Fiio A3 Portable Headphones Amplifier

After my friends got me the surprise birthday gift, a Sony MDR-1A headphones, I knew that the next item on the hunt would be an amplifier to adequately drive the headphones. While running the headphones directly from my music player (or smartphone/laptop output) was an easier, fuss free option, the headphones definitely benefit from clean power boost that the amplifier can provide. After looking through a few options, I decided to purchase the Fiio A3, partially due to budget constraint (yes, I am probably one of the poorest audiophile out there) as well as the overwhelmingly positive reviews that the amp managed to get everywhere online.

As usual, with new toy comes new photography opportunities. All images were taken with Olympus PEN E-P5 and M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens. That Olympus 25mm lens has become my favourite lens for lifestyle product photography!

I originally intended to get the silver color version of Fiio A3, but it was out of stock. I settled with black, which probably did not match the overall color scheme of the Sony headphones and my Nokia smartphone too well. I was still using Nokia at the time. 

The design looks like a small, slim bottle of cologne or perfume. Build quality is excellent, feels solid in hand. 

The controls are all situated at the same location, with Volume knob, gain control and bass boost. 

All the CDs shown in this image were locally produced, independent artists. Support local music, my fellow Malaysians!

I do not usually bring the Sony headphones (and the Fiio Amp combo) out much, especially on trips that require me to move about a lot and switch multiple locations. I do have a few in ear monitors (ear-bud design types) that come in handy for on the go music listening. However, nothing beats a properly amplified, high-fidelity sound of an oversized over-ear headphones, the sound quality is just on an entirely different level. The Fiio A3 did a splendid job in delivering that much needed extra power to produce a more optimized sound output. 

Fiio A3 portable amplifier is available from B&H. 

Sony MDR-1A is available from B&H