The FiiO E5 amplifier is on sale at the Head-Direct store. Price is $23, with free shipping worldwide.

Update: first batch of 50 E5 amplifiers sold out. Next batch of E5 amps due to arrive on Dec. 15th. Head-Direct is accepting pre-orders.

Head-Direct is having a Christmas sale.

1. HEAD-DIRECT RE2 In-ear headphones - Original price $99, now only $79

2. HEAD-DIRECT RE1 In-ear headphones - Original price $169, now only $139

3. YUIN OK2 Earphones - Original price $169, now only $129

4. YUIN OK3 Earphones - Original price $89, now only $59

5. YUIN PK3 Earphones - Original price $49, now only $39

6. OVC X50 Earphones - Original price $39, now only $19

7. OVC HC1000 Portable headphones - Original price $49, now only $29

This little gem has been travelling everywhere here for the last half a year. It’s the Minibox-D headphone amplifier. The size of a credit card (or debit card here), and about as deep as a CD case (some 5 mm).

There’re no dynamic range measurements for the Minibox-D, but by the sound it is better than 95 dB. Clean audio range is 40 KHz. Maximum headphone impedance is 300 ohm. Battery life is exceptional - weeks on standby and typically some 25-30 hours of playing time; charging is via USB or an AC/USB adapter.

The Minibox-D is a tiny hi-fi amplifier, it’s been driving the AKG K-240 Studio, OVC HC1000 and Denon AH-D1000 on the go; each of those headphones was driven to a level of detail where a record’s space and tiniest bits of ambience are played effortlessly. It really is something that needs to be listened to be believed. Combined with the AKG K-240 Studio and Sweetcome cable, it challenges very expensive hi-fi speaker setups for clarity.

The Minibox-D is the more expensive version, built in a polished metal housing. It comes with a hard carry box and a soft fabric sock. It’s small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. Minibox-F is the same electrically, but comes in a slightly larger, less posh housing, and is less expensive: $69. The Minibox-D costs $99. A twisted silver cable is an additional $19 (and a must for lifelike sound transmission from the source).

The Head-Direct store has been out of stock for a few months, but now the Minibox amplifiers are back.

A full review of the Minibox-D is coming soon.

…are the latest addition to the Head-Direct store.

Here’s a sample setup:

Sony D-NE500 portable CD player, Qinpu Q-1 amplifier, Q-6 speakers.

Q-6 are relatively inefficient mini-speakers, efficiency rating is 80 dB. Though this is a bit misleading - psychoacoustically they can be loud.

The metal cone mounted over the speaker driver in the photo is a soundfield diffuser/reflector. Unlike a conventional speaker setup, the Q-6 driver fires into the metal cone, spreading sound around the speakers.

Read the rest of this entry »

…are Yuin’s new earclip headphones. Earclip headphones have not been that popular as they can pinch ears (like the Koss KSC-75). According to the first review, the G1 are very comfortable, just like the PK series of earbuds (first comfortable earbuds ever reviewed by the author).

Earclips can have the best balance between seal and comfort of all headphones except perhaps circumaural; most supra-aural mini-headphones slip slightly off ears or don’t press hard enough to create a good seal. Exceptions from AKG like the K-81 made wearers complain about hard pressure.

So the new G-series from Yuin look like the dao of mini-headphones: comfortable, lightweight, small, and with a good seal.

The G1 are the high-end model, costing $149. The shipping is free worldwide.

They are to be followed by the G2 late in November, a $50 model. Its price makes the G2 compete against the likes of AKG K-81/K-518, AKG’s “new” line of mini-headphones (K-4xx), Denon AH-P372, and many other mid-priced portable headphones. There was no reply about possible release of cheaper G3.

Yuin G1 have an impedance of 150 ohm, and are meant to be driven by a portable amplifier. As an introduction offer, Head-Direct will include a FiiO E3 headphone amplifier with every G1 purchase.

In summary, the G1 are perhaps the finest portable headphones for money; Yuin is ensuring their products are within the headphones’ dao.

Head-Direct shipping is now free for all headphone & earphone orders. First-class mail to the US, EMS or TNT express mail to the rest of the world; this means parcels will arrive within a week.

Source: Head-Direct News.

This makes Head-Direct prices for Yuin, OVC & VSonic earphones lowest around.

Yuin PK3 are on sale for $39 - shipping anywhere in the world included.

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).