Koss KPH40X Utility Open On-Ears drop to $35

If you haven’t been keeping up, the KPH30i is now passe and there’s a new trendy Koss model with a higher model number 😉

Joking aside, the new condition KPH40X Utility lightweight Koss x Massdrop on-ears is on sale for $35 at the Massdrop website. This will ship in early December 2022 (it is not an in-stock drop).

What separates this from most headphones is the Koss “Utility Port” that works with 3.5mm or USB-C or Lightning cables (made by Koss). A 3.5mm cable is included in the package, along with three pairs of earpads (each set a different color).

Monday: refurbished Philips X3 Open Over-Ears for $100

Good until Monday 11/7/22 at 11:59pm central time (or earlier if sold out) there’s a Philips Audio sale at Woot that includes, surprise-surprise, the factory reconditioned open-back over-ear wired Philips Fidelio X3 for $100 plus flat shipping (or free S&H for Prime members). It comes with a 90-day Woot warranty. Up to three pairs per customer.

If you are reading this in the future after the sale expired, and this hasn’t sold out, chances are it will be cycled/recycled in various other Woot Plus or daily deals until it is eventually depleted…

H&A Versa Professional Studio headphones for $40

If you are looking for a Sony MDR-V6/7506 type of a studio headphone, good until Thursday October 27 at 10am eastern in 2022, as one of their deals du jour, Adorama of New York is offering their new condition house-brand H&A Versa Professional Field and Studio Monitors for $40. They come with two cables (one coiled), and a 1/4″ adapter. They fold inwards.

Here’s a 93-second video promo for them from Adorama TV:

Bose QC45 ANC/BT Over-Ears for $249

It looks like this is a Bose-initiated promotion, because the price of their new condition QC45 ANC/BT over-ears is down to $249 at various authorized and reputable BOSE dealers such as Amazon and NewEGG and B&H Photo and Adorama and a few more, too many to list here individually…

PS: all apologies for triggering some head-audiophiles/phools by mentioning Bose 😉

Massdrop launched their own Prime deals (HD-8XX for $899, Etc)

Not to be outdone by Amazonia, Massdrop has launched their own Prime deals which include, among others:

+ Sennheiser HD-6XX for $219
+ yes, you could have had this for $199 pre-COVID, but unless you have a time-machine…

+ Sennheiser HD-8XX for $899

+ HELM AUDIO DB12 AAAMP THX AMP for $99
+ because a simple dongle is for the plebs!

+ Audio Technica AD-500X open over-ears for $69
+ yes, there are other open-back options under $100, it’s not just Sennheiser, Philips and Grado

+ SMSL SH-8s amplifier for $130

+ BeyerDee MMX 300 Premium gaming headset for $229

+ lots of keyboard-y things

+ find them all at the Massdrop Prime deals

Prime Early Access sale includes Sony, Beats, Bose, Apple headphones

If you a Prime member, today is DAY ONE of the Amazon PRIME early access sale and the sale includes a variety of consumer-popular headphones including:

+ BOSE QC45, 700, earphones
+ QC45 is $229, 700 is $269, Soundsport bluetooth earphones for $89

+ AirPods PRO (2nd Gen) for $235 or with AppleCare+ for $264

+ two pages of Beats offers including over-ear, on-ear and truly-wireless
+ yes, there’s even a Kim Kardashian option 🙂
+ some of them are bundled with AppleCare+

+ UPDATE: there’s a Sony wireless sale featuring the WH-1000X M5 for $348 , the WF-C500 for $58, and the LinkBuds S for $128

+ there are more headphones, time-permitting I will go through the offers and post new deal-posts about them!

IF you see anything you like (they even have the whole Samsung smartphone high-end line-up on sale), but you are not a Prime member, FEAR NOT, you can get the deals as long as you sign-up for a PRIME 30-Day FREE trial

PS: you can also find some of these by checking the Headaphone offers widget

Tuesday: Philips PH-805, Bose Soundlink II, Sony WF-1000X M4

Woot is back with a second day of tech deals. and once again, they have headphones in them, including:

+ Philips PH-805 ANC/BT over-ears for $55

+ Bose Soundlink II bluetooth over-ears for $125, two color options

+ Grade A refurbished Sony WF-1000X M4 truly-wireless for $145

+ Lenovo truly wireless for $12

+ Philips T1 ANC PRO+ truly wireless for $150

+ Klipsch and other speakers

Monday: PX7, WH-1000X M5, Airpods Max, 1More Quad, Etc

A Best Of Tech sale at woot for Monday 10/10/22 is actually an undercover headphone sale because it has four name-brand over-ears and four earphones. They are:

+ factory reconditioned Apple AirPods Max ANC/BT Over-Ears with 90-day Woot warranty for $355
+ limit two per customer

+ Bowers & Wilkins PX7 ANC/BT over-ears, new condition, for $200

+ open-box Sony WH-1000X M5 for $330 with 90-day Woot warranty

+ Steelseries Arctis Nova 1P multi-system for $40

+ 1more Quad Drive IEMs for $80

+ truly wireless from JBL, LG and Hyeing (first time I see this brand)

UPDATE: as have a music e-book in the Monday Kindle daily deals, for $2 you can buy “The Birth and Impact of Britpop: Mis-Shapes, Scenesters and Insatiable Ones” by Paul Laird. This is a new book, it came out in September 2022 from White Oak. It is around 19MB but it doesn’t state the page length. It averages 5 out of 5 based on five ratings…

Heads up: Massdrop 10 Year Anniversary Sale on Tue & Wedn

If you are a fan of some of the headphones sold at Massdrop, we have a heads-up alert for you! They are planning their 10-Year anniversary sale on Tuesday 10/11/22 and Wednesday 10/12/22!

The sale will include, among others:

+ Sennheiser PC 37X gaming headset for $69

+ Hifiman HE-4XX for $129

+ Hifiman HE-R7DX for $79

+ more sale items will be revealed per the link above
+ Massdrop is in the pacific time zone (Los Angeles time)

Koss Porta PRO X down to $29 [and IN-STOCK]

The headphone hobby can be prohibitively expensive for many people, but there are exceptions! One such exception is right here right now! The Massdrop variant of the Koss Porta PRO, the “X”, the old-school retro open-back on-ears is back in-stock at Massdrop and it’s on sale for $29! With the legendary KOSS limited lifetime warranty!

Shipping is free with orders over $125. Five of these can get you to free shipping. Give them as gifts, trade them, keep an extra pair for work, and so on!

These are an “in-stock drop”, so they ship in two business days after purchase. It’s not the “legendary” Massdrop long wait!

I have this but I haven’t prepared the unboxing post yet. I haven’t posted a headphone unboxing in two years. I’m a very productive audiophool blogger 🙂

Tuesday: Over-Ears sale: AUKEY ANC/BT and Senal Studio

For Tuesday October 4 in 2022, the Meh daily deal is a sale on the new condition AUKEY EP-N12 ANC/BT over-ear closed-back headphones for $24 plus shipping, or $39 if you buy two pairs. Shipping is free if you are paying member of the Meh website (sort of like their version of Prime).

For the same day, B&H Photo is offering for a limited time their new condition closed-back over-ear Senal SHX-800 Professional Monitor Headphones for $40. They come with 2-year warranty, two cables (one coiled), a carrying bag, and a storage box too!

Monoprice overstock sale includes 8323, Amplifiers, IEMs

Monoprice is back with another overstock sale and in the “Personal Audio” segment it includes a number of headphone-related products including:

+ the good old 8323 closed over-ears for $15
+ they now come with two cables, one with mic/remote
+ I had this a few years ago when it was riding the hype train, you certainly can’t go wrong for $15, considering you get two audio cables and a 1/4″ adapter
+ I haven’t posted an unboxing/review of this, but note that it expands a lot on your head (meaning that when you wear it you look like an android/robot from the 50s scifi movies), but it’s also not as big as it looks – of interest to those with big heads

+ THX AAA Monolith balanced headphone amp for $300

+ Quartet IEMs for $25
+ two balanced, two dynamic drivers
+ also for $25 is the Trio (1BA, 2DD)

+ there’s a few more headphone/audio related products as well as many tech things (cables, guitars, chargers, etc)

Bose QuietComfort 45 ANC/BT Over-Ears for $249

For a limited time (I do not know when the offer expires), New York’s B&H Photo is offering the new condition BOSE QuietComfort 45 ANC/BT closed-back over-ears on sale for $249 in the two color schemes available. There is a limited supply at this price.

As of the time of writing these average 4.5 out of 5 based on 623 customer reviews at B&H. Needless to say, the market of ANC/BT over-ears is hot with all kinds of known, unknown and semi-known brands competing aggressively.

Lately I’ve moved away from over-ear bluetooth headphones (last one I had in rotation was the Sony WH-CH700N (now a previous generation model)) and shifted towards the more utilitarian (and audiophile triggering) truly wireless 🙂

FOCAL Elegia Closed Over-Ears for $329

For a limited time, in the world of audiophile closed-back wired over-ears, Adorama is offering the new condition FOCAL ELEGIA headphones for $329! With a 1-year FOCAL warranty. The price you see is the price you pay. No coupons, no rebates!

At Adorama, this averages 4.7 out of 5 based on 101 customer reviews. They also have 299 answers on the question “Why Did You Chose This” 🙂

I do not know when the sale ends…

Orders placed will ship on Wednesday September 28 in 2022 because Adorama is currently observing the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

Go FOCAL Go? 🙂

Bowers & Wilkins PX7 Wireless ANC/BT Over-Ears for $230

Good until 9/25/22 at 11:59pm central time, or earlier if sold out, Woot is offering the new condition Bowers & Wilkins PX7 Wireless ANC/BT Over-Ears for $230 plus shipping with a 2-year B&W warranty. Up to three pairs per customer at the sale price. This is in the “Carbon” color scheme.

On-topic action at the Sunday Meh daily deal as well, they offer 2-packs of Aukey Hybrid Active Noise Canceling Truly Wireless Earbuds for $25 plus shipping. LOL, the wires you see in the picture are from the background, not from the earphones. If you mouse-over or click the picture of the earphones, you see there are no wires. File that as a Meh self-own 🙂

And if you are into all things Elvis, one of the Sunday Kindle ebook daily deals at Amazon is the “Careless Love (Enhanced Edition): The Unmaking of Elvis Presley (Elvis series Book 2) Kindle Edition with Audio/Video” for $3. By Peter Guralnick. December 2014 from Little Brown and Company. Nearly 800 pages. Averages 4.7 out of 5 with nearly 1000 customer ratings.

BUT WAIT, there’s another Kindle ebook daily deal, it’s the “Tim – The Official Biography of Avicii” for $2 by MÃ¥ns Mosesson. 4.8 out of 5 with nearly 600 customer ratings, 423 pages, November 2021 from Sphere.

Refurbished Massdrop x FOCAL Elex for $499 [CAUTION]

This is a deal but with a caution alert as well!

Massdrop is offering refurbished B-stock Massdrop x FOCAL ELEX wired open-back over-ears for $499 with free US shipping. You get a 30-day return window but NO warranty. This is an in-stock drop, so it will ship quickly.

CAUTION however, three of the four published customer reviews over there are complaining of “Ear Cup Death”. Two of the three within 2 days, one on day #28.

So if the price tempts you, research it further in the massdrop forums and other audiophile places. If you hate having to return a product because of problems (and return it in a timely manner because of the 30-day return window), or having to argue with customer service in case they stonewall, you may want to AVOID it!

Massdrop updates: 10% Rewards on select Audiophile products [also: raises free US shipping threshold to $125+]

We have a couple of updates from the world of Massdrop!

First up, for a limited time, select Audiophile products earn 10% back in Massdrop Rewards/Points instead of their usual amount. You will see this on this individual product page of a participating products, it shows how many rewards you earn with it.

If you are not familiar with their rewards program, your purchases earn anywhere from 1% to 5% [Keyboard Club members] in rewards depending on the product type. Massdrop’s own “Studio” products earn 3%, while most others earn 1%. Exceptions and limited time promotions (like the one mentioned in the paragraph above apply).

You also earn 100 points for every product review you submit. You get 100 when you submit your own picture(s) on a product page. The 100 points is per product page, not per individual picture. Otherwise their product listings would become a stock photo website 😉

What you get for the rewards? Every 500 points get you $5 to spend at Massdrop as a discount.

The second item in this update is that free standard US shipping is now $125+, up from $100+. Another sign of the times and the rising costs and things like that.

PS: since I mentioned it above, what is the Drop Keyboard Club (DKC)? It’s a paid annual membership discount program for keyboard lunatics fanatics. You pay $49 per year for the first two years (use coupon code JOINTHECLUB), and then it rises to $69 per year. This gets you monthly discounts (between $30 to $100) to spend on “mech keys gear”. They have a few other benefits as well.

So it looks like Keyboards have defeated Headphones at Massdrop, otherwise they’d have a “Drop Headphones Club” instead of a keyboards club 😉

Tascam TH-300X studio headphones for $40

It’s raining headphones daily deals! Now it’s the turn of the Musician’s Friend, their offer is a recurring one, it is the closed-back wired over-ear Tascam TH-300X studio headphones going for $40 with free US shipping. Offer ends by Monday 9/19/22 at 8am eastern time…

Sunday: Random Audio sale with Monolith Liquid, Etymotic ER4SR, Etc

Surprise-surprise, it’s the return of the Random Audio sale at the Woot website, this is edition #26 and runs until 9/18/22 at 11:59pm central time (or earlier for anything that may sell out beforehand):

+ Etymotic ER4SR in-ears for $140 with the 2-year Etymotic warranty

+ Monoprice’s Monolith Liquid Platinum Balanced DAC for $500

+ Master & Dynamic MW50+ bluetooth over-ears for $150

+ Lenovo $12 truly wireless

+ speakers from KEF, Jamo and Klipsch
+ various other audio gear things

BUT WAIT, there’s more! The main Woot deal of the day for Sunday is a Tech Stuff sale and it includes some headphones:

+ Skullcandy Crusher bluetooth over-ears for $60

+ Xbox X Razen X headset bundle for $270

+ Bose Soundlink Around Ear (over-ears, because BOSE has to be different) bluetooth headphones for $130

+ JBL truly wireless

+ refurbished Apple Airpods 2 with wired charging case for $90 with a 90-day Woot warranty

H&A Versa Professional Studio Headphones for $60

Good until Friday September 16 in 2022 at 10am eastern time [or before that if sold out], Adorama of House New York is offering the wire new condition closed-back over-ear H&A Versa ProfessionalStudio Headphones for $60. This is their house competitor to the good old Sony MDR-V6 / MDR-7506 type of headphone.

They come with two cables (coiled, straight) and a 1/4″ adapter along with a 1-year warranty.

Thursday: BeyerDynamic DT990 PRO X for $249

The new Beyerdynamics are shyly making their way to the NewEGG daily deals! Good until 9/15/22 at 11:59pm pacific time, or earlier if sold out, you can have the new condition wired open-back over-ear Beyerdynamic DT900 PRO X headphones for $249 with free US shipping. This is sold and shipped by NewEGG actual…

Ultrasone 840 Closed Over-Ears + Joby Tripod for $129

If you are interested in unusual headphone bundles or mayhaps your interests of headphones and photography/videography intersect ,good until Saturday September 10 in 2022 at 11:59pm eastern time (or before that if it sells out), B&H Photo is offering this Ultrasone x Joby bundle for $129. For that you get:

+ Ultrasone Performance Series 840 wired closed-back over-ears
+ with two cables and case

+ JOBY RangePod Smart Tripod (Black)

Sunday: Random Audio sale returns with 10 headphone options

“Random Audio” sale is back at the Woot daily deals running until 9/4/22 at 11:59pm central [or earlier if sold out] and at this incarnation of the sale they have ten headphone-related products including:

+ Panasonic RB-M300B “Deep Bass” bluetooth over-ears for $60

+ EPOS Audio GSP 601 Closed Acoustic Gaming Headset for $70
+ with 2-year EPOS/Sennheiser warranty

+ truly-wireless from Jabra, Skullcandy, Kliscph, Master and Dynamic and Audio Technica Quietpoint

+ Wage gaming headset for $7.50

+ Skullcandy Set, wired earphones for $10

+ other audio gear as well, including various speaker type things from KEF, Samsung, Pyle, JBL, Klipsch, Polk, and Monster
+ trigger warning for audiophile fans who hate “mainstream” brands 🙂

Monoprice Monolith M1570 Open Over-Ear Balanced Planars for $450

Headlining the Labor Day 2022 headphone sale at the Monoprice website is a new-ish planar-magnetic balanced headphone of their own Monolith brand, it’s the new condition wired open-back over-ear balanced planar M1570 going for $450 with free standard US shipping.

Note that per the notice at the Monoprice website they are expanding their warehouse which may cause delays in shipments…

Thursday: Apple Airpods sale (MAX for $370, Small for $115+)

If you are a fan of both Apple AirPods and WOOT, you are in luck because until 9/1/22 at 11:59pm central time (or earlier if sold out) they are having an Apple AirPods Sale. Some are new condition, others are refurbished!

The MAX (ANC/BT closed-back over-ears) are refurbished going for $370 with a 90-day warranty.

Of the truly-wireless Airpods, the prices range from $115 to $135. Two of the three options are new condition. The new condition get a 1-year Apple warranty. The refurbished get a 90-day Woot warranty.

Last but not least, there are four accessories on sale (charging and cables and such)…

UPDATE: music e-books return to the 9/1/22 Kindle daily deals, this time for $2 you can have the “Rock Concert: An Oral History as Told by the Artists, Backstage Insiders, and Fans Who Were There” by Marc Myers. This is 314 pages, November 2021, Grove Press, and it averages 4.4 out of 5 on 107 ratings. It automatically gets a $0.20 “Great on Kindle” e-promotional credit for your future ebook purchases…

Tuesday: Sony WH-1000XM5 for $340 [international?]

If you don’t want or don’t plan to use the 1-year USA warranty, Woot, for 8/30/22, they are offering the international version (judging by the 90-day Woot warranty they offer) of the Sony WH-1000X M5 ANC/BT closed over-ears for $340 with up to two per customer at the sale price. The USA version currently goes for $400…

Audio Technica ATH-M20X and AT2005USB and Boom for $79

For a limited time, up until 8/29/22 at 10pm ET, B&H Photo has an Audio Technica bundle for $79 after in-cart coupon that includes:

+ ATH-M20X closed over-ear headphones

+ AT2005USB Microphone

+ boom and USB cable

AKG K612 for $110, K240 II for $69, K371 in Bundle

It’s AKG time at the current round of Adorama daily deals running up until Sunday 8/28/22 at 10am ET:

+ AKG K612 PRO for $110

+ AKG K240 mk II for $69

+ AKG Podcaster Essential kit that includes the Lyra USB microphone and K371 headphones for $189

+ AKG P420 microphone for $130
+ interesting model number 😉

Friday: Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO (250 ohm) for $114

One of the good things about recurring deals is that they …recur 😉 Good until 8/26/22 at 11:59pm pacific time, or earlier if sold out, NewEGG actual (not iffy marketplace sellers) is offering the wired new condition closed-back over-ear Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO (250 ohm) for $114, up to three pairs per customer at the sale price…

Thankfully NewEgg has done away with those silly coupons, the price you see is the price you pay!

Sunday: Shure SRH-240A part of $99 bundle

Good until Sunday 8/21/22 at 11:59pm ET, B&H of New York is offering this Shure Digital Recording Bundle that consists of the SRH-240A studio headphones (wired, closed, over-ear) along with the Shure PGA58-XLR Cardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone with XLR-to-XLR Cable. These are in the old packaging.

I had the SRH-240A a long long time ago. From what I recall it matches the internet consensus. I bought it either as a bundle or at the same time as a musical keyboard in order to play without waking up the neighborhood 😉

Hifiman HE-X4 Planar Open Over-Ears for $89

Yes indeed! Not only can you get this pair of open-back headphones for under $100, it is also a planar-magnetic headphone, a lower cost way to try planar for the first time without breaking the bank or committing capital and dealing with selling it later!

For a limited time, Massdrop is offering the new condition wired open-back over-ear Hifiman HE-X4 planar magnetics for $89 plus shipping. Shipping is free if your order total is $100+.

They come with a 30-day no-questions-asked return policy. There is no mention of warranty in the listing.

This is an in-stock drop, so they will ship approximately two business days after purchase. It’s not one of those “patience in a virtue” Massdrop deals 🙂

Monoprice Planars: M565C for $175, M1060 for $240

If you page-down and down to the “Audio” section of the latest Monoprice End of Summer sale you will find some headphone-related products on sale:

  • M565C wired closed over-ear planars for $175
  • M1060 wired open over-ear planars for $240
  • Liquid Spark Headphone Amplifier by Alex Cavalli for $100
  • 3.5mm Onyx cables and Premium RCA cables

I do not know when the sale ends…

Sony WH-CH710N ANC/BT Over-Ears for $98

A limited time Sony Audio sale at Amazon (I don’t know when it expires) includes the new condition closed-back over-ear ANC/BT WH-CH-710N headphones going for $98 per, and available in two color options.

The sale also includes a couple of LinkBuds truly-wireless and “Extra Bass” portable bluetooth speakers (SRS-XB13 for $48 in five color options).

As fate would have it, we have here at this blog a text and pictures unboxing of the previous generation headphone, the WH-CH-700N, posted four years ago [how time flies!]

Wedn: Samson SR850B Semi-Open for $25

Good until 8/17/22 at 11:59pm eastern time, or earlier if sold out, B&H Photo is offering the new condition wired semi-open over-ear Samson SR850B studio headphones in the blue (actually black-n-blue) color scheme. Up to six per customer at the sale price.

Optionally there’s a couple of combined purchase discounts if you buy together (in the same shopping cart) as B&H’s house brand headphone stands (“Auray”). Look for these offers in the “Build Bundle” option over there.

The only included accessory is a 1/4″ adapter. The cable is not user-removable. Check your favorite headphoolia forums and blogs and youtubez for potential hacks.

As fate would have it, we have here, from five years ago (how time flies!!!), a text and pictures unboxing of the original black color scheme. I do not know if there any other differences between the colors or through the years…

Monday: Shure SRH-840 Closed Over-Ears for $79

One of the formerly “$100 List” recommended headphones is making a comeback in the recommendations. As late as yesterday Crinacle mentioned it in his first-ever (?) YouTube Q&A live stream. Maybe it’s the new packaging that caused the comeback? 🙂

Regardless, good until 8/15/22 at 11:59pm ET, B&H Photo is offering, as one of their deals of the day, the new condition wired closed-back over-ear Shure SRH-840 studio headphones for $79 with free US shipping. This is the “new packaging”.

The package is quite nice for the price:

+ extra Shure earpads
+ 2-year warranty
+ Shure carrying pouch (which I love)
+ detachable cable
+ threaded 1/4″ adapter