FiiO has released the USBDAC JA11, with an initial price of only $9 (69RMB) and support for PEQ DSD128 PCM384

[CedarX]

it's either via FiiO web control or firmware update software as far i know

About the Webapp: the 2.1 FW is what enables (future) updates through the WebApp. So, prior to 2.1, updates are through the DFU tool only; starting with 2.1, updates are through DFU or WebApp.

 

[Nam]

Hi, I just got a JM12 for $3, reducing the volume by -5 db, it sounds so pho king good that I am afraid of flashing the JA11 firmware.
My JM12 seems to be made in 2024 August.
Anyone purchased JM12 recently and flashed the JA11 firmware and noticed improvement in sound quality?

 

[CedarX]

Hi, I just got a JM12 for $3, reducing the volume by -5 db, it sounds so pho king good that I am afraid of flashing the JA11 firmware.
My JM12 seems to be made in 2024 August.
Anyone purchased JM12 recently and flashed the JA11 firmware and noticed improvement in sound quality?

I don’t believe the JA11 FW has any effect on sound quality, what it does it enabling the PEQ features on the JM12.

 

[yafengabc]

I was for sure experiencing the occasional tick or click when using the JCally JM12 with JA11 firmware before this 2.1 update... haven't noticed any noises during my limited use of it since the latest update.

On a related note, I updated the JM12 on PC using the download from Fiio. I didn't see an option to do it on Android in the Fiio Control app. Did I miss something?

Yes, the firmware version 2.1 has fixed the issue of popping sound, and I feel that it can be used completely with me now

 

[yafengabc]

I don’t believe the JA11 FW has any effect on sound quality, what it does it enabling the PEQ features on the JM12.

After updating the 2.1 firmware, the sound has improved, so the sound is related to the firmware. I am very satisfied with the 2.1 firmware

 

[yafengabc]

Hi, I just got a JM12 for $3, reducing the volume by -5 db, it sounds so pho king good that I am afraid of flashing the JA11 firmware.
My JM12 seems to be made in 2024 August.
Anyone purchased JM12 recently and flashed the JA11 firmware and noticed improvement in sound quality?

I think flashing FIIO firmware is meaningful. Feiao has been improving, hasn't it? Jcllay never improves firmware

 

[yafengabc]

The noise seems to have really disappeared, now 44.1kHz has almost the same experience as 48kHz and 96kHz, instead of the following picture

 

[yafengabc]

There was a small incident where I upgraded the firmware of two JA11s (one Fiio original JA11 and one KT20H02 from another brand) through a web page, and JA11 worked normally. The other JA11 (non genuine JA11) had a broken sound, but when I reinstalled the firmware on my PC, the sound also returned to normal.

（I have found the reason, because I turned on the microphone in Fiio control and coincidentally my test headphones had a microphone. At this point, there may be a problem with the sound (it sounds like human voice has been filtered), but switching to another headphone without a microphone is not the problem. The issue with turning off the microphone option for Fiio control has disappeared, which may also be a bug

I obtained another possibility from the QQ group, that the MIC of American standard is different from that of Chinese standard. After connecting headphones with MIC, if they cannot automatically adapt to Chinese standard and American standard, the left and right channels will be connected to GND through MIC, which makes the sound very strange. I have also conducted experiments to prove this point. If I turn off the MIC through the headphone's off button (at this time, the positive and negative of the MIC are short circuited), the sound will be normal.
）

 

[multiformous]

Yes, the firmware version 2.1 has fixed the issue of popping sound, and I feel that it can be used completely with me now

Yes, V2.1 firmware has improved 'sound quality' for me because I used to notice little clicks all the time with my JM12 with JA11 firmware before the latest update. I still don't understand the +12 actually being 0dB for the preamp gain in the EQ settings though...

 

[yafengabc]

Yes, V2.1 firmware has improved 'sound quality' for me because I used to notice little clicks all the time with my JM12 with JA11 firmware before the latest update. I still don't understand the +12 actually being 0dB for the preamp gain in the EQ settings though...

This is easy to understand. Because EQ can increase the gain of certain frequencies, if you set the sound to maximum and use EQ to enhance some frequencies, these frequencies will experience clipping distortion. So generally speaking, to avoid clipping distortion, the overall gain is reduced, so even if there is an EQ of+12dB, there will be no clipping distortion when the sound is adjusted to the maximum.
Generally speaking, using Equalization APO to adjust EQ on a computer will also add a negative overall gain to avoid this situation.

 

[CedarX]

View attachment 409460

The noise seems to have really disappeared, now 44.1kHz has almost the same experience as 48kHz and 96kHz, instead of the following picture
View attachment 409461

Do I read your measurements right if I say that the KT02H20-based JA11 is (very?) close to the CS43131-based KA11 and, from your original chart, CX31993-based dongles for THD+N / SINAD?
All of these being beyond “audio-transparent”…?

 

[yafengabc]

Do I read your measurements right if I say that the KT02H20-based JA11 is (very?) close to the CS43131-based KA11 and, from your original chart, CX31993-based dongles for THD+N / SINAD?
All of these being beyond “audio-transparent”…?

Don't trust my testing, because I don't have professional equipment and can only detect overly obvious problems. It doesn't mean that the noise of JA11 and KA11 is the same, because my equipment has limited performance and cannot truly detect the true noise level. If it is below the detection limit of my sound card, it cannot be detected, so the 'lower limit' is the same. I can only detect noise that exceeds the limit of my sound card.

 

[multiformous]

This is easy to understand. Because EQ can increase the gain of certain frequencies, if you set the sound to maximum and use EQ to enhance some frequencies, these frequencies will experience clipping distortion. So generally speaking, to avoid clipping distortion, the overall gain is reduced, so even if there is an EQ of+12dB, there will be no clipping distortion when the sound is adjusted to the maximum.
Generally speaking, using Equalization APO to adjust EQ on a computer will also add a negative overall gain to avoid this situation.

Yes, I know to adjust overall preamp when boosting frequencies with EQ avoid clipping. I just find it strange that in this implementation "0" for Global Gain is actually "-12". It's misleading and potentially unnecessary depending on the adjustments made with the filters. Granted, if someone doesn't 'know' to reduce the Master / Global Gain by -12 if they're adding a 12dB bass boost, then it's a good 'safety' feature. But if I think I need -6dB for preamp because of a boost I made, going from "0" to "-6" in the EQ settings is actually going from -12 to -18.

For Master / Global Gain, "0" should be 0!

 

[CedarX]

Yes, V2.1 firmware has improved 'sound quality' for me because I used to notice little clicks all the time with my JM12 with JA11 firmware before the latest update. I still don't understand the +12 actually being 0dB for the preamp gain in the EQ settings though...

Not sure I understand... I thought "Global Gain 0" in the EQ tool was indeed 0dB:

Is "0" actually -12dB ???

 

[multiformous]

Not sure I understand... I thought "Global Gain 0" in the EQ tool was indeed 0dB:
View attachment 409504

Is "0" actually -12dB ???

Yes. Disable EQ (may need to do this in the app, not the web browser) and try listening to something. Now without changing volume on your device (android, windows, etc) enable the EQ in the app and leave everything at 0, including global gain. Now, listen again.

So here is a measurement of my Salnotes Zero from JM12 (JA11 2.1 firmware) with EQ Enabled but everything set to "0" (including global gain) and with EQ OFF (using the android app) without changing the output volume in Windows.

 

[CedarX]

Yes. Disable EQ (may need to do this in the app, not the web browser) and try listening to something. Now without changing volume on your device (android, windows, etc) enable the EQ in the app and leave everything at 0, including global gain. Now, listen again.

So here is a measurement of my Salnotes Zero from JM12 (JA11 2.1 firmware) with EQ Enabled but everything set to "0" (including global gain) and with EQ OFF (using the android app) without changing the output volume in Windows.

Ok, got it now! I didn't notice it as I was using the Fiiocontrol webapp where you can't really disable the EQ.
It's not really a problem when you know it, but I agree it is a strange implementation and it is certainly misleading...

 

[popthere]

Don't trust my testing, because I don't have professional equipment and can only detect overly obvious problems. It doesn't mean that the noise of JA11 and KA11 is the same, because my equipment has limited performance and cannot truly detect the true noise level. If it is below the detection limit of my sound card, it cannot be detected, so the 'lower limit' is the same. I can only detect noise that exceeds the limit of my sound card.

So, how should I set it up to get the best sound? I don’t need an EQ.

I want to know whether it’s best to set the Windows volume to maximum or 80% and keep the DAC gain at the minimum. Also, what should the system audio format be set to? Should I set it to maximum (32bit, 384kHz), or leave it at default?

 

[yafengabc]

So, how should I set it up to get the best sound? I don’t need an EQ.

I want to know whether it’s best to set the Windows volume to maximum or 80% and keep the DAC gain at the minimum. Also, what should the system audio format be set to? Should I set it to maximum (32bit, 384kHz), or leave it at default?

This depends on the fact that if the device being driven is an earplug or a highly sensitive headphone, it usually only needs 20% of the voice to listen to music (KA11 even needs less than 10%, so I don't think I need a device with more power than KA11). If the active speaker is driven, I usually adjust the USB dangle to more than 80% or even 95% (because some DACs will have greater distortion when approaching 0db), and then adjust the knob of the speaker amplifier to a comfortable volume. This can also avoid making loud noises when plugging or unplugging audio cables.

As for the audio format, I usually use Windows WASPI or ASIO drivers, so that the audio can be output according to the sampling rate of the audio file, rather than SRC to a fixed sampling rate. It is worth mentioning that after installing Fiio's ASIO driver, the Windows system's built-in WASPI driver cannot automatically adapt to the audio file sampling rate and instead has a fixed SRC to 48KHZ. Therefore, if you want to use WASPI, you need to manually replace Fiio's DAC driver with a USB Composite Device driver.

 

[CedarX]

So, how should I set it up to get the best sound? I don’t need an EQ.

If you don’t need EQ and are seeking the best sound quality, I am not sure the JA11 is the best choice as far as dongle…

 

[Tell]

So, how should I set it up to get the best sound? I don’t need an EQ.

Tbh if you want the best sound you will most probably need an EQ. Knowing how to dialing it in for your specific headohones and ears can be a challenge in itself though.