Fostex the people! Unlocked right now at members-only shopping club Massdrop (which is free to join, everything happens behind a login-wall), their own Massdrop x Fostex TH-X00 Mahogany/Purpleheart headphones are on sale for $400 to $450 with free shipping. The listing is good until 6/24/16. Patience is a virtue however, because the shipment estimate for this is end of September 2016, which is roughly four months from blog-posting date.
M-Audio HDH-50 Studio Headphones for $95
The closed-back over-ear M-Audio HDH-50 headphones are currently offered for $95 at upstart online website Jet.com. When you add the product to the shopping cart and continue through with the checkout process, you will discover that the seller is “NYC Electronics”. I am not familiar with this seller, so I don’t know what’s their reputation.
Jet does not tell you who the seller is before you add something to the shopping cart. Here’s how it looks after you add it to the cart and proceed through with the Checkout process (you don’t have to place an actual order to see it):
Audeze LCD-2 Planars for $700
Star Wars is a space odyssey of sorts, a space …Audeze perhaps, which brings us to the AUDEZE LCD-2 planar magnetic headphones on sale until 6/9/16 for $700 with free shipping at Adorama.com, an authorized dealer.
Star Wars SMS Audio On-Ears for $50 (1st and 2nd generation)
In a Galaxy of Hype not so far away, both the first generation and the second generation of the officially licensed Star Wars Closed On-Ear headphones by SMS Audio are on sale for $50 per pair by marketplace sellers with the orders fulfilled by Amazon. This includes models for Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2D2, Storm Trooper, Boba Fett, Tie Fighter, and of course the real hero of Star Wars, the Galactic Empire 🙂
PS: these are new condition.
Audio-Technica ATH-M70x for $218 [limit 3]
The closed-back over-ear Audio-Technica ATH-M70x headphones are currently on sale for $218 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of three per customer. This may be an automated/computer price-match of a marketseller price over there, so it may not last long.
TIP: when shopping at Amazon, always check who the seller of an item is. The higher the price, the bigger the risk if buying something from an unknown or unvetted marketplace seller. This is a screenshot of the above item with Amazon actual being the seller. Pay attention to the center of the red markings of the screenshot below:
AudioQuest Dragonfly 1.2 USB DAC for $80
The color-changing AudioQuest Dragonfly 1.2 USB DAC is on sale for $80 with free shipping or free store pickup (if applicable) at Best Buy’s website. Purchasing this also activates an offer for 22% off your first purchase at HD Tracks.
Beats Solo 2 On-Ears Black for $80 [limit 3]
NOTE: this offer is for Prime members only…
The Helen of Troy of 2015 in the online audiophile world, the Beats that went to the IF Hall of Fame and created existential crises all across the internets are on sale again (the closed-back on-ear Solo 2), in new condition for $80 with free shipping, in the black color scheme, with a limit of three per customer at Amazon by Amazon actual where they average 4.1 out of 5 based on 2460+ customer reviews.
Being Beats it’s interesting that their negatives are high, 15% of the reviews are 1-stars, despite the 4.1 rating. Only 5-stars have more votes. So lots of polarization, 78% of the ratings are either 1 or 5.
Price-Check Comply Massdrop, Better Prices for Prime members on some models
Massdrop has a new offer, fully unlocked, on Comply foam tips that go for $13 plus $2.75 flat shipping. They offer a variety of models (see listing or add to shopping cart to see the options over there).
However, if you are a Prime member (or plan a $49+ Amazon order), some models individually can be had for less at Amazon, the ones shipped or fulfilled by Amazon. For example, the 3pk T500 Medium Black for $12~ [limit 5], or the 3pk S-400 Active charcoal for $11.53 [limit 12]. Charcoal is the color, they are NOT made of charcoal 🙂
Others have the same price, but if you can get free Prime shipping, you avoid the MD shipping fee, eg the 3pk T-400 Blue go for $13 at both places.
There are many model and color combinations, I can’t check them all here.
XDuoo X3 Digital Audio Player for $104 [MD]
This is one of the cases where buying from Massdrop can be a big plus, because I haven’t been able to find this selling from a USA retailer and not shipping from China. So if you are interested in the XDuoo X3 Digital Audio Player, you can get it for $100 plus $4~ flat shipping from Massdrop. Three color options are available for this DAP that has two microSD slots (up to 128GB each). Offer ends in eight days from today and ships June 30 (2016) which is pretty reasonable.
This critter can also support Rockbox (see giant thread on the topic; the usual caveats apply when trying 3rd-party software). This has a different button/design philosophy than the Fiio DAPs, so if you don’t like their approach, this might be an alternative.
With storage prices dropping, you can easily get name-brand 128GB microSD cards for $30 without even waiting for a sale, or you can get 64GB cards for $15 or less.
[DEAD] Thursday: 3M Hearing Protection sale
This daily deal expired…
[DEAD] Roland UA USB PCM/DSD DAC and Headphone Amp for $70
This 48-hour offer sold out and then expired…
Sennheiser PX 200-II i On-Ears for $65
The lightweight collapsible Sennheiser PX 200-II i on-ear headphones are on sale for $65 with free shipping in new condition at Groupon Goods. As that tiny little “i” hints at, this is has a mic and 3-button remote.
Value Meal: NVX Audio XPT100 and Polk Audio Hinge for $100
Headphone “value meals” are becoming more and more common these days. Sonic Electronix is offering a two-headphone bundle for $100 with free shipping. The main course of the bundle is the over-ear NVX Audio XPT100 (goes for around $80) and the side dish is the on-ear Polk Audio Hinge (goes for around $30). Both are closed back.
Audio Technica ATH-AD900X Open-Back for $115
The BuyDig store is not done with their headphone offers among the latest featured eBay Deals. They are also offering the new condition open-back over-ear Audio Technica ATH-AD900X headphones for $115 with free shipping (from New Jersey) with a limit of five per customer. That innocent “D” in the model name is the open-back designation 🙂
Klipsch X4i In-Ears for $40 w/free s&h
It’s eBay time now, the BuyDig store on eBay is offering the new condition Klipsch X4i In-Ears for $40 with free shipping, with a limit of five per customer. Over 400 units got sold so far from this particular offer.
Used Koss Pro4S studio headphones for $96
The Koss Pro4S studio headphones go for $150 in new condition, but if you don’t want to wait for sales, and you are comfortable with used products, you can get them in “Used – Very Good” (cosmetic imperfections, damaged original packaging) for $96~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. There’s only one listing for Used options at the moment.
Samsung Galaxy Earpods and Earbuds from $5 to $7
This may be something perhaps to add to a Groupon order, especially if you are close to $35+ that will get you free shipping. Apple has earpods, and of course, so must Samsung, their Galaxy S6 Earpods in the white color scheme go for $7 if you buy the 1-pack or $13 for the 2-pack or $19 for the 3-pack. You have to buy the multi-packs, not multiple 1-packs to get the volume discount.
If you prefer the more traditional Galaxy Earbuds they go for $6 with a flat cable or $5 with a regular cable. These are available in black or white color options. They have mic and remote with volume control.
SMS Audio BioSport Biometric Earbuds for $30 w/free S&H
As one of their online featured deals, the Staples website is offering the SMS Audio BioSport Biometric Earbuds with a heart rate monitor for $30 with free shipping in three different color schemes. Their website is goofy when it comes to showing prices of items with multiple colors, when you look at the main page for the product it says “as low as $33.99” but when you select one of the three colors it drops to $30. Free shipping or free ship to store.
On the Way to Unlocking: Massdrop Objective Headphone Amplifiers for $78 to $103
As of the time of writing, this is not fully unlocked yet, it needs 33 more commitments in the next 20 days, so it is reasonable to assume this will unlock long before the deadline. It is the Massdrop Objective line of Headphone Amplifiers based on the NwAvGuy designs. There are three options when you checkout, the 1.0 version goes for $70, the 2.0 version (the one that headlines the listing page) for $80, and the Desktop version of the 2.0 for $95. Shipping is an additional flat $7.75.
IMPORTANT: the shipping estimate for these is mid-September 2016. That’s 3.5 months from posting date, so keep that in mind.
Etymotic Research ER20 Ety-Plug starting at $10
The Etymotic Research ER20 Ety-Plug go for $13 shipped at Massdrop right now with a late June delivery estimate, but it looks like Amazon has them beat. Prices start at $10~ for the Red Sterm or clear soft and go to $13 for other color combinations including the ER20-SMC. The usual shipping terms apply, free 2-day for Prime members or with a $49+ order (or $25+ in physical books).
Used Beyerdynamic Custom Street for $93
And now a potentially interesting used find, the black color scheme of the closed back on-ear Beyerdynamic Custom Street headphones, with their “custom slider” go for $150 in new condition but if you are comfortable with Used, you can get them in “Used – Very Good” condition (minor cosmetic imperfections, damaged original packaging) for $93~ with free shipping by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual.
Refurbished Bower & Wilkins P3 On-Ears for $79
More sales at Sonic Electronix, this time it is of the certified refurbished kind, and comes with a 2-year warranty, the closed back on-ear Bower and Wilkins P3 headphones, available in four different color options at this price.
Fiio L8 1/8″ Interconnect Audio Cable for $7 w/free S&H
Free shipping without buying anything is the lure of this promotion, it is the Fiio L8 1/8″ Interconnect Audio Cable (both sides 3.5mm) going for $7 with free shipping to the 48 by Sonic Electronix as part of their latest clearance promotion… It’s “just a cable” but if you want to read reviews, it averages 4.2 out of 5 based on 80+ at amazon.com…
Beyerdynamic MMX 102 iE (White/Silver) for $29 w/free S&H
The white-silver color-scheme of the Beyerdynamic MMX 102 iE earbuddy in-ears is on sale for $29 with free shipping to the 48 contiguous states at Sonix Electronix. Only this color is on sale… This is part of their latest Clearance Sale (link points to the earbuds/in-ears section)…
Klipsch XR8i in-ears drop to $205
The recently released Klipsch XR8i are on sale, currently going for $205 instead of their starting price of $280 at Dell Home. No coupon is needed.
ATH-M50x (and Friends) Velour Earpads for $25 shipped [MD]
They may look like chocolate donuts in the gallery picture at Massdrop but they are not edible. They are however audible 😉 The ATH-M50x Velour Earpads are offered on Massdrop for $22 plus $3~ flat shipping. They have four different color options you can select during the checkout process. They fit the M50x but also the other three parallel models (M40x, M30x, M20x) along with the M50. These are from Sound Professionals. Shipment is late June 2016. The offer ends in about seven days from today (blog-posting date). MD does not show exact expiration dates and sometimes they may get extended.
Used Fiio X3 II DAP for $150
The second generation Fiio X3 digital audio player is available in “Used – Like New” condition as a Store Display item in original box from authorized dealer “All About Office” according to its listing at Amazon Warehouse Deals. This ships directly from “All About Office”, so no Prime shipping. The X3 II has a number of physical advantages over the X1 if you like to mix and match different devices and headphones and I/O sources. Having said that, for under $100, the Fiio X1 is a pretty good value if you want to listen to music through its headphone out (posts on the X1 are in the pipeline ~ well they are in my head ~ I have to transfer them to the page).
Audeze EL-8 Closed Planars for $599 with coupon
It’s Odyssey time, or as the cool kids like to call it, Audeze 😉 Good until 6/5/16, coupon code 1JUMP2JUNE gets you the closed-back AUDEZE EL-8 Titanium planar headphones for $599 with free shipping at authorized dealer Adorama.com. The price shown on the website before you enter the coupon is $799.
[DEAD] Sennheiser HD558 for $80 [limit 5]
Party over as of 5/31/16, the price jumped to $99, but these get discounted on a regular basis these days…
Bluedio T2S Bluetooth On-Ears for $20 w/free S&H
At the intersection of budget and utilitarian and bluetooth, the closed-back Bluedio T2S (obnoxiously named Turbine 2 Shooting Break) are on sale, in new condition, in four different color options, for $20 with free shipping at NewEggFlash where the offer ends on 5/31/16.
These are heavily reviewed at amazon.com where they average 4.1 out of 5 based on over 2300 reviews, and have over 400 (!) questions answered by internet users over there.
Refurbished Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7BK for $149
The black color scheme of the closed-back over-ear Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7BK is currently available in refurbished condition for $149 with free shipping by Beach Camera thru Amazon Warehouse Deals. They ship from Beach Camera (New Jersey) and they are not eligible for Prime 2-day shipping. The headphones average 4.6 out of 5 based on 110 customer reviews.
Used open-back Shure SRH 1440 for $209
The Shure SRH 1440 (open over-ears) go for $300 in new condition but if you want to go the used route and are not a perfectionist, they are available in “Used – Acceptable” condition with multiple cosmetic imperfections and damaged packaging for $209 by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. The headphones themselves average 4.7 out of 5 based on 25 customer reviews.
Caution: the Sennheiser HD800 for $1000 are not authorized dealers [updated]
It’s one thing to buy a $10 headphone without worrying too much about authorized dealer status, but when you are going to put down two orders of magnitude that amount, authorized dealer status is definitely a much bigger factor. So if while price checking around you run into the Sennheiser HD800 going (in new condition) for $1000 at Amazon.com, note that the sellers having them for $1000 are not authorized or recognizable A/V sellers. Amazon’s own price is $1400 and if you price-check around that’s the price at other well-known sellers like B&H, Sweetwater, WWS, Crutchfield, etc.
PS: note also that Jet.com does NOT reveal who the seller of an item is, so you have no clue who you are buying it from, so you cannot know of warranty status ahead of purchase. Again, not a big deal with a $10 item, but for something like this, it is very important.
UPDATE 5/30/16
Thanks to Allan for pointing this in the comments!
You can also get it refurbished for $1000 from Crutchfield with a 2-year warranty and 60-day money-back guarantee.
If you are not a perfectionist, Crutchfield also has a scratch and dent refurbished for $850. This is marked as low stock.
In-stock now: AKG M220 for $66
If you don’t want to wait for Massdrop or Amazon actual to get them in-stock, and you want them to get to your door in 2-3 days or so, the new AKG M220 (based on to the good old K240) is now in-stock and ready to ship right away for $66 with free shipping by the Audio Watt Store with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so you get Prime shipping 2-day delivery if a member. Amazon’s own price is $64.23, so you are paying $1.77 more to get them right away versus waiting for 1-2 months (that’s Amazon estimate, sometimes they err on the side of caution though). The headphones average 4.6 out of 5 based on 25 customer reviews.
100pk Velcro Reusable Self-Gripping Cable Ties for $6.32
Today’s block of updates in going all over the place, from the mundane to the audiophile bundles 🙂 This is a mundane but practical item if you are lost in a sea of cables. You can get a 100pk of Velcro One Wrap Self-Gripping Cable Ties for $6.32. These are reusable, you can use them many times. They are 8 inches long (fully unwrapped) and 1/2″ thick per the description.
The gallery pictures along with the demo video can give you a pretty good feel of what to expect. With a 100pk in this offer, you are essentially paying just over 6c per cable tie, probably beating even dollar stores?
The good news is that even though they have a low price, they are not an Add-On item, so if you are a Prime member, you get free 2-day shipping, even if you just buy one set of these. But if you need more, the limit is ten 100pks per customer.
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