Introduction

FiiO's relentless product release cycle continues! We covered a few DAC/amps from the brand already this year with every single entry being impressive for the money and feature set. Things have been more hit-or-miss on the IEM front with the FHE:Eclipse being a one-trick pony of sorts, the FA7s arguably in need of a price cut to be competitive, and the FH7S being a good implementation of the V-shaped tonality. But it was the budget-friendly JD3 we saw earlier this year that I was most impressed by from FiiO, so imagine my surprise when the company mentioned there was a new version coming out!


The original JD3 was made by FiiO as part of its Jade Audio brand that is meant to be a more affordable lineup of audio products for the masses. This new JD3 Black Edition gets mixed signals as to whether it is a Jade Audio product or not until you go to the FiiO Aliexpress store to confirm it is indeed one, but given the product page and all marketing refers to it simply as the FiiO JD3 Black Edition, I will do the same to avoid any confusion. As the name suggests this obviously is black in color to distinguish from the silver-colored IEMs that were the original JD3. It retains the bullet-shape design that quite a few people are fans of compared to IEMs that have cables that go over and behind the ears, and FiiO claims the new version has an updated driver in addition to a more Harman-style tuning to appeal to those who prefer it over the V-shaped tonality of the previous JD3. Thanks to FiiO for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp as we aim to put these claims to the test today, beginning with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Packaging and Accessories

Packaging is on the simpler side for the FiiO JD3 Black Edition, which isn't surprising given the more value-oriented offering it aims to be. It's practically identical to the previous JD3 in that FiiO forgoes the typical cardboard box in favor of an acrylic chassis sealed in plastic. The clear acrylic panels reveal a cardboard panel inside with the FiiO logo, the expected Hi-Res audio logo, and the product name on front. There is a large cutout for a closer look at the product inside and we see the Jade Audio logo making an appearance on the back to go with the FiiO authenticity checker and contact information for the company. Lift off the top cover to access the contents inside including the IEMs and cable housing, with the microphone and line controls placed in snug plastic clamshell compartments with the rest of the cable in a larger cutout to the bottom. This is also where the other accessories are found, including a warranty card and plastic zip-lock bag containing additional ear tips.


FiiO includes four sets of silicone ear tips with the JD3 Black Edition which come in sizes SS, S, M, and L, with size M tips pre-installed out of the box. While simple single-flange silicone ear tips that won't win any awards, these will do the job just fine for the scope of the product. The flanges are not very stiff and should take on the shape of your ear canal entrance fairly well. What surprised me was the USB Type-C to 3.5 mm dongle adapter which is a neat extra accessory this new version gets! This will help Android and PC/laptop users connect the JD3 directly without needing an additional dongle/portable DAC. It's also useful when you don't have an available combo headphone/microphone jack on your client device for reasons we will see below.

Closer Look

The FiiO JD3 Black Edition continues to have a permanently attached cable as with the original JD3 and a few other budget-friendly IEMs such as the MOONDROP Chu. While not a deal-breaker for me, this is something you need to be aware of right away. It's also one of the few bullet-style IEMs that have the cable go directly down from the shells as opposed to over and behind the ears. This is otherwise the exact same cable as on the original JD3 except with black sandblasted aluminium alloy housings all over rather than the silver-colored ones before to match that particular set. It begins with a straight 3.5 mm TRRS connector—the extra contact to account for the in-line mic here and why that provided dongle is useful—that is gold-plated for additional oxidation resistance for an appropriate source. The splitter reveals the housing composition is a metal trim over plastic and has the FiiO logo on it. The conductor is made of high-purity oxygen-free copper and is quite thin to where I didn't notice it kinking easily. Indeed, I thought this cable was also shielded well enough to where I wasn't getting microphonics in regular use. The right side has a substantial insert closer to the ear that has an in-line HD microphone and tactile line controls (three buttons), and both channels terminate on the IEM shells with subtle L/R markings on plastic sheathing. There is no cable cinch, but the FiiO-branded cable tie will be useful for storing the IEMs somewhere safe—no storage/carry case is provided with the JD3 Black Edition.


FiiO has decided to bump up the JD3 Black Edition shells to have a similar aluminium alloy housing instead of the stainless steel before and the shells are unibodies machined out of a single metal chunk. It's finished well enough to not leave behind any machining marks and is no doubt anodized for the color and durable finish. The bullet-shaped body also has blue and red accent rings on the outside for some flair, which are the de-facto face plates here. This design allows for a semi-open IEM design FiiO has been using to good effect on other IEMs released recently, while also helping users easily identify the left (blue) and right (red) channels. Some tactile "dots" on the left channel cable further help visually impaired users, which is great. The pre-installed ear tips fit snugly over the machined retaining notch at the end of the nozzle, and do try out the other ear tips to ensure the best-possible fit with the JD3. I also appreciate FiiO using a metal mesh filter on the end to prevent contaminants from entering the acoustic chamber. Seen above is the set connected to my phone using the provided adapter and I can confirm the included microphone w/line controls works quite well for daily use—better than most TWS earphones!