Archives for March 2019

Monoprice Retro semi-open over-ears for $22 w/FS [also: Turntable w/AT100E for $180 and more]

One of the budget options in studio-ish headphones is a common lineage design used by Superlux and Samson among others. That design is also part of the ever-expanding Monoprice line-up, and as of the time of writing, their new condition Retro semi-open over-ears go for $22 with free standard US shipping. Limit up to twenty pairs per customer at the sale price.

But that’s not all. Monoprice is currently running various sales on some of their other headphones and they pair the sale with free standard US shipping. Among them:

+ M650 open-back over-ears for $110
+ I previously posted this but had a typo in the price in the blog-post title, so those of you skimming may have ignored it as not a good price 🙂

+ Turntable with AT100E Cartridge for $180

+ HR-5C closed over-ears for $55

+ IPX4 truly wireless for $45

+ 8323 with Bluetooth for $27
+ this is a bluetooth version of the famous 8323 closed-back over-ears

+ all the above come with free standard US shipping

Note that the free shipping offer is as of the time of writing. I do not know when it will expire for each headphone mentioned above!

But wait, there’s more! The Monolith line of high-end audio is also expanding at Monoprice with two new models coming out. These are not headphone amps. The 9-Channel Power Amplifier with XLR goes for $2000, while the 11-channel model goes for $2500

March 19, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

EU: Sabaj PHA3 Vacuum Headphone Amp for 50 euro

If you are looking for a budget vacuum headphone-amp, Sabaj is currently offering their PHA3 model for 50 euro, sold by the Sabaj online store with the orders fulfilled by Amazon Germany. This is the black color scheme.

Being an amp, this has an RCA audio input and a 3.5mm analogue input. The output is a 3.5mm headphone out. It has just one headphone-out (as most amps do), unlike their previously mentioned PHA-2 model which has one 3.5mm and one 1/4″, with slightly different impedance to support a different (but overlapping) range of headphones…

For more on the PHA3 vacuum amp, there are nine customer reviews of it at amazon.com with a 4.6 out of 5 and it has five answered questions as well…

March 19, 2019 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Acoustic Research M200 DAP for $100 [MD]

If you prefer the dedicated use of a digital audio player, Massdrop is back with yet another option. Running for the next four days and change [from posting time here], you can get the new condition Acoustic Research M200 DAP for $100, a battle-point between various brands, including the entry-level Fiio X1 II.

Giving in to the bluetooth industrial complex, this model too has built-in bluetooth support (including apt-X HD), but it offers USB-C charging which may be a welcome change for those on the Type C bandwagon. It even has 32GB of on-board storage, in addition to the microSD card which supports up to 256GB.

Optionally, in the Massdrop shopping cart, you can add a color case for $10 more, and/or you can add the E10 IEMs for $80 more.

Orders will ship in late April 2019 from Massdrop. There’s no mention of warranty in the listing.

March 19, 2019 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: ,

EU: Used Audio Technica ATH-MSR7-GM for 132 euro

Audio Technica is also vying for the more stylish segment of the market, and one of their entries in this arena is the closed-back over-ear ATH-MSR7. The “GM” (gunmetal) color scheme of this headphone is currently available in “Used – Good” condition for 132 euro by Amazon Warehouse Deals, or for 139 in “Used – Very Good” condition.

CAUTION: there’s a just launched “fulfilled by Amazon” 3rd-party seller offering it for 150 euro in new condition. Judging by the seller profile, this looks like a high risk transaction, so keep that in mind when price-checking at Amazon, since it is an open-market and iffy sellers manage to sneak through Amazon’s AI filters…

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

Limited time: free Hulu with Ads with New or Existing Spotify Premium

If you are an existing Spotify Premium member or plan to start a new premium subscription in the near future [corrected from: “new feature”], Spotify x Hulu are running a new limited time promotion. During this promotion, you get Hulu with Ads included in the same price of $10 per month. From the looks of it, this offer is currently available only in the US.

The good news is that the offer is not only available to new subscribers, BUT it is only available to existing subscribers. You can activate it in your account/services settings.

This is a limited time offer to sign-up for with a hard deadline but there’s also the goofy “while supplies last” which physical-goods ad/marketing people just can’t part with even when they are working with strictly digital services 🙂

More details via Tech Crunch et al…

March 18, 2019 Filed Under: music apps Tagged With: ,

Tuesday: Polsen HPS-A40 DJ-ish Closed Over-Ears for $65

Good until Tuesday 19-MAR-2019 at 11:59pm ET (or earlier if sold out), New York’s B&H Photo is offering the new condition closed-back over-ear Polsen HPS-A40 headphones for $65 with free US shipping.

One unusual thing about them is that they have a physical three level bass adjustment on each earcup. Each level adds 3 dB to those frequencies under 200 Hz. Not unlike the Richter scale, dB measurements are logarithmic, so an extra 3 or 6 or 9 is not “just a little more”.

They also have enough features to call them DJ-ish headphones, earcups that swivel 90 degrees, detachable single-side cable, replaceable earpads,

March 18, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Woot headphone sales until the end of March

In addition to their daily deals, Woot also has longer-running deals. One of those is a headphones sale running until the end of March 2019. A total of ten options are currently available with two more that have already sold out.

Of the available options, the Gibson Trainer sports on-ears go for $60, the Bose QC 25 ANC over-ears go for $160, a couple of Philips go for $20 to $25, the Aiwa Prodigy 1 in-ears go for $22. There’s also some Sennheisers, Sony and Skullcandy. There’s even a $13 CaseBuDi hard headphone case.

Shipping is free for Prime members [who connect their Prime account to their Woot account ~ a one time thing]. Otherwise you pay $6 flat shipping for all the Woot orders you place within a single calendar day in the central time zone [that’s where Woot lives ~ even thought it has been purchased by Amazon and many of its orders are “fulfilled by Amazon”]…

March 18, 2019 Filed Under: store sale

Curiosity item: XDuoo EP1 In-Ears for $20

This is a curiosity item as this is the first time I’ve seen this while searching for xDuoo DAP-n-DAC-n-amps. There’s an xDuoo IEM! It’s the new condition EP1 in-ears going for $20, sold by a marketplace seller with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so Prime members get free 2-day shipping on it. There are only two units available as of the time of writing.

Per the listing these come with a 1.2 meter cable, they have 16 ohm impedance, 10mm dynamic driver, L-type 3.5mm connector and such. There’s no mic/remote. The eartip options are shown in picture #4 in the gallery over there, and the cardboard packaging in picture #6.

March 18, 2019 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With:

EU: Sennheiser GSX 1200 PRO Gaming Head-amp for 162 euro

At the intersection of Sennheiser and headphones and amps, we find the current best seller in Amplifiers at Amazon Germany. It is the new condition Sennheiser GSX 1200 PRO offered for the very specific price of 161.90 euro. Because of the sale, there is a limit of up to three units per customer at the sale price.

March 18, 2019 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

EU: Used Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO (250 ohm) for 91 euro

The new condition Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO (250 ohm) open-back over-ears going for 122 euro at Amazon Germany, but if you are fond of used headphones, you can get it for around 91 euro by various sellers through Amazon Warehouse Deals… It averages 4.4 out of 5 based on over 500 customer reviews and it has over 130 answered-questions by viewers like you…

Given the 250 ohm, some kind of amplification is probably needed unless you have a mobile device with a really good built-in amp. When in doubt and you can’t try it out yourself, there’s websites and forums 🙂

March 18, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

EU: Sabaj PHA2 desktop head-amp for 57 euro

For a limited time, the Amazon Germany shopping cart is having a 5% off clip-on coupon, dropping the price of the new condition EU: Sabaj PHA2 desktop head-amp from 60 euro to 57 euro. Free shipping in Germany. Shipping is extra outside Germany depending on various international shipping factors [Amazon’s shopping cart will tell you].

This is a bit unusual it has two USB power inputs giving you more flexibility. It has an RCA audio inputs and outputs. But there’s no coaxial or optical audio input. It also has two headphone outputs, the 1/8″ being for lower impedance headphones and the 1/4″ for higher impedance headphones.

They average just under 4 out of 5 based on 31 customer reviews at Amazon Germany. Each color [black or silver] has its own reviews. At amazon.com it has 11 customer reviews with a 4.3 out of 5 average and it also has 15 answered questions.

As far as I can tell [I haven’t seen this unit], this is only a headphone-amp. Both USB inputs are for power only, they are not audio inputs…

March 18, 2019 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Koss KDE250 Earphones for $60 [MD]

On-ear earphones? I’ll let the classifier gurus decider on where and how to classify these, but in the meantime, Massdrop is offering the new condition Koss KDE250 Earphones for $60 with free US shipping. Shipping appears to under $3 for many international locations [but I obviously can’t test them all]…

These will ship from Massdrop in mid-April 2019. There is no mention of warranty in the listing. This is not a “Koss x Massdrop” which mayhaps suggests this is sold via third parties (or something like that), thus no mention of a warranty???

March 18, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Santa Cruz Audio SC1000 ANC IEMs for $90 [MD]

An all-expenses-paid vacation to Santa Cruz is NOT included with this latest Massdrop offering 🙂 But what is offered is the new condition Santa Cruz Audio SC1000 IEMs for $90.

These are old-school IEM noise-cancellers in that they have a “black box” at the end of the cable that houses the ANC circuitry which is powered by AAA batteries [a plus for fans of replaceable batteries, especially of fans of rechargeables]. Another unusual thing about them is that SCA does not recommend a full/deep insertion into the ear canal for these.

They are available in your choice of silver or black color scheme in their shopping cart. There’s no mention of warranty in the listing. Case, two AAA batteries, eartips and such are included. Orders will ship from Massdrop in mid-April 2019.

March 16, 2019 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Thursday: Acer Predator 300 Galea gaming headset for $50

Good until Thursday 3/14/19 at 11:59pm pacific time (or earlier if sold out) a big Acer Computer sale at the American’s Amazon Gold Box features two color schemes of the new condition Acer Predator 300 Galea gaming headset for $50 with free shipping and handling. Limit up to two per customer. I don’t know if the limit is total or per color scheme.

BUT they average 3.2 out of 5 based on 26 customer reviews and have a soccer team of answered-questions, so be sure to read up on them before purchase if you are not already intimately familiar with them…

March 14, 2019 Filed Under: headset Tagged With: ,

Feed your DAPs (EU edition): 200GB Sandisk micro SDXC for 26e

Amazon Germany is helping you feed your DAPs, PADs and other smartphones/tablets and devices that can take 200GB microSD cards because they are now offering, in new condition, the 200GB SAndisk Ultra micro-SDXC for 26 euro. There’s no purchase quantity limit. IT is not part of their gold-box, so there is no baked-in expiration time ~ in other words the price can go up or down or stay the same. Only Amazon’s AI Price-Bots can tell 🙂

PS: make sure your device(s) are practically-compatible with 200GB cards, not just spec-sheet compatible. Meaning look for other users on the web and in the forums who have been using them and have not experienced any problems or issues…

March 13, 2019 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Audio Technica AD900X Open Over-Ears for $100 [MD]

Grado and Sennheiser are well-known for their sub-$100 open-back over-the-ear headphones but they are not the only ones offering them. Audio Technica is in the game too and thanks to this new Massdrop listing, they are offering the new condition open over-ear Audio Technica AD900X for $100. Massdrop will ship these in early April 2019. There is no mention of warranty in the listing…

March 13, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Logitech UE-9000 ANC/bluetooth over-ears for $120

A Woot Garage sale running until March 19 (or earlier for many of the products that sell out), you can get the good old Logitech UE 9900 closed-back over-ear bluetooth with ANC headphones for $120 with a 1-year Logitech warranty. Free shipping for Prime members or $6 flat for non-members.

These also play music via 3.5mm audio input. They include a flat-inside solid headphone case which you can easily reuse for other over/on-ear headphones that can fit inside. Limit up to ten units per customer…

PS: “good old” because once upon a time these was among the recommended ANC headphones, especially in the price range. These days there seems to be a battle between Bose and Sony and some models from select other well-known audio/electronics makers. Or something like that. Personally I’m not a big fan of ANC, I prefer to use “in-mind” ANC 🙂

March 13, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Wedn: used Sony WF-1000X truly wireless for $60

This is a used listing that is backed by a 90-day Woot warranty, running over there, until Wednesday 13-MAR-2019 at 11:59pm central time, you can get in “used – like new” condition the Sony WF-1000X truly wireless earphones for $60 with free shipping for Prime members or $6 flat calendar-day shipping for non-Prime members. Two color options are available (black or gold).

March 13, 2019 Filed Under: truly wireless Tagged With: , , ,

Monday: Beats Solo 3 Wireless for $220 (Product RED)

If you are a fan of (PRODUCT RED) or a fan of red headphones in general, or if the chant “Beats and Bose break my (audiophile) bones” does not scare you away, good until Tuesday MAR-12-2019 at 1am central time [or earlier if sold out] you can get the new condition PRODUCT RED Beats Solo 3 on-ears (bluetooth with Apple secret sauce, closed-back) for $220 with free shipping for Prime members.

Or $6 flat shipping for all purchases made in the central time zone of the day for non-members. Up to ten per customer during the sale. They come with a 1-year Apple warranty which mayhaps suggests the Amazon-Apple cold war is slowing thawing 🙂

March 10, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp for $200 [MD]

Dark Voice fans, unite and take over! Running for the next four days and change (from blog-posting time), Massdrop is offering the new condition DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp for $200. You can select the power-supply in the shopping cart. Orders will ship in early May from Massdrop. There’s no mention of warranty in the listing…

March 9, 2019 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Flash Sale: KZ ZS10 In-Ears w/mic/remote for $34

GearBest (not GearBeast) has launched a weekend sale and among their various offerings, for a limited time, you can find the new condition KZ ZS10 In-Ears for $34 or 30 euro (depending on location). This is the black color scheme with a mic/remote.

They ship from China. Shipment from Hong Kong is more expensive. Shipping fees are very low for registered air mail ($2-$3 for many locations). Earphones are, after all, a small little thing 🙂

There are 187 units available as part of this flash deal as of the time of writing.

They have detachable cables, so you can mix and match if you have other compatible cables, or you can optionally turn them into bluetooth by using a compatible KZ bluetooth cable.

March 8, 2019 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Lin Soul OCC silver-plated cables for $50 [MD]

Magic cables without the magic price? 🙂 Cable is a very hot button issue in some audiophile forums, so it is up to you to decide where you draw the line on price, specs, benefits and the like 🙂

Running for the next week or so at the Massdrop shopping site is a sale on Lin Soul OCC silver-plated cables going for $50 each. You have various options in the shopping cart for either end of the cable. It can be 2-pin or MMCX on one end, and either 3.5mm or 2.5mm on the other end.

These will ship in early April 2019 from Massdrop. There is no mention of a warranty in the listing…

March 8, 2019 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee returns for $160 [MD]

Jovial Jubilation! The Sennheiser HD 58X open-back over-ears Jubilee edition is back on at the Massdrop website for $160.

This being a “work in progress” listing, you have until the end of March 2019 to order it, so more time to think about it instead of the usual week-or-less time of the traditional Massdrop-drops. But fear not, shipment will not take much longer, it will ship the first week of April, soon after the listing closes. Shipping is free in the US, extra for international addresses (mayhaps $15 flat).

This headphone being a Massdrop X Sennheiser product, it comes with a 2-year manufacturer warranty. They come with one detachable cable, individually serialized, a 1/4″ adapter, and are made in Ireland. Kerrygold not included 🙂

It has 150 ohm impedance, so do check forums and reviews if you are planning to use it with lower power devices.

March 7, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Monoprice M650 Open Over-Ears for $110 [corrected], MP30 IEMs for $12

Monoprice did not hide their intent to go after the Sennheiser HD600 and HD650 duo when they released two new open-back headphones going by the names of M600 and M650. Of those two, the new condition M650 is currently on sale for $110 with free US ground shipping with up to twenty pairs per customer…

If you have any coupons, it doesn’t hurt to try them, although more often than not, specials offers are not stackable with coupons. However, enough times they are, so, as I said, it doesn’t hurt to try them in the shopping cart…

Speaking of the Monoprice website, they are also offering the new condition MP-30 earphones for $12 with free US standard shipping, with up to twenty pairs per customer at the sale price. This model has two tuning nozzles as well ~ the look/design looks familiar but off the top of my head I can’t tell/recall which model(s) these are “related” to 🙂

March 7, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

MAGIX Audio Software (including ACID PRO) on HB

It’s the return of the audio software bundle at Humble Bundle. These are titles offered by MAGIX software and as usual prices start at $1. Meeting or beating the average (just under $12.50 as of the time of writing) gets you “MP3 Deluxe” as well, while climbing to $25+ gets you “ACID PRO 7” and Sound Forge Audio Studio 12. Check their website over there for all the details.

Humble Bundle is all legit, and a percentage of purchases goes to non-profits – either the default non-profit or one of your choice. Their shopping pages have the details…

March 7, 2019 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Aune X7S balanced head-amp or X1S Anniversary DAC/amp for $180 EACH [MD]

The head-audio party continues at good old Massdrop with the new condition Aune X1S Anniversary Edition DAC/Amp getting offered for $180. Also offered for $180 is the Aune X7S balanced headphone amp. Or you can buy both but there’s no combined-purchase discount in the shopping cart. The X7S is available in two color options, selecteable in the shopping cart of course.

The orders will ship in mid-April by Massdrop, but there’s no mention of warranty in the listing, which runs for the next five days and change [from blog-posting time].

March 7, 2019 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Topping DX7s Balanced DAC/Amp for $360 [MD]

Depeche Mode prophesized (spelling mnemonic: prophet + size) the popularity of balanced audio with their hit song “Get the Balance Right”. They were not just fountains of goth-emo 🙂

Which brings us to a new offer currently running at members-only BUT free-to-join shopping club/site Massdrop, it is the new condition Topping DX7s Balanced DAC/Amp for $360, in your choice of black or silver. It will ship in mid-April from Massdrop with the offer running for the next four days and change from blog-posting time. There’s no mention of warranty in the listing.

March 6, 2019 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: , ,

NuForce uDAC-5 DAC/Amp for $100 [MD]

And now some DAC/amp action at the Massdrop shopping e-club. They are offering the new condition NuForce uDAC-5 DAC/Amp for $100 with free US shipping. Don’t let the size in the pictures (without cables and other frame of reference devices in it) fool you ~ this is a small-ish device and weighs 3.5 ounces.

It has a USB audio input but it has more output options: RCA, coax (orange) and of course headphone out of the 3.5mm kind. Despite the size, it has a sizable (for its size LOL) rotary volume-control dial. It averages over 4 out of 5 based on 20 customer reviews at MD and it has almost 300 comments in its Discussion thread…

March 5, 2019 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Thinksound ON2 Closed Wood On-Ears for $90 [MD]

Knock, on Wood, Baby! Massdrop is back with another offering, it is the new condition Thinksound ON2 on-ears, closed-back, so closed it has wooden earcups, going for $90. They come with a 2-year warranty from Thinksound and will ship on April Fool’s Day from the vendor. Two cables are included (with and without mic). The offer runs for the next five days and change [from blog-posting time]…

March 5, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

KZ AS06 BA In-Ears for $35 to $37 [MD]

The number of KZ earphones is increasing by the minute. One of the many models in their lineup is the KZ AS06, a three balanced-armature design, and it is currently on sale at Massdrop for $35 without a mic/remote, or $37 with a mic/remote. These will ship on April Fool’s Day from Massdrop. There’s no mention f warranty in the listing…

March 5, 2019 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Tuesday: HyperX gaming headset sale (8 options)

Good until Tuesday at 11:59pm pacific time, inside the Amazon Gold Box there is a Hyper-X sale, and among the 18 items offered there are seven gaming headsets ranging from $30 to $100. There’s also an earphone going for $30…

March 5, 2019 Filed Under: headset Tagged With: ,

SMSL M3 USB DAC/Amp for $60 [MD]

And we are back at Massdrop with another fully-unlocked offering, running for the next four days and change from blog-posting time. It is the new condition SMSL M3 USB DAC/Amp going for $60 with a mid-April [something to soothe over Tax Day woes?] shipment estimate from Massdrop. There’s no mention of warranty in the listing.

Despite its compact size and price, this has three audio inputs, USB obviously [it’s in the product name after all], along with Optical and Coaxial. It also has a USB power input which is separate from the USB audio input. Output is RCA (for the DAC part) and headphone-out with an adapter included so you can use it with either 1/4″ or 1/8″ headphones.

What is not included is an AC power cable [it can be powered via USB, YMMV depending on the combination of inputs and outputs]. Also not included are optical or coaxial cables.

It averages over 4 out of 5 based on 17 customer reviews at MadDrops and its discussion has over 330 comments. A filter to separate the signal from the noise is NOT included, that too you have to procure on your own 🙂

March 4, 2019 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Tuesday: Polk Hinge bluetooth on-ears for $50

It’s Woot time once again, good until Tuesday MAR-5-2019 at 11:59pm central time [Woot is in beautiful Austin, Texas], you can get the new condition Polk Hinge bluetooth on-ears [closed back obviously] for $50 with free shipping for Prime members or $6 flat shipping for all calendar-day purchases at Woot for non-members. They come with a 1-year warranty and you can buy up to ten pairs at the sale price. You also have a choice of color, black or camel brown. An actual camel is NOT included. Not even a toe 😉

March 4, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Marantz MPH-2 Studio Headphones for $40 w/FS

Good until Tuesday at 8am eastern time (or earlier in the unlikely event it sells out), you can get the new condition Marantz MPH-2 Studio Headphones for $40 with free shipping at Musician’s Friend where it is their deal of the day.

They average 4.3 out of 5 based on 70+ customer reviews over there.

March 4, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Sennheiser PC-37X Gaming Headset for $120 [MD]

Gamers without frontiers, Sennheiser without wallet tears! It’s a new song, look it up on my non-existent YouTube singing channel 😉 Which brings us to the Sennheiser PC-37X gaming headphone offered for $120 at the Massdrop website.

This is an “in the works” offering, which means a longer shipping date, late March 2019. On the plus side though, you have 14 days and change [from posting date] to order this, not the typically shorter traditional “drops” window.

This is yet another product in the Massdrop x Sennheiser partnership (which includes the critically acclaimed HD 6XX and HD 58X open-back over-ears), so you get a 2-year warranty with it.

March 4, 2019 Filed Under: headset Tagged With: , ,