Best Buy Rewards: Earn 3X Points on Sony Hi-Res Audio

If you are a Best Buy Rewards member, check your emails to see if you have been offered a new bonus points promotion. It gets you 3X points on Sony HiRes Audio products. The promotion looks something like this in your email (screenshot below):

bestbuy_rewards_sony_hires

There are eight eligible products: a couple of Walkman Hi-Res audio players, a couple of portable DAC/amps, a monster audio amplifier, and three headphones.

This promotion runs between 2/28/16 and 4/2/16. There’s no coupon for it, so it should happen automatically if you purchase an eligible product.

March 2, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs, digital audio players, headphones Tagged With: ,

Used Bravo Audio V1 headphone amp for $60

The Bravo Audio V1 headphone amp is currently offered in “Used – Good” condition (repackaged, missing user manual) for $60 with free shipping by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. The Bravo averages 4.3 out of 5 based on 68 customer reviews. There’s only one used listing.

Note however that there are multiple similar Bravo Audio tube-y amps, so be sure to read up on them if you are not familiar with them and you are not sure which one to get for your setup.

February 29, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Used Fiio E17K ALPEN 2 USB DAC for $108 [updated]

UPDATE 2/29/16: oops, I forgot the link to Amazon Warehouse Deals

If you are comfortable with store display products, the Fiio E17K ALPEN 2 USB DAC is currently available in “Used – Like New” condition with a note that it’s a store display model in an original box for $108 with free shipping by seller “All About Office” (100% rating with nearly 10K ratings). This ships directly from them, so no Prime benefits. The new condition price is $139.

But that’s not all. There are is one more listing for $109 with free shipping is “Used – Like New” with a 180 day warranty from seller “PRO STUDIO Sound and Music” (100%, 6.8K ratings). It ships directly from them, so no Prime shipping.

This $110 option sold out since the original post: “Used – Like New” (original packaging), from “North to South” seller (100%, 3.6K ratings), and this one is Prime eligible.

These are the only used listings for this product as of the time of writing, so there is the possibility of price pressure building up if nobody buys any of them.

February 28, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Used Schiit Audio Vali SCH-12 Hybrid Amp for $85 [one left]

Schiit Audio time, their Vali SCH-12 hybrid headphone amp is available in “Used – Very Good” condition (cosmetic imperfection, damaged original packaging) for around $85 by Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD) by AWD actual, so it is eligible for Prime 2-day shipping. As far as I can tell, there is only one left of this. It averages 4.5 out of 5 based on 52 customer reviews.

PS: it may sell out by the time I check the blog again; unfortunately there is no way to automatically update the post if it sells out.

PS2: speaking of Schiit, the book chronicling the company’s story (383 pages, by Stoddard and Moffat) continues to sell for $5 in the Kindle version. The printed version goes at more typical book prices ($15~). The ebook has Text-to-Speech enabled and you can load it on unlimited devices simultaneously (some of the major book publishers place restrictions on how many devices one can download an e-book you purchased).

February 27, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Massdrop: DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp for $233

Massdrop has another fully unlocked promotion, the DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp is fully unlocked for $220 plus $13~ flat shipping to USA addresses. This offer is good for the next six days. Please note these will begin shipping in about a month from today (mid March 2016), so patience is for the OTL Jedi(s) 🙂

February 18, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Fiio A3 + Audio Technica M50x for $140 [limit 2]

And now an eBay bundle, but from a reputable dealer (BuyDig), they are bundling the Audio Technica M50x headphones (black or white) with the new Fiio A3 headphone amp, together for $140 with free shipping. Limit two bundles per customer.

PS: Fiio recently rebooting their naming scheme, you can check their website to see what all these new names are.

February 15, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones Tagged With: , ,

iFi Micro-iCAN Headphone Amplifier (Special Edition) for $250

For a limited time, the special edition of the iFi Micro-iCAN Headphone Amplifier is on sale for $250 with free shipping and handling at Adorama.com. The sale ends 2/22/16 or before that if sold out.

February 15, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

CEntrance DACport Slim (Massdrop Exclusive) for $100

Members-only shopping site Massdrop continues to work with some manufacturers for exclusive products, their latest is the CEntrance DACport Slim tiny little USB DAC, offered for $100 with free shipping. A total of 500 units are available. As of the time of writing, less than 15% of them have been claimed.

Massdrop is however also creating some warranty confusion with a few other products, since multiple manufacturers have come out publicly stating that what is offered is not considered a “USA authorized” purchase (for warranty purposes). The confusion can easily be solved by Massdrop being very clear about the warranty situation, so shoppers can make informed decisions. Those who don’t want any risk, can simply avoided those products, shoppers who are comfortable with more risk, can decide by having all the facts. Rant ends 🙂

February 13, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Starts Sat 1pm ET: Orei DA21X Optical SPDIF/Coax to RCA converter

This 4-hour promotion expired…

[Read more…]

February 13, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Apogee Electronics Groove portable USB DAC/amp for $240

The small Apogee Electronics Groove portable USB DAC/amp is sometimes bundled with some headphones at a solid discount, but if you already have or don’t like or don’t want those few headphones it is occasionally bundled with, the next lowest price you can get it is a sale. It is currently on sale for $240 with free shipping at Adorama.com. This sale ends by 2/16/16.

February 9, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

BeyerD DT-990 PRO (250 ohm) with iFi Nano iDSD for $270

If you are a fan of Beyerdynamic and DSD, there’s a bundle of potential interest at Adorama.com, the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (250 Ohm) open-back over-ear headphones, along with the iFi Nano-iDSD PCM/DSD/DXD USB DAC (battery powered) for $270 with free shipping (ships in a couple of business days, not immediately). No coupon is needed, simply add to cart and continue with the checkout process. More details on the iFi through its product page over there. Offer ends 2/16/16.

February 9, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Open Box Beyerdynamic A200p DAC/amp for $100

Non-tube amplifiers are often lower risk as a not-new purchase since they have fewer external parts to break. Not that there can’t be things wrong with them, but they are less fragile. This is of course a rule of thumb blanket type of a statement, not the universal truth 🙂

As of 5/19/16, this sold out and is no longer available… Which brings us to the open-box Beyerdynamic A200p portable DAC-Amp. It is available as an incomplete open-box, with the user manual and three rubber pads missing from the original box. It is available for $100 with free shipping by Sonic Electronix with has a 30-day return policy and a 90-day warranty on the item. According to the site there, there’s only one unit of this left in this condition.

February 4, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Audio Technica M70x + iFi Nano DSD USB DAC for $319

Here comes another Audio Technica bundle! This time it is the ATH-M70x closed-back over-ear that is bundled with the portable iFi Nano-iDSD PCM/DSD/DXD USB DAC at authorized dealer Adorama.com for $319 with free S&H. This offer ends 2/10/16.

This iFi has multiple outputs but only USB input. If you are going to use it with mobile devices, make sure your device supports audio output using USB OTG (hardware and software limitations may prohibit this).

February 2, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones Tagged With: , ,

ASUS XONAR DG Headphone Amp for $19 after $10 MIR

A new month is here, and in typical fashion, ASUS has a new round of mail-in rebates for their sound cards that include the bang for the buck ASUS XONAR DG. The price is now $18.69 after the $10 mail-in rebate. The rebate amount is fixed but the item’s price can change over time. This rebate offer is good for purchases made January 1-31 in 2016. The DG is not the only eligible model. Check the PDF of the mail-in rebate for all the details.

January 6, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: , ,

Fiio E07K Andes USB DAC and Amp for $57

The Fiio E07K Andes USB DAC and Headphone Amp is currently on sale for $57 with free shipping by seller “Etailz” with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so it is eligible for Prime shipping. The seller has a 99% rating with nearly 130,000 ratings. The Fiio averages 4.3 out of 5 based on 280 customer reviews, and has 130+ questions answered by other shoppers over there.

Keep in mind that Fiio is rebooting their line-up with a new product naming scheme, so this is not a “latest model name” product.

January 6, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

[DEAD] Used Magni 2 headphone amp for $95~

As of 1/14/16 re-check, all the used units are sold out…

[Read more…]

January 6, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Price Crash! M-Audio Micro (USB DAC) for $31.50

Rechecking on 1/14/16 shows that the price has jumped all the way back up to around $100…

[Read more…]

January 6, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amplifier for $80

The Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amplifier (USB and RCA inputs, RCA line-out and pre-out, and of course headphone out) is on sale again, going for $80 with free shipping by Monoprice through Amazon, one of many ways to spend any Amazon Gift Cards and promotional credits you may have accumulated during the holiday shopping season 🙂 This averages 4.6 out of 5 based on 11 customer reviews and has 10 questions answered.

January 5, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

[DEAD] Denon DA-300USB DAC/Amp drops to $220

This price was too good to last, as of 1/7/16 this is done, and can no longer be ordered…

[Read more…]

January 5, 2016 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

[DEAD] M-Audio Micro (USB DAC) for $69~

This offer was superseded…

[Read more…]

December 30, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Denon DA-300USB DAC/Amp + M70X for $400

And now we have a Denon DAC/amp joining the Audio Technica bundling party. This time you get both the Denon DA-300USB DAC/Headphone-Amp and the closed-back over-ear Audio Technica M70x headphones, without rebates, without coupons, for $400 with free shipping at Adorama.com, authorized dealers of both.

Meanwhile the M50x, not wanting to be left out of this bundling round, are bundled with the Tascam DR-22WL 2-Channels Handheld Audio Recorder with Wi-Fi for $169 with free shipping, also at Adorama.com.

Both offers expire 12/31/15 or earlier if they happen to sellout.

December 23, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones Tagged With: , ,

Open Box Sennheiser HDVD 800 for $1465

The Sennheiser HDVD 800 headphone amp and DAC (decidedly NOT a portable device) is available in Open Box condition under “Used – Like New” for $1450 plus $15 flat shipping by authorized dealer Electronics Expo (East Coast) through Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD). This ships from Electronics Expo so it is not eligible for Prime shipping. AWD’s own used prices start at $1540 at “Used – Acceptable” condition.

PS: I haven’t forgotten the Used/Refurbished items, I just have to find blocks of uninterrupted time so I can scour Amazon Warehouse Deals looking for promising prices.

December 12, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Shure SE 215 In-Ears and Fiio E6 tiny-amp together for $90

The Shure SE 215 in-ears rarely get discounted below $100, but thanks to a holiday shopping season bundle, for $90 you can get the new condition SE 215 in-ears TOGETHER with the tiny little Fiio E6 headphone amp at authorized dealer Adorama.com in either the black SE215 or the clear SE215

December 10, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs, in-ears Tagged With: ,

ASUS Xonar DG headphone-amp sound-card for $19 after $10 MIR

December is here, and ASUS has issue a new round of mail-in rebate for some of their Xonar headphone-amp audio-cards, including their bang-for-the-buck model, the Xonar DG for $19 after a $10 mail-in rebate. The rebate promotion runs 12/1 to 12/31 in 2015, with a limit of two rebates per individual product. Six other products are also eligible for this. This card averages 4.1 out of 5 based on 670+ customer reviews. Specs and details, along with nearly 150 questions answered can be found over there.

December 1, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: , ,

Fiio X3 II DAP and Audio Technica M50x for $225

Temptation time! The second generation Fiio X3 digital audio player is bundled with the white Audio Technica M50x, together for $225 with free shipping at Adorama.com.

There as well, the black M50x is bundled with the FiiO E17K Alpen 2 USB DAC/Amp for $180 with free shipping.

Both offers expire at the end of day on Tuesday 12/1/15.

November 30, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs, digital audio players, headphones Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Cyber Monday Lightning Deals: Beyer DT 880 (250), LSTN, M-Audio, etc

Today’s round ended, but with headphones being a popular gift item and with some healthy margins for some manufacturers, there should be many and more deals before 2016 arrives…

[Read more…]

November 30, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones

Audio Technica M50x and $30 VISA Gift Card for $120

The Audio Technica M50x offers continue to roll along the interwebs. A new net-low for the headphones, you can get them in new condition for $120 by Buydig on eBay and 2-4 weeks later you will also receive a $30 prepaid VISA gift card. Given that most people can easily spend a $30 VISA gift card on regular purchases, it becomes a virtual net $90 on the headphones.

Alternately you can get the headphones and the $30 gift card (but shipping in 4-6 weeks) with the Fiio E6 added for $135. So you would be adding the E6 for just +$15. You can’t find it less than $20 in new condition from authorized dealers.

November 29, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Fiio Sale: X1 for $80, X3 II for $160, E6 for $22, E17K for $100

There is a big Fiio sale at authorized dealer B&H Photo as part of their Black Friday specials. Some of the all-star bang-for-the-buck Fiio products are on sale as follows:

* DAPs: Fiio X1 for $80, X3 (2nd generation) for $160
* Portable DAC/Amps: Fiio E6 for $22, Alpen 2 E17K Portable USB DAC-Amp for $100
* all get free shipping

November 26, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs, digital audio players Tagged With:

[DEAD] Hot Black Friday Lightning Deals: Beyerdynamic DT1350, DT770, DT880, DT990, Fiio E07K Andes, AT ATH-A500X, and More

These limited time promotions are over now…

[Read more…]

November 26, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: , , ,

In-stock again: Monoprice Hybrid Tube Amp for $150

Two birds with one stone, a hybrid tube amp and bluetooth connectivity. The Monoprice 113194 hybrid tube amp with bluetooth is back in-stock and ready to ship to you for $150 with free shipping and handling by Monoprice thru Amazon. It ships from Monoprice, so no Prime shipping 2-day shipping. Monoprice added more warehouses in recent weeks, so people on the East Coast should get their items faster than before.

November 21, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amplifier for $75

If you are looking for a double-figured desktop DAC and headphone amplifier, the Monoprice 111567 is on sale for $75 with free shipping by Monoprice thru Amazon. This ships from Monoprice, so it is not eligible for 2-day Prime shipping. Everybody gets the standard Monoprice free shipping. You can see the inputs/outputs on picture #4 over there, it has USB and RCA in, and Line-Out and Pre-Out on the back. The DAC part can support up to 24-bit 96 kHz audio.

PS: if you are not familiar with amps/DACs, “desktop” typically means it is powered via AC and/or it does not have a built-in battery.

November 21, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Audio Technica M50x + M-Audio Bass Traveler portable amp for $130 with coupon

We have yet another Audio Technica promotion, coupon code SAVEM50X gets you the Audio Technica M50x headphones along with the portable M-Audio Bass Traveler headphone amp for $130 with free shipping, in either the black or the white M50x at Amazon by Amazon actual. The coupon expires at the end of day on Sunday 11/22/15.

November 21, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones Tagged With: , , ,

[DEAD] Starts Wedn 12pm ET Sale: Audio Technica M70x + M-Audio portable head-amp

These daily deals expired…

[Read more…]

November 17, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones Tagged With: , ,

Sennheiser HD 600 + Apogee Groove USB DAC-amp for $450

We have another bundle promotion at Adorama’s website, they are bundling the open-back over-ear good old Sennheiser HD 600 headphones with the recently released Apogee Groove USB DAC/amp, together for $450 with free shipping. No coupons, no rebates, just proceed to checkout. Offer ends by 11/30/15.

November 12, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones Tagged With: , , ,

ASUS Xonar DG headphone amp sound card for $19 after $10 MIR

Oops, I forgot to post this earlier on in the month, but the offer is good until 11/30/15. The $10 mail-in rebate for the bang-for-the-buck ASUS Xonar DG headphone amp sound card is back for another month, making it a $19 after $10 MIR promotion at Amazon.com. Details in the PDF file over there… If you purchased one in October, you can also find the PDF of the rebate over there under “Recent Purchases”…

November 10, 2015 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,