Archives for April 14, 2016

RFC: What do you think of this format for Useful Unboxing posts?

This is a Request For Comments. What do you think of this experimental format for Useful Unboxing posts with pictures and text, but without audio and video? By “this”, I mean this headphone unboxing post for a *gasp* Skullcandy *double gasp* bluetooth headphone. Bluetooth has more parts (more buttons and ports and such) which makes it a versatile guinea pig for this experiment.

The idea behind the format is to give someone who hasn’t seen the headphone an overall idea of what to expect when they open the box, what’s included inside, and pictures of the relevant body parts (headband, slider, inputs, earcups, buttons, accessories, etc).

As far as the audio/sound part of reviews, I am still soul-searching on how to best do it. I really don’t want to be saying things like “creamy treble” or use inside baseball terms that mean different things to different people and such. More on that later, I may experiment with different formats before I settle on one.

Staples April 17-23: 50% off Audio Technica Earbuds

Staples stores, starting on Sunday 4/17/16 and ending on Saturday 4/23/16 PM at the close of business will be having a 50% off sale on the Audio Technica earbuds they carry. Clearance items are excluded from the sale. There is no coupon; the price will be changed in their own computer systems.

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Staples only carries a small subset of the AT line-up and they typically carry consumer entry-level-ish items. If you are in the area, you can “scout” your local stores ahead to time to see if there’s anything of potential interest.

Panasonic RP-HT21 Lightweight Open On-Ears for $5 w/free S&H

And now we head to the other end of the price spectrum, the good old lightweight Panasonic RP-HT21 on-ears are on sale at Jet.com for $5 with free shipping. Their shopping cart has a built-in volume discount, if you are increase the quantity, the price drops by about a quarter for each additional unit.

Not much info is available at Jet, but these have over 3200 customer reviews at amazon.com with an average of 4.3 out of 5. Note that these are open-back headphones, so there is leakage in both directions.

Note also that Jet fulfills orders of their own and also farm them out to various other sellers throughout the country. Unlike Amazon that shows upfront who the actual seller is, you won’t see it on the Jet website unless you are about ready to place the order. It may not be an issue for a $5 pair of headphones but if you are buying something expensive or something that you want to have warranty from an authorized dealer, this is something to pay attention to.

Audeze EL-8 with Apogee Groove DAC/amp for $799

It’s bundle time again, in these two back to back posts. We start with the Audeze EL-8 closed-back planar magnetic headphone bundled with the portable Apogee Groove USB DAC/amp, together going for $799 with free shipping at Adorama.com. The offer expires 4/21/16.

While there, they have another bundle, this time it is the red-black Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2-Input/2-Output USB Audio Interface bundled with the Samson MTR101 1″ Diaphragm Condenser Microphone for $150 with free shipping. This offer expires 4/22/16.

Audeze SINE On-Ears and Apogee Groove DAC/amp for $549

The Apogee Groove portable USB DAC/amp is also bundled with another Audeze headphone, their new SINE On-Ears, together the two go for $549 with free shipping at Adorama.com. The offer expires 4/21/16.

M&A News: Logitech pays $50 million in cash for Jaybird

Logitech, which recently renamed some of its product lines to the more goofy “Logi” has scooped up another earphone company, Jaybird, paying $50 million in cold hard cash. Probably not in unmarked envelopes. Not sure how this will impact prices of existing Logitech and Jaybird products. More via Techmeme.

CEntrance DACport Slim for $100 (Massdrop exclusive)

It’s back at Massdrop, the CEntrance DACport Slim is available for $100 with free shipping BUT a June 2016 shipping estimate. This is available exclusively to them, an the offer has seven days to go (from today). The drop is limited to 180 units.

If you don’t want to deal with Massdrop’s long wait, a seller at Amazon (“HJR HEADPHONE SHOP”) is offering it for $110 with free shipping. It ships directly from them, so it is not eligible for Prime shipping.

Thursday: refurbished Beats Studio Wireless (Bluetooth) ANC Over-Ears for $170

The white-red color-scheme of the Beats Studio Wireless (bluetooth) over-ears with ANC (active noise cancelling) is available in certified refurbished condition by Best Buy’s Geek Squad for $170 with free shipping or free store pick-up as one of the Best Buy daily deals for Thursday 4/14/16.