This is another listing to keep an eye out for. Even if the current price is not tempting enough, the bottom may fall out and create a “falling knife” type of a situation. As of the time of writing, there are a lot of listings of the Beyerdynamic T51i Portable Closed On-Ears in “Used – Very Good” condition for $139~, all of them by Amazon Warehouse Deals. If they don’t get sold fast enough, their pricing system will likely discount them further to entice shoppers. No one outside Amazon really knows how exactly the discounting process works, we are of course all guessing, but that’s a lot of listings for a headphone model that is more known to audiophiles than average consumers. It averages 4.2 out of 5 based on 84 customer reviews.
Archives for February 2016
In-stock in 5 colors: Sony Premium H.Ear On for $200
I am not sure how drunk they were when they named these “H.Ear On” because that’s a rather awkward search-wise and not very memorable name, but that’s navel gazing. As of the time of writing, all five different color schemes (and these are bold colorful colors) are in-stock and ready to ship for their starting price of $200 at Amazon.com. They average 4.8 out of 5 based on 11 customer reviews so far. It’s all five stars except for a disappointed 2-star emoji review.
Used Sony XBA H3 Hybrid 3-way In-Ears for $175 to $187
The “BA” is unmistakable in the model name, it’s balanced armature time, the Sony XBA H3 Hybrid 3-way In-Ears have many listings at Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD). The lowest price is currently $175 in “Used – Good” with many more listings for $187~ in “Used – Very Good”. It looks like there is price pressure on them, perhaps that one “Used – Good” may be the dam that is holding back the discounting. Even if this price is not right, you may want to keep an eye out for them in case of future discounts (not guaranteed that they will drop further though ~ speculation based on patterns).
Used Bravo Audio V1 headphone amp for $60
The Bravo Audio V1 headphone amp is currently offered in “Used – Good” condition (repackaged, missing user manual) for $60 with free shipping by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. The Bravo averages 4.3 out of 5 based on 68 customer reviews. There’s only one used listing.
Note however that there are multiple similar Bravo Audio tube-y amps, so be sure to read up on them if you are not familiar with them and you are not sure which one to get for your setup.
Used Philips A1 PRO/27 DJ Headphones for $95
DJ time now, the Philips A1 PRO/27 DJ Headphones under the Armin Van Buuren brand are currently available in “Used – Very Good” condition in damaged original packaging for $95~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals. There is only one listing and only one unit available according to the shopping cart over there. The reviews are shared with another model, so the average does not necessary tell the whole story.
Tuesday Lightning Deals: Jaybird BlueBuds X Sports BT, Bluedio BT, Sennheiser HD 218i
We have another round of headphones scheduled to be part of the Lightning Deals at Amazon’s for Tuesday 3/1/16. I do not know what the sales prices will be ~ those are revealed over there as each offer goes live. Each offer typically lasts four hours but not always. The schedule is as follows:
* starts 11am Eastern: JayBird BlueBuds X Sport Bluetooth In-Ears (Camo color scheme)
* starts 12pm Eastern: Sennheiser HD 218i On Ears
* starts 3pm Eastern: Bluedio Model B2 Colour Bluetooth over/on ears
* also a couple of other Audio items throughout the day (Pioneer 7.2 AVR BT, Braven BT, etc)
Sennheiser HD 558 for $100 [limit 5]
The middle “child” of the current HD 5xx line-up is on sale again, the open over-ear HD 558 is currently going for $100 with free shipping, with a limit of five per customer at Amazon by Amazon actual. It averages 4.6 out of 5 based on 800+ customer reviews and has 180+ questions answered. Certainly not an unknown.
PS: there are a number of other on-going discounts of Sennheiser headphones. Check the blog’s previous deal-posts on them for more details.
Meze 99 Classics appear on Amazon for $355
Hot on the heels of a glowing review at Inner Fidelity (see their YouTube channel), it looks like the Meze 99 Classics closed over-ears have made their appearance on Amazon. The seller is a “Just Launched” Meze Electronics seller, and they ship from California per the listing. It is hard to tell from their Amazon Profile page whether they are indeed the manufacturer or random dude opening up an Amazon store. Amazon really needs to provide a way for consumers to figure this out without having to become Shopping CSI experts 🙂 It’s in their benefit too ~ more sales if you are certain you are buying from the manufacturer versus random dude creating a store with a similar name.
As of the time of writing, these are available for $349 plus $6~ flat shipping in either the Gold and Black or the Silver and White color schemes. They ship directly from the seller, they are not Prime eligible.
Razer BlackShark Over Ear Noise Isolating PC Gaming Headset for $95
It looks like we may have another Amazon-Jet price-match, the Razer BlackShark Over Ear Noise Isolating PC Gaming Headset is currently on sale for $95 with free shipping, in new condition, at Amazon.com. This sale appeared while I was on the Amazon website, one of those internal banner ads. It averages 4.3 out of 5 based on 110+ customer reviews.
PS: I am posting a mix of new-condition and used-condition deals. The used ones have “used” or refurbished or open-box in the individual blog-post titles here. You can also tell from the linked page. For new condition, it’s typically the main product page. For used items, it’s the Amazon Warehouse Deals.
Used JLab Bombora Over-Ears for $11+
The JLab Bombora over-ears are available in a mind numbing number of different colors. With so many combos, the used market is filling up, and if you check Amazon Warehouse Deals, you can see that prices start at $11~ for the brown color scheme. The link points to the lowest price per color. To see more listings for a particular color or style (glossy or matte), click on its picture thumbnail or the links that say “See all offers for this product”.
Needless to say, these are utilitarian type of headphones, they average 3.6 out of 5 based on 330+ customer reviews.
Massdrop Unlocked: Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium (600 ohm) for $228
If you are fond of Massdrop shopping, and with a late March 2016 shipping estimate, the new condition open-back Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium (600 ohm) headphones are fully unlocked (aka lowest price during this Massdrop offer) for $220 plus $8 flat USA shipping. There are about seven days left (from today) in this offer. Needless to say, 600 ohm headphones will need amp-ing (check the various websites and forums for recommendations).
AKG M220 Semi-Open Over-Ears for $75 [Prime shipping, not Massdrop]
If you don’t want to wait for Massdrop offers to go live and then ship, but still want to get your hands on their exclusive AKG M220 (based on the K240), there is another option that will get it to you as very quickly, especially if you are a Prime member. Amazon seller “Audio Watt Store” has managed somehow to pick up a lot of units and they are selling them for $75, in new condition, with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so Prime 2-day shipping for members.
I do not know what the warranty situation is with these. The same seller has a separate listing of these, shipping from them directly (not via Amazon) and with a no-questions-asked six months replacement warranty going for $84.
These are semi-open over-ears, as their AKG K240 progenitors, and on the first listing, you can find 12 customer reviews with a 4.6 out of 5 average and 6 questions answered. One of the answers says there wasn’t an AKG warranty card in the package.
Used Fiio E17K ALPEN 2 USB DAC for $108 [updated]
UPDATE 2/29/16: oops, I forgot the link to Amazon Warehouse Deals
If you are comfortable with store display products, the Fiio E17K ALPEN 2 USB DAC is currently available in “Used – Like New” condition with a note that it’s a store display model in an original box for $108 with free shipping by seller “All About Office” (100% rating with nearly 10K ratings). This ships directly from them, so no Prime benefits. The new condition price is $139.
But that’s not all. There are is one more listing for $109 with free shipping is “Used – Like New” with a 180 day warranty from seller “PRO STUDIO Sound and Music” (100%, 6.8K ratings). It ships directly from them, so no Prime shipping.
This $110 option sold out since the original post: “Used – Like New” (original packaging), from “North to South” seller (100%, 3.6K ratings), and this one is Prime eligible.
These are the only used listings for this product as of the time of writing, so there is the possibility of price pressure building up if nobody buys any of them.
ASUS HP-100U Dolby Headphone Set for $40
If you are a fan of the ASUS brand, their HP-100U Dolby Headphone Set (that’s its name) is currently on sale in new condition for $40. The seller of record is a marketplace seller but the order is fulfilled by Amazon so it’s eligible for Prime shipping. This is the silver color scheme. The black goes for $50.
[DEAD] Monday Lightning Deals: Symphonized, Klipsch R6 and X4i, BlueAnt
These lightning deals for Monday 2/29/16 expired…
Creative Aurvana Live (closed over-ears) for $49
The closed over-ear Creative Aurvana Live headphones that had their share of recommendation list spotlight are currently discounted. As of the time of writing you can get them in new condition for $49.03 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual (some of the marketplace sellers have them for a few pennies less). This maybe be a price-match of Jet.com or vice versa. The headphones average 4.3 out of 5 based on 250+ customer reviews.
Used Tenqa FIT Bluetooth Earbuds (Exercise) for $9~
I did a lot of groundwork today to organize the way I track the various Amazon deals, and as a result of that, there’s a handful of potential deals that I have earmarked. I’ll have to go through them and prepare posts for the ones that survive price-checks (probably Sunday night), but in the mean time, I am posting some of the used items that have only one left, before they get scooped up.
The sporty Tenqa FIT Bluetooth Earbuds go for $69 in new condition, but as of the time of writing, there is one unit in what is described as “Used – Acceptable” condition for around $9 (nine dollars) by Amazon Warehouse Deals. There is no detailed description of its condition. The “acceptable” condition means higher risk. I don’t know if $9 was a price-typo or it is in really bad shape.
These average 3.1 out of 5 based on 150 customer reviews, so that’s another risk factor to consider. Since AWD is the actual seller, they are eligible for free 2-day shipping for Prime members. Thankfully they are not putting “Add On” restrictions on Used products [don’t give them any ideas!]
Used Schiit Audio Vali SCH-12 Hybrid Amp for $85 [one left]
Schiit Audio time, their Vali SCH-12 hybrid headphone amp is available in “Used – Very Good” condition (cosmetic imperfection, damaged original packaging) for around $85 by Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD) by AWD actual, so it is eligible for Prime 2-day shipping. As far as I can tell, there is only one left of this. It averages 4.5 out of 5 based on 52 customer reviews.
PS: it may sell out by the time I check the blog again; unfortunately there is no way to automatically update the post if it sells out.
PS2: speaking of Schiit, the book chronicling the company’s story (383 pages, by Stoddard and Moffat) continues to sell for $5 in the Kindle version. The printed version goes at more typical book prices ($15~). The ebook has Text-to-Speech enabled and you can load it on unlimited devices simultaneously (some of the major book publishers place restrictions on how many devices one can download an e-book you purchased).
V-MODA Crossfade M-100 (white/silver) for $204 [updated]
UPDATE (2/27/16): the Matte Black color scheme is available in “Used – Good” condition (cosmetic imperfections, damaged original packaging) for $149~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual (Prime eligible).
The burst of Sennheiser posts below is because I did a price check of most of their wired over/on-ears, but the world does not revolve around Sennheiser. There are many and more brands. Going down in price at the moment is the white-silver color-scheme of the wired closed over-ear V-MODA Crossfade M-100 [corrected the link!], $204 with free shipping at Amazon, with a limit of five per customer. The other two colors are $227+. This is new condition from Amazon actual.
The introduction of their Wireless (Bluetooth) over-ear is pushing down the prices of their wired models, which is hooray if you are not interested in bluetooth. But if you are interested in Bluetooth, but don’t want to pay the $300 new condition price, the used prices start at $225 at Amazon Warehouse Deals. The link shows the lowest price per color. To see more options for a particular color, select its picture thumbnail or click on the link that says “See all offers for this product”. If you are not familiar with the Warehouse Deals pages, they can be overwhelming, take a deep breath, and slowly “index” it 🙂
Yamaha EPH-100SL In-Ears for $85 [limit 5]
The silver color scheme of the Yamaha EPH-100SL in-ears is currently on sale for $85 with free shipping, with a limit of five per customer, at Amazon.com by Amazon actual. These average 3.8 out of 5 based on 178 customer reviews. They come with a 2-stage flange.
[DEAD] Amazon magnetic earbuds for $12.50 [limit 10]
This particular daily deal expired, but Amazon now frequently discounted their house-brand products…
Sennheiser Urbanite XL Over Ears for $100 [iOS or Android]
The black and blue-denim color-schemes of the closed over-ear Sennheiser Urbanite XL headphones in both the Android and iOS versions (the cables are the difference) are on sale for $100 with free shipping at Amazon.com with a limit of five per customer. Use the thumbnail pictures to navigate the color/OS combinations, and pay attention to who the featured seller is, as it changes as you switch from one option to another.
But that’s not all. If you are comfortable with used headphones, their prices start at around $60 in “Used – Very Good” condition at Amazon Warehouse Deals. This link shows the lowest price for each color/OS combination. If you are interested in a particular one, click on “See all offers for this product” or click on its thumbnail picture towards the top of the page over there.
Sennheiser Urbanite On-Ears for $60 [three iOS colors]
The closed on-ear Sennheiser Urbanites are on sale for $60 per pair in three iOS colors, Black, Sand and Blue Denim at Amazon.com. You can switch between the colors and OS options by clicking on their little pictures over there. Note that the featured seller is different for each one, so make sure you locate the ones that say “Sold by: Amazon.com” and not by marketplace sellers (unless you are familiar and trust the marketplace sellers). The limit is five per color per customer for the ones shipped by Amazon actual. The whole set averages 4 out of 5 based on 100+ customer reviews.
Is Back: Shure HPACP1 Headphone Carrying Pouch under $4
It is back! The Shure HPACP1 Headphone Carrying Pouch is back in-stock at Amazon, currently going for $3.56 each, with a limit of 30 per customer. There is one small catch however, it is part of the Add-ON Program, so you would need an order of $25+, otherwise the shopping cart won’t let you buy it. This is a very nice drawstring pouch. It won’t protect from impact but can keep dirt and scratches away. It is made for their 240/440/840/550/750 line-up, so headphones with similar dimensions (or smaller) should fit fine.
Sennheiser HD 280 PRO and $15 Gift Card for $100
If you happen to want or need the closed over-ear Sennheiser HD 280 PRO headphones right now, and you can’t wait for them to go on sale in the future, there is a gift card bundle of them at Amazon.com that bundles them with a $15 Amazon Gift Card (plastic gift card that will be mailed to you) for $100 with free shipping… Their other bundle (of four options) that has a price advantage over buying the items separately is the one with a Blue Mic Snowball Ice microphone for $110 total…
PS: another headphone that has different bundles at Amazon is the HD 380 PRO, however, as of the time of writing, none of the bundles (Gift Card or Blue Mic or Creative E1 amp) have a discount advantage. Their prices and offers change over time, but I have no idea when these bundles will become favorable.
Used Sennheiser HD 598 SE for $90
The more conventionally (by Sennheiser standards) colored HD 598 Special Edition headphones currently have one listing in “Used – Good” condition for around $90 by Amazon Warehouse Deals, however, be warned, this listing is not perfect, it says “Missing Earbud cover / pad. Missing Owner / User Manual”. It will be in damaged but original packaging. The rest of the used listings are from marketplace sellers.
Sennheiser HD25-1 II and $75 Gift Card for $250
We already mentioned Amazon’s HD600 and HD650 crazy bundles [see Sennheiser archives], but they are not the only ones. The HD25-1 II closed-back headphones are now bundled with a $75 Amazon Gift Card (plastic card to be mailed to you), all together for $250 with free shipping, the same price as the headphones on their own. You can keep and use the gift card or use it as a gift or trade/sell it as you wish.
Used Koss QZ-99 (with on-earcup volume control) for $22
The Koss QZ-99 closed headphones with on-ear volume control (actual volume knob on Left earcup, see picture #1 there) goes for around $42 in new condition, but if you are comfortable with used condition products, you can get it in “Used – Good” condition (cosmetic imperfections, damaged packaging) for around $22 by Amazon Warehouse Deals. The headphones average 4.2 out of 5 based on 200+ customer reviews.
PS: if you find all these deals posts useful or entertaining, please consider making some of your purchases using the shopping links in these posts. The shopping affiliate links is the main way of funding the efforts of this blog, and it’s a sign that you find it useful, so I can invest more time on it. Thanks 🙂
Philips M1/27 Mark II for $88 [white only]
The white color scheme (white and sandy-brown really) of the Philips M1/27 Mark II is currently on sale in new condition for around $88, with a limit of three per customer, at Amazon by Amazon actual. The other two colors remain at $150+. So if you want the white, the new condition may be a good idea, but if you prefer the black-orange, you can get it used for half the price [see previous post].
Used Philips M1/27 Mark II for $69 [white only]
UPDATE 2/25/16: the black-orange sold-out at $69, but the white remains. However, the white goes for around $86 [dropped $2 since last night] in new condition, so some may prefer the new condition when it is a smaller price difference.
The closed-back Philips Fidelio M1/27 Mark II are available in “Used – Very Good” condition (minor imperfections, damaged packaging) in either the Black-Orange or the White color-schemes for around $70 by Amazon Warehouse Deals. The link I posted shows the lower price per color. To see more options for a particular color, click on its thumbnail picture under the ” Color: Lowest offer for each”. These average 4.3 out of 5 based on 19 customer reviews.
Three headphones for $500: Sennheiser HD 650 and BeyerD DT-990 PRO (250) and Audio Technica M30x
Amazon has another crazy three headphone bundle on sale again, matching their Holiday Shopping Season prices. For $500, you get three new condition headphones, from Amazon actual, bundled together. They are the open over-ear Sennheiser HD 650, the open over-ear Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO (250 ohm) and the closed over-ear Audio Technica M30x. The bundle may also be of interest if you are planning to split the order between family and friends, as some people may not want to get two different open-back over-ear headphones at the same time. On the other hand, this would make a good comparison as you progress with both headphones at the same time.
Philips SHB9250/27 Bluetooth On-Ears for $100
The $100 price point appears to be a target for multiple brand-name manufacturers of bluetooth on-ears, as the competition intensifies from the low-brand-awareness (and unknown brands) that are flirting with consumers at the under $50 level. Which brings us to the Philips SHB9250/27 Bluetooths dropping to $100 with free shipping, with a limit of five pairs per customer at this price, at Amazon by Amazon actual. They average 3.9 out of 5 based on 14 customer reviews. They are of the flat folding kind.
Polk Audio AM4220-A Hinge Bluetooth On-Ears for $100
For a limited time the “blue” (looks more brown than blue from the picture) color scheme of the Polk Audio AM4220-A Hinge Bluetooth on-ear headphone is on sale for $100 with free shipping, with a limit of three per customer at Amazon by Amazon actual. Only this color scheme is on sale. The other two remain at $150. They have three 5-customer reviews, one is a long one, one from a non-english-speaking composer, and the third the classic 1-liner. Per the specs there, this supports aptX, AAC and has NFC.
Ultrasone PRO 500 Closed Back down to $100
If you are a fan of Ultrasone and their S-Logic technology, the PRO 550 closed-back headphones are now down to $100 with free shipping, in new condition, by Amazon by Amazon actual. The reviews are mingled with those of two other models, so you have to into the reviews page and check the filter list which has 23 reviews as of the time of writing. Unfortunately the page does not calculate the star average for the filtered lists.
Sennheiser HD 280 + Samson USB Mic for $120
If you happen to need both the Sennheiser HD 280 closed over-ear studio headphones along with a USB microphone (in this particular case the Samson C01U Pro-Black USB Studio Condenser Microphone), you can get them together as a bundle for $120 with free shipping by authorized dealer B&H Photo. Check the “In The Box” tab further down the page to verify you are getting both the headphones and the mic.
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