Some notes on the effect the FiiO E3 amp has on different headphones: AKG-K240 Studio with Sweetcome cable, OVC HC1000, Denon AH-D1000. The FiiO E3 mini-amp costs less than $10, and is certainly worth the money. Anyone owning a portable player without an amp should get one.

The FiiO E3 also has a great synergy with the OVC HC1000 headphones. OVC HC1000 cost $49 (plus $5 or $10 shipping) from Head-Direct, and are perhaps the first “portable” headphones that can compete not only with the likes of Sennheiser PX100/PX200, but also with more expensive gear. HC1000 and the FiiO E3 amp paired are at least as good (at the same, if not better, level of clarity/detail/dynamics, though slightly less bassy) as the Denon AH-D1000, worth $120-170 (depending on store). Less than $75 of headphone gear performing as well as a set of headphones worth two to three times as much.

Diaphragm: 16 mm., mylar
Nominal impedance: 32-ohm
Nominal power input: 2 mW
Maximum power input: 5 mW
Nominal sensitivity @ 1 KHz: 113 dB/1 mW
Frequency range: 20-20000 Hz
Enclosure type: semi-open earbuds

The X50 are OVC’s more expensive, higher-quality earbuds. OVC was the Chinese OEM for many Western companies (Koss, Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Audio-Technica, Plantronics, Yamaha, V-Moda, etc. etc.); there’s an English website for OVC, http://www.ocvaco.com/, with a bit more background on just what OVC is.

Long story short, X50 are close to Yuin PK3 in price and performance. About 75% of the performance at 75% the price. Not as exciting or magical as the PK3, but with a larger soundstage and a bit more power to the sound (this is probably as powerful and “solid” as earbuds can get).

OVC HC1000 are OVC’s new portable, foldable headphones…

A bit dull-sounding, but with better depth and definition than comparable mini-headphones from Sennheiser. Close to the sound of modded Koss Porta-Pro, but with more depth/definition, and a bit duller: diaphragms are 30-mm., not 40-mm. as in the Porta-Pro. Much better treble and midrange than most “portable” mini-headphones, a bit less bass, but as usual with supra-aural miniature headphones, this depends on the seal. But seal’s decent, somewhere on par with Sennheiser PX100, and of course much better than PX200 (but not quite like the secure fit of Porta-Pro).
With Tangerine Dream’s “Catwalk” they were astonishing in the introduction, but had that touch of dullness once the main percussion part kicked in. Bjorn Lynne’s “Astronavigator”, and they revealed watery sounds for the first time as watery. In Ketil Bjornstad’s “Undercurrent”, the acoustic bass, percussion, and piano were balanced, not masking each other as they might with headphones that favour either bass or treble.

A tad light in sound, somewhat like earbuds, but overall the HC1000 are unintrusive, “background music” portable headphones. They might do with more “meat” to the sound, but they’re what the Sennheiser PX200 never achieved - good-sounding, lightweight, tiny headphones.

On sale at Head-Direct, $49 plus shipping ($5 within America, $10 to the rest of the world).