver nicely on the bass part. These are head-banger IEMs in my opinion.
But with all that bass, there’s an issue with muddiness and bloating. There is a good chunk of bass bloat with the FiiO JD1. Along with that bloat, the bass also bleeds into the mids. The usually clean-sounding vocals sound dirty or muddy due to this.
Mids
The mids of the FiiO JD1 aren’t that good, unfortunately. Due to the bass bleed, there’s a muddy mask layer to the vocals.
I can’t find the mids enjoyable due to the unusual timbre it has. The tonal accuracy with the FiiO JD1 is simply off. Its mids are thin as well, there isn’t much body to it. Unfortunately, that thinness doesn’t salvage it from sounding clean since the bass bleed is a tad much.
A lot of micro details are lost in the vocals too. Normally I can hear and feel the vocal texture, but there’s nothing like that with the FiiO JD1.
Despite that, the vocals are still forward. As surprising as it is, the vocals don’t get buried by the overwhelming bass. The mids are a mixed bag of eccentricities. The bass bleeds into it, it’s thin and not clean, but it’s still somehow forward which surprises me.
Treble
The FiiO JD1’s treble isn’t anything impressive too. It has the detail retrieval you’d expect from it, just don’t want more or you’ll be disappointed.
The instruments sound metallic here. It doesn’t sound natural or correct from my experience. I find it hard to enjoy my orchestra or classical music with the FiiO JD1. The tonality and timbre for it were just too sharp and off.
There isn’t that natural tone from the strings or percussions that I expect to hear. It sounds like someone put a plastic bag on the mic and recorded it while adding an over-sharpening filter on it when listening to instrumentals.
Sibilance isn’t a concern here as well since I hardly hear any distasteful and piercing highs with the FiiO JD1. But the thing with FiiO JD1’s sibilance is that because it nullifies any form of sibilance from it, there’s also a lot of detail retrieval lost.
There isn’t much detail retrieval but there’s a lot of bling and sparklines with it. The other effect of this over-sharpening in the treble is the increased emphasis on the sparklines which is a good side-effect.
Despite all that, I can see the FiiO JD1 being a great IEM for those with sibilance concerns since the bass balances out that issue.
Staging & Dynamics
There isn’t much to be said for its staging and dynamics. The FiiO JD1 doesn’t stand out nor do bad in this aspect. The sound stage is average. It’s similar to the soundstage of its competitors, which is the in-your-head experience.
Imaging is accurate though. Nothing feels unusual or off in the placement of the vocals, instruments, and other layers. Dynamics is average though, which means the balance of loudness between the bass, mids, and treble is acceptable. But due to the bass bleed, it can sound unbalanced at specific times.
Click on page 2 below for our recommended pairings and selected comparisons.
