Overview

The FiiO Retro Box is a desktop Bluetooth speaker and player dock designed around FiiO's JM21, M21 and M33 series music players. Pair your player, open the cassette-style door, slide it into the dock and the Retro Box becomes its speaker, with the player's screen switching to a cassette-themed display. It's for FiiO player owners who want room-filling sound at a desk or bedside without giving up the player they carry every day.

Inside are two 40mm full-range drivers, each in its own chamber so the left and right channels stay separate, plus two passive radiators that fill out the low end. A 5W + 5W amplifier runs from two 18500 batteries wired in parallel for steady power, with a rated frequency response of 65Hz to 20kHz and about 10.5 hours of play per charge.

Bluetooth 6.0 with LDAC carries high-resolution audio from a FiiO player or an Android phone, and a USB DAC mode turns the Retro Box into wired desktop speakers for a computer at 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz, with no driver needed. A built-in DSP offers HiFi, Retro, Pop and Warm sound presets, a built-in microphone handles calls, and the FiiO Control app adds more settings.

Simcoe Audio Video Insight

The Retro Box is at its best as a home base for a FiiO player: dock it on the desk, play through the speaker, then press the rear release button and take the player with you. Press the volume knob to cycle the four sound presets and pick the one that suits what you're playing. FiiO keeps the default gain conservative to avoid clipping, so very quiet recordings may not get as loud as you expect, and the company says a gain adjustment is planned for the app. For USB DAC use, connect it to a computer rather than a phone or tablet, since the USB port also charges the speaker and can drain a mobile device.

More Info

Why the FiiO Retro Box Stands Out

Buyer's Guide

Who It's For

• The FiiO Player Owner: Has a JM21, M21 or M33 and wants a speaker dock for it.
• The Desk Listener: Wants compact stereo speakers for a computer over USB.
• The Bedside or Shelf Listener: Wants a small battery speaker with LDAC Bluetooth.

How It Compares

Compared with a general-purpose Bluetooth speaker, the Retro Box is built around FiiO's own players: it physically docks the JM21, M21 and M33 series, includes an adaptor for the JM21 and M21, and switches a docked player to a cassette-style screen. It also works as a USB DAC speaker for a computer and as a standard Bluetooth speaker for any LDAC or SBC source.