Star Wars Boba Fett (by SMS Street) Closed On-Ears (first gen) for $37

In a galaxy not so far away, the first generation of the officially licensed Boba Fett headphones, part of the SMS Audio and Star Wars licensing deal, are available in new condition for $37 by a couple of marketplace sellers with the orders fulfilled by Amazon (Prime eligible).

They come with a handful of accessories (see gallery picture #4 over there), including a flat football shaped zippered case, and various Star Wars geekery items. Note that these are NOT tuned for listen to the John Williams soundtracks, but they are very SMS Audio tuned, and they sound very closed.

April 2, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Beyerdynamic MMX 41 iE earphones for $20

On the budget side of IEMs, for a limited time, you can get the new condition Beyerdynamic MMX 41 iE earphones for $20 with free shipping at NewEgg when you use coupon code EMCSRERB2 over there. The price before the coupon is $25.

April 2, 2017 Filed Under: earbuds Tagged With: ,

Costco Members Only: Pay $83, Get $100 Google Play Gift Card

If you are an existing Google Play All Access Music subscription member, or you plan to start the service, or you like to buy music from Google Play, AND if you happen to be a paying Costco member, for a limited time, you can get a $100 GooglePLAY gift card for $83. That’s 17% off. The percentage is slightly smaller than the occasional Rite Aid offers, but you don’t have to deal with Plenti rewards. You just pay the discounted price and that’s it.

PS: in recent months, Google made it so you can pay for your monthly music subscription using your existing gift card balance on your Google account. So by buying this gift card, you are essentially getting 17% off your music subscription service!

April 2, 2017 Filed Under: music Tagged With: ,

Used MEE Audio Wave Bluetooth On-Ears for $24

If you are willing to go used, you can pre-defeat the new Massdrop offer for them (new condition for $40 + shipping if/when it unlocks). “Them” being the MEE Audio Wave Bluetooth On-Ears available for $24~ in “Used – Good” and $25~ in “Used – Very Good” condition at Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. They average 3.7 out of 5 based on 65 customer reviews at the moment.

PS: this week’s This Week in Headphoolia is on pace to be published Sunday night (or earlier). If you have any favorite websites or forum posts or YouTubes or your own reviews/impressions/DIY to recommend, please feel free to leave a comment or use the contact form page.

April 2, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Monday: refurbished PowerBeats 2 for $90

This daily deal expired…

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April 2, 2017 Filed Under: earbuds Tagged With: , , ,

[DEAD] Monday: Amazon Premium Earphones for $6 w/FS

This daily deal expired…

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April 2, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With:

[DEAD] Monday: Sony MDR-AS400EX Exercise Earbuds for $13 w/FS

This daily deal expired…

[Read more…]

April 2, 2017 Filed Under: earbuds Tagged With: ,

Samson RTE 2 Bluetooth On-Ears for $27

Another closed-back on-ear bluetooth headphone is on sale, going down to utilitarian price levels, the new condition closed-back on-ear Samson RTE 2 Bluetooth with NFC, going for $27 with free shipping at NewEgg by NewEgg actual where the sale ends Monday 4/3/17. It looks like you can buy as many as you like there.

It is also price-matched at amazon.com with a limit of one per customer, and free shipping for Prime members or with a $35+ order.

CRACKPOT THEORY: next step for Samsung should be to buy the “Samson” brand to prevent confusion because of the similar names 🙂

April 1, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Used Sennheiser HDVD 800 Headphone Amplifier for $1400

More things came up during the headphone fishing/immersion session, now on the flagship end of things, authorized dealer Adorama is offering in “Used – Demo” condition the Sennheiser HDVD 800 Headphone Amplifier for $1374 plus shipping which starts around $18 (varies by zipcode). Probably a good idea to select 3-day or faster shipping, you don’t want a flagship amp languishing in slow-shipping hell 🙂

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

April Fools Or Not? Headphones Sub-Reddit Bans Discussion of sub-$200 MSRP headphones

April Fool’s Day is upon us, which makes this big headphones sub-reddit thread all the more curious. According to the very serious sounding and acting thread over there, discussion of headphones with an MSRP of $200 or less is banned from the sub-reddit. The reasoning of that is to cut back on entry-level and newbie talk and focus more on “audiophile” products.

It’s already April 1st in some parts of the world and Reddit is a global website. On the other hand, this looks like a serious attempt, offending messages to “rule 10” are getting deleted, lists of ineligible headphones are being produced, and such.

What do you think? It looks like a 50-50 to me but either way, we will know for sure on April 2nd 🙂

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: general topics

AKG K-495NC On-Ears with ANC for $107

The new condition closed-back AKG K-495NC on-ear headphones with active noise cancellation (USB chargeable) are going for $107~ by Woot through amazon.com and fulfilled by Amazon, so they are Prime eligible. Note however that a number of the reviews complain of fragile construction, so be sure to look into that before considering them.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Bluedio T2s Turbine Bluetooth On-Ears for $20

On the utilitarian price-range of bluetooth, the red color scheme of the new condition Bluedio T2s closed-back on-ear headphones are on sale for $20 per pair at Amazon by Amazon actual. Free shipping for Prime members or with a $35+ order. You can buy as many as you like. This is not a lightning deal. The other three colors go for $25 to $30. All together they average 4 out of 5 based on nearly 4000 customer reviews. The price and the unusual design is probably helping with the sales. They run Bluetooth 4.1. They also play music via a 3.5mm cable.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

6ft RCA Audio Cable for $1.41

And now an appetizer! The RCA 6-foot audio cable (PET20-7120) is currently on sale for $1.41 at Amazon by Amazon actual. Even though the price is low, it is currently NOT an add-on item, so if you are a Prime member, you get free 2-day shipping on it (or you can select slow shipping and get a $1 digital credit). Limit 27 cables per customer during this sale. This is not a lightning deal. It has only one three-word review so far.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Sennheiser HD 630VB Closed Over-Ear Variable Bass for $355

So many Sennheisers, so little time! The new condition closed-back variable-bass over-ear Sennheiser HD 630VB is currently on sale for $355 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of up to three per customer. It averages 4.4 out of 5 based on 22 customer reviews. No 1-star reviews yet.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Textbook: “The Technology of Binaural Listening” for $121

This surfaced while doing headphone-immersion at the Amazon website, the hardcover edition of the 2013 book “The Technology of Binaural Listening” (Modern Acoustics and Signal Processing) by Jens Blauert is going for $121~ with free shipping by Amazon actual. It is “temporarily out of stock” but if you like the price, buying it locks the price.

You can get a feel for the book by doing a “Look Inside” on the hardcover page (this allows you to jump all over the book), and you can also get a Kindle sample. The Kindle sample is always the first few pages of a book, so check both to get a better feel for it.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With:

Used SONY PHA-2 Headphone Amplifier for $300

The SONY PHA-2 Headphone Amplifier is available in “Used – Good” condition for $300 by a marketplace seller with the order fulfilled by Amazon which adds a level of protection when buying from marketplace sellers. They have a detailed description of the condition along with two pictures over there. Per the shopping cart, they only have one unit available. As usual with offers like this, it depends on how much you want to take on…

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

LG V20 Unlocked T-Mobile for $500 [Phones as DAPs]

For Prime members only, Amazon actual is offering the new condition of the LG V20, fully-unlocked for GSM carriers, but it is the T-Mobile version, in the Titan Grey color scheme. A marketplace seller has it for $500 for all, which is probably what triggered an automated price-match by Amazon actual.

On the same listing there are other colors that are international versions, so pay attention if you are traversing the various options. Likewise, all the posted reviews (as of the time of writing) are for the international versions. You have to filter reviews by color since they are all grouped together.

The LG G6 is not getting the quad-DAC in the US market, so it does not overshadow the V20 in that regard. The V20 has other music-playing benefits, removable battery, 64GB on-board storage, and microSD slot that can take cards up to 2TB (unicorns have 2TB cards!). It comes with Nougat out of the box.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Open-box Pioneer XDP-100R DAP for $279

The Pioneer XDP-100R is offered in open-box “Used – Like New” condition for $279~ with free shipping by Electronics Expo through Amazon Warehouse Deals in either the black color scheme or the silver color scheme. These ship directly from Electronics Expo. They also have a “fulfilled by Amazon” option that costs $20 more. Both come in original box with original accessories. The DAP averages 4 out of 5 based on 35 customer reviews.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: , ,

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

I did another online shopping immersion and earmarked various items for further checking and posting. They will trickle here throughout the day as I find time to do so. We begin with…

The portable Sony PHA-1A DAC/amp is available in manufacturer-refurbished condition, in a brown box with a 30-day warranty for $150 with free shipping by Secondipity through Amazon Warehouse Deals. Per the shopping cart, they have one left:

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

TFZ SERIES 5S In-Ears for $65 [MD] or $70 [Now]

The TFZ SERIES 5S In-Ears are offered for $65 at Massdrop where they now hide the shipping fee (boo!), but if you want to wait until late April 2017, you can get them very quickly (two days if you are a Prime member) for $70 with free shipping by SHENZHENAUDIO with the order fulfilled by Amazon.

PS: make sure you learn what the TFZ acronym stands for before you buy them 😉

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With:

Comply Foam Earphone Tips for $14 [MD]

Fully unlocked at members-only Massdrop is a variety of options on Comply Foam Earphone Tips for $14. Not sure what happened to the shipping and handling fee, it is no longer shown next to the product prices. You have options at checkout from the 100, 200, 400 and 500 series and in various T-options. They will ship late April 2017. They point to this color-coded monster PDF file for compatibility with various IEMs.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Sennheiser PX 100-II Open On-Ears for $50

IF you are looking for open-back lightweight old-school on-ear headphones, the new condition Sennheiser PX 100-II On-Ears are currently going for $50 with free expedited shipping at B&H Photo, one of the few retailers that still carries them.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Used AKG K3003I Reference Class IEMs for $483

As of a late 4/3/17 re-check, these are no longer available at the $483 used price from AWD actual…

[Read more…]

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Used Shure SE535 Limited for $369 + S&H

As of a late 4/3/17 re-check, this sold out and is no longer available (used quantities are typically very limited, often times it might be just once unit)…

To the IEMs we go, with a color that may please Melisandre, the Shure SE535 Limited edition in the red color scheme are available in “Used – Demo condition” for $369 plus shipping (around $10, varies by zipcode) by Adorama.com.

March 31, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Massdrop Sennheiser CX series earphone grab-bag for $26

Massdrop and Sennheiser are so besties these days, they now have a Sennheiser CX-series earphones grab bag for $26. For that price, you randomly receive one of three options: either the CX 1.00 (most people get this) or the CX 2.00 (either Android or iOS buttons) or the CX 5.00 (either Android or iOS buttons). You can buy up to two random grab bags per customer. Since this is random, you can pre-select your OS of choice, so factor that in your decision whether to buy this grab bag or not.

Offer ends in about seven days from blog-posting date. The purchases will ship early May 2017.

March 30, 2017 Filed Under: earbuds Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] 20% off headphones at A4C with coupon

This coupon expired but it is a recurring promotion, I think once a month or something like that…

If you feel like deal-fishing, coupon code MARCH20 gets you 20% off at All 4 Cellular (A4C) until the end of the month. This is a search for headphones but you can search for other things or navigate the sub-categories.

Most items are eligible for the coupon, but not all (eg, daily deals are excluded).

March 30, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

[DEAD] Ultrasone PRO550 Foldable for $70 after $10 MIR

This sale ended [the headphone price went up] but it is recurring every few weeks… The $10 rebate continues as planned, but with the headphone price increasing, $10 off is not much help…

The prices keep dropping over time on this. Now the closed-back Ultrasone PRO550 Foldable headphones are on sale for $70 with free shipping at Adorama.com after a $10 mail-in rebate on them (see PDF file) good until 4/5/17. Or if you don’t want to deal with a $10 rebate, then it’s $80.

March 30, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

New “This Week in Headphoolia” is out!

Pardon the interruption, but after a 1.5 week delay [all apologies for the delay!], our “weekly” round-up of things happening in the world of headphones is back with a new edition. Did the new V-Moda Wireless II reveal how much Qualcomm charges for their apt-X technology? A new Stereophile Components Guide is out, reviews and opinions aplenty, and more!

PS: you can find all past, present and future editions in the This Week In Headphoolia archive. Future editions are only available in the future 🙂

March 29, 2017 Filed Under: website news

3M Peltor EARbuds (triple flange) for $27.40

Part of the 3M Peltor hearing protection line (that’s their priority), the 3M Peltor EARbuds are currently on sale for $27.40 at Amazon by Amazon actual. They are also available as a “Subscribe and Save” for heavy users of these. They have a triple flange design. They average 3 out of 5 based on 210+ customer reviews.

March 29, 2017 Filed Under: earbuds Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Used Focal Elear Open Over-Ears for $829

As of a 3/31/17 late re-check, this is no longer available from this seller at this price…

The open-back over-ear Focal Elear go for $1000 in new condition at authorized dealers, but if you are comfortable buying them used, they are available in “Used – Like New” condition for $829 with free shipping by marketplace seller “Audio Fanatic” (100%, 81 ratings) through Amazon Warehouse Deals. They are not Prime eligible.

March 29, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Noontec Hammo ANC Over-Ears for $70

This Friday lightning deal expired…

[Read more…]

March 29, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Thursday: 8GB Sandisk Clip Sport for $30 (various colors)

These Thursday daily deals expired…

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March 29, 2017 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Thursday: Razer Gaming Headset Sale: Analog $38, V2 bundles $80, Chrome + Stand $100

These daily deals expired too…

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March 29, 2017 Filed Under: headset Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Thursday: 32GB iPod Touch (sixth gen) for $225 (many colors)

These Thursday daily deals expired…

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March 29, 2017 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Brainwavz Large Memory Foam Earpads for $16

This early AM lightning deal expired, but if you missed it, fear not, these are recurring every few days/weeks…

[Read more…]

March 29, 2017 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,