FiiO Annual Report 2025, Plans for 2026 and Areas for Improvement

The year 2025 was marked by very significant growth for FiiO’s sub-brands SnowSky and JadeAudio, according to FiiO’s CEO and founder, James Chung. Last weekend, James published on Chinese social media a retrospective on how the previous year unfolded for his company, presenting a report together with its planning and new product launches, as well as areas in which the company must improve and reflections on these matters.

Below are the main points addressed by James, showing how the Chinese audio equipment manufacturer performed in 2025, what can be expected from FiiO in 2026, and the company’s commitment to its customers.

How 2025 Was for FiiO

Although consumers naturally have their own opinions about products, such perceptions do not necessarily reflect a company’s actual performance. Fortunately, FiiO’s CEO and founder, James Chung, frequently shares information about his company with the public. On January 24, 2026, James posted on the Chinese social media platform Weibo a retrospective of how 2025 unfolded for FiiO.

FiiO’s Most Successful Brands and Products in 2025

The brand that experienced the most substantial growth for FiiO in 2025 was SnowSky, driven by its Digital Audio Player (DAP) Echo Mini, launched in January of the previous year. Immediately after came JadeAudio, which achieved major success with the launch of the JM21 DAP, a high value-for-money player in the US$200 price range.

James stated the following in his report:

“In 2025, products under the JadeAudio brand experienced very significant growth, but the growth rate of SnowSky was even more impressive. Products such as the ECHO MINI and the DISC were very well received by users after their release.”

Sales Strategy Adopted by FiiO in 2025

Several factors influence the final price of a product. The first is a company’s sales volume. If only a small number of units are sold, prices must be increased to cover the costs associated with development, production, and sales. FiiO’s CEO explains that when volumes are “very small,” each unit “has to absorb high costs of development, marketing, and management.” As a result, according to James, actual profit margins become very limited.

The second factor is the cost of research and development (R&D). James notes that some companies “simply copy what is selling well and outsource manufacturing through OEMs” to keep product prices low. However, according to FiiO’s founder, this approach often sacrifices quality compared to companies that invest heavily in R&D.

Considering these factors, FiiO decided to develop all of its products in-house, maintaining high quality standards, while also adopting direct sales in order to “reduce marketing and distribution channel costs,” according to James.

“We began to explore a new path: developing truly original, high-quality products and marketing them through direct sales, reducing marketing and distribution channel costs,” James wrote in his post.

An example of this approach is the “Trust” cable line, whose launch was previously reported by Hi-Fi Hub. James explained the concept behind the FiiO Trust cable series as follows:

“Not only are they priced lower than those of major cable manufacturers such as UGREEN, but they also feature better design and superior quality, having received unanimous praise from consumers.”

The CEO explains that this line of thinking is what the company intends to follow moving forward.

“In the future, we will continue along this same path, launching more fundamental products that fully meet essential functional requirements while offering the best quality, the best original design, and the best price, serving the vast majority of users.”

FiiO Sought Product Diversification in 2025

For many years, FiiO was primarily known for its portable headphone amplifiers and Digital Audio Players (DAPs). However, in 2025, the company decided to diversify its portfolio by manufacturing portable CD players, portable radios, cassette tape players, vinyl turntables, loudspeakers, and other products.

More Engineers Working on FiiO Products

According to James, FiiO hired additional engineers, expanding its workforce by nearly 40 people. This enabled the company to work simultaneously on multiple product lines and to further enhance its R&D capabilities.

Another positive outcome of this expansion was the completion of FiiO’s organizational structure. According to James, each business division now has a dedicated manager responsible for maximizing the potential of each team member.

Planning and Launch of New Products

FiiO launched numerous new products in 2025 and will strive to complete the release of all promised items by the end of its fiscal year (March 31, 2026). It should be noted that the company considered only products launched in mainland China, such as the SnowSky Disc.

New Products Launched “On Schedule”

• FiiO BR15 desktop DAC and Bluetooth receiver
• FiiO DM15 R2R portable CD player
• FiiO EH11 on-ear dynamic headphones
• FiiO FT13 over-ear dynamic headphones
• FiiO FT7 over-ear planar magnetic headphones
• FiiO FX17 in-ear monitor
• FiiO K13 R2R desktop DAC and amplifier
• FiiO K15 desktop DAC and amplifier
• FiiO M21 Digital Audio Player
• FiiO M27 Digital Audio Player
• FiiO QX13 portable USB DAC and amplifier
• FiiO SA1 active bookshelf speaker
• FiiO SP5 active bookshelf speaker
• FiiO WARMER desktop tube R2R DAC
• JadeAudio JT3 over-ear dynamic headphones
• JadeAudio JT7 over-ear planar magnetic headphones
• SnowSky Anytime on-ear dynamic headphones
• SnowSky Anywhere Bluetooth speaker
• SnowSky Disc Digital Audio Player

New Products to Be Released by the End of March 2026

• FiiO Darkside Pro linear power supply
• FiiO EH13 Bluetooth over-ear headphones with ANC
• FiiO M33 Digital Audio Player
• FiiO RR13 radio
• FiiO TT11 vinyl turntable
• SnowSky BEATBOX CD player
• SnowSky Echo Digital Audio Player
• SnowSky Echo Nano Digital Audio Player

Products with Delayed Launch

• Class-A desktop amplifier
• FF15 planar over-ear headphones
• FiiO BT15 desktop Bluetooth transmitter
• FiiO BTR19 portable Bluetooth DAC and amplifier
• FiiO CP15 cassette tape player
• FiiO DP11 portable CD player
• FiiO FD17 in-ear monitor
• FiiO FT15 over-ear headphones
• FiiO M25 Digital Audio Player
• FiiO QX11 portable USB DAC and amplifier
• FiiO S13 desktop streamer
• FiiO TT15 vinyl turntable
• Horn-type loudspeakers
• Tube power amplifier

Aspects FiiO Considers in Need of Change

According to James Chung, there are areas in which FiiO did not perform sufficiently well, and the company therefore intends to adopt improvement strategies.

Sound Tuning of Products

Some users criticized FiiO’s sound tuning, stating that it is overly analytical and technical. Others claim that the brand lacks a distinctive “sonic identity.” According to James, FiiO has explained on multiple occasions:

“There is no absolute standard for good sound quality; there is only the sound that best suits each individual.”

Even so, James stated that in the future FiiO will adopt a segmentation strategy for sound tuning, with different focuses such as:

• Tuning focused on monitoring and high fidelity
• Tuning focused on pop music and vocals
• Tuning focused on gaming and special effects

Product Appearance

Some users commented that many FiiO products still adopt an “engineering-oriented” appearance that is not particularly attractive or stylish. In response, the company introduced different designs through its SnowSky brand, adopting a retro-inspired aesthetic. Given the positive reception of SnowSky products, FiiO intends to continue in this direction.

James explains that, as an audiophile in the past, he regretted not having either the financial means or the awareness to acquire many excellent products that were released. With this in mind, FiiO’s founder plans to reinterpret some classic designs in order to “give people the opportunity to experience a bit of history.”

“These classic products have been out of production for many, many years. We will not make identical replicas, but rather incorporate our own design elements,” James said.

User Experience

According to James, there are no shortcuts to improving user experience. It is necessary to “increase investment in research and development, hire more engineers, and continuously refine product details.” In addition, he emphasizes that FiiO encourages its engineers to maintain direct contact with users in order to “hear criticisms and suggestions directly from the public.”

“We believe that the voices of real users are far more powerful in driving continuous improvements in quality and design standards than the voices of hierarchical superiors or sales departments alone. This also helps transform complaints, criticisms, and suggestions into concrete product improvements.”