Archives for January 2021

Monday: refurbished Airpods PRO TW for $200

Apple created some current (and more future) confusion with their naming of their over-ear headphones also as Airpods. Just appending the “Max” at the end of the name is not enough for quick consumer disambiguation. Regardless…

… the headliner of the Monday February 1st, 2021 daily deals at the Best Buy website is the geek-stink-breath (TM Green Day) aka Geek Squad refurbished Airpods PRO truly-wireless going for $200 in the white color scheme with a 90-day warranty…

Saturday: LG V30 (US998) for $200

For DAP fans (phones as DAPs), good until Saturday 1/30/21 at 11:59pm central time [or earlier if sold out] you can get the new condition unlocked LG V30 US998 smartphone for $200 with a 1-year LG warranty. Up to three per customer at the sale price.

This is the silver color scheme with 4GB RAM, 64GB on-board storage (and microSD slot), 3.5mm headphone jack of course, Snapdragon 835, USB-C, etc, etc, etc…

EU: Sennheiser HD 560S drops to 192 euro

Attention European shoppers! As of the time of writing the price of the new condition open-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 560S is down to 192 euro at Amazon Germany by Amazon Germany actual. This price oscillates between
192 and 199 euro depending on when you look at it.

Staying at the EU, and speaking of Sennheiser, you can get the new condition closed-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 300 lightweight for 39 euro at Amazon Germany… This should not be confused with the Sennheiser HD 300 PRO studio headphones!

Both of these are “organic sales”, not part of any lightning deals or deals of the day, so the prices can (or cannot) change at any time and for any reason (which of course the Amazon AI price bots do not explain to us mere mortals)…

Friday: Sennheiser HD 2.30G or 2.30i On-Ears for $25

It is Sennheiser’s turn in the Newegg daily deals good until Friday 1/29/21 at 11:59pm pacific time, it is the new condition closed-back on-ear HD 2.30G (G = Galaxy = Android) or the HD 2.30i (i = iPhone, iPod, iPad) going for $25 with free US shipping, sold and shipped by NewEgg actual. Budget time!

Also part of the Friday dailies is the Sadeas Locus Plus 7.1 gaming headset for $40, and the recurring refurbished Jabra Elite Active 65t truly-wireless for $40 as well…

Google Pixel Buds (1st gen) for $59

Good until Saturday 1/30/21 at 11:59pm eastern, B&H Photo offering the new condition black color scheme of the Google Pixel Buds for $59 with free US shipping… These are kinda getting lost in the Airpods and Galaxy Buds hype ~ just like the Pixel phones *ZING* 🙂

Having said that, these are necklace-style bluetooth earphones, not truly-wireless…

Thursday: M&D and Samsung TV, HyperX Alpha, Etc

Best Buy strikes again in the headphone “daily deal wars” and their Thursday offerings include:

+ Master and Dynamic MW07 GO truly-wireless for $120

+ Hyper X Alpha gaming headsets, two options, $70 to $100

+ refurbished Samsung Galaxy Buds Live truly-wireless for $70

+ Feed the DAPs: 256GB Sandisk Ultra microSDXC for $45

+ Store the FLACs: 5TB WD EasyStor external HDD for $100

+ headliner: Harman Kardon Citation 100 Speaker (with Google Voice) for $100

Wedn: Beyerdynamic DT-240 PRO for $58 [CORRECTION!]

CORRECTION: this daily-deal was for Wednesday, not Thursday! I’ve lost my TARDIS it seems 🙂

Headphone action once again with the return of Beyerdynamic at the NewEgg daily deals with the new condition closed-back DT-240 PRO over-ears going for $58 with free US shipping…

Separately, they have a 128GB Sandisk Ultra microSDXC card for under $20 after promo code…

Monday: refurb Sony CH-700N for $48 w/FS , Etc

One of the NewEgg deals du jour for Monday January 25 in 2021 (yes, just eleven months until Christmas) is the refurbished Sony CH-700N ANC/Bluetooth over-ears offered for $48 with free US shipping, sold and shipped by marketplace seller VIP Outlet through the NewEgg website.

This is now the previous generation model, and we have here a text and pictures unboxing of it here…

BUT that’s not all, NewEgg’s dailies also have two more earphones of the bluetooth kind as follows:

+ Anker Soundcore Life P2 airpod-style truly-wireless for $34

+ refurbished Anker Soundcore Liberty truly-wireless for $21 after the limited time promo code
+ this promises up to 100 hours battery life (combination of charging-case and on-earphone batteries)
+ this is sold and shipped by the official Anker online store through the NewEgg website

Meanwhile among the B&H daily deals you can get the new condition Motorola Verve Loop 200 necklace-style bluetooth earphones for $12 with free US shipping…

Then we head on to the Best Buy dailies where we find two items of potential head-interest:

+ Corsair HS60 wired gaming headset for $45 as part of the Corsair sale

+ Geek-Stink-Breath (TM Green Day) certified refurbished Samsung Galaxy Buds+ truly-wireless for $50 with a 90-day warranty

Sunday: Samsung Galaxy Buds Live TW for $110

Good until Sunday 1/24/21 at 11:59pm central time (or earlier if sold out), Woot is offering as one of their deals of the day the new condition Samsung Galaxy Buds Live truly-wireless earphones for $110. Three “mystic” color options are available but one per customer at the sale price. They come with a 90-day Woot warranty. Shipping is free for Prime members (must needs connect your Prime-Woot accounts, a one-time activity). Otherwise you pay the standard flat calendar-day shipping fee (I think it’s $6 nowadays)…

Now shipping: Samsung Galaxy Buds PRO for $200

Speaking of Galaxy Buds, their brand new “hype train du truly-wireless” “Buds PRO” are, as of the time of writing, in-stock and ready to ship for their starting price of $200 at Amazon by Amazon actual in the Phantom Silver and in the Phantom Black color schemes…

If you prefer the Phantom Violet, that one is expected to be in-stock February 5. Keep in mind though Amazon’s estimates, especially for low-supply / high-demand items are rather volatile and change as the minutes and the hours go by…

Thursday: Yamaha EPH-100 in-ears for $50

Back to the earphone action at the Newegg deals of the day, this set of offerings is good until Thursday 11:59pm pacific time (1/21/21) as follows:

+ Yamaha EPH-100 in-ears for $50

+ refurbished Jabra Elite Active 75t for $100

Meanwhile the teasers for Friday include the KEF Porsche Design Motion One neckband-style bluetooth earphones, a Jabra Elite bluetooth on-ears and a 256GB Samsung “orange cream” microSD card… The teasers do not include the sale prices, those get revealed on the day the offers go live on their website…

Wedn: refurbished Samsung Galaxy Buds Live TW for $80

The brand new $200 Galaxy Buds PRO are the peak of Galaxy anti-Airpods hype train, but if you want to pay less and get a previous generation model, for Wednesday 1/20/21, one of the Best Buy daily deals is the Geek-Squad refurbished Samsung Galaxy Buds Live for $80 with a 90-day warranty…

Meanwhile at Woot there’s a many and more accessories sale of the electronics and technology kind that includes cables, chargers, audio-ish gear and such. Nothing big or name-brand audio-wise but more on the trinkety side of things 🙂

In-Stock Now (USA): Sennheiser HD 560S for $200

All aboard the hype train! If you had been looking to find the new open-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 560S headphone in-stock, you can get it, as of the time of writing, for its starting price of $200 with free US shipping at authorized and reputable dealer B&H Photo of New York

To make sure I’m not hallucinating or sleep-blogging, here’s a screenshot of their page as of the time of writing:

Plenty has been written and said about it already on the interwebs, and the nature of the Sennheiser HD line-up makes for a never-ending combination of comparisons 🙂

Monday: Sennheiser HD 458 BT Closed Bluetooth Over-Ears for $100

Monday 1/18/21 is headphones day at the Best Buy daily deals it seems, with the following offerings:

+ closed-back over-ear bluetooth Sennheiser HD 458 BT for $100
+ bluetooth 5, apt-X, AAC, apt-X LL, USB-C charging

+ Skullcandy Indy Evo truly-wireless for $50

+ AVerMedia Video Conferencing Kit 317 for $70 includes AverMedia AH313 headset with detachable microphone and USB Type A connector

+ and shaving machines if you want to test the ANC of your headphones 😉

Various Audio and Headphone offers in Woot Plus

Woot Plus (the longer-lasting version of Woot’s deals) is running a handful of sales that include audio gear and headphones in them. Each sale has its own expiration date. Some of the offered items do sell-out before the expiration time, others linger for weeks and weeks and weeks (in future sales) 🙂

+ Electronics Leftovers Sale
+ AmazonBasics 3.5mm audio cable with mic/remote for $11 (or you can get mic/remote cables by buying and repurposing budget-priced headphones with detachable cables)
+ 3rd party Airpods case for $8
+ 3rd party earpads for Beats Solo 2/3 for $7~
+ JBL in-ears for $38
+ Seydel Chromatic Saxony Harmonica C Matte Chrome for $283
+ expires 1/18/21 at 11:59pm central time

+ Wireless Accessories sale
+ includes various 1Voice on-ears and bluetooth earphones
+ various sleep headphones including eye-mask style
+ beanie headphones
+ assorted other true-wireless and such
+ expires 1/19/21 at 11:59pm central time

+ Audio Gear sale
+ includes home theater systems, speakers, ceiling-cat speakers, powered monitors and bluetooth speakers from Klipsch, Onkyo, Jamo, Pioneer, Polk, JBL, Harman Kardon
+ various Cowin ANC/BT over-ears
+ open-back Philips SHP-9500 at its current “default” price of $70
+ some Beats
+ truly-wireless including AmazonBasics in white for $17
+ expires 2/27/21 at 11:59pm central time

RHA True Connect truly-wireless for $70

Another variant of the Woot Electronics Garage Sale good until 11/24/21 at 11:59pm central time is running. These are longer-running than daily deals but items do sell-out ~ just page-down over there and you’ll see quite a few sold out…

BUT as of the time of writing, three audio-related items remain in-stock as follows:

+ RHA TrueConnect truly-wireless for $70

+ Klipsch R-2650-CSM II in-ceiling speaker for $100

+ Onkyo CS-265 Home Audio System with CD, Hi-Fi Stereo System, & Bluetooth for $150

Sunday: Insignia Portable Digital AM/FM Radio with On-Ear Headphones for $10

Two audio products are among the Sunday 1/17/21 daily deals at the Best Buy website. One very modern, one very old-school:

+ JLab Epic Air Sport ANC truly-wireless for $50

+ Insignia Portable Digital AM/FM radio with Walkman-era thin on-ear headphones and armband for $10
+ averages 4.2 out of 5 based on 372 customer reviews (aottow)
+ aottow = as of the time of writing

Sunday: 2pk Airbuds Air3 truly-wireless for $29 + S&H

Meh has joined the truly-wireless party once again, their Sunday 1/17/21 daily deal is a 2-pack of Airbuds Air3 truly-wireless going for $29 plus shipping. You can’t buy one, they are sold in 2-packs. Shipping is free for paying Meh-members.

The cases are charging cases, and hold up to four charges each, and since they are the same model, you have more flexibility in usage! They are bluetooth 5, with extra eartips included.

Per the Meh listing, it says they come with lifetime warranty, which is linked-to in the Meh specs page. This is the warranty page.

Also per the Meh listing, these are sold at Nordstrom Rack (NR) for twice as much ($30 for one pair at NR versus $29 for two pairs at Meh).

The official name of the bundle is TH15-8UD5-F0R-U, while the official name of the product is WL14681. I’m sure this is something thousands of you were very eager to learn and memorize 🙂

Saturday: 1More Daily Deals at Amazon!

Good until Saturday 1/16/21 at 11:59pm pacific time, or earlier if sold out, the headliner of the Amazon USA Gold Box deals of the day is a sale of 1More headphones, more specifically five truly-wireless options ($50 to $80) and two neckband bluetooth earphones including the Triple Driver neckband bluetooth earphones going for $60…

Thanks to the thicker neckband, these promise up to seven hours playtime and they support LDAC and AAC. They run bluetooth 4.2…

When the deal went live in the early hours of Saturday the sale also included the wired Piston Fit in-ears in the gray color scheme with $8 for up to four per customer BUT as of the time of writing this sale is over and they all go for $15 each…

Saturday: Beyerdynamic Aventho Bluetooth On-Ears for $179

Beyerdynamic is putting all its eggs in the NewEgg daily deals basket [sorry, I couldn’t resist the low-hanging fruit joke] and good until Saturday January 16 in 2021 at 11:59pm pacific time you can get the new condition Beyerdynamic Aventho bluetooth closed on-ears for $179 with free US shipping… The seven customer reviews are so-and-so about it…

Friday: Beyerdynamix Xelento BT IEMs, refurb Sony CH-700N

Not one but TWO name-brand headphones are part of the Friday NewEgg daily deals good until 11:59pm pacific on 1/15/21 or earlier if sold out:

+ new condition Beyerdynamic Xelento bluetooth Tesla in-ears for $575

+ refurbished Sony CH-700N ANC/Bluetooth over-ears for $49
+ sold and shipped by marketplace seller VIP Outlet
+ this is the previous generation model
+ we have a text and pictures unboxing of it right here (PORG not included)…

Pre-order the all new Samsung Galaxy Buds PRO truly-wireless ($200 new, $150 with trade-in)

Samsung has now revealed their new Samsung Galaxy S21 flagship smartphones for which they are having pre-order store credit bonuses along with more generous than usual smartphone trade-in promotions (up to $700 credit on select Galaxy, iPhone and Pixel models)…

OF headphone interest, they revealed the new Galaxy Buds PRO truly-wireless which have been building some pre-release hype (mayhaps as a counter-weight to Apple/Beats hype?). Not only that, but they were the Opening Act of the presentation, they were the first product revealed and Samsung spent considerable time on them!

The video embed below starts playback right at the Buds PRO segment:

Samsung made some bold statements about these (as it is often the case with hype-presentations). These are the notes I took while watching it live:

  • using real-world-speaker-inspired 2-way speakers
  • system-in-package breakthrough in the assembly to fit them in
  • 2mm vent for airflow and circulation
  • mesh and inner chamber thing for dealing with wind noise
  • ANC using inner and outer mics
  • intelligent ambient aware mode
  • 360 audio motion and head tracking
  • audio by AKG
  • auto-switch between phone and tablet and such
  • IPX7
  • stay-on while running
  • beam forming mic technology
  • work with Galaxy Buds Live accessories

All this hype can be yours in three colorful color scheme options for $200 at B&H Photo and Amazon actual and such…

OR if you buy it from the Samsung.com store, where you can optionally get it for $150 with an eligible trade-in. This should not be confused with the “up to $700 smartphone trade-in promotion”. The $50 trade-in credit is separate and for the Buds. Not sure exactly how it works: the trade-in info is buried in the fineprint. It is mentioned on the left of the blue “BUY NOW” button at the top right corner of the page over there.

YMMV: Samsung Galaxy Buds TW for $49

This is YMMV because sometimes I see them as orderable and sometimes as unorderable. This can happen with some combination of Amazon servers de-syncing and high-demand items, or something like that. Anyway, as of the time of writing I’m seeing the black color scheme of the new condition Samsung Galaxy Buds truly-wireless on sale for $49 with free US shipping and one per customer. The other colors are either not on sale or unorderable.

Given that, consider this as a very YMMV deal. This deal has helped propel it to the #3 spot in the Best Selling Earphones at Amazon

NOTE that the “Buds” are an older model, the first generation in this line released in February 2019 per Wikipedia

So this $49 on-and-off sale should not be confused with the brand new just-released $200 Galaxy Buds PRO

PS: a couple of the previous Galaxy Buds models are also on sale, the Buds+ for $110 and the Buds Live for $140, eg at B&H Photo

Thursday: Beyerdynamic DT-240 Studio for $60AC

Beyerdynamic makes a comeback at the Thursday 1/14/21 Newegg deals of the day with the new condition closed-back wired Beyerdynamic DT-240 headphones for $60 with free US shipping after entering promo code 34SHLPC6 over there…

Also part of the Thursday deals is the recurring refurbished Jabra Elite 65t truly-wireless going for $45.

Meanwhile the NewEgg teasers for Friday 1/15/21 show the Beyerdynamic Xelento bluetooth in-ears with Tesla technology. The sale price will be revealed when it goes live on Thursday.

Speaking of which, good until Thursday at 10am eastern you can get the new condition Corsair VOID ELITE SURROUND Premium Gaming Headset (with omni-directional Microphone) for $40 with free US shipping as part of the Adorama deals of the day

Thursday: AKG N700NC M2 ANC/BT Over-Ears for $100

AKG returns to the Woot daily deals under the Electronics tab for Thursday 1/14/2021 until 11:59pm central time or earlier if sold out.

It is the new condition with a 1-year warranty AKG N700NC Mark II ANC and bluetooth closed-back over-ears going for $100 with up to three pairs per customer at the sale price. More specifically this is model GP-N700HAHCIWA. Memorize it, it will be on the Headfi Entrance Exams for the next semester 😉

This includes a carrying case and a USB-C charging cable and a 3.5mm cable and a flight adapter. It is compatible with the “AKG Headphones app” that has an “Ambient Aware” and a “TalkThru” mode.

PS: you can thank all those $50 unknown-brand best-selling ANC/BT combo over-ear headphones on Amazon for forcing the known manufacturers to offer lower price. Even Bose and Sony have lowered prices for some of their well-reviewed models…

Wedn: refurb B&W PX7 ANC/bluetooth Over-Ears for $249

Good until Wednesday 1/12/21 at 11:59pm eastern time [or before that if it happens to sell-out] you can get the refurbished (with a 2-year warranty) B&W PX7 ANC/bluetooth Over-Ears for $249 after a $50 off coupon that activates automagically in the shopping cart. This is one of the deals of the day at B&H Photo. This is only available as refurbished in the “Space Gray” color scheme.

Saturday: refurb Audio Technicas including ATH-AD500X for $60

Six refurbished Audio Technica headphones are on sale at Woot as part of their daily deals until Saturday 1/9/21 at 11:59pm central time (or earlier if sold out) and surprise-surprise, there’s an open-back option!

+ open-back ATH-AD500X over-ears for $60

+ five closed-back over/on-ears Audio Technicas, some bluetooth

+ the Audio Technicas come with a 90-day Woot warranty, up to three per option per customer

+ it starts with an A, but it’s not Audio Technica, it just got jammed into the sale as well, new condition AmazonBasics Ultra Light truly-wireless for $17

Meanwhile at the NewEgg daily deals they have the new condition Meidong bluetooth neckband earphones going for $11 with free US shipping. This is bluetooth 5.0 which is becoming pretty much must-have for some kind of future-proofing…

Tuesday: Beyerdynamic MMX 300 II Gaming Headset for $234AC

Beyer is dynamic once again with their MMX300 second-generation gaming headset being among the Newegg dailies for Tuesday 1/5/20 until 11:59pm pacific time. The price is $234 after entering limited-time promo code 93XQD39 in their shopping cart…

Meanwhile their teasers for Wednesday’s daily deals include a Philips UpBeat truly-wireless…

Sunday: Samsung BTS truly-wireless for $90 [also: Braven Flye offers at Meh]

If you are a fan of Meh, which tries to keep alive the original pre-Amazon spirit of Woot, their Sunday 1/3/21 daily deal at the Meh website are Braven Fry bluetooth earphones. And you have two options:

+ one pair of Braven Frye truly-wireless for $19

+ two pairs of Frye bluetooth necklace-style earphones for $19

Shipping is extra BUT if you are signed up to their for-pay membership plan, you get free shipping…

UPDATE: under “Electronics” at the Woot daily deals they have the new condition Samsung Galaxy Buds+ (Wireless Charging Case included) in the BTS Special Edition (oh my *faint Beatle-mania style*) for $90, one per customer, with a 1-year Samsung warranty…