In this article, we review the FiiO JN3, a Bluetooth noise-cancelling over-ear headphone from FiiO’s budget sub-brand – Jade Audio , currently selling for $39 USD.
Disclaimer: the FiiO JN3 was sent to us free of charge by FiiO, in exchange for our honest opinion.
About FiiO
Founded in 2007, FiiO has grown into one of the most recognized names in the portable audiophile space, standing alongside brands like Astell&Kern, iBasso, Sennheiser, Meze, or HiBy. From IEMs to headphone amps, DACs, and of course DAPs, the brand has consistently delivered an impressive roster of award-winning devices like the S15, BTR17, K17, or M15S.
And, if the journey started out in the Chi-Fi bracket, with FiiO offering affordable yet surprisingly solid gear, the brand steadily climbed the ladder over the years. So much that it’d be hard to call them anything but Hi-Fi nowadays, with their M27 setting a new benchmark for what a portable flagship could achieve, the M33 R2R bringing resistor-ladder technology at a more accessible price, and a constant stream of headphones expanding the brand’s footprint well beyond DAPs and IEMs.
But, lately, the brand kept on pushing entry-level products, aiming to take back the crown of THE quality/price king from the like of Fosi, 1 MORE, or Topping.
FiiO EH13 Review
So much that after the EH11, which blew me away at thirty bucks, and the EH13 that followed up with noise cancellation and LDAC at fifty, FiiO went even further down with the JN3 – the EH13‘s little sibling, stripped down to thirty-nine dollars, and slotted under the Jade Audio banner.
A worthy successor at an even lower price? Time to find out.
FiiO JN3
The FiiO JN3 is part of the Jade Audio subsidiary:
“Jade Audio” is a subsidiary brand of FiiO Electronics Technology Co., LTD. It is a stylish, technological, and youth-oriented brand aiming to provide high-quality yet cost-effective audio products with an excellent listening experience for the younger generation all around the world.
The entity’s Chinese name is derived from “翡声” (Fei Sheng), meaning “the sound of Jade”. The name “Jade Audio” conveys our mission towards providing consumers with a crisp and pleasant listening experience while maintaining audio fidelity”.
And if cheaper, Jade Audio still managed to deliver some true gems like the the FiiO JT7 (Planar) and the FiiO JT3 (dynamic), both delivering performance that had no business being that good, at their respective price points.
Design
If the EH13 already went for a clean, modern aesthetic, the FiiO JN3 doubles down on that direction, delivering a clean but somehow familiar presentation.
Once again, you get wide elliptical earcups, slim padded headband, plastic everywhere and a range of buttons all located under the right ears. On each side, you’ll find the Jade Audio logo, emblazoned in the center of the faceplate, reminding me of one of the most popular headphone brand on the market: Bose.
And yes, if you take a few step back, you’ll be surprised to see how close the JN3 falls from the QuietComfort series. From the way they designed the yoke, up to the location of the ANC Mic, both fitted on the upper side of the ear cups, like the QC. Still, like the headphone it seemed to take inspiration from, the overall look feels restrained, almost anonymous and this is the kind of headphone you’d wear in a business meeting, or on your next commute without drawing any attention.
That said, the JN3 still managed to carve out a tiny bit of its own identity. The gold accents on the white version add a touch of warmth to the design – think champagne gold – and the brand’s logo (again), discreetly stamped on the outer face of each earcup, stays subtle enough to avoid the billboard effect you sometimes get with consumer headphones.
Still, compared to the EH11’s retro charm or the FT1’s wooden elegance, the JN3 plays it safe. Very safe. No visual surprises, no design risks, just a well-executed take on the modern wireless over-ear template.
Build Quality
For thirty-nine dollars, build quality is genuinely impressive… up to a certain degree of course.
The chassis is plastic, obviously, but the FiiO JN3 avoids the creaky, hollow feel that plagues most sub-$50 wireless headphones. Pick it up, and the first thing you’ll notice is how well the plastics and foam padding compare to headphones costing twice the price, offering a perceived quality sitting closer to a Bose QuietComfort, than a JBL Tune 520BT, which was quite remarkable at this price.
Earpads are covered in soft, synthetic leather that feels breathable enough for moderate sessions, headband cushioning is adequate – not overly thick, but well-distributed across the crown. Moreover, like the EH13 before, the FiiO JN3 can fold completely, allowing you to fit it more easily in your bag, or even in a vest pocket. To do so, the earcups rotate flat and the headband collapses, allowing the whole system to shrink into a compact bloc.
Of course, if the hinges feel competent, I wouldn’t be too aggressive with the folding mechanism if I wanted the JN3 to survive more than a year of daily commuting – let’s not push our luck.
Layout
Like the EH13, on the FiiO JN3, all controls live on the right earcup. Lined up vertically, you’ll find:
- an ANC button (single press cycles through Noise Cancellation On / Transparency / Off; double press toggles Game mode / Music mode / Bass mode; press and hold toggles Spatial Audio)
- volume up / volume down buttons (also handling track skip with a long press)
- a power button for on/off, play/pause, calls, and voice assistant
- an indicator light (blue for power on, red for charging, alternating red/blue for pairing)
- a microphone hole
- and, last but not least, an USB-C port supporting charge AND wired connection
An I/O almost identical to the EH13, offering everything you should need on a daily basis.
Sound
For this review, my main sources were: iPhone 13 Pro Max / FiiO M21 / FiiO M33 R2R. Files were played from either Apple Music (Hi-Res when available) / Spotify Lossless or my own local library via Plex, and now Roon – yes I finally decide to setup my old account and server. Some tracks will be highlighted, just so you can try them at home too!
Overall Signature
So, how does the JadeAudio JN3 actually perform? Honestly, it’s a mixed bag – and the mix leans more toward compromise than surprise.
I’ll be upfront: coming from the EH13, and especially from the EH11, the JN3’s sound felt immediately thinner, almost cavernous, and certainly less engaging. Where the EH13 delivered a warm, full-bodied presentation with good midrange clarity, the JN3 sounded hollow, as if voices were stripped of their usual weight and presence.
Not terrible by any means, but clearly a step down from both siblings, especially on tracks were vocal took the mainstage, like Birds from Dominique Fils-aimé.
A sensation reinforced by the overall presentation, the FiiO leaning toward a V-shaped signature – bass and treble getting most of the attention, while midrange sat in a shallow valley. So much that most of the time, on complex passages, the JN3 struggled to maintain separation, blending lows and low-mids in the same puddle of “low-frequencies”, dragging some notes way past their expected decay or sustain time.
Put on On Purpose – Nightmare on Wax, and the downtempo groove came through with decent warmth in the low end, but the layered percussion and atmospheric samples started to blend together in ways they shouldn’t.
That said, the JN3 isn’t without its strengths, and being fair I could not flag it as bad – nor good. On simpler tracks – acoustic duets, solo piano, stripped-down folk – the headphone delivering a perfectly adequate listening experience with a soundstage which, if not expansive, remained coherent enough to avoid feeling claustrophobic.
Add to that an overall tuning that worked just fine for casual, background listening and the FiiO JN3 appeared as those kind of headphone you throw on when in need of a quick solution for those seeking a simple, but efficient headphone – during a commute or while working for example
Now, where things got interesting was when I switched from Bluetooth, to wired mode via the USB-C to 3.5mm cable adapter provided by the brand. To my own surprise, doing so brought a noticeable improvement in the lower midrange, the strange coloration that plagued the Bluetooth signal instantly being replaced by a warmer, more grounded tonality that gave male vocals and acoustic instruments some much-needed body. Not a transformation, mind you – the fundamental character remained – but enough to make me wonder whether the DSP processing is actually doing the JN3 more harm than good in certain frequency ranges.
Head to head against the EH13, the gap was real though, the FiiO’s sapphire-coated driver offering consistently better midrange clarity, more controlled bass, and a more natural vocal presentation compared to the Jade Audio version. Differences that were immediately audible to me, and should be so even to casual listeners.
Against the EH11, the contrast was even sharper: the semi-open on-ear’s effortless airiness, paired with acute detail retrieval making the JN3 sound like a product from a lesser category entirely, which – to be fair – is exactly what it is.
But, let’s take a few step back, and remind ourselves that the FiiO JN3 only costs thirty-nine dollars – less than forty bucks! Doing so, and put in perspective against other budget Bluetooth headphones, like the JBL Tune 520BT, the JN3 offered better treble control, less bass bloat, and a more much better presentation, even with the spatialization feature off. Nothing game-changing of course, but enough to hold its own in the sub-$50 crowd.
That said, for a few dollars more though, the EH13 remains the smarter purchase – and the EH11, if noise cancellation isn’t a priority, is still the one to beat. So yeah, the JN3 won’t make you forget the EH11 or the EH13. But for the price, and considering everything else it brings to the table – which, as we’ll see, is quite a lot – the sonic compromise might be worth it for the right buyer.
Tonality
Highs: a tad recessed. For the price, the treble extend adequately, offering enough sparkle on cymbals and hi-hats to keep things alive, though the finest details tend to blur together on busier passages. Not offensive, not exciting either, without any obvious harshness or sibilance, which is perfectly fine at this tier, avoiding any real sonic red flag.
Good test track: Recovery – Rival Consoles
Mids: warm but veiled. Voices are where the JN3 shows its biggest weakness and both male and female sit noticeably behind the rest of the mix, giving the overall presentation a hollow, recessed character that works against vocal-heavy genres. On tracks with layered vocals or dense acoustic arrangements, the midrange lacked the body and presence needed to anchor the mix, making everything feel a bit distant and uninvolving.
Wired mode helped recover some of that lost warmth, but the fundamental recession remained.
Good test track: Under the Magnolia Tree – Pale Jay
Bass: good presence with reasonable extension. Not the JN3’s strongest suit but the low end delivered enough weight for electronic and hip-hop tracks to feel engaging, without crossing into excessive bloat territory. On more demanding passages, however, the bass tended to overstay its welcome – lingering a touch longer than it should, which muddied the transition into the lower midrange and contributed to that “cavernous” sensation.
Good test track: Sines of Progress – Hedflux
The FiiO Jade Audio JN3 article continues on Page two, after the click here, or after the jump.
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