Archives for November 2020

Thursday: Sony WH-1000XM3 with Xperia 1 for $550

The Thursday 11/19/20 deals at Woot have a couple of Android smartphone offers of headphone interest:

+ Sony WH-1000XM3 ANC/BT over-ears bundled with the new condition Sony Xperia 1 [SD 855] unlocked former-flagship smartphone for $550; with Sony warranty
+ the Xperia 1 supports LDAC, AAC, and apt-X HD per the PDF file specs linked-to from Woot

+ LG G8 ThinQ with Alexa for $350
+ the PDF file linked-to from Woot that has the specs says this has a 32-bit Quad DAC, and MQA decoder
+ I’ve lost track which LG phones have quad DACs, so be sure to research it to your satisfaction if you are not sure

November 18, 2020 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , , ,

Wednesday: Sony Home Audio sale!

If you are a fan of Sony’s audio gear, you are in luck because until 11/18/20 at 11:59pm pacific time, Amazon is running a Sony Home Audio sale featuring 11 products running from $73 to $1198. No headphones, this is speakers, subwoofers, soundbars and home theater kits… The prices range from $73 to $1198…

But to bring us back “on topic”, they are also running a Skullcandy headphone sale headlined by the Riff bluetooth on-ears going for $40… There’s also a $10 wired in-ear and a $25 neckband bluetooth earphone…

November 18, 2020 Filed Under: audio gear, headphones Tagged With: ,

Sunday: V-Moda Crossfade 2 Codex Bluetooth Over-Ears for $250

Good until 11/15/20 at 11:59pm, Best Buy is offering as one of their deals of the day the new condition matte-white color scheme of the V-Moda Crossfade 2 Codex closed-back over-ear wireless (bluetooth) headphones for $250 with free shipping or free store pickup where possible/available…

As of the time of writing they average 4.6 out of 5 based on 76 customer reviews…

November 15, 2020 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Saturday: SONOS MOVE for $299, Beats Solo 3 for $120, Storage for your Musics!

Saturday November 14 in 2020 is of music interest at the Amazon Holiday Dash (aka Gold Box) as they have seven different color schemes of the new condition Beats Solo 3 on-ears (bluetooth with W1 techonlogy, closed-back) going for $120 with free US shipping. One per customer [not sure if it’s per individual color, or total one of this model]…

As of the time of writing, these average 4.7 out of 5 based on over 7900 customer ratings [this is a mix of written-reviews and star-ratings without text]. They have nearly 250 answered-questions by viewers like you…

In the earlier days of SONOS, may had wished for a portable option. Fast forward to know, and there are portable options, the battery-powered new condition SONOS Move Smart Speaker (with Wifi, Bluetooth, Alexa) is on sale for $299 with free US shipping. Two per customer, but it is available in two color schemes…

As of the time of writing the SONOS MOVE averages 4.7 out of 5 based on over 2200 customer ratings and has over 270 answered questions…

STORAGE!
And now to the hungry DAPs and PADs (phones as DAPs) and phones and tablets and laptops (with microSD slots) and media players with microSD or SD slots, and such. There’s a big WD and Sandisk sale that includes microSD and SD memory cards [starting at 400GB], along with external and internal HDDs [including a couple of RAID consumer desktop options], and a couple of SSDs…

Just don’t forget to keep backups! By now we’ve seen multiple digital music services go under and with most of them, if you hadn’t already made backups, it’s “tough luck” after they go down in flames…

November 14, 2020 Filed Under: audio gear, headphones Tagged With: , , , , ,

Friday: Beyerdynamic DT 240 PRO Closed-Backs for $58

Beyerdynamic returns once again at the Newegg daily deals for Friday November 13 in 2020 and it is the new condition closed-back DT 240 PRO going for $58 after using the $11 off promo code shown over there. Free US shipping. .. Also part of today’s deals is a refurbished Jabra Elite 65t neckband bluetooth earphone with ANC for $40…

November 13, 2020 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Jimi Hendrix Edition of V-Moda Crossfade 2 Bluetooth Over-Ears for $220

All along the V-Moda Watch Tower says the audiophile to the merchant! That’s right, if you are a fan of Jimi Hendrix and the V-Moda over-ears wall of sound, you can marry them together in a single headphone that happens to be on sale as of the time of writing!

IT is the V-Moda Crossfade 2 wireless closed-back over-ears with Jimi Hendrix’s picture on one outer earcup (and his signature on the other; an easy way to tell L from R!) going for $220 with free US shipping at the Adorama website…

Here’s a screenshot of the Adorama product page:

November 12, 2020 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Noble X Massdrop sale: Universal for $125, Luxe for $45

Curious about the Noble IEMs but don’t want to spend big bucks to get their more high-end options? You are in luck because Massdrop is having a couple of their more affordable options on sale as part of their “Holiday Specials Event”:

+ Noble X Massdrop X Universal IEMs for $125

+ Noble Luxe Massdrop X IEMs for $45

+ they come with free US shipping and free US returns
+ discounted international shipping (but not free)
+ Noble Audio warranty

+ both of these are “in-stock drops” meaning they are available at MD’s warehouse and will ship quickly (COVID delays permitting that is of course implied about everything we say these days)

November 12, 2020 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Thursday: refurb Klipsch T5 truly wireless for $50

Good for Thursday 11/12/20 until 11:59pm central time as part of the Woot daily deals is the factory reconditioned with a 90-day manufacturer warranty Klipsch T5 truly wireless going for $50 with up to three pairs per customer at the sale price…

Meanwhile the Chi-Fi festivities continue at Aliexpress where you can also filter the search results by only looking at marked 11-11 sales. Just like other holidays, 11-11 is more of a state of mind now, it’s not a mere 24 hour period 🙂 Like Black Friday is the whole week, if not the whole month 🙂

November 11, 2020 Filed Under: truly wireless Tagged With: , ,

Wedn: Master & Dynamic MW07 TW sale [also SONOS 5]

The Wednesday 11/11/20 Best Buy deals du jour have a bit of an audio theme to them as the headliner is the SONOS 5 wireless Smart speaker going for $400…

Of truly-wireless interest, they have a Master and Dynamic sale that features:

+ MW-07 GO truly wireless for $160

+ MW07 PLUS truly wireless for $225 in four different color schemes

November 10, 2020 Filed Under: truly wireless Tagged With: , ,

They Are Back: KOSS KSC-75X Massdrop X for $20

These are the best kept secret in the world of pragmatic audiophiles. Neither retailers, nor publishers of high-brow audiophilia want you to know how good these are because you may just stop paying attention to the four-figure stuff 😉

And “these” are back once again for ordering at Massdrop, just in time for the holidays, it’s the Massdrop X KOSS KSC-75X Clip-ONs going for a very down to earth price of $20 with free US shipping and returns, and discounted international shipping. They come with the usual Koss limited lifetime warranty.

One difference between these and the original KSC-75 is that the Massdrop edition has a utilitarian 1-button remote/mic for the smartphone/tablet/DAP users 🙂

This drop is in “pre-order status” with nine days left (as of the time of writing) and they are estimated to ship in late November 2020.

I’m going to jump onto this for sure (unless I forget like the previous time) because my trusty old KSC-75 (which I found on the clearance/trash-bin of an Office Depot (if I recall correctly)) [see text and pictures unboxing] has now become “mono” [only one side plays sound]…

This one you can HYPE HYPE HYPE without fear!

PS: this has the added benefit of not messing your hair (for those lucky enough to have hair that is) and it doesn’t put too much pressure on your head and jaw with prolonged use (eg some over-ears and on-ears) or doesn’t keep your ears sealed to the world for too many hours (eg in-ears)… These type of clip-ons and the classic earbuds are, in my humble opinion, the easiest on the ears, especially for prolonged use…

November 10, 2020 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Seven Days Left: Hifiman HE-5XX Planars for $220

One of the Hype Headphones du jour at the moment is the open-back over-ear Hifiman HE-5XX planar-magnetic headphones and their listing at Massdrop has seven more days [as of the time of writing of this blog-post] before they begin shipping. They are currently in pre-order status. If you want to be among the first to have them on your non-planar head, you have seven days to decide!

They currently go for $220 with free US shipping and free US returns. International shoppers get discounted shipping and they have a 30-day return option, but the shipping cost on the return is on the shopper, not on Massdrop.

They come with a 1-year manufacturer warranty. They are, as the name hints at, based on the Hifiman HE-500 series…

Hype, Hype, Hype!!! 😉

November 10, 2020 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

KZ Singles Day sales

I’m still in the KZ phase of Chi-fi and if you are too, they have plenty of sales with quick-processing (“ships within 24 hours” they claim) and sometimes some freebies (eg extra foam eartips) on various KZ in-ears at Ali Express. The link here points to a search for “KZ ZSN PRO” but you can use their search box or browse around to find your KZ models of interest…

On the other hand, if you prefer faster and less adventurous delivery, the prices are higher but not much higher at Amazon USA…

This being singles day and all, it is a bit of a shocker how high the prices of some of the KZs are at Gear Best. Did they have some kind of a falling out? Did they cheat KZ by falling in love with another Chifi manufacturer? 🙂

November 10, 2020 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With:

Hifiman HE-35X Open Over-Ears (dynamic) for $75

There’s another bubbling under options for open-back dynamic over-ear headphones under $100 and it is currently on sale at the Massdrop website. “It” being the new condition Hifiman HE-35X going for $75 with free US shipping and free US returns. International shipping is not free but it is discounted. Customs and import duties are your responsibility…

This is an in-stock drop, meaning it is available to ship directly from the Massdrop warehouses. Needless to say, due to COVID, some delays are possible… It comes with a 1-year manufacturer warranty…

PS: some of the other well-known open-back options under $100 include Grado SR80/60*, Sennheiser HD 5**, Audio Technica ATH-AD*, Philips SHP-9?00?, etc…

November 9, 2020 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Saturday: Beyerdynamic DT990, Sennheiser HD458 BT, Etc

Beyerdynamic is back at the Saturday 11/7/20 NewEgg daily deals it is the new condition wired open-back over-ear Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO (250 ohm) going for $124 with free US shipping after you enter the promo code shown over there…

Then we have two headphone offers at the Best Buy dailies as follows:

+ Sennheiser HD458 BT bluetoohth/ANC closed-back over-ears for $100

+ Skullcandy Sesh Evo truly wireless for $25

And at Woot, one of their 11/7/20 daily deals is a Big Audio Sale (no relation to Big Audio Dynamite) that includes gear from Onkyo, Klipsch, Optoma and Jamo. A total of 18 items are in-stock as of the time of writing, while five have sold out. There’s a mix of speakers, subwoofers, mini systems, and truly wireless Optoma NuForce bluetooth earphones…

November 7, 2020 Filed Under: Uncategorized

Thursday: Klipsch Porsche Motion One, Etc

And Klipsch and Porsche! The Klipsch Porche Design Motion ONE neckband bluetooth earphones are on sale for $50 with free US shipping as part of the NewEgg dailies…

Meanwhile at the Best Buy dailies there’s a sale on Buddyphone School+ kids closed-back on-ear headphones for $20 in three color options…

PS: the NewEgg teaser for Friday is the Sony WH-1000X3 ANC/bluetooth over-ears. The sale price will be revealed when it goes live on Friday 11/6/20…

November 5, 2020 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With:

Wednesday: Sennheiser and Skullcandy bluetooths

Judging by the increase in headphones in daily deals, mayhaps retailers, marketers and manufacturers have “upgraded” headphones as some of the hot buy items during the 2020 holiday shopping season ~ an with good season given the COVID situation…

As teased yesterday, among the Wednesday 11/4/20 NewEgg daily deals they have the new condition Sennheiser Momentum Free necklace-style bluetooth earphones on sale for $70 with free US shipping…

Staying with Sennheiser, at the Amazon Gold Box they are offering the new condition IE 80S BT earphones for $200 with free US shipping with up to three pairs per customer. These are neckband-style (hardened) with also a hardened earhook mechanism…

And at the budget side of things, at the Best Buy dailies, the headliner is the new condition Skullcandy Sesh Evo truly-wireless for $25…

November 4, 2020 Filed Under: in-ears, truly wireless Tagged With: , , ,

Tuesday: Bose QC35 II ANC/bluetooth over-ears for $199

If you want some coffee to keep you up during those long listening and headphone testing sessions, there’s four different kind of Mr. Coffee options (including the audiophile-friendly pour-over and an All-In-One machine that clears space on the counters) at the Amazon Gold Box for Tuesday 11/3/20. But that’s what you are here for…

… what you are here for is their offer for the new condition BOSE QC 35 II closed-back over-ear ANC/bluetooth combo headphones going for $199 with free US shipping. This is available in three different color schemes. Up to five per customer. As of the time of writing they average 4.6 out of 5 based on 29,000+ customer reviews…

November 3, 2020 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Tuesday: wired Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Open Over-Ears for $319

Beyerdynamic is back at the NewEGG daily deals, this one good for Tuesday 11/3/20 until 11:59pm pacific (or earlier if sold out). It is the new condition open-back over-ear wired Amiron Home going for $319 with free US shipping, sold and shipped by NewEgg actual. No promo code is needed for this offer. Up to three per customer at the sale price…

Some of the other Tuesday daily deals at NewEgg:

+ Anker Soundcore Spirit 2 necklace-style IP67 bluetooth earphones for $20 after a $10 off promo code

+ 256GB AData microSDXC (UHS-I, C10, V10, A1) for $26
+ feed the DAPs, and PADs and smartphones and tablets too

Meanwhile the NewEgg teaser for Wednesday 11/4/20 includes the Sennheiser Momentum Free necklace-style bluetooth earphones. The price is not shown in the teaser. We have to wait for Wednesday to find out…

November 3, 2020 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Monday: Shure SE-535 IEMs (both 3.5mm and BT 5.0 cables) for $199

Second day with a Shure IEM as one of their daily deals at B&H Photo! Today (being Monday November 2nd in 2020) has the new condition Shure SE-535 in-ears with both a 3.5mm and bluetooth 5.0 cables, going for $199 with free US shipping, a 2-year warranty, and a choice of bronze or red color schemes…

In addition to the universal 3.5mm mic/remote cable and the bluetooth 5.0 cable (which also has the battery for the bluetooth hardware ~ obviously) you get various eartips, a carrying case and such. This too is a microUSB-charged bluetooth…

UPDATE: among the Woot dailies is another incarnation of the new condition Master & Dynamic MW07 truly wireless for $80 in the “grey terrazo” color scheme. Interestingly though, this comes with a 90-day Woot warranty (instead of a manufacturer warranty)…

And then at the Best Buy dailies they have another recurring headphone featured in their daily deals, the new condition MEE Matrix Cinema bluetooth/ANC closed-back over-ears for $60…

November 1, 2020 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Sunday: 20% off store credit with Touch of Modern purchases

Good until 11:59pm pacific time on Sunday November 1st in 2020, Touch of Modern is offering a 20% store credit on your Touch of Modern account over there with purchases made.

Their headphone inventory includes Audeze, Master and Dynamic, Sennheiser (including the HYPE HYPE HYPE Sennheiser HD 560 S), Shure, Bowers & Wilkins, and Astell-n-Kern…

They have a few more audio options under “Speakers” and “Components and Accessories” (Shure SHA-900 amp, Shure electrostatic system)…

Check each individual listing for details and shipping estimates and return policy…

November 1, 2020 Filed Under: headphones