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This didn’t last long, as of a 10:10am ET Tuesday re-check, it is marked as sold out and dead as a doornail… The lightning deal price had been around $68.50…
It’s the calm before the storm at the Amazon Gold Box but there is one famous brand earphone scheduled for Tuesday 11/22/16, starting at 8:44am Eastern, the Marshall Mode EQ In-Ears in the black-brass color-scheme, will go on sale. The price before the sale (as of the time of writing of this post) is $89 by Amazon actual.
Black Friday 2016 is just around the corner. In this post, I am attempting to summarize the various headphones and earphones advertised in the published or leaked Black Friday ads. More will be added as I haven’t finished them all yet. So far we have…
Audiophile headphones very rarely make appearances at big chain store Black Friday ads, but there is a member of the Beyerdynamic ever-growing DT 7-8-9 line-up featured at Musician’s Friend. As you can size by the size of the blocks below, bluetooth is favored by the marketing departments…
Beats continue to win the hype wars with the two latest models likely to feature prominently. But others are getting some glossy attention, including Skullcandy.
With Best Buy scoring some kind of an exclusive on the new Jaybird X3, they are getting most of the attention…
A couple of Bose models and the wired non-magical Apple earpods lead the way, along with the obligatory single-figure models, and the free after store rewards Philips earbuds that seem to be a Black Friday staple almost every year.
If you are an Amazon Prime member, you are eligible for some rotating Alexa Exclusive Voice-Order offers. To get these, you have to order the items using Alexa, Amazon’s voice-activated AI. One of the current offers are the new condition Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO 80 Limited Edition closed-back over-ear headphones for $100 with free shipping. The website price is $180.
You can find this offer towards the bottom of the Alexa exclusive offers. Here’s a screenshot of that and the Alexa shortcut voice code to quickly order it:
PS: I don’t have a way to place an Alexa order, so I can’t test this.
PS2: of music interest, another one of the offers is Garth Brooks’s Ultimate Hits music CD for $1.45 if you voice-order it with Alexa. The website price is $6.92.
In a sale paralleling the PortaPros, the clip-on KSC-75 cliphones are down to $11.75 with a limit of three per customer, in new condition, at Amazon by Amazon actual. As with other Koss models, they have a limited lifetime warranty… Check the Koss listings to see if any other models are on sale as well…
If you don’t want to wait for further discounts, as of the time of writing, the good old Koss PortaPro, in new condition, is on sale for the very specific price of $26.09 at Amazon by Amazon actual, with a limit of three units per customer. Note that this is open-back, despite it’s porta(ble)-compact-ness 🙂
The previously mentioned Musician’s Friend coupon code BLACKFRIDAY can get you the new condition Sony MDR-1A closed-back over-ear headphone for $253 with free shipping. The regular price is $300, the 15% off coupon drops it to this price. You can add the headphone to the cart and enter the coupon code further down below in the page. You don’t need to sign-in or sign-up to test the coupon.
On the other hand, if you are comfortable with refurbished or imported products, you can get them for even less:
+ manufacturer refurbished for $150 by Secondipity thru Amazon
+ international version (new condition) without Sony USA warranty for $187 by various at Amazon
On the utilitarian front, this 5-pack of FosPower 3-ring male-to-female headphone jack adapters is on sale for $9 by the seller FosPower with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so it is Prime eligible. As of the time of writing they are not an Add-On item, so you get free 2-day shipping as a Prime member without having to buy anything else.
The 5-pack is currently the best per-unit price among the other options (they have 1-pack, 3-pack, this one, and 10-pack).
These maybe handy if you have phones or DAPs or other devices or headphones with “difficult” 3.5mm situations. All together, they average 4.2 out of 5 with nearly 350 customer reviews, and have over 60 questions answered. They have a 7-to-1 “review intensity ratio” (5-stars vs 1-stars) so it’s a good idea to check some of the 1-star reviews to see what issues people had with these.
PS: typically a double figure “review intensity ratio” (10:1 or better) is a sign of a lower risk purchase, but again, the heuristic metrics are only as good as the underlying reviews, and there’s no guarantee of review quality or consistency from product to product.
The popularity of the Audio Technica M50/M50x has created a whole clone sub-genre, one of which is apparently an Amazon-exclusive model of sorts, the new condition, closed-back over-ear Akai Project 50X is on sale for $80 with free shipping with a limit of three units per customer.
They are collapsible with 50mm drivers and average 4.3 out of 5 based on 35 customer reviews over there. The first review there notes their resemblance to similar headphones from Lyxpro, Stellar and ISK. In response to the review, an AKAI representative wrote that these have been tuned by AKAI’s engineers. Research them further if interested. I haven’t seen or touched them, so I know nothing Jon Snow 🙂
More discounting action now, on the closed-back over-ear front, both colors of the Audio Technica MSR7 are on sale in new condition for $189 with free shipping, with a limit of three per color, at Amazon by Amazon actual.
PS: if you want to keep up with the action, you can also subscribe to our free full-text RSS feed.
Things are starting to heat up, I can’t keep up 🙂 To eBay we go now, where the Bluedio eBay store is offering the new condition Bluedio UFO PPS8 headphone (over-ears, Bluetooth 4.1) for $80 with free shipping. They are also running a promotion where if your order total from their eBay store is $100+, you get a 10% off discount.
This beats the current lowest price at amazon.com which is $100, where they average 4.3 out of 5 based on 375 customer reviews, and they have over 100 questions answered by viewers like you. They include cables and a half-dome hard case.
On the Xiaomi front, from the ever-so-booming world of chi-fi, the Xiaomi Original MI Piston Iron Hybrid earphone, model QTER01JY, is on sale for $27, in new condition, at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of three per customer. There is another seller offering it (fulfilled by Amazon) and they have a short name, if you are not paying attention you may not notice it. Make sure Amazon is the actual seller, you get the most protection that way… The usual free shipping terms apply (Prime or a $49+ order)…
As of 11/26/16 recheck, these sold out… Best Buy appears to have scored some kind of an early exclusive deal with Jaybird/Logitech for the new X3 bluetooth earphones, and they have now discounted them, you can get them for $100 with free shipping, in either color scheme, at the Best Buy website.
More discounting action, the new condition white-silver color scheme of the Beyerdynamic MMX 102 iE earphones are on sale for $19 with free shipping at Sonix Electronix. They are authorized dealers.
Musician’s Friend has launched a Black Friday Early Access Sale using coupon code BLACKFRIDAY to get 10% off orders over $99, OR 15% off on orders of $199+. The maximum discount using the coupon is $500 (eg, in other words the maximum order for this is promotion is $3333.33).
PS: I do not know if the coupon only works for “Backstage Pass” rewards members (free for everyone to join) or everyone. The usual coupon restrictions apply.
If you like the thrill and danger and potential excitement or disappointment of a mystery bag headphone purchase, Sonix Elextronix is offering a list-priced $150 headphone as a mystery bag offer for $85 with free shipping when you enter coupon code MB111 over there.
These are the clues they offer:
Searching their website for “brass & carbon fiber headphones” produces only two search results. The mystery listing and one other model with a $150 list price, the *** SPOILER ALERT *** if you don’t want me to ruin the surprise, NuForce NE800M in-ears.
I have no clue what the “Hide & Seek” means, whether it’s a clue for this or a regular website feature. When you click on it, it shows a variety of in-ears, starting with a different ($200 list price) NuForce earphone.
NOTE that this is based only on my detective work, and if I was a good detective I would have had my own procedural on network TV, so do not buy it based on what I say 🙂
The XDuoo XD-05 DAC/Amp is currently fully unlocked at the members-only shopping site Massdrop for $170 plus $8~ flat shipping. The offer is running for the next seven days days (from blog-posting date; not blog-reading date) and it will ship late December 2016. It will ship from Massdrop. There is no mention of warranty duration in the listing, but a warranty card is included.
It is available in two color schemes. This is a portable device (charges via microUSB) and has a variety of inputs and outputs on the back and front of the device, along with Gain (three settings) and Bass (two settings) manual switches on the front of the device.
The closed-back on-ear Beyerdynamic Custom i (the “i” is part of the model name) are on sale for $80 with free shipping by Sweetwater eBay store and Sweeterwater directly.
PS: these look very similar to the Beyerdynamic Custom Street. Visually, I can’t find a difference between the two, but I have not touched the “i” model. I have posted a pictures & text unboxing along with an on-going review diary on the Street model which went as low as under $70 a few weeks ago. Which reminds me I need to pick up the pace with that review diary 🙂
Some more action on eBay on another older headphone model, the new condition Bose SoundLink On-Ear bluetooth closed-back is on sale for $170 with free shipping by Deal.fisher’s eBay store… Speaking of Bose, some of their other headphones are on sale, check the Bose category here to see them…
Chi-fi at Costco-fi, members can get the new condition 1More Triple driver in-ears for $70 with free shipping. Non-members can buy them too, but have to pay a 5% surcharge (around +$3.50). The sale ends 11/28/16… In parallel, their dual driver model goes for $40 with free shipping (with 5% surcharge for non-members).
This deal du jour expired with a meh 🙂
These offers expired…
Among the Sunday daily deals, B&H Photo is offering the new condition LG HBS-760 TONE PRO Neckband Bluetooth Earbuds, in the white color scheme, on sale for $30 with free shipping. The other three color schemes are not on sale.
The white color scheme of the closed-back on-ear folding headphones is currently on sale for $10 in new condition at the Walmart website, sold by Walmart. Shipping is not free unless your order total is $50+, or you subscribe to Walmart’s “Prime” service. It may also be available for free store pickup, which is YMMV depending on location and inventory.
More action at eBay, Buydig is back with another offer, this time it is the new condition Audio-Technica ATH-E40 In-Ears for $60 with free shipping with a limit of five units per customer.
The sale is back on again, the new condition closed-back over-ear Samson SR-950 headphones are on sale for $24 with free shipping at Adorama.com for a limited time. The price you see, is the price you pay; no coupons, no rebates.
PS: these should not be confused with their more famous cousin, the “SR 850” which is semi-open, part of the Chi-Fi attack on the AKG K240 🙂
This ended…
As of a 11/19/16 at 3:55pm ET recheck, this is back on… The Sennheiser HD 800 is not eligible for the 15% off AWD discount, but as of the time of writing, there’s a “Used – Good” condition option available for $737~ with free shipping by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual.
When looking at prices at Amazon, the ones offering it for $1000 in new condition are unknown sellers, and very likely not authorized Sennheiser dealers. So for $1000 headphone, make sure they are authorized AND reputable dealers before you consider buying. Both are important, especially for a big purchase. It’s one thing to risk on a $50 item, and quite another to take a $1000 risk.
As a 11/18/16 at 11:12pm ET recheck, the used $737 option is no longer available…
This 6-hour lightning deal expired…
As teased last night, the new condition open-back over-ear Beyerdynamic DT990 PRO (250 ohm) is a lightning deal going for $100~ with free shipping until 2:29am eastern on Sunday. The price before the sale was $129 last night.
The previously mentioned 15% off Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD) promotion continues, and with that factored in, you can get the Sennheiser HD 700 for $274~ in “Used – Good” condition by AWD actual. This particular listing is described as having cosmetic imperfections, and having damaged original packaging, and missing “power cord” which I’m assuming means it’s missing a cable.
The decision as to whether to get this over the other Sennheiser (or other brand) options is complex, now that the HD 6xx entered the arena as a hard to get moving target at $200.
Party on Wayne! The VE Monks hype train is back at the station! A new offer is up and running at members-only Massdrop, it is a blue exclusive color scheme of the “VE Monk Plus” earbud going for $5 plus $3 flat shipping. These will ship late December 2016 from Massdrop.
But that’s not all. In the shopping cart, you have optional upgrade options, you can get one with a mic/remote (options are +$2 to +$5 depending on the number of buttons), and you can also get an accessories bundle for +$5.
These are true old-school earbuds, they sit outside your ears. I don’t have the blue color scheme, but I do have the red one, here’s the unboxing and here’s an on-going review diary.
The closed-back over-ear wired (no ANC, no Bluetooth) Bose SoundTrue Around Ear II headphones are currently on sale for $99 in the Apple version with the charcoal color scheme for $99 with free shipping and $5~ promotional rewards to use in a future purchase at authorized dealer Adorama.com.
The blue color scheme is not on sale at the above retailer, but it is on sale at Amazon by Amazon actual (limit 3) but you don’t get $5~ promotional rewards.
The conventional wisdom for getting active noise cancelling headphones is to get them only if you really need the ANC circuit, eg plane rides and other situations with predictable and consistent background noise… But that’s another story for another day…
If you do need such a device, the Bose QC20 in-ears with active noise cancelling technology are now on sale for $199 at various authorized Bose dealers, including Amazon actual.
But wait, there’s more! If you buy them from Adorama, you also receive 5% promotional rewards, that’s $10~ to use in future purchases at Adorama. The sale covers the Apple iOS edition and the Samsung/Android edition.
PS: the OS (iOS/Android) refers to the remote’s button compatibility. For example, the Volume UP and DOWN buttons from iOS-buttoned headphones don’t work on non-iOS devices.
This limited time sale ended but it is recurring every few weeks/months (YMMV)… Manufacturer-refurbished products are the lowest risk of the non-new products, so if you are not totally risk-averse, you can save some by going the manufacturer refurbished route for the closed-back over-ear planar-magnetic Audeze EL-8 headphones. You can get them for $350 with free shipping for a limited time at authorized dealer Adorama.com with a one year Audeze warranty.
From the “Curiosities” department, the Vdera SF-E-7-AMZ Sharkfin Grey Self-Molding Earbud is currently on sale for $4.31, in new condition, with a limit 30 per customer, sold and shipped by Amazon actual, so it is Prime-eligible, even if you buy only one (it is not an add-on item as of the time of writing).
NOTE however that it is not doing well in customer reviews. It averages 2.7 out of 5 based on 49 of them, with an almost 1:1 “review intensity ratio” which is a very horrible ratio for a product. 31% of its reviews are 1-stars. So be sure to read up on it.
It’s Black Friday time for Hifiman products, and all three of their RE-400* in-ears are on sale for $49 with free shipping each. They are the wired no-mic/buttons model RE-400, the iOS-buttoned RE-400i and the Android/generally-buttoned RE-400a. They are separate listings so each model has its own set of reviews.
Even though the Hifiman HE400S was the newer model with an out of the gate price of $300, the older HE-400i held on to its higher price, but now, as part of the Hifiman Black Friday festivities, the new condition Hifiman HE-400i is down to $250 with free shipping by a trio of authorized dealers that are Prime eligible (Electronics Expo, Audio Advisor, Beach Camera).
PS: Beach Camera ships directly from their place but they are participating in the Prime-by-proxy (not its official name) that upgrades the purchase to Prime-like shipping speed.
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