Archives for December 2016

Amazon has Headphone …Coupons

A few years ago Amazon launched coupons to compete with the grocery stores and the Tarjays of the world on the consumables. But their coupon program keeps expanding, it now includes Consumer Electronics and among them, there are some recognizable headphones as well. These coupons are clip-ons, you click on the “Clip Coupon” and it’s added to your Amazon account. You don’t have to enter any code manually. As long as the coupon is live, and your shopping cart contains an eligible item, it will be applied automatically.

Here’s a screenshot example:

PS: you can find screenshot examples of what happens next in the Philips X2 post.

December 13, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Refurbished Fiio X5 (first gen) DAP w/clear case for $150

The latest Fiio X5 DAP model is the second generation going for $300 at authorized dealers (unless it’s on sale or with coupon). If you prefer to pay half that, the first generation X5 is available in manufacturer refurbished condition with a 90-day Fiio warranty for $150 with free shipping by authorized dealer Adorama.com. They include a bonus clear back cover. Check the “What’s in the box” box in the right side of the page below the fold to see what’s included with the refurbished kit.

December 13, 2016 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: ,

Refurbished Sol Republic Tracks HD On-Ears for $25

The lightning deal expired, but the purple color scheme of the certified refurbished closed-back on-ear Sol Republic Tracks HD continues to go for for $25 by seller “Tech Union” with the order Prime-eligible since it is fulfilled by Amazon. [UPDATED]

December 13, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Skullcandy Crusher Closed Over-Ears for $55

This Woot daily deal expired…

[Read more…]

December 13, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Deal Survivor: Summary of Best Available Deals (that I could find)

In the “Deal Survivor” posts, we round-up some of the currently “best of” type of deals that continue to survive. All these are relative of course, so please feel free to give feedback if you want to help fine-tune what things get posted [a Twitter account is coming very soon as an additional and quick way to communicate]:

LATEST UPDATE: on 12/16/16 at 9:27pm ET

EARPHONES

+ 1MORE Triple Driver In-Ears for $80 at Costco ($84 for non-members) or $85 at Amazon
+ Focal Sphear In-Ears for $80 by various at Amazon and AudioLab on eBay
+ Hifiman RE-400i or RE-400a for $49 each again by various at Amazon

OVER-EARs

+ Creative Aurvana Live (first gen) for $44 at Amazon
+ Focal Spirit Classic (Closed) for $199 by AudioLAB thru Amazon or eBay
+ refurbished Sony MDR-100AAP in four delicious colors for $100 by Secondipity thru AWD (AWD = Amazon Warehouse Deals)
+ Samsung SR-950 closed for $24 at Adorama.com

WIRELESS and/or ANC

+ Sennheiser RS120 RF wireless for $54 at Amazon
+ Parrot Zik first generation for $80 by Parrot’s eBay store

ON-EARS

+ PHILIPS Fidelio F1/27 for $25 at NewEgg
+ AKG K518 LE for $25 at NewEgg
+ Hifiman Edition S Open-Closed (white) for $150 at Amazon

DACs and AMPs and DAPs

+ the offers in this section sold out since the previous update

EVERYTHING ELSE

+ various Metallica Audio CDs for $5 each (new condition) at Amazon
+ check the non-headphones Audio Gear sales permapost

December 12, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Philips M2L/27 Lightning Headphones for $130 [or $98 used]

Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening for the headphone market as fragmentation looms large with many specializations, Ligthning, USB-C, VR, Bluetooth, Appletooth, etc 🙂 Which brings us to the Philips M2L/27 headphones currently on sale for $130 in new condition at NewEgg during the Green Monday festivities… Or you can get them for $99~ in “Used – Very Good” condition by Amazon Warehouse Deals…

December 12, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Koss KTX-PRO1 Open Portable On-Ears for $10

The open-back portable on-ear Koss KTX-PRO1 with built-in volume control on the cable are on sale in new condition for just $10, with a limit of up to three units per customer, at Amazon by Amazon actual. This is not a lightning deal, so expiration date is unknown.

December 12, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Used Sennheiser HD598 CS for $76+ [updated]

The lightning deal for $100 in new condition expired, but apparently Amazon Warehouse Deals has a boatload of used options with prices starting at $76~ for “Used – Good”, then on page #3 the “Used – Very Good” start at $81~, and on page #7 (!!!) “Used – Like New” go for $86~. A lot of the last couple of pages are “damaged original packaging” conditions.

They are back on the lightning deals again, they match their previous $100 price, it is the closed-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 598 CS at Amazon by Amazon actual. Offer ends by 7pm ET tonight. Limit one per customer… If you are a Prime member, they may be eligible for PrimeNow 2-hour free delivery (as long as they are in-stock at a nearby warehouse)…

December 12, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Recertified B&W P3 Square-Pad On-Ears w/2yr warranty for $71

This lightning deal sold out before its six hours passed…

[Read more…]

December 12, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] NewEgg Green Monday headphone sale (49 options)

Green Monday is over, and so are its offers (the listings got emptied out even)…

[Read more…]

December 12, 2016 Filed Under: headphones

[DEAD] MartinLogan Mikros 70 Mikros 7 for $71 [ends Tue 2:30am ET]

This lightning deal expired…

Another Gold Box offer rolled out, it is the new condition MartinLogan Mikros 70 Mikros 7 earphones are on sale for $71 with free shipping. The price before the sale was $89 last night. Offer ends by 2:30am eastern on Tuesday (or earlier if they sell out).

December 12, 2016 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With:

[DEAD] BÖHM Bluetooth ANC On-Ears for $65

This daily deal expired too, but the Bohms are occasionally on sale at this price across the interwebs…

[Read more…]

December 12, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Tuesday’s Offers: B&W P3, Sol Tracks HD, Etc

Tuesday is over, and so are its lightning deals…

[Read more…]

December 12, 2016 Filed Under: headphones

In-stock too: V-Moda Forza Metallo in-ears for $130

Another new model is now in-stock at three of the four options, the V-Moda Forza Metallo in-ears are going for $130 with free shipping by V-Moda direct with the order fulfilled by Amazon so it is Prime eligible…

It looks like the coupon no longer works on this particular model (as of 12/12/16 recheck): Speaking of V-Moda, the Crossfade M100 over-ears with a free Boompro mic can be yours for under $150 with coupon at MF.

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Creative Aurvana Live (first gen) for $44 [limit 3]

The first generation closed-back over-ear Creative Aurvana Live! are currently on sale, in new condition, for $44, at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of up to three units per customer. They average 4.3 out of 5 based on 280+ customer reviews.

Note that the second generation is scheduled to be a lightning deal around noon on Monday. Note also that some people prefer the first generation over the second generation model.

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

DarkVoice 336SE Headphone Tube Amplifier for $240 (ships from USA)

If time is of the essence, and you don’t want to wait for Massdrop, the DarkVoice 336SE Headphone Tube Amplifier is currently on sale in new condition for $240 with free shipping by SHENZHENAUDIO with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so it is Prime eligible (2-day free shipping for members). It ships from Amazon’s USA facilities… According to the blog archives it went as low as $213 shipped by Massdrop…

PS: if you are going to ship this as a gift to another person directly from Amazon, note that this ships in easy-to-open (formerly known as frustration-free) packaging, so it will be visible, so be sure to adjust the shipping/packaging options in the Amazon shopping cart if you want it to be more of a gift-surprise.

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Koss KPH7 lightweight on-ears for $4.88 w/free S&H

In this blog we cover all ends of the price spectrum, from the $4000 Focal Utopia (currently in-stock) to the $5 Koss KPH7 feather-weight on-ears, currently on sale for $4.88 with free shipping by Digital Kynect Online on eBay (99.6%) with a limit of up to 100 per customer. Over 2200 units have been sold. It ships from the USA but does not say from which state. However, they collect sales tax in Texas per the eBay listing, so that may (or may not) be a clue…

The benefit of this offer is you can buy one pair of headphones and get free shipping, unlike orders fulfilled by Amazon which typically require a $25+ purchase when these are in the $5-ish and below range… You can check the Amazon listings but beware of low-rated sellers offering them with direct shipping (not Prime eligible).

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Sennheiser HD 598 CS Closed Over-ears for $120

If you can’t wait for this to reach its $100 lightning deal price again, the new condition closed-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 598 CS are currently going for $120 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of up to three units per shopper.

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

In-Stock Now: Powerbeats3 Bluetooth Earphones for $200

The gates have opened for the new Powerbeats 3 bluetooth/wireless earphones, they are in-stock in multiple colors, in new condition, for $200 per pair at Amazon by Amazon actual. They use Bluetooth “Class 1”. Limit up to three per color per customer.

UPDATE: the Headphone Tracker has been updated with some of the latest developments.

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Chromecast Audio on sale for $25 with Free S&H again

The Chromecast Audio did not get a second generation version, so the first generation is currently the current generation, and it is on sale again, going for $25 with free shipping by Google’s eBay store (limit 5) and Best Buy on eBay and Staples.com (free S&H for Rewards member or free store pick-up).

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 🙂

Meanwhile the second generation of their Chromecast Video is on sale for $25 with free shipping and a 3-month HBO Now trial (new device, new subscription) by Google’s eBay store (limit 5).

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Creative Aurvana LIVE2 for $65 [ends 5:54pm ET]

This Green Monday lightning deal expired… Good until 5:54pm ET today (Green Monday) or earlier if sold out, as teased in last night’s Lightning Deals schedule is the closed-back over-ear Creative Aurvana LIVE 2 going for $65 with free shipping. The price before the sale was $90 last night. Non-Primes can buy it starting at 12:24pm ET.

This is the second generation model. Some prefer the first generation model which currently goes for $44 (this is not a lightning deal).

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

[DEAD] Monday’s Offers: Creative LIVE2, MartinLogan, Symphonized, 808, Bose Tips, Etc

Monday is over, these lightnings are spent…

[Read more…]

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: headphones

[DEAD] Walker’s Game Ear Razor Slim Electronic Muffs for $30

The problem with daily deals is that the expire at the end of the day. So did this one 🙂

[Read more…]

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: headset Tagged With:

[DEAD] Shure SRH 145m+ Closed On-Ears for $35.77 [ends Mon 1:09am ET]

This lightning offer sure (pun intended) expired too…

[Read more…]

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

[DEAD] FiiO E12A Mont Blanc IEM Special Edition Portable Headphone Amp for $85

This daily deal expired…

[Read more…]

December 11, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Beyerdynamic Custom Street On-Ears drops to $59

The closed-back on-ear beyerdynamic Custom Street in the black color scheme are now down to $59~ with free shipping, in new condition, at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of three per customer.

More on this headphone in our text and pictures only useful unboxing (no audio, no video), and a slow-moving in-progress review in its review diary.

December 10, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Just Mobile HeadStand for $38 [MD]

This offer is back on again, with five days to go (from blog-posting date), Massdrop is offering the Just Mobile HeadStand headphone stand for $30 plus $8~ flat shipping. Three color choices are available, which you can select at checkout. The shipping estimate is the end of the year, which means these will arrive in early 2017.

December 10, 2016 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: , ,

JBL Coach E40 BT LE On-Ears + ZTE Axon 7 (64GB, Unlocked, NA Warranty) for $350

It’s bundle time! The closed-back on-ear JBL Coach E40 bluetooth headphones, in a Limited Edition Pink-Black color scheme is bundled for FREE with the new condition unlocked no-contract 64GB ZTE Axon 7 Android smartphone with North American warranty, for $350 with free shipping at NewEgg by NewEgg actual. Limit up to five bundles per customer… No coupons, no rebates, a welcome surprise for NewEgg :)… Upon receipt, you can split them and they can make two gifts for the price of one 🙂

December 10, 2016 Filed Under: accessories, headphones Tagged With: , , , , ,

Schiit Fulla (first gen) for $59 with free S&H

The latest model in the Schiit Fulla line-up is the Fulla 2 going for $99 plus mandatory shipping, currently in-stock at the Schiit website (the correct domain is schiit.com. Don’t type schiitaudio.com, it is controlled by spammers that redirect to various other urls).

However if you prefer the previous generation model, it has been discounted by Schiit fulfilled by Amazon to $59 with free shipping (Prime eligible). This is the same price as the Schiit website that charges mandatory shipping. Almost everything Schiit at Amazon costs more than the Schiit website but Amazon offers free shipping, while Schiit charges shipping.

PS: Schiit products too are now targeted by those super-low price marketplace sellers with the “contact us before buying”, so be careful. If the seller is not familiar and they ask you to do strange things (like contact them before buying) avoid avoid avoid!

December 10, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Thinksound IEM grab bag at Massdrop

Massdrop is back with another grab bag promotion, this time featuring Thinksound wood IEMs. You pay $33 plus $3~ flat shipping, and for that, about half of the people will receive the Rain3 IEMs, and the rest will be split between three different models. Check their website for the exact percentages. Each person can buy up to two “grab bags”, with a total of 500 units available for this particular promotion. As usual, they have Prizes if certain quantities are purchases (three ON1 wood on-ears, one AKG K7xx over-ears). Shipment is estimated to be the end of the year, so you will receive them in 2017.

December 10, 2016 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , , ,

Harman Kardon SOHOi Square Pad On-Ears for $36

Samsung’s Harman Kardon (sounds strange but I’m sure we’ll get used to it eventually) SOHOi square-pad lightweight on-ear headphones, in the white color schemes, are going for $36 with the orders fulfilled by Amazon, so the usual free shipping terms.

December 10, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

[DEAD] Sunday Offers: Apogee Duet USB AI, Aukey, Bluedio, Shure, Etc

These daily deals expired…

[Read more…]

December 10, 2016 Filed Under: headphones

Refurbished 16GB Microsoft Zune HD for $60 w/free S&H

There is a new resurgence of DAPs, but if you feel like going retro or re-discovering the past, eBay seller “Digital Outlet” (99.4%, ships from Northern California) is offering manufacturer-refurbished 16GB Microsoft Zune HD for $60 with free shipping and a 60-day warranty. Limit up to fifty units per customer.

December 9, 2016 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: , ,

2-Pack Polk Audio UltraFit 500 Mid-Flange Earphones for $20 w/free S&H

More eBay action, the World Wide Stereo eBay store is offering two pink-gray Polk Audio UltraFit 500 Mid-Flange Earphones for $20 with free shipping, which comes out to $10 per earphone 🙂 Limit five two-packs per customer during this sale. They ship from PA.

December 9, 2016 Filed Under: earbuds Tagged With: , ,

Plantronics BackBeat PRO drops to $130 [limit 3]

The new condition Plantronics BackBeat PRO (bluetooth, active noise cancelling) is now down to $130 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of up to three per customer. This is not a lightning deal, so expiration date is unknown. They average 4.2 out of 5 based on over 1160 customer reviews and have over 320 peer-answered questions. This is powered by a built-in battery, rechargeable via USB.

December 9, 2016 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,