Now shipping: Monoprice Monolith USB DAC/amp for $100

Well, well, well! An update of our Headphone Tracker [bookmark that!] has good news for Monoprice DAC/amp hunters! The first of the four new DAC/amps they revealed at CES 2018 is now in-stock and shipping at the Monoprice website. It is not eligible for the Monday coupon…

And the DAC/amp that is in-stock is… *drum roll* … the new condition Monoprice portable USB DAC/amp, model/product number 29512, for $100 with free standard US shipping… It supports up to DSD 256, and has an internal (obviously) 32-bit 384 kHz ESS Sabre DAC, with a Savitech SA9227 USB controller, and comes with a 1-year warranty and 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

March 26, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Topping A30 amp for $90, D30 DAC for $105, both for $185 [MD]

The unlocked offers party continues at Massdrop, this time it is the new condition Topping D30 DAC going for $105, but on the same listing you can also buy the A30 headphone amp for $90, or the PA3 stereo amp for $90, or you can get a $10 combined purchase discount if you get two of the three. Or you can buy all three for $265. Free US shipping. The offer runs for the next two days and change from blog-posting time. They will ship in late April from Massdrop with all sales final. No mention of warranty in the listing.

March 25, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Refurbished Sony PHA-1A portable DAC/amp for $150

There is one unit left as of the time of writing according to the shopping cart. It is the portable Sony PHA-1A headphone DAC/amp going for $150 with free shipping in manufacturer refurbished condition offered by Secondipity through Amazon Warehouse Deals. It ships directly from Secondipity and it is nott Prime eligible. The new condition price is twice that much. It comes in brown box packaging with a 90-day warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee from Secondipity.

March 21, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

EarStudio ES100 now with Prime shipping for $99

The EarStudio ES100, a 24-bit bluetooth receiver, along with USB DAC/amp, and support for apt-X, apt-X HD and AAC, is now Prime eligible! You don’t have to wait for it or buy it from far away sellers. $99 gets it to you fulfilled by Amazon, so Prime members get it in two days, and non-members get it with Amazon’s “Super Saver shipping”. Maximum five units per customer at the moment. It averages 5 out of 5 based on 12 customer reviews. It also offers a custom app.

March 20, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Little Dot MKII Tube Headphone Amp for $135 w/FS [MD]

They may call it a “Little Dot” but it is certainly larger than a dot 🙂 The new condition Little Dot MKII Tube Headphone Amp is back on again, fully unlocked at members-only but free-to-join Massdrop for $135 with free US shipping.

The offer is running for the next four days and change (from blog-posting date) and offers additional tube options for additional cost in the shopping cart. They will ship from Massdrop in early May 2018 with all sales final as usual (I’m not sure if I should repeat this in every post since this is how Massdrop does business). There is no mention of warranty in the listing.

March 19, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Monoprice Quartet of New DAC/amps gets May shipping estimates

Another new development from the update of the New Headphones Tracker is that the new quartet of Monoprice DAC/amps of various sizes announced at CES 2018 now have release estimates, but still pre-orders are NOT accepted.

MAY 2 in 2018
+ Monoprice portable USB
+ Monoprice Tube Amp (yes, the twenty pounder)

MAY 28 in 2018
+ Monoprice portable THX
+ Monoprice Desktop DAC/amp

March 19, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

[DEAD] 15% off Fiio products using eBay Flash coupon

This eBay flash-sale coupon expired…

[Read more…]

March 19, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: , ,

DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp for $200 + S&H

Darkness my old friend as they say. Well, it’s DarkVoice back at Massdrop! This time, fully unlocked, and running for the next five days and change (from blog-posting date) is the new condition DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp going for $200 plus shipping and handling. You can select your power supply option during the checkout process. These will ship in early May 2018 from Massdrop, with all sales final. There is no mention of warranty in the listing.

March 12, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Sabaj Da3 USB DAC/amp for $90

A $10 off clip-on coupon on the product page can get you the new condition Sabaj Da3 USB DAC/amp in your choice of color scheme for $90 with free shipping, sold by the Sabaj Amazon store with the order fulfilled by Amazon. It averages 4.4 out of 5 based on 17 customer reviews and it has 11 answered questions.

March 11, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Fiio Q5 now Prime eligible for $350

The new condition “do it all Paul” Fiio Q5 DAC/amp is now eligible for Prime shipping at its starting price of $350 by a handful of recognizable sellers at Amazon including Electronicxs EXPO. This is a crazy device with MFi, apt-X, DSD-256, RGB color-coding indicating input status (it has many, coaxial, line, optical, bluetooth, USB), and compatible with Fiios optional models. Read up on it if curious!

March 11, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

xDuoo TA-01 DAC/Amp for $120 [MD]

Another new offer has unlocked at the members-only but free-to-join Massdrop, it is the new condition xDuoo TA-01 DAC/Amp offered for $120 with free US shipping. Orders will ship in mid-April from Massdrop with all sales final. The offer runs for the next four days and change (from blog-posting date)…

March 10, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Topping NX4 DSD DAC/Amp for $140 w/FS [MD]

This is looking like a busy week at Massdrop [check the latest unlocked offers], and one more has unlocked, it is the new condition Topping NX4 DSD DAC/Amp going for $140 with free US shipping. The offer is running for the next four days and change from blog-posting date here.

It is available in black or silver, and will ship in mid-April from Massdrop [don’t forget to do your taxes!] with all sales final. There is no mention of warranty in the listing.

March 9, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

TEAC UD-503 Dual-Monaural USB DAC with Full Balanced Headphone Amp for $800 after coupon

Thanks to those extra 99 cents putting it over $999, the new condition TEAC UD-503 Dual-Monaural USB DAC with Full Balanced Headphone Amp qualifies for a $200 off discount (instead of a $100 off discount) when you use coupon code MARCH20 at Guitar Center until 3/11/18 at 11:59pm. The discount drops it from $1000 to $800. It is backordered but you can order it if you want to lock up the price! It is part of the previously mentioned Guitar Center coupon promotion…

March 9, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Last Day: Aune T1 SE MK3 Headphone DAC/Amp for $160 [MD]

Tick-tock! This is the last day for this offer, it closes at 1am eastern on Friday, it is the new condition Aune T1 SE MK3 Headphone DAC/Amp offered for $180 with free US shipping at Massdrop, with your choice of black or silver color scheme, and power choice of 110V or 220V. The Gold Lion tube is NOT included with this offering!

This will ship in mid-April from Massdrop, with all sales final. There is no mention of warranty in the listing.

March 8, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

NuForce uDAC-3 DAC/Amp Combo for $60 w/FS [MD]

We have not turned into a Massdrop blog, I just checked after a couple of days and a lot of things have either unlocked, launched or are expiring! The new condition NuForce uDAC-3 DAC/Amp Combo is fully unlocked for the next three days and change (from blog-posting date) going for $60 with free US shipping. It is only available in the black color scheme and it will ship from Massdrop at the end of March 2018. Lots of things are scheduled to ship at the end of March, I hope they are prepared for it 🙂

March 8, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

In-stock again: RHA CL1 Ceramic In-Ears for $218

Our headphone traacking finally paid off! If you had been looking to find the new condition RHA CL1 ceramic in-ears in-stock and at a reasonable price, rejoice! They are in-stock and ship in 1-2 days for $218 with free shipping by Amazon actual with up to three pairs per customer.

Speaking of RHA, continuing to be on sale is their RHA L1 DAC/amp for the very specific price of $255.52 by Amazon actual. Limit three per customer as well.

Both the earphones and the DAC/amp come with a 3-year warranty, which is nice to see from a consumer perspective.

March 7, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs, in-ears Tagged With:

Fiio AM2 amplifier (for X7 DAPs) for $80 w/free S&H

This is a bit of a “deep cut” (context: music term; not discount term) in the sense that only current owners of compatible Fiio DAPs can use it. It is the new condition FiiO AM2 Amplifier for Fiio X7 players on sale for $80 with free shipping at B&H Photo. Its regular price is $100.

March 7, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

YOHOOLYO portable head-amp for $20

The new condition portable YOHOOLYO headphone amp is down from its usual price in the high 20s to $20, sold by a marketplace seller with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so Prime shipping or with a $25+ order. It averages 3.9 out of 5 based on 50 customer reviews and it has 16 answered questions. It takes microUSB audio input and spits out audio through the headphone jack.

March 6, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Apple Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter for $7.65

The official Apple Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter is now down to $7.65 at Amazon by Amazon actual and you can buy as many as you like at the sale price (maximum 27 which is more than enough for most non-resellers). The only catch is that it is an Add-On product, so you must needs place a $25+ order. You can get to $25+ with four of these or any other product combination that does the math. It averages 4.1 out of 5 based on 1550+ customer reviews.

March 6, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Advanced Sound Accessport Lightning DAC/Amp for $45 [MD]

A brand new offer has now unlocked at the members-only but free-to-join Massdrop. It is the new condition Advanced Sound Accessport Lightning DAC/Amp going for $45 with free US shipping for compatible Apple devices with Lightning ports.

The offer runs for the next eight days and change (from blog-posting date here), and will ship at the end of March from the vendor. All sales final. There is no mention of warranty in the listing.

PS: an easy mnemonic to remember which Apple devices have the lightning port for iPhones and iPod Touches: FIVE is the magic number. iPhone 5 and later, iPod Touch 5 and later. With iPads, 4 is the magic number, iPad 4 (Retina) and later. But you don’t have to remember any numbers for newer iPad lines because all Minis, Airs and PROs have a lightning port.

March 5, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

BEHRINGER U-PHORIA UMC404HD A/I for $88

The new condition BEHRINGER U-PHORIA UMC404HD audio interface is currently on sale for $88 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual. This is not a lightning deal. The in-stock estimate is March 7 (2018). It averages 4.4 out of 5 based on 190 customer reviews and it has 249 answered questions.

March 4, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Bravo V2 Headphone Amplifier for $58 w/FS [MD]

The new condition clear/see-through Bravo V2 Headphone Amplifier is now fully unlocked at members-only but free-to-join Massdrop going for $58 with free US shipping. The offer is running for the next five days and change (from blog-posting date). This will ship in early April from Massdrop, with all sales final. No mention of warranty in the listing.

March 2, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Astell&Kern XB10 Bluetooth DAC/Amp for $85 [MD]

The new condition Astell&Kern XB10 Bluetooth DAC/Amp goes for $98 with various fulfilled by Amazon sellers, but if you want to save some more, you can get it for $85 with free US shipping at Massdrop where it is running as an offer for the next four days and change (from blog-posting date).

These will be shipped by Massdrop in late March 2018, so there’s not as big of a wait. There is no mention of warranty in the listing. This supports Bluetooth 4.1 with apt-X, apt-X HD and AAC too (and SBC of course, but that’s the lowest common denominator).

March 1, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: , ,

LIVE NOW: Massdrop x THX AAA 789 Linear Amplifier for $350

UPDATE Friday 10am ET: this is now LIVE! 77 units have been purchased after one hour of this running. A total of 480 units are available for this drop. It will ship in late October 2018. That’s almost a baby (eight months from now)..

A new product world premiere is happening at Massdrop on Friday at 9am eastern! They will launch the drop for the new condition Massdrop x THX AAA 789 Linear Amplifier. The price will be $350 with free US shipping. Each unit will be serialized and the first 490 purchases will get a serial number under 500 per the listing. Since this is a co-promotion, an “x” product (yes, they are shipping themselves) it comes wtih a 1-year manufacturer warranty, always a welcome sight 🙂 The shipping estimate will be revealed after the offer goes live on Friday morning.

The brains behind the operation talked about this technology on Episode #242 of Home Theater Geeks (fear not, there is no Leo Laporte in the video), which you can also find YouTube-embedded below:

PS: I just now realized, “Home Theater Geeks” is no longer running new episodes. Their last episode was September 2017. Scott explained the reason for the cancellation in the AVS Forums [“purely economic”]…

March 1, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] With Monoprice Coupon: 8323 w/Bluetooth for $23 w/FS [and more]

This weekend coupon expired…

[Read more…]

March 1, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs, headphones Tagged With: ,

Used RHA Dacamp L1 DAC/amp for $179

The new condition RHA Dacamp L1 goes for $256~ in new condition, but if you are comfortable with used, there is a “Used – Acceptable” condition listing (various cosmetic impefections; damaged original packaging) for them for $179~ with free shipping by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual.

February 27, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Used Audioquest Dragonfly RED USB DAC/amp for $150

Surprise! The AudioQuest DragonFly Red USB DAC/amp is finally available at a more reasonable used price! As of the time of writing “fulfilled by Amazon” marketplace seller “AmazinSavings” (93%) is offering the Red dragonfly for $150 with free Prime shipping through Amazon Warehouse Deals in “Used – Like New” condition. They have a detailed description. I suspect these may not last long.

February 27, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Musou Optical/Coax to RCA Audio Converter with Cable for $13

The new condition Musou Digital Optical Coax to Analog RCA Audio Converter is bundled with an optical cable and an AC adapter for $13 by Musou with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so Prime members get free 2-day shipping. This has two digital inputs, the yellow coax and the Toslink port, and an RCA output. Per the listing, TOSlink gets priority if both are connected at the same time. It averages 4.1 out of 5 based on 1260+ customer reviews and has 220+ answered questions.

February 26, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

[DEAD] Tue: Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amp for $72 + S&H

This coupon expired…

[Read more…]

February 26, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Used Chord Mojo DAC/amp for $399 w/free S&H

The price of the Chord Mojo (the portable DAC/amp with the marble buttons) is diverging in opposite directions. The new condition price increased to $579 but the used price has dropped to $399 with free shipping by seller “Audio Advice Online” through Amazon Warehouse Deals in “Used – Like New” condition. This ships directly from AAO and it is not Prime eligible.

February 24, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Denon DA-10 Portable USB DAC/amp for $150 w/FS

Perusing the top selling DAC/amps at Amazon reveals a sale on the new condition Denon DA-10 Portable USB DAC/amp for $150 by HifiDef Lifestyle with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so Prime members get free 2-day shipping. It is also offered for the same price from the HiDef eBay store (no Prime shipping obviously). Their eBay store says they have five units available.

February 24, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Apple Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter for $8

The official Apple Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter is currently going for $7.65 at B&H Photo. Shipping is free if your order total is $49 or more. Otherwise shipping is extra.

If you are a Prime member, you can get free 2-day shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual where it sells for $8.86. Non-Prime members need a $25+ order for free shipping. This is not currently an Add-On item, thus the free 2-day shipping for Prime members despite the single figures price.

February 19, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Used Fiio K1 USB DAC/amp for $21 + $4 S&H

The new condition Fiio K1 USB DAC/amp goes for $40 in new condition but if you are willing to go used, you can get it for $21 plus $3.75 shipping at Adorama in “Used – Demo” condition. If you don’t see it in the search results over there, it means it sold out!

February 19, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Used Fiio Q1 II DSD DAC/amp for $84 + $4 S&H

The new new-condition Fiio Q1 II DSD DAc/amp goes for $100 (eg Amazon) but if you want to save a little bit, it is available in “Used – Demo” condition for $84 plus $3.75 shipping at Adorama. If you don’t see it in the search results over there, it means it sold out!

February 19, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

TEAC HA-P90SD DAC/amp/DAP for $230 w/FS

The Guitar Center President’s Day sale is a gift that keeps on giving! In new condition, you can get the black color scheme of the TEAC HA-P90SD DAC/amp/DAP for $230 with free shipping or free ship to store (aka store pickup). No coupon is needed, the price you see is the price you pay during this promotion.

February 18, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs, digital audio players Tagged With: