Archives for November 11, 2019

FOCAL ELEX open over-ears drops to $600 [MD]

In addition to the “in-stock drops” (aka conventional online retail) Massdrop has also “discovered” discounting! As of the time of writing, the new condition FOCAL ELEX open-backs, part of the X line of co-branded Massdrop products, are down to $600 with free US shipping. Props to Massdrop for keeping prices round, eg $600, not doing the silly $599.99 that many retailers do.

This is indeed an in-stock drop, so it will ship within one business day after purchase. No long waits. Since it is an “X” product, made and sold in co-operation with the manufacturer, it comes with a 2-year FOCAL warranty. It is handmade in Fwance per the listing…

PS: yes, I am aware Massdrop has been renamed to “Drop”, but “Drop”, although a shorter one-word name that is desirable among the e-commerce world, it just doesn’t not have the uniqueness and personality of “Massdrop”. It can also confuse some as “Dropbox” is a lot more well-known than “Drop”. But then again, they can mayhaps find a theme song in the Cocteau Twins mesmerizing Pearly Dew Drops drops 😉

November 11, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Singles Day sales include KZ IEMs and Xiaomi Over-Ears for $46

It’s Singles Day all around the world as the time zones come and go, which is why some of the offers last for 48 hours or longer. And some of the 11.11 offers are headphones.

For example, at GearBest you can get the closed-back over-ear Xiaomi for $46 with free shipping. There’s also a few offers for small discounts listed on the page there (eg pay with PayPal, first time customers, etc) so check there before buying…

Also on sale are various KZ in-ears at Gearbest, with all the participating models having the “Flash Sale” tag near to them…

A lot more sales can be found at Ali Express where there’s an official Fiio store among others… There’s also Xduoo action and lots more ~ their internal search box and menus are your friends when it comes to finding product(s) of interest…

Also part of the sales is various sizes of Sandisk microSD cards offered by a 3rd-party seller at Aliexpress…

November 11, 2019 Filed Under: headphones, in-ears Tagged With: ,

KOSS w/free US shipping: Porta Pro X On-Ears for $25, KSC-75X clip-ons for $17

For those not familiar, Massdrop has something they call “in-stock drops”. This is what normal-model retailers (eg Amazon, Best Buy, Target, etc) call in-stock and ready to ship. The items are in-stock at Massdrop and ship within one business day after you order them. You don’t have to wait for weeks and weeks for shipment…

And if you are a fan of the Koss way of things but also want to have the modern luxury of a mic/remote, the Koss x Massdrop partnership [yes, you can find fanfics about those two] has two of the very classic Koss models with a single remote and microphone on the cable offered as in-stock drop with free USA shipping and returns and the usual Koss lifetime warranty.

The two models are the open-back lightweight on-ears, yes, you guessed it, the PORTA PRO X going for just $25 in the classic black color scheme. The other one is the (semi)-open-back clip-ons KSC-75X going for $17 with a single button remote with mic on the cable as well.

I’ll leave the debate on how to classify clip-ons to y’all as they are a bit on-ear and a bit earphone 🙂

A lot has been written about these two headphones, and given the prices and free US shipping and returns they are among the best bang for the buck options out there ~ especially if you want a mic/remote combo. After all, even dedicated DAPs make use of the in-line remote controls these days ~ even my good old Fiio X1 DAP does dat [read the last three words faster and faster]…

I don’t [yet] have these Koss X models, but I’ve had the good old KSC-75 clip-ons for a while know ~ I “rescued” them from the clearance bin of an office supply chain store!

November 11, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

KZ ZS10 PrO IEMs for $40 to $43 [MD]

If you are ready to jump into the KZ budget hype train or if you want more for yourself or as gifts for others, for the next two days and change (as of the time of writing of this post), Massdrop is offering the new condition KZ ZS10 PRO in-ears for $40 with free US shipping. Shipment is estimated to be in early December 2019 so it should get to you on time for holiday gift-giving purposes [but always, regardless of the situation, have a Plan B to go to in case of unforeseen trouble]…

The $40 is without a mic/remote but if you wish a mic/remote, that model goes for $43 and it is available in three color options.

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

November 11, 2019 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,