Archives for February 19, 2019

Koss Porta PRO lightweight on-ears for $31 [black]

The black/silver [the one with the cyan-blue accents] is the iconic Koss Porta PRO Walkman-era headphone, but if you prefer a more black color scheme, the more recently released black color scheme [it still has some silver] is currently down to $31 and change by Amazon actual. It is not a lighting deal, so the price can change dynamically as time goes by. Even if you don’t like this price, this is something to keep at the back of your mind as it currently goes for a couple of dollars under the original color scheme.

For those not familiar, note that these are open-back!

However, if you must have a mic/remote combo, then $38 gets you the Massdrop x Koss edition. Shipping varies depending on location, but these are lightweight and foldable, so international shipping should be fairly low.

But that’s not all. Koss finally woke up to the staying power of this model and they have released a few other variants as you can in the Amazon listings. There are enough colors/options to color-code them by the day of the week 😉

February 19, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

VE Monks Plus earbuds for $5 + S&H [options w/mic-remote for more]

They are baaaack! VE Monk fans, unite and take over! Good for the next four days and change, Massdrop has brought back the Venture Electronics Monk Plus earbuds. Yes, for those not familiar, these are actual earbuds, not in-ears. This time it is the “exclusive blue” color scheme.

The price is $5 for the base model without a mic/remote. The option with a standard mic/remote is $7, or if you prefer the Android mic/remote you pay $10. For cable fans, they offer the braided cable for +$15. Yes, the cable costs 3X the price of the base earbud 🙂 However, this option also includes a VE-branded carrying case. The earfoams vary depending on the cable package chosen.

Shipping is extra regardless. US shipping is under $5, and international under $10, but I can’t check every zipcode and every country and situation, so YMMV ~ the only way you can be sure is to enter your addresses of choice and see the estimate…

I bought the red variant many moons ago, here’s my text and pictures unboxing [including the legendary (???) Massdrop-branded envelope]. There’s also an experimental and incomplete review diary.

February 19, 2019 Filed Under: earbuds Tagged With: ,

EU: used Shure SRH-440 closed over-ears for 40e

The closed-back over-ear Shure SRH-440 used to be found in many “Headphones for $100” lists before the explosion of ChiFi and Bluetooth and such. Shure is based in Chicago but their prices these days can be lower in Europe. Case in point the 440 goes for 70 euro in new condition, but if you want to pay even less, you can get it starting at 40 euro in “Used – Good” condition or 42 in “Used – Very Good” or 44 in “Used – Like New” at Amazon Warehouse Deals…

It does not have modern amenities like a mic/remote, but the cable is detachable and it’s been around long enough that most of the mods that can be done to it have already been discovered in the forums and in the blogs.

February 19, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,