The price of a new brand, Acoustune, portable amp (model AS1001) is also in that USD$300 price range!  This one is from a Japanese company.  Perhaps, these companies have all decided $299 is the right price to sell this new product.

I received a apir of the Acoustune earphone, the HS1001 model.  I like it a lot.  I felt like sitting on the front row of a live concert hall when listening music played on my Android smartphone.

I received an earphone and portable amp from friend for trying out, this is a new brand "Acoustune" designed in Japan.  The earphone (Accoustune HS1001) itself is already very impressive, it turns the audio output from a cheap smartphone (USD$130 without contract) into a new listening...

Can anyone detail the differences, from user stand point, in audio quality between Sony PHA-1 and PHA-3?  Notice the huge price differences, $300 vs. $900, is it even worth the money to buy a PHA-3 model?