Archives for September 2016

20% off six Gaming Headsets with Coupon

Amazon is celebrating TWITCH CON 2016 with a special coupon promotion on Gaming gear. Coupon code TWITCHCON20 gets you 20% off Amazon’s own price on the items shown over there. Coupon is good until October 7 at 11:59pm pacific. There are currently six gaming headsets participating (one is in-ear) with models from Logitech, HyperX, SteelSeries, Turtle Beach and ROCCAT. Page down on the promotion page and select “Headsets” from the tab to locate these.

The detailed terms and conditions can be found here. Only items sold and shipped by Amazon actual (not marketplace sellers) are eligible for this promotion (which is often how these promotions run).

September 26, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Sennheiser HD7 DJ for $90 w/free S&H after $15 MIR

For a limited time only, Adorama.com is offering the new condition closed-back Sennheiser HD7 DJ Headphones for $90 after a $15 mail-in rebate (MIR). Free shipping. They fold, they have detachable cables and earpads, and come with a carrying case. Even without the MIR, the price is pretty good.

UPDATE: price corrected, it is $90 after MIR, not $95 after MIR.

September 26, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

FiiO Multifunction Dock (DK1) under $30

Fiio is learning how to play the game, accessories is one of the paths on the stairway to profits and they have a new one, the FiiO Multifunction Dock, model DK1, is currently in-stock and ready to ship for $25 plus $5 flat shipping from Tinbel thru Amazon. Tinbel is an authorized dealer, but this listing is not Prime eligible. If you are a Prime member, and you don’t need it immediately, you may want to wait for a Prime-eligible model.

If you want to optimize for a lower-price or you have Adorama gift certificates they are accepting pre-orders for $20 plus shipping. The lowest shipping price is around $7 (depending on zipcode).

This is compatible with four of their DAPs (first generation X1 and X7, second generation X3 and X5) along with the E17K. In addition to the prominent micro-USB charging prong on the front, the back of the device has an audio Line Out and a micro-USB Power Input. See picture #4 at Amazon’s. The headphone out of the Fiios is on top, so you can just pull it out of the dock and go.

This could be handy, I’m currently putting my Fiio DAP on one of those flexible phone holders when I’m using it on a desk. I can’t charge it with this thrifty setup because the microUSB port is sitting on the bottom part of the phone holder. The dock would also provide a sprawling kind of portable set-up using a portable power brick to power the dock charging the Fiio. I haven’t measured them but those 10,000+ mAh ones could power/recharge the Fiios many times over (they re-charge tablets and 6-inch phones multiple times on a single power brick charge).

September 26, 2016 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With:

Sennheiser Urbanite XL Wireless (BT) for $185

This looks like a price-match of sorts, the Sennheiser Urbanite XL Wireless (Bluetooth), in new condition, are currently going for $185 with free shipping at Target and Best Buy and Amazon by Amazon actual (limit 5) where they average 4.0 out of 5.0 based on nearly 150 customer reviews and with 70 questions peer-answered.

Judging by the new condition prices, it looks like the Momentums are doing better than the Urbanites?

PS: the lowest used priced at Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD) start at $139~ in “Used – Good” by AWD actual.

September 26, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Vibes High-Fidelity Earplugs for $21 [MD]

These earplugs are all about hearing protection when listening to loud live music, but you could also use them to troll your friends, trying to convince them they are new Apple AirPods 🙂 It’s the Vibes High-Fidelity Earplugs fully unlocked at Massdrop for $18 plus $3~ flat shipping. The offer runs for the next eight days and comes with a 1-year warranty from Massdrop, with a late October 2016 shipping estimate.

If you don’t want to wait for that long, they are sold by Vibes for $24 with the orders fulfilled by Amazon, so a Prime membership gets them to your door in 2-ish days.

September 26, 2016 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: , ,

Refurbished Harman Kardon Soho-A On-Ears for $40 w/free s&h

They are back in the spotlight sale rotation again, it’s a front page deal by seller A4C (aka All 4 Cellular), they are offering the refurbished Harman Kardon Soho-A On-Ears for $40 with free shipping. Refurbished items come with a 90-day replacement warranty from A4C, not the manufacturer.

NOTE: when shopping there, pay attention to the individual listing. They sell a mix of new condition, refurbished, and use products. Everything there gets free shipping, even the $3 generic earbuds 🙂

September 26, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

WoodLab Royal Glam Headphone Stand for $59 [MD]

If you are part of the “audio wood” fan club, another offer has unlocked at Massdrop, with eight days to go (from blog-posting date = today), it is the WoodLab Royal Glam Headphone Stand going for $50 plus $9~ flat shipping. Three finishes are available, which you can select at checkout. Shipment estimate is early November 2016, patience is after all something heavily encouraged by the trees 🙂

September 26, 2016 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] In-Stock Now: Focal Elear for $1000

As of 9/27/16 at 3:22pm ET re-check, this listing sold out…

[Read more…]

September 26, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Tuesday’s Offers: Symphonized, Apie, Ausdom, Etc

These daily offers expired…

[Read more…]

September 26, 2016 Filed Under: earbuds

Chromecast Audio new low: $25 with free shipping

Google’s first generation Chromecast Audio has reached a new low in new condition from authorized dealers, it currently goes for $25 with free shipping by Best Buy on eBay and Staples.com (free S&H for Rewards member or free store pick-up).

PS: as of the time of writing, the price remains $35 at the official eBay Google Play store.

PS2: Google is planning an October 4 big announcement day. Leaks speak of a 4K Ultra Chromecast, but I haven’t seen anything about a second generation Chromecast Audio. But that doesn’t mean they will (or will not) have something revealed there.

PS3: If you are Chromecast-Audio-curious, here’s our text and pictures useful Unboxing. Fear not, there’s no audio and no video. It’s a non-disruptive unboxing 🙂

September 25, 2016 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

XDuoo XD-05 DAC/Amp for $168 [MD]

Unlocked at Massdrop, the XDuoo XD-05 DAC/Amp is going for $160 plus $8~ flat shipping in the next six days or so. This is available in black or silver. It has a display and even includes …wrist bands. They will ship late October 2016.

If you prefer a lower price and are willing to buy directly from China, it goes for under $160 with free shipping from GearBest and Everbuying.

Speaking of Massdrop, with just one day left, the Colorfly C3 Digital Audio Player is going for $45 plus $3~ flat shipping. You can optionally upgrade to the 8GB version for +$10. It does have a memory card slot too, so the on-board storage is not such a big deal (think Sandisk Clip+).

September 25, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Monday’s Offers: Maxell BA-1 Earphones, Sony MDR-S70AP On-Ears, Etc

Monday’s over, and so are these offers…

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September 25, 2016 Filed Under: in-ears

Thinksound ms02 IEMs for $68 [MD]

Another one is live, the Thinksound ms02 IEMs have reached their lowest price tier under this offer at Massdrop, going for $60 plus $8~ flat shipping. The offer runs for the next 7 days (from blog-posting date), and comes with a 1-year warranty and will ship in mid-October 2016.

September 24, 2016 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Used Master & Dynamic MW60 Bluetooth Over-Ears for $322

The wireless (Bluetooth 4.1 with Apt-X) Master & Dynamic MW60 headphones go $500 to $550 in new condition, but if you are comfortable with used, there is a “Used – Good” condition option (cosmetic imperfections, damaged original packaging) going for $322~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual (AWD). AWD makes no claims of a manufacturer warranty but they offer a 30-day warranty, so when you buy something from them, make sure you are going to have enough time to put it through the paces to make sure it’s a lemony-lemony lemon cake 🙂

September 24, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Monoprice Bluetooth On Ears (11536) for $20 w/free S&H

Good until Sunday night, at the Monoprice website, you can get the Monoprice Bluetooth On-Ears (model 11536) for $20 with free standard shipping (which is not common over there). These average 89% based on 94 customer reviews.

September 24, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Now shipping: Sennheiser HD 4.30i and 4.30G for $100

The IFA headphones are slowly starting to roll out, on the Sennheiser front, their closed-back over-ear folding Sennheiser HD 4.30 (April 30?) in both the iOS (4.30i) version and the Android (4.30G) version are in-stock by a variety of sellers through Amazon.com for their starting price of $100 with free shipping. These are the early adopter prices, for those curious/anxious to try them out. I have no clue where the prices of these will settle after a few weeks/months, so if you don’t have to have them, it doesn’t hurt to wait.

September 24, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Saturday: Blue Microphones Mo-Fi for $280

This particular offer ended, but the Mo-Fis are recurring “daily deals” offers across the interwebs…

[Read more…]

September 24, 2016 Filed Under: headphones

Open Box Fiio E10K USB DAC/amp for $64

The Fiio E10K USB DAC/amp goes for $75~ in new condition, but if you comfortable with open-box from authorized dealers, you can get it for $64 with free shipping by Gramophone through Amazon Warehouse Deals. This ships directly from Gramophone (Maryland) so it is not Prime eligible. Gary Williams NOT included 🙂

To “save up” on posts, the FiiO E12 MONT BLANC portable USB head-amp goes for $79 with free shipping in open-box condition, from the same seller (Gramophone) through Amazon Warehouse Deals.

September 23, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: , ,

Used Schiit Wyrd USB Decrapifier for $89

The Schiit Audio Wyrd USB Decrapifier goes for $100 plus mandatory shipping at the Schiit website in new condition, but if you are comfortable with used and like free shipping, Amazon seller “Audio Fanatic” (100%, 69 ratings) is offering it in “Used – Like New” condition for $89 with free shipping. This ships directly from them, so it is not Prime eligible. This is available through Amazon Warehouse Deals.

September 23, 2016 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Open-Box HifiMan HE1000 for $1980

I am doing a mini-sweep of Amazon Warehouse Deals, which partially explains the randomness of some of the posts. We go planar flagship now, the HifiMan HE-1000 are available in open-box condition from authorized dealer Electronics Expo (EE) thru Amazon Warehouse Deals for $1980~. They ship directly from EE, so they are not eligible for Prime shipping. Their listing says all accessories and warranty are included.

hifiman_he1000_ee_awd

September 23, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Used Focal Sphear In-Ears for $112

The Focal Sphear in-ears go for $150 in new condition at authorized dealers, but if you are comfortable with used, there is a “Used – Good” condition listing going for $112~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD). The listing says they will be repackaging and they are missing the “user manual”. This is sold by AWD actual, so you have Amazon’s 30-day return policy. The listing says this will be in-stock September 29, so factor that in your plans.

September 23, 2016 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

In-stock again: Focal Utopia (one unit left)

Because I love the juxtaposition of high and low, we now have something on the totally other end of the spectrum from the previously mentioned $5 Koss On-Ears. It’s an availability alert, there is one unit available of the Focal Utopia Reference flagships going for $4000 with free shipping by “HiDEF Lifestyle” through Amazon.com. This ships directly from HiDef so it is not Prime eligible. They are an authorized dealer. It should go without saying, if you are buying this, you must needs pick the fastest delivery method available. You don’t want a $4000 flagship languishing in the slow-shipping lanes 🙂

September 23, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Koss KPH7B Lightweight On-Ears for $5 [limit 5]

On the lightweight-to-featherweight front, the blue color scheme of the Koss KPH7B On-Ears is on sale for under $5 at Amazon by Amazon actual and it is currently NOT an Add-On item, so if you are a Prime member, even if you only buy one pair, you still get free 2-day shipping. Limit five per customer… Of the other colors, the lime-green has a similar price but it is designated an Add-On Item… As a group, all the colors together average 3.9 out of 5 based on nearly 800 customer reviews and have 60+ questions answered…

September 23, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Shanling M5 DAP for $348 [MD]

More DAP action, this time at Massdrop, where the slow-burn finally got the Shanling M5 digital audio player fully unlocked for $340 plus $8 flat shipping. This is available in either black or silver color schemes and can support up to 32-bit 384 kHz and DSD 64 and 128. This will ship in mid-October 2016. All sales are final and the offer has another six days to go (from blog-posting time).

If you instead prefer near-instant gratification, it offered for $400 with free S&H by ShenZenAudio through NewEgg Flash.

September 23, 2016 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: ,

Monoprice Coupons Return: Desktop Amp for $80 (w/filler cable), USB DAC/Amp for $55 (or less), Etc

Weekend is coupon time once again at the Monoprice website, coupon SOLONG is $5 off $25+, and coupon SUMMER is $20 off $100+. Coupons expire Saturday 9/24/16 at 11:59pm or so.

+ Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amp, Product ID 11567, plus filler item (eg 3.5mm mobile cable) to get the total slightly over $100 and use the coupon, dropping the price to $80~

+ Monoprice Stereo Hybrid Tube Amp with Bluetooth, product ID 13194, for $130

+ Portable USB DAC/amp, model aka Product ID 15494 for $55 after coupon
+ but if your order total is $100+, you can use the $20 off coupon, bringing the price further down

September 23, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Little Dot I+ Headphone Amp for $99 [MD]

Another day, yet another offer is currently fully-unlocked at the members-only Massdrop shopping club (free to join though). It is the Little Dot I+ Headphone Amp going for $90 plus $9~ flat shipping. This has seven days to go (from today = blog-posting date) and it is estimated to ship in early November 2016, so patience is an audiophile virtue 🙂 It comes with a 1-year manufacturer warranty. This is a tuby amp-only, as it is visually hinted by the inputs and outputs. Optionally at checkout there are two options for tube upgrades for +$13 or +$28.

September 23, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Refurbished AUDEZE EL-8 Closed Back Planars for $350

This sale ended as well… The closed-back AUDEZE EL-8 Planar-magnetic headphones are currently offered in refurbished condition with a 1-year manufacturer warranty for $350 with free shipping at Adorama.com, good until 9/28/16 or earlier if sold out.

September 22, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

[DEAD] Spend $1000+ in select Premium Audio products, Get $100 Amazon Store Credit for future use (267 options including 27 headphones)

This particular promotion expired 10/1/16…

EXPIRED PROMOTION
This Premium Audio offer is back at Amazon, if you make a purchase of $1000 or more on any combination of select Premium Audio products (267 options), you will receive a $100 Amazon store credit to use in future purchases. This only works if Amazon is the actual seller of the product (not marketplace sellers).

Thankfully you can verify your order qualifies before you make the purchase, because if you have eligible items, the Checkout page (the last step before you place an order) will have a box notifying of this. Screenshot below:

amazon_100_1000_premium_audio

A total of 27 headphones are participating in this promotion including:

  • Sennheiser HD 700, IE 800
  • Beyerdynamic T1 (2nd G), T5p (2nd G), T90
  • B&O Play H8
  • Grado RS2e
  • Sony MDR-Z7
  • Master & Dynamic MH40, MH30
  • Denon MM400
  • Final Audio Design flagship, Sonorous IV
  • Fostex TH-500RP
  • Ultrasone Edition 10 Ltd, TIO, IQ
  • Definite Tech Symphony 1
  • Hifiman HE400i, HE560

REMEMBER: Amazon’s links in the Promotional page do not always point to Amazon’s own listing for the product. For this promotion, you have to make sure Amazon.com is the actual seller, not any of the many marketplace sellers over there.

This offer expires October 1st at 11:59pm pacific. Limit one per customer during this promotion. The $100 credit must be spent by August 2021 (yes, twenty-twenty-one)

September 22, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Earsonics Velvet IEMs for $533 [MD]

IEMs are multiplying like bunnies these days, it’s a fully time job keeping up with them. And this is happening across the board, it’s not just bandwagon consumer price-tier models. Which brings us to the Earsonics Velvet IEMs, currently fully unlocked at Massdrop for $520 plus $13~ flat shipping. This is an “all sales final” offer, and is running for the next eight days (from blog-posting date). They come with a 1-year warranty from MD and ship mid-to-late October 2016.

Their claim to fame is a tunable sound signature, a tool is included to switch between the three options. Or you can use your Jedi mind powers to change the position 🙂

September 22, 2016 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Vsonic GR02 Bass Edition In-Ears for $25 [MD]

Another offer is now unlocked at the members-only shopping-club Massdrop, it is the Vsonic GR02 Bass Edition going for $22 plus $3~ flat shipping. It comes with many colorful eartips (an easy way to tell left from right as I discovered with the Monk Plus) and a basic pouch and a 1-year warranty from Massdrop (not the manufacturer). Considering the price, worrying about the warranty is probably not a big deal. The shipping estimate mid-to-late October 2016, and the offer is running for the next 8 days (from blog-posting date).

If you don’t want to wait that long, and you are a Prime member, you can get them for $30 from “Lend Me UR Ears” with the orders fulfilled by Amazon. “Lend Me UR Ears” is in Singapore, but “fulfilled by Amazon” means they sent a box of items to an Amazon USA warehouse and they get shipped with all the other shipped-by-Amazon items.

September 22, 2016 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Thur: AudioQuest Dragonfly 1.2 USB DAC/Amp for $75

This daily deal expired, but the price after expiration is $80, not that far off… This was a daily deal in early September and it’s back now for Thursday, AudioQuest Dragonfly 1.2 USB DAC/Amp going for $75 with free shipping (or store pickup if available) instead of its new-usual price of $80. This is not the latest model. The V1.5 goes for $100 (regular price).

OOPS! I forgot the link, this is the Best Buy link.

September 22, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

[DEAD] B&W P5 for $243 [SOLD-OUT: Sennheiser HD 650 for $303] {UPDATED}

These lightning deals expired…

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September 22, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Dekoni Premium Ear Pads for Fostex TH-X00 for $36 [MD]

This is a very specific offer but considering this is a popular headphone at MassDrop (MD), it makes sense that they would be offering this, it is the Dekoni Premium Ear Pads for them, going for $32 plus $4~ flat shipping. Optionally you can upgrade to Sheepskin for +$13. The offer is running for the next 7 days (from blog-posting date), comes with a 1-year warranty from MD, and will ship late October 2016. This is an “all sales final” type of an offer.

September 21, 2016 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO (250 ohm) for $110 [from marketplace seller]

NewEgg Flash is their attempt at the social shopping thing (eg Groupon, LivingSocial, Woot, etc), the offers there typically last a week (or so), but many of them return every few weeks, others do not.

To cut a long story short, marketplace seller “ClassyU” is offering the new condition closed-back over-ear Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO (250 ohm) for $110 with free shipping with a limit of 30 units per customer. The listing there says they come with a 2-year Beyerdynamic warranty. I am not familiar with the seller “ClassyU”, so I don’t know if they are an authorized dealer.

It’s also kinda sneaky of NewEggFlash not to prominently list the seller’s name. The only reason you discover this on the product page is when you page down towards the warranty. Because this and Jet’s “magical deliveries” it is a rather disturbing trend when you are buying more expensive items where authorized dealer status is important for warranty purposes.

Screenshot below:

beyerdynamic_classyu_neweggflash

However, people who pay more attention to details, will also notice that this is mentioned in the Shopping Cart, again this is good, but it should be prominent on the main product page, the mythical average consumer shouldn’t have to put on their Sherlock Holmes hats just to buy something…

beyerdynamic_classyu_neweggflash2

September 21, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

[DEAD] Beyerdynamic Custom Street On-Ears for $67~ [ends 11pm ET]

This 6-hour lighting deal expired but it established a new low price for these headphones at $67~…

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September 21, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: