On the budget and near-disposable end of things, a 3-pack of Maxell very earbud-y in-ears, in the silver color scheme, is on sale for $10 with free shipping at B&H Photo. They even have an in-line remote. Offer ends by Saturday 11:59pm Eastern.
Archives for June 2016
Used HIFIMAN HE1000 Planars for $2400
Two different Hifiman authorized dealers have listings of the Hifiman HE1000 planar magnetics (open over-ear) in “Used – Like New” condition for $2400 through Amazon Warehouse Deals. Neither is Prime eligible. Keep in mind that Hifiman has higher than average reliability issues compared to the competition at similar price ranges, so factor that in when making used Hifiman purchases.
Used Sennheiser IE 800 In-Ears for $433
We have a trio of back to back Sennheiser specials. We start with the in-ears, it is the Sennheiser IE 800, available in “Used – Good” condition (cosmetic imperfections, damaged original packaging) for $433~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD). After that, there is big block of “Used – Very Good” listings for $462~.
This is crackpotery, but strategically one can hope/wait for someone to buy the “Good” condition to put price pressure on the many “Very Good” listings.
Refurbished Sennheiser HD 558 for $55.50
The open over-ear Sennheiser HD 558 go for $98.50 in new condition but if you are a more adventurous shopper, you can get them for $50 plus $5.50 flat shipping by marketplace seller Adgtron (94%, all accessories, no original box, authorized dealer ~ per the description box there) at Amazon Warehouse Deals. These ship directly from Adgtron, so they are not eligible for Prime shipping.
[DEAD] Used Fidelio X1 Open Over-Ears for $138
These are available at higher prices as of 7/22/16 recheck…
Used Brainwavz HM9 for $82
The Brainwavz HM0 go for $109+ in new condition but if you are comfortable with used, there is “Used – Good” condition listing (no further details provided) going for $82~ with free shipping by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. As usual, this is a 2-fold thing, if the current price is not low enough, you can wait and see whether the invisible hand of the market forces it to drop further down as time goes by.
PSA: You can now pay Google Play Music Subscription Monthly Fees with Google Play Balance
If you are a Google Play All Access Music service monthly subscriber, there is some good news! You can now use your Google Play account balance to pay for the subscription, you don’t have to use a credit card. I just noticed this today while I was shuffling through the settings in the Android app. I switched it there, and also double-checked with a Web Browser on a computer and indeed the option is there as well!
Here’s how it looks on the computer Web Browser (it’s a very tight screenshot because I don’t want to include the credit card numbers):
Sony XBA-H1 In-Ears for $75 [updated]
UPDATE 6/30/16: this is now price-matched for $75 at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of three units per customer where it averages 3.6 out of 5 based on exactly 100 customer reviews. As with a lot of price-matches these days, it is restricted to Prime members only. But the Best Buy offer mentioned in the paragraph below continues…
We now plainly break the plane of the planars with an in-ear option. The official Best Buy eBay store is offering the new condition Sony XBA-H1 in-ears for $75 with free shipping or free store pickup with a limit of five per customer.
As the “BA” in their model name gently hints at, these “are” balanced armature.
DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp for $233 [MD]
Another offer has now become fully unlocked at the members-only Massdrop, it’s tube time, the DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp goes for $210 plus $13~ flat shipping. The offer is good for the next seven days from today (= posting date) and is expected to ship in early August 2016.
[DEAD] Bluedio R+ Legend Bluetooth Headphones w/microSD slot for $60
This daily deal expired…
[DEAD] 20% off Monoprice products on 6/30/16 ONLY
This particular coupon offer expired, but Monoprice has coupons rolling out on a regular basis…
[DEAD] Used Sennheiser HD 518 for $36.50
It looks like I jinxed this one 🙁 As of 7/1/16 both the sale for the new condition and the AWD inventory at sub-$40 are dead and gone. But fear not, this headphone appears to be on a recurring discount schedule…
The open over-ear Sennheiser HD 518 continues to go for $45 in new condition, which is pushing down prices of the used models as well. Currently you can get it for $36.50 in “Used – Very Good” and $39~ in “Used – Like New” condition by Amazon Warehouse Deals
Used JVC HAM55X Xtreme-Xplosvs for $19
These headphones look bassy, you don’t even have to read about them to recognize that 🙂 The JVC HAM55X Xtreme-Xplosvs are currently available in “Used – Like New” condition in original packaging for $19 by marketplace seller “DB Deals” with the order fulfilled by Amazon which gives you another layer of protection along with free 2-day Prime shipping (if a member). The headphones themselves average 4 out of 5 on 150+ customer reviews.
5pk of Cosmos Gray Headphone Pouches for $10.50 total [updated]
As of 7/1/16, the prices increased by $1 for each option…
ORIGINAL: If you need multiple basic headphone pouches with drawstring and don’t want to pay the $5 for the previously mentioned Shure, there’s another budget option at Amazon. You get this 5-pack of Cosmos brand pouches for $10.50 $9.50 total. These are roughly 10.75″x 8.5″ in height and width. They have six pictures of them over there. As you can tell from the pictures, this a gray type of a color.
They also have the 5-pack in black (same dimensions) for $12 $11. These have 70+ customer reviews with a 4.6 out of 5. I bought these for review purposes, but I haven’t even taken them out of their …bag yet *sigh* 🙂
Both options are fulfilled by Amazon, so you get free shipping if you are a Prime member or with the usual $49+ threshold for non-members.
[DEAD] Used Fiio K5 Headphone Amp with Docking Station for $89
As of 7/26/16 recheck, the used prices start at $110+…
Shure HPACP1 Headphone Carrying Pouch for $5 [not Add-On now]
Good news and bad news. The bad news is that the price is slightly higher since we last mentioned it. The good news is that it has been liberated from the Add-On Program, so if you only want to get this and nothing else, and you are a Prime member, you get it and with free shipping and no other purchase necessary.
This refers to the Shure HPACP1 Headphone Carrying Pouch. It has a limit of 30 per customer. This is an item flying under the radar, it’s hard to find by searching at Amazon for some reason. I’ve been using it for many years and it’s pretty solid. It’s on my list of things to review.
It is made to fit Shure’s closed over-ears line-up of 840/440/240 and 750/550 DJ, so headphones of that ballpark size should fit.
It should go without saying that this won’t protect from impact, but from scratches, dust, dirt, liquids (if they avoid the bag’s opening), and such.
Brainwavz IEM Grab Bag for $22 shipped [MD]
If you are an adventurous spirit that enjoys participating in wild games of “Grab Bag”, Massdrop is back with another Brainwawz IEM grab bag promotion (they call it “blue box”). You pay $20 plus $2 flat shipping and you are guaranteed to receive one pair of IEMs from six different models. Your choice is determined randomly. Half of the participants [participators sounds more scifi though] will get the Jive, while the rest will be split between five different models.
This offer is limit two units per customer with a maximum of 1000 units available as part of this pearly-dew-drop drop. In addition to that, they have five prizes that unlock depending on how many units are sold. The “prizes” include a trio of AKG headphones and the biggest prize is the Fostex TH-X00. So five out of 1000 units, that’s 0.5% chance of winning per unit purchased. (NOTE: this is a ballpark number, the actual calculation is a lot more complicated because you have to factor in how many units one person bought, and which ones of the offers unlock).
[DEAD] Thursday Daily Deals: Symphonized Wood In-Ears and Bluedios
These daily offerings expired…
Thursday 6/30/16 is not as busy as yesterday was with various headphones, but there are a couple of items scheduled to go live as follows.
* starts 1pm ET: Symphonized NRG 2.0 Premium Genuine Wood In-ears (the orange-y color scheme; price before sale is $25~ as usual; sale price typically is in the sale $15~ ballpark but not guaranteed)
* starts 7pm ET: Bluedio A (Air) Stylish Wireless Bluetooth Headphones (over/on ears)
[DEAD] Ends 5pm ET: Kidrox Volume Limited Wired On-Ear Headphones for $12
This offer expired…
[DEAD] Bluedio Bluetooth On-Ears for $20 [ends by 8pm ET]
This lightning deal expired, but these headphones return at this sale price every few weeks/months…
V-MODA Crossfade Wireless Over-Ears for $250 [limit 5]
The Phantom Chrome color scheme of V-Moda Crossfade Wireless (Bluetooth) Over-Ears is currently on sale for $250 with free shipping with a limit of five per customer at Amazon by Amazon actual. This may be a computer-generated price-match of a marketplace seller there that also offers it for $250, so it’s hard to predict how long this is going to last. The other three colors go for $290 to $300. These average 4.6 out of 5 based on nearly 200 customer reviews.
Samson SR-950 Closed Over-Ears for $30 w/free s&h
On the budget side of closed-back over-ears, the Samsung SR 950 are on sale for $30 with free 3-day shipping at Adorama as one of their Holiday specials, good until 7/3/16. This is a closed-back model, not to be confused with the semi-open SR 850. These have the AKG-style homage headband.
Used Beyerdynamic T90 Over-Ears for $339
The Beyerdynamic T90 open-back headphones, part of their Tesla line-up, are offered on Massdrop and if they get fully unlocked, their lower price will be $458~ shipped with a late July shipment estimate and a limit of 30 units available. In comparison, they go for $480 right now at amazon.com (look for the listings by Huppin’s and Amazon actual).
However, if you are not married to new condition, there are two other options, you can get them in open-box condition for $419 with free shipping by OneCall’s eBay store, or you can get them as low as $339 in “Used – Good” condition (cosmetic imperfections, damaged original packaging) at Amazon Warehouse Deals. There are multiple other offers in better condition with higher prices (as usual).
As usual with used items, it is a two fold type thing. One if you find the price right right-now, and two something to monitor in case the prices drop further down as time goes by.
[DEAD] Wednesday Offers: Bluedio Bluetooths, Status Audio, Mengo, Aukey, Kidrox, LG Tone, Etc
This round of lightning deals expired…
Used Hifiman HE400S for $220
One things leads to another (the side-effects of price-checking and following the dominoes where they fall), and we have a handful of Hifiman posts today.
If you don’t need all the extra items that come with the HE400S bundle and you want to optimize for a lower out of pocket purchase price, and you are comfortable with open-box items, you can get the Hifiman HE400S for $220 with free shipping in Open Box condition (“Used – Very Good”) by HiDef Lifestyle through Amazon Warehouse Deals. A different seller (HiFi Heaven) has a “Used – Like New” option for $228 and it is an authorized dealer. Other sellers are also hitting the $228 price (Kraft Audio, Audio Advisor).
PS: if you find all these posts useful, please consider making your online purchases through the various affiliate links to the various sellers in these posts. Any purchase helps, you don’t have to buy the item linked, you can buy items from competing manufacturers or anything else. This is the main method of funding this blog (we only have one ad box in the sidebar and none of the other annoying forms of advertising ~ no clickbait ad-articles, no in-text ads that make the browser jumpy, no full page ads, etc).
Hifiman HE400S and FiiO A3 Portable Amp and Slappa Case and 64GB Lexar microSD for $303
Bundles are often of things you can use together, but sometimes bundles are collections of different useful things. This next bundle is a bit of both, but if you happen to need all the items included, then it’s a good deal. For $303 with free shipping, you get the Hifiman HE400S planar-magnetic headphones, the Fiio A3 portable headphone amp, a 64GB Lexar microSDXC card (it won’t fit into the headphones or amp!), and a Slappa headphone case. This from Beach Camera thru Amazon. It ships directly from Beach Camera (New Jersey) and it is not Prime eligible.
HifiMan HE-560 Planars + iFi Micro-iDSD head-amp for $900
We have two Hifiman and iFi bundles, posted back to back to make it easier to digest. We start with the HiFiMan HE560 planar magnetic headphones bundled with the iFi Micro-iDSD Headphone Amplifier, together for $900 with free shipping at Adorama.com, an authorized dealer of both. Offer is good until 7/3/16 or earlier if they run out.
Hifiman HE-400i and iFi Micro-iCAN SE for $500
The second of the Hifiman bundles at Adorama.com is the HiFiMan HE400i planar magnetic headphones bundled with the iFi Micro-iCAN Special Edition headphone amp, all together for $500 with free shipping. This offer expires by 7/3/16.
Keep in mind Hifiman also released a lower priced model, the HE-400S. If you are interested in that, there’s a couple of deals about that above this post.
Racoon SG-300 DAC/Tube Amp for $89 [MD]
Racoons are invading the audiophile world! Mechanical ones. More specifically, the Racoon SG-300 DAC/Tube Amp is fully unlocked now at members-only Massdrop for $80 plus $9~ flat shipping. The offer runs for the next seven days (from blog-posting date, not the day you are reading this post). The shipping estimate is late July 2016.
[DEAD] Tue Offers: Bluedio Vinyl Plus, Symphonized In-Ears for $15.50, Etc [updated]
These 4-hour limited time offers expired, but both items are part of the recurring rotation of lightning deals, so they are likely to come back at some point in the future…
Thinksound TS02 In-Ears for $33 [MD]
Another offer has gotten fully unlocked, and with seven days to go (from blog-posting date) at members-only Massdrop. It is the Thinksound TS02 in-ears, available only in the Silver-Cherry with mic option for $30 plus $3~ flat shipping. Close-up pictures of their woodiness can be found over there. Shipment is expected to begin mid-July 2016.
[DEAD] IK Multimedia iRig Guitar Recording Studio (includes headphones) for $30 w/free s&h
This daily deal expired…
Monoprice 8323 Over-Ears for $16 w/free shipping
The Monoprice 8323 Over-Ears Closed Backs have been going for $16 for a while, but they didn’t have free shipping. Now they do! You can get them in new condition for $16 with free shipping at the Monoprice website. These are the most famous Monoprice headphones and they average almost 88% with nearly 1500 reviews over there.
They have a detachable cable, so you can replace it with one with mic/remote if you prefer. The pads are replaceable and if you search the interwebs you’ll find a variety of mods and hacks with them. Considering the price, they are a good candidate to experiment on 🙂
Sennheiser HD 518 Headphones for $45 [limit 3]
It’s back on sale again, the entry-point into the current Sennheiser HD-5xx series, the HD 518, is on sale again for $45 with free shipping with a limit of three units per customer at Amazon by Amazon actual where it averages 4.3 out of 5 with nearly 500 customer reviews. It has 80+ customer reviews. The sale is apparently squeezing the used prices currently as low as $34~ from Amazon Warehouse Deals.
Bowers & Wilkins P3 On-Ears for $100 to $120
The closed-back Bowers & Wilkins P3 On-Ears, available in multiple colors, have two promotions running for them at Groupon. The New Condition go for $120 with a choice of three colors, while the Refurbished go for $100 with four color choices. Free shipping and free returns.
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