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Weekend is coupon time at the Monoprice website, coupon POP is $5 off $25+, and coupon CORN is $20 off $100+. Coupons expire Saturday 9/17/16 at 11:59pm or so.
+ Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amp, Product ID 11567, plus filler item (eg 3.5mm mobile cable) to get the total slightly over $100 and use the coupon, dropping the price to $80~
+ Monoprice Stereo Hybrid Tube Amp with Bluetooth, product ID 13194, for $130
Monoprice recently entered the portable USB DAC/amp game too with their Portable USB DAC/amp, model aka Product ID 15494. The regular price is $60 but until Saturday night (9/17/16), Monoprice has two coupons. If you only want to buy this and nothing else, coupon code POP ($5 off $25+) brings it down to $55. If you are planning a Monoprice order total of $100+, coupon CORN ($20 off $100+) brings it down even further, depending on your order total and how you do the math.
Shipping is not free, and it depends on shipping method and where you are (different options available, they make sure of local/regional services as well as the big ones).
Another day, another unlocked offer at Massdrop, it’s their offering of the Objective 2 (O2) Headphone Amplifier going for $80 plus $8~ flat shipping. But that’s not all. You can also get the Desktop version for $15 more, or the 1.0 version for $10 less. The options are available during checkout. Pictures and details over there, with eight days left in the offer, and an early October 2016 shipping estimate.
A trio of new offers are currently fully unlocked at members-only Massdrop, with all three offers having about seven days to go from today. They are:
Shipping estimate is early-to-mid October 2016, a slightly different date for each one of the above items.
NOTE: The SMSL Android model requires a micro-USB port (we have to say that now that USB-C is becoming more common) and the phone must have the necessary support for audio to flow through the micro USB port).
As of 9/12/16 recheck, these sold out in refurbished condition…
These two lightning deals expired…
Best Buy is back with another headphone-related daily deal, this time their Wednesday headliner deal is the AudioQuest Dragonfly 1.2 SUB DAC/Amp offered for $80 with free shipping or free store pickup.
UPDATE 9/8/16: the daily deal price was $75, but after that it only went up to $80.
The recently released Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO (250 ohm) currently goes for $599 at the few authorized dealers that currently sell it, but one of the retailers is offering it in a loaded bundle for the same price, Beach Camera on Amazon is bundling it with three freebies:
Now the accessories do not necessarily have to be used all together. For example, none of the items included can use a microSD card, but you can use it on your phone, tablet, laptop, etc. The Fiio E12 and the Case can be used with the DT 1990 or any other headphones you have, whichever are the best match for your needs and preferences.
The Fiio E12 goes for around $100 on its own, and the case goes for around $20. You can get a 32GB microSD for around $10 these days, so that’s $130 in freebies while paying the same price.
This bundle gets free 2-day shipping even though it ships directly from Beach Camera. It’s a relatively recent development where Amazon partners with some of the marketplace sellers to encourage them to offer Prime-shipping on select items that ship directly from the seller. This typically happens for more expensive items. You can figure this out by paying attention to the highlighted areas in an Amazon product page such as this (screenshot below):
Another Massdrop exclusive product is on sale and fully unlocked, the CEntrance DACport Slim DAC/amp (small USB to 3.5mm device), for $100 with free shipping. There are eight days left on the offer (as of blog-posting date), but note that the shipping estimate is late October 2016, so make sure you don’t need it immediately.
In addition to the previously mentioned MDR-Z1R flagship headphone available for pre-order for $2200, Sony has also launched two brand new Signature Series (read four figure prices) DAPs and one new component-size headphone-amp. Two of the three are available for pre-order: the $3200 NW-WM1Z digital audio player and the $2200 TA-ZH1ES headphone amp. They are all marked as “Temporarily Out Of Stock”, so an exact shipment date is unknown at the moment.
These too have been added to our on-going post tracking New Headphones at IFA 2016. And more are coming, not just the ones I have yet to post, but Tuesday is the official announcement of the LG V20 phone with its gazillion-bit DAC, and Wednesday is Apple day, quite possibly an existential crisis day for the 3.5mm headphone output at least when it comes to headphones [more on that later].
It’s eBay time now, the official Best Buy store on eBay is offering the new condition red color scheme of the TEAC HA-P50 Portable Headphone Amplifier for $153~ with free shipping, with a limit of three per customer.
These offers ended…
Another day, another unlocked offer at members-only Massdrop, this time it is the Little Dot MKII Tube Headphone Amp going for $120 plus $9~ flat shipping. Additional tube choices are available when during the checkout process over there. There are seven days (from blog-posting date) left in the offer and the shipping estimate is late September 2016. It comes with a 1-year warranty from Massdrop itself.
This 4-hour lighting deal expired… Good until 5:34pm ET today (or earlier if sold out) is the Nobsound 6J9 Vacuum Tube Integrated Amplifier Mini Audio HiFi Stereo Headphone Amp on sale for $42.50 as a lightning deal. It is sold by Douk Audio with the order fulfilled by Amazon so it is eligible for Prime shipping. The price before the sale was $50 last night. It averages 4.2 out of 5 on 93 reviews, and it is 50% claimed as of 2:48pm ET.
These daily deals expired…
For Friday August 25 in 2016, coupon code 2CRAZY gets you 20% off Monoprice-branded products at the Monoprice site, including their Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amp, Product ID 11567, for $79~ after coupon. Since this is 20% off an item, not a $20 off $100+, you don’t need to add a filler item (its regular price is just under $99).
The coupon is also good for other Monoprice-branded products including their recommendation list participant 8323 Closed-Back Over-Ears with detachable cable. Price before coupon is $16.
And now a breezy stroll down Amazon Warehouse Deals, starting with the Schiit Valhalla 2 Headphone Amplifier going for $311 in “Used – Very Good” condition (minor cosmetic imperfections, damaged original packaging) from Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. The new condition price at Amazon is $379, while at Schiit’s website is $349 plus mandatory shipping (unless you can pick up from SoCal).
Price-checking is always a good idea, Massdrop (MD) does not always have the lowest prices. Case in point, the TEAC UD-301 Balanced DAC/amp just launched at MD with the lowest possible price under the offer $350 shipped, but it’s handily defeated at the moment by Amazon actual offering it for $319 with free shipping. It is possible that Amazon actual’s price is an automated price-match of the two marketplace sellers offering it for the same price, so I don’t know how long this will last.
Product details and specs at TEAC’s website. Click on the little tabs to see Specs, Images, Downloads, etc. Screenshot below since they are hard to spot while casually looking at that page. I’m not the only one with bad web design skills 🙂
Contrary to Dave Matthews, the Grace is not gone! It is back and fully unlocked at Massdrop, the Grace Design x Massdrop m9XX DAC/Amp going for $500 with free shipping. This is running for the next eight days with a mid-September shipping estimate. If you are curious, they have included a 12-page user manual in PDF format.
Schiit sells their products through Amazon (fulfilled by Amazon, so Prime eligible) for more than they do on their website, but their website charges shipping and handling based on destination, while Amazon is free shipping for all ($49+ or Prime). With that in mind, the Magni Uber 2 amp, in new condition, goes for $150 plus shipping ($11 to $15 lowest price on West/East coast zipcodes I tried) at the Schiit website and $180 through Amazon.
If you are comfortable with used, there is a “Used – Very Good” cosmetic imperfection, damaged original packaging for $143 by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. If the price is too close to the new condition, you can keep an eye on the listing in case it drops further down in the future.
PS: if you are not familiar with their line-up, there’s a simple way to remember which one is the DAC and which one is the AMP. The MoDi is a DAC, while the mAgni is an Amp.
PS2: if you are curious about the company’s history, the two co-founders published a 383-page e-book with their story. The chapter titles (36 of them) when you “Look Inside” the book or get a Kindle sample will give you a good idea of what the book covers.
The Fiio Q1 portable DAC/amp (flask shaped) is currently available in “Used – Like New” condition for $49~ with free shipping by Electronics Expo through Amazon Warehouse Deals. This ships directly from Expo, so it is not Prime eligible. So many Fiios, so little time!
The silver color scheme of the new Fiio A3 headphone amp is currently available in “Used – Very Good” condition (repackaged) for $46~ or for $50 in refurbished condition at Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD). The former is offered by AWD actual, while the refurbished is offered by Beach Camera and ships directly from them (New Jersey). The new condition price is $60.
PS: be careful when looking at the listings, there’s a few of “just launched” sellers offering it for less.
The black color option of the TEAC-P50 portable headphone amp, in new condition, is currently on sale for $165 by World Wide Stereo at amazon.com. This ships directly from wWS, so no Prime shipping. Amazon’s own price is $167~ with a “1 to 2 months” shipping estimate. It averages 4.3 out of 5 based on 20 customer reviews.
On the other hand, if you prefer a headphone-amp that is almost as red as Melisandre, the red version is available in “Used – Good” condition (cosmetic imperfections, damaged original packaging) for $146~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals. The new condition of the red is $195.
The Creative Sound BlasterX G5 7.1 External Sound Card and Headphone amp is currently on sale for $97 with free shipping by Best Buy on eBay and Amazon by Amazon actual. Check specs and reviews to see if this is something you need/want, as it is not a dedicated headphone amp.
Another item is currently fully unlocked at the members-only Massdrop, it is the FX Audio DAC-X6 DAC/amp going for $62 plus $8 flat shipping. Offer is good for the next five days or so, and has a mid-September shipment estimate. This has multiple inputs (USB, Coaxial, Optical) and outputs RCA and 6.35mm headphone-out. Toggle switch flips between the three input options.
If you are eyeing the dots, and dotting the Is, the Little Dot I+ Headphone Amp is currently fully unlocked at members-only Massdrop for $90 plus $9~ flat shipping. Offer is good for the next seven days and will ship late September 2016. A couple of tube upgrade options are available at checkout for additional cost. This is a simple amp, RCA audio input and headphone out. No other input/output options.
It is fully unlocked at members-only Massdrop and with eight days to go from today, the Chord Mojo Portable DAC/Amp is offered for $550 plus $13 flat shipping with a mid-September 2016 shipping estimate. These are made in England and have two 3.5mm headphone ports.
Most of the bundles are over/on-ears and DAC/amps/DAPs, but this time around we have an in-ear headphone, the good old Shure SE-215 bundled with the iFi Nano-iDSD USB DAC/amp, together for $200 with free shipping from authorized dealer Adorama.com until 8/11/16. The color of the iFi is the same in each bundle, but there are two colors of the SE-215 available, either the black SE215 + iFi or the clear SE215 + iFi.
SMSL is slowly expanding their line-up of DACs and amps, and one of them, the SD-793II DAC/Amp is currently unlocked at Massdrop for $57 plus $5 flat shipping with a late August shipping estimate.
If you don’t want to wait, a handful of possibly-price-matched marketplace sellers offer it for $65 with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so you get free shipping and if a Prime member, you can have it within a couple of business days (give or take depending on various known and unknown variables). This averages 4.4 out of 5 based on 112 customer reviews and has 80+ questions peer-answered.
This has optical or coaxial digital inputs, but no USB audio input. Check the customer pictures for a sideways picture of the back side (RCA out, Digital inputs).
Another offer has gone live at Massdrop, good for the next seven days is the DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp going for $210 plus $13~ flat shipping. You can select the power supply during the checkout process. The shipping estimate is early September 2016.
This coupon expired but Monoprice launches new coupons frequently, so if you missed it, fear not ~ another coupon will come in the future…
With the continuing popularity of smartphones as primary DAPs for many, the portable DAC/amps continue to multiply like audio wabbits, including micro-USB models, such as the SMSL Ivy Micro-USB DAC/Amp for Android, currently fully unlocked at Massdrop for $20 plus $3~ flat shipping. The offer runs for the next seven days with a shipping estimate of early September 2016.
If you miss the drop or don’t want to buy from Massdrop, it goes for $29 with free shipping by Shenzhen Audio through amazon.com. It ships from Shenzhen, so it’s not eligible for Prime. However, judging by the shipping estimates, this looks like it may be shipping out of China, not the US.
This daily deal expired… Good until Thursday 11:59pm ET (or earlier if it sells out), the new condition FiiO Kunlun E18 Portable USB DAC and Amplifier is on sale for $70 with free shipping as the deal of the day at B&H Photo. This is a multi-function device that can also serve as a charger of mobile devices.
This bundle is reanimated again, it is the new condition Sennheiser HD600 with the iFi Nano-iDSD DAC, together bundled for $400 with free shipping at Adorama.com as a limited time promotion.
Alternately, for the same price, you can get the HD600 bundled with a $150 gift card at Adorama.com or Amazon.com.
Schiit Audio has released a brand new DAC, shaking things up in their Modi line-up with the new Modi Multibit going for $249 plus mandatory shipping. The shipping estimate is currently 2-4 business days from ordering. You can find it on the Modi 2 page, it’s one of the options, see screeshot below:
This is of interest if you are interested in multi-bit DACs, but it’s also of interest if you are not: it may put some price pressure on the used prices of the Modi 2 and Uber.
Details and explanation how this fits in their multibit line-up at their News page.
PS: an easy mnemonic to tell the Modi and Magni apart. The DAC has a D in its name, Modi, while the AMP has an A in its name, Magni.
PS2: yes, I am aware that DAC is an acronym while AMP is short for amplifier, but it creates a disturbance in the uppercase universe when I type DAC and Amp 😉
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