Jade Audio Level 1

Jade Audio enters the desktop amplifier space with a genuinely interesting opening move

Jade Audio is a sub-brand of FiiO, and the Level 1 is its first desktop power amplifier as what looks like a branding of dàde audo. At $139.99 it enters a market that already has strong competition in the Fosi Audio V3, the Aiyima A80, and the WiiM Amp, so the question is straightforward: what does the Level 1 do differently, and is it enough?

So, from listening, to the “Level 1” for over a week now, the short answer is that Jade Audio has packed an excellent set of features into a premium chassis at a price where the competition typically forces you to compromise. The Level 1 does have, in my opinion, one compromise, but its other features more than make up for this missing feature. And all this is provided in a gorgerous looking aluminium-and-wood enclosure that looks significantly more expensive than $139.99. The TPA3255 amplifier chip and included 48V/5A power supply complete the picture.

But before I get into the details, let’s look at the unboxing experience:

Unboxing and Packaging

The Level 1 ships in Jade Audio’s kraft-style box, with the dàde audo brand name embossed on the top and the product name and Hi-Res Audio certification stamps printed beneath it. The Silver finish is clearly noted — a Black variant also exists:

The back of the box carries a line-drawing illustration of the amplifier alongside the regulatory certification markings and the model number (FS001), manufactured by FiiO:

Inside, the amplifier sits in shaped foam with a secondary cardboard tray below holding the accessories. It is a practical, well-protected arrangement:

What’s in the box:

• Jade Audio Level 1 amplifier ×1
• 48V/5A power supply ×1
• Power cord ×1
• Warranty card ×1
• Quick Start Guide ×1

Design and Build Quality

The Level 1 is a compact unit — 181 × 133 × 36 mm and 676g — with a footprint closer to a paperback book than a traditional amplifier. The chassis pairs an aluminium alloy shell with genuine wood side panels, and the result feels significantly more premium than the price suggests. The wood grain is light and clean and the silver aluminium finish is consistent throughout:

The front panel is logically laid out: a power toggle and input selector sit on the left, followed by two smaller knobs for bass and treble, and a large machined-aluminium volume knob on the right. All the controls are clearly labelled and the action on the knobs is smooth without being loose:

The underside carries the Hi-Res Audio Wireless badge alongside the LEVEL 1 product branding and four rubber feet. It is a clean finish with no unnecessary visual noise:

One detail worth noting: the front panel also includes RGB lighting that indicates the active input and, over Bluetooth, the codec in use. It is subtle enough to be useful as a status indicator without being distracting.

Inputs, Outputs and Rear Panel

The rear panel is one of the Level 1’s strongest physical arguments. For $139.99 you get speaker binding posts for left and right channels, coaxial RCA input, RCA line input, RCA line output (for preamp or subwoofer use), USB Type-C input, and the DC power socket:

The speaker binding posts are gold-plated and accept bare wire, spade connectors, or banana plugs. The RCA sockets are solid and well-spaced. USB supports up to 24-bit/96kHz PCM, which covers the vast majority of hi-res file formats. Bluetooth 6.0 with LDAC support (up to 990 kbps) is handled by the BT8961 chip and completes a connection set that leaves very little to add at this price.

Inside the Level 1 — A Familiar Board

Shortly after the Level 1 appeared on ASR’s forums, community members posting teardown images noted something interesting: the Level 1’s main PCB bears a strong family resemblance to the board used inside the Fosi Audio ZA3. The ZA3 is one of the most well-regarded compact TPA3255 amplifiers available — technically competent, well-measured, and consistently praised for its output quality. Sharing a mainboard architecture with it is not a coincidence to gloss over.

The Level 1 board (below left, image courtesy of the ASR community) is the more compact of the two, fitted to Jade Audio’s smaller chassis. The ZA3 board (below right) shows the same fundamental layout — dual-sided capacitor bank, similar component placement, shared topology — in a slightly larger format with the Fosi Audio silkscreen visible:

Whether the two products share a common ODM source or whether Jade Audio adapted the same reference design, the practical implication is the same: the Level 1’s amplifier section is built on hardware whose lineage has already been independently validated by the measurement community. For a first product from a new sub-brand, arriving with a pedigree like that is a quietly confident opening move.

Power Supply

The included power supply is a 48V/5A, 240W unit from Merryking, which is more substantial than what most TPA3255 amplifiers at this price ship with. The label makes the specs clear:

It is worth unpacking what the power figures actually mean here, because Jade Audio’s own spec sheet presents two distinct scenarios.

With the included 48V/5A supply, FiiO quotes ≥120W+120W into 4Ω and ≥115W+115W into 8Ω at THD+N below 1%. Those are the figures that matter for the product most people will actually buy and use. The amplifier can accept supplies from 24V to 53V, so there is room to experiment later, but the included 240W brick is already a serious supply for a compact desktop amp.

The larger 300W+300W figure is tied to an optional 53V/12A supply and a 4Ω load at THD+N below 10%. Ten percent harmonic distortion is not a normal listening level; it is closer to a maximum-power stress figure before clipping becomes obvious. The cleaner 53V/12A numbers are still impressive — ≥240W+240W into 4Ω and ≥135W+135W into 8Ω at THD+N below 1% — but that is no longer the stock power configuration. The useful takeaway is simple: with the supplied 48V/5A brick, the Level 1 is already powerful enough for normal bookshelf speakers, and the best distortion figure FiiO quotes is much lower, at <0.0025% THD+N under its specified test conditions.

FiiO Control App and Parametric EQ

This is where the Level 1 separates itself most clearly from the competition. Via the FiiO Control app (available for iOS and Android), the Level 1 exposes parametric EQ, device settings, volume, channel balance, source selection, and built-in documentation. You can tune the Level 1 to your speakers and room, apply correction filters, or dial in a preferred curve — a capability that is simply absent on the Fosi Audio V3 and most other TPA3255 amplifiers at this price.

The Level 1 shows up in FiiO Control alongside any other FiiO gear you own, so if you already use the app for FiiO headphones or dongles it simply appears in the device list:

The app also functions as a remote control for volume and input selection, which partially addresses the hardware remote omission. It is not quite the same as having a physical remote for across-the-room use, but for a desktop amplifier used at close range it covers most real-world scenarios.

The home screen shows the Level 1, lets you toggle the front LED, and gives direct access to source selection for coaxial, Bluetooth, and USB Type-C inputs. The Audio page covers output volume and channel balance:

One important behaviour to be aware of is that the Level 1’s DSP — both the parametric EQ and the channel balance shown above — is only active on the digital inputs (USB-C, coaxial and Bluetooth). I found this out when running the Level 1 from the analogue RCA line input of an external preamp: with the analogue input selected, the EQ and balance controls in the app were unavailable, because that signal bypasses the Level 1’s DAC and DSP entirely and goes straight to the amplifier. Feeding a digital source directly into the Level 1 brought the full PEQ and balance back. It makes sense technically — the correction is applied in the digital domain — but it is worth knowing if you plan to use the Level 1 as a purely analogue power amplifier sitting behind a preamp, because in that configuration you lose the single feature that most sets it apart.

The PEQ section includes built-in presets and three custom slots. The important point is that custom PEQ is not just a token feature: the app exposes gain sliders and band-level editing, including frequency, filter type, and Q:

FiiO also includes device documentation inside the app, including the front and rear panel labels, operation instructions, and the indicator light behaviour for inputs and Bluetooth codecs. That sounds minor, but for a small desktop amp with multi-colour status lighting, having this reference in the app is genuinely useful:

One notable omission in the app-based feature set is PFFB — Predictive Fast Feedback — which some competing TPA3255 implementations use to smooth frequency response variations across different speaker impedances. The Level 1’s PEQ is a powerful correction tool, but PFFB would have been a meaningful hardware-level addition for users with speakers of varying or complex impedance curves. It is a considered omission at this price rather than a failure, and the PEQ largely compensates in practice.

Sound Impressions

All impressions were formed using a range of bookshelf speakers over an extended listening period, with and without EQ applied via the FiiO Control app.

Bass

The TPA3255 platform delivers a confident low end with good authority and extension. The physical bass control on the front panel provides a predictable lift or cut that is useful for matching the amplifier to speakers with different bass alignments, and the PEQ gives considerably more surgical options for room correction. There is no sense of looseness or overhang — bass attacks are clean and decays are controlled.

Midrange

The midrange is transparent and direct. Voices and instruments sit with natural weight and placement, and the Level 1 does not impose a colouration of its own. With PEQ dialled in for the specific speakers in use, the midrange opens up cleanly and presents detail without grain.

Treble

Treble extension is good and the top end is free from hardness on most material. The physical treble control allows for a gentle roll-off if a speaker is slightly bright in the room. There is no edge or etch at higher volume levels.

Dynamics and Power

The Level 1 delivers dynamic headroom that noticeably exceeds what the compact chassis suggests. Transient peaks are handled cleanly and the amplifier never sounds like it is reaching a ceiling during normal listening at desk distances. FiiO’s own figures with the included supply are 120W per channel into 4Ω and 115W per channel into 8Ω at under 1% THD+N, which is more than sufficient for typical bookshelf designs, and the TPA3255’s efficient architecture means the chassis stays cool even during extended loud sessions.

In Use: A Dayton-Based Desktop System

To live with the Level 1 properly I built a small system around it rather than just bench-testing it. The source was a WiiM Mini acting as the digital streamer, feeding a Luxsin X9 used as a DAC and preamp, with the Level 1 doing the amplification into a pair of Dayton Audio B65 Classic bookshelf speakers and a new Dayton Audio SB1200 subwoofer. It is a modest, sensible stack, and it suited the Level 1’s desktop-sized footprint:

Part of the appeal was visual. The Level 1’s maple side panels, the walnut Dayton B65 cabinets and the matching walnut SB1200 sub give the whole setup a warm, all-wood look that is unusual for budget desktop gear. The honest caveat is that the wood tones do not quite match — the Level 1’s panels are lighter and pinker than the Daytons’ browner walnut — but as a collection of wood-finished boxes it still looks far nicer than a stack of black plastic:

I stacked the Level 1 directly on top of the Luxsin X9, which made for a tidy two-box source-and-amplifier tower between the speakers:

For the subwoofer I tried two routings: taking the SB1200 from the Luxsin X9 directly, and taking it from the Level 1’s own subwoofer output. Both worked, and having the sub-out on the Level 1 itself means you do not strictly need a preamp with a dedicated sub feed to add low end.

This setup is also where the digital-versus-analogue DSP behaviour mattered in practice. Running the Level 1 from the X9’s analogue RCA output — using it purely as a power amp — meant no app EQ or balance, as noted earlier. When I instead ran the WiiM Mini’s digital output straight into the Level 1 and let it do the DAC and DSP work, the full parametric EQ came back, which is the configuration I would recommend if you want to get the most out of the Level 1 rather than treating it as a dumb power stage. Either way, I genuinely enjoyed the system — it is a lot of capable, good-looking hi-fi for the money.

Comparisons

The Fosi Audio V3 is the most direct competitor at a similar price point. It is also built around the TPA3255 and has a loyal following for good reason — clean output, good dynamics, and a straightforward design. What the V3 does not include is a built-in DAC, which means a separate USB or coaxial DAC is required for digital sources, and there is no parametric EQ capability. The Level 1 makes a compelling argument for its extra feature set within a similar price bracket.

The Aiyima A80 adds a screen and a hardware remote, which are genuine usability advantages for users who prefer not to rely on an app. The A80 trades some of the Level 1’s visual refinement and PEQ depth for those hardware conveniences — it is a reasonable alternative for users who prioritise the remote and the screen, though the Level 1’s build quality is noticeably more premium.

The WiiM Amp adds network streaming, Chromecast, AirPlay 2, and a broader ecosystem of streaming integrations, which make it a fundamentally different product for users who want a networked speaker system without a separate streamer. The WiiM Amp is not really a competitor to the Level 1 — it is a streamer with an amplifier included, and it is priced accordingly. Where the two overlap is in the desktop DAC-amp use case with Bluetooth LDAC sources, and there the Level 1’s PEQ flexibility and lower price are meaningful advantages.

More directly, it is worth comparing the Level 1 against other TPA3255 amplifiers like the Ampapa D1 and the 3eAudio A7. Both offer clean TPA3255 performance in similarly compact formats, but neither includes the DAC section or the app-controlled PEQ that the Level 1 brings. At the same price bracket, the Level 1’s feature set is genuinely differentiated.

Specifications

Measurements

FiiO provided a few measurements for the Level 1.

For example, this line level output shows a pretty linear frequency response down to the subbass regions:

But given the PFFB implementation the 2 other FR measurements the 4-0hm and 8-Ohm do show that sign of the treble being dependent on the frequency. Though the PEQ, of course, can be used to flatten this if you feel it is required. So I have seen better implementation of PFFB but I will update this review if some more independent measurements appear on ASR in the next few weeks:

The Audio Precision dashboards confirm the distortion and SINAD performance at each load, measured at around 5W. Into 8Ω the Level 1 reaches roughly 90.7dB SINAD with THD+N near 0.003%, while into the harder 4Ω load at similar power it measures about 85.8dB SINAD at around 0.005% THD+N — the lower-impedance load being the more demanding one, as usual:

These measured numbers sit broadly in line with FiiO’s quoted best-case figures and confirm that the Level 1 performs cleanly into both loads and easily comparable with even class-D amplifiers costing twice the price.

The distortion figures deserve specific attention. With the included 48V/5A supply, FiiO quotes <0.0025% THD+N at 1kHz / −9dBV into 4Ω, which is roughly 92dB SINAD. The optional 53V/12A test condition gives the same <0.0025% THD+N figure into 8Ω. That is the best-case low-distortion measurement, not the same thing as the maximum power number. The headline 300W+300W rating is measured at <10% THD+N, while the cleaner high-power figures are <1% THD+N.

The single-ended line output measures even cleaner on FiiO’s spec sheet, at <0.00035% THD+N, or roughly 109dB SINAD. That matters if you want to use the Level 1 as a small DAC/preamp feeding another amplifier or powered speaker setup.

The absence of PFFB means the frequency response can vary with speaker impedance — a characteristic visible in the speaker-output measurement. This is the primary reason the Measurements Rating sits at 4 rather than 5. For the vast majority of real-world speaker pairings it is not a deal-breaker, especially with PEQ available, but it is worth noting for users with speakers that have particularly complex impedance curves.

Rating Explanation

The Pragmatic Rating of 5 reflects a product that genuinely delivers more than its price asks. The Level 1 enters a competitive category and carves out a real position with its DAC inclusion, full parametric EQ, Bluetooth LDAC, premium chassis, and honest 120W per channel output — all for $139.99. No single competing product at this price offers the same combination of features.

The Features Rating of 5 acknowledges the completeness of the package: multiple digital inputs, LDAC Bluetooth, tone controls, app-based PEQ, subwoofer output, and preamp output. The absence of PFFB and a hardware remote are minor subtractions against a list that is otherwise difficult to fault at this price. The PEQ availability effectively makes up for the PFFB omission in practical terms for most users.

The Price Rating of 5 is the clearest score to justify. Real wood and aluminium construction, a proper 48V/5A included power supply, a built-in DAC, full PEQ, and 120W per channel at $139.99 is an exceptional value proposition. Competitors charge more for less on at least one of those dimensions.

The Measurements Rating of 4 reflects the absence of PFFB, which would have tightened the load-impedance behaviour measurably. Everything else on the measurement sheet is strong: roughly 92dB SINAD from the <0.0025% THD+N figure, 108dB SNR A-weighted, and 103dB dynamic range with the included 48V/5A supply. The line output is cleaner again at roughly 109dB SINAD. The 4 rating is about what is missing rather than anything that is wrong.

Conclusion

The Jade Audio Level 1 is an impressive first product from a new brand, and it puts meaningful pressure on the established players in the compact desktop amplifier category. The TPA3255 foundation is proven, but what Jade Audio adds on top of it — the DAC, the LDAC Bluetooth, the full parametric EQ, the aluminium-and-wood chassis, the generous power supply — is enough to make the Level 1 the most feature-complete option in its price range.

If you are building a desktop speaker system and want a single box that handles your digital sources, allows precise speaker correction via EQ, and looks genuinely good on a desk, the Level 1 is the first amplifier at this price I would recommend without qualification. Fosi Audio, Aiyima, and others competing in this space have a well-specified new entrant to contend with.