As we previously mentioned the rose gold color scheme of the Bose QC 35 II ANC + wireless closed-back over-ears goes for $279 but if rose-gold is not your thing, good until Sunday 2/2/20 at 11:59pm central time, Woot is offering the new condition black color scheme for $299 with free US shipping for Prime members or $6 flat shipping for non-members. Note that this gets a 90-day warranty from Woot per the listing, not a 1-year Bose warranty.
Sennheiser HD 6XX drops to $195 [MD]
While price-checking around for the HD600 lightning deal (Friday 1/31/20 at 8:24pm ET), I noticed a limited time discount on the new condition open-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 6XX, currently going for $195 with free US shipping and returns at the Massdrop website. This is a big seller, it is a few thousand sales short of hitting the 100,000 units mark!
So now you have two options to consider, depending on whether the HD600 lightning deal price is competitive or not. Plenty has been written about all these headphones (600, 650, 6XX), and if you are reading this as of the time of writing, you have plenty of time to read through the various opinions, forums, blogs, etc…
Surprise! Sennheiser HD600 Lightning Deal starts Friday at 8:24pm ET
The Friday surprise is not coming from the world of politics but from the world of Amazon! According to the teaser in the Amazon Gold Box, starting at 8:24pm ET on Friday January 31st in 2020 for Prime members, and 8:54pm ET for non-members, there is going to be a lightning deal on the new condition Sennheiser HD 600 open-back over-ear headphones. The price on their website before the sale, as of the time of writing of this post is $299.
The reason for this lightning deal may perhaps be the existence of the Massdrop blockbuster Sennheiser HD 6XX headphone currently going for $195 with free US shipping. Per the listing over there, this headphone sold over 92,000 units…
Friday: Even H4 Glasses (???), Beats, JBL, Etc
It looks like a number of headphones are featured in various retailer daily deals for Friday January 31st in 2020 as follows:
It’s a headphones party at the Best Buy website with the following daily offerings:
+ Even H4 Glasses for Your Ears (that’s what they call them, don’t blame me for this one 🙂 for $100
+ bluetooth 5.0 (about time for this to appear in wireless headphones and laptops); can’t tell exactly how “over the ear” they are from the pictures though;
+ Beats Studio ANC/bluetooth over-ears for $180
+ Beats PowerBeats PRO truly wireless, GeekSquad recertified for $130
Then we scoot on over to the Woot daily deals where they have the JBL E-55-BT closed back bluetooths for $50 in the blue color scheme, new condition with a 1-year warranty
The Woot party continues with a Tech Items You Need sale that includes a number of headphone/audio-related products:
+ Symphonized NRG Premium wood in-ears for $12
+ Symphonized has many variants of this, we have a text and pictures unboxing of the NRG 2.0 variant
+ Jabra Evolve 75 MS wireless on-ear headset for $160
+ AfterShockz Aeropex stiff neckband wireless for $100
+ Hifeer phone-use bluetooth headset (waterproof allegedly) for $12
+ DigitNow suitcase record player for $29 (!) with a built-in battery but only a 90-day Woot warranty
+ Ukelele time, VIVICTORY Concert Ukulele 23 Inch Mahogany Aquila String with Beginner kit for $35 but with only a 90-day Woot warranty
Bose QuietComfort QC35 II for $279 [Rose Gold]
If rose-gold is your favorite color scheme, you are in luck! This very color scheme of the new condition Bose QuietComfort QC35 II closed-back over-ear ANC with bluetooth headphones is on sale for $279 with free US shipping at B&H Photo.
Bose used to be dominating in the ANC, but these days the battle has many claiming victory, including Sony’s surprise (?) hit with the 1000X series. All the major players are hitting the $300-ish market segment with all kinds of things. Your favorite search engine will yield countless comparisons and even more always-correct opinions 🙂
Wedn: Gaming Headsets from Razer and HyperX ($25 to $130)
Wednesday January 29 in 2020 brings us various computer peripherals at the Amazon Mothership Gold Box. The sale includes six gaming headsets from Razer and HyperX, three of each, $25 (HyperX Cloud Stinger Core) to $130 in price range, with up to three per individual item per customer. The sale ends at 11:59pm pacific time [or earlier for any particular product that sells out ahead of time).
Also part of the sale a speed demon Lexar microSDXC card for those with DAPs and PADs (phones as DAPs) that can take of advantage of it (and have need of the speed). There’s also plenty of Lexar SDXC cards, keyboards, a Razer streaming mic, and more…
Wedn: NuForce BE Sport3 bluetooth earphones for $15 [or buy 4 for $50 total]
Good until 11:59pm eastern time on Wednesday January 29 in 2020, B&H Photo is offering, as one of their deals du jour, the new condition silver-gunmetal color scheme of the new condition NuForce BE Sport3 bluetooth earphones (of the exercise kind) for $15 with free US shipping… But wait, there’s more! You can buy a 4-pack of them for $50, making it $12.50 per pair. After all, we are less than 11 months away from Christmas, so it’s never too early to start stocking up on gifts 😉
This is a double-flange earphone and has an earhook, thus increasing its “exercise street cred” 🙂 It averages 4 out of 5 based on 25 customer reviews over there but it has just a 3.5 to 1 ratio of 5-stars vs 1-star, a statistical sign of potential trade-offs. Ideally one wants to see a ratio of 10:1 or better. That’s of course assuming other things equal, eg some products may have unusual or confusing features that the average consumer does not get or cannot be bothered, so they get the 1-star treatment when it’s more of a user error/misunderstanding. Or a product gets hyped in forums, magazines, social media or by celebrities, and its raining 5-stars even from people who haven’t opened the box yet 😉
Tuesday: HyperX Cloud Stinger wired headset for $35
It’s gaming headset action at the Tuesday 1/28/20 daily deals of the Best Buy website. $35 separate you from the new condition HyperX Cloud Stinger wired gaming headset. This is the red/black color scheme and it averages 4.5 out of 5 based on 1600+ customer reviews over there…
20% off used headphones at Amazon.com’s Warehouse Deals [900+ options]
Amazon.com’s Warehouse Deals [the USA mothership that is] is having a 20% off automatic discount in the shopping cart of over 20K items offered over there. The sale includes over 900 headphone options. Only used items sold by Amazon WD actual are eligible, not items sold by marketplace sellers.
Eligible items hint at the discount when you look at the used listings in detail. The discount happens automatically when you add an eligible item in the shopping cart. No coupon is needed.
I will try to price-check headphones on a time permitting basis but in the meantime please feel free to dig in because quantities are often limited and items of interest may be gone by the time I start price-checking…
This is a limited time offer but I know not when it expires…
PS: this is a parallel promotion to the previously mentioned Amazon Germany WD 20% off promotion…
EU: 20% off 400+ USED headphones at Amazon Germany
For a limited time, Amazon Germany has brought back the 20% off discount on select Amazon.de Warehouse Deals items. Of those, there are nearly 450 items returned under headphones. The eligible items indicate there’s a 20% off discount when you look at the detailed used listings. The discount gets applied automatically in the shopping cart ~ there’s no coupon code to enter.
Note that the discount only works on products sold by Amazon.de’s Warehouse Deals, not by marketplace sellers.
PS: I haven’t yet gone through the listings, more on these after I do so if I find anything exciting…
Print Magazine Sale: Stereophile $7.77 per year
Headphone magazines are very hard to come buy, especially in english, but there are some audio-related magazines and two of them are participating in this limited time sale at the Discount Mags website. These are print magazines, delivered via snail mail, to addresses in the USA. They do not auto-renew (thankfully).
Of the various options, these two are A/V related:
+ Stereophile for $7.77 per year
+ Sound and Vision for $7.55 per year
These prices are good for up to three years. You can use the offer for a new subscription for you, or a gift subscription for others, and you can also renew an existing subscription.
Remember, these are print magazines, not digital.
Wedn: HyperX Cloud Alpha S for $90
Two headphones among the daily deals for Wednesday January 15 in 2020 [it takes some practice not writing 2019] as follows:
+ at Best Buy, the new condition HyperX Cloud Alpha S Wired 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset is going for $90 with free S&H or pickup/ship-to-store ~ whatever’s available-possible
+ at Woot, from a 3rd-party refurbished iRecertify (which offers the 90-day warranty) you can get the refurbished Powerbeats 3 for $55 with up to ten pairs per customer at the sale price…
GeekSquad certified refurbished Apple/Beats headphones (33 options)
Best Buy is having a sale on Geek Squad certified refurbished Apple and Beats headphones including in-ears, truly wireless and over and on ears. A total of 33 options are available.
When you expand the Specifications area on an individual eligible product, you will see that they come with a 90-day warranty, which factors in the price BUT as usual, be sure to price-check any items whose price-ranges you are not familiar with…
Powerbeats 3 bluetooth eaprhones for $80 [limit 3]
It is $90 as a Best Buy daily deal, but Amazon actual has managed to outdo them, it’s the red-black color scheme of the new condition Power Beats 3 bluetooth earphones going for $80 with free US shipping and up to three pairs per customer at the sale price. The other two colors go for $90…
This is an “organic” Amazon price, so I have no clue if/when it will change. The earphones average 3.6 out of 5 based on nearly 3800 customer reviews and they have a rather low 2:1 5-star to 1-star ratio. Ideally you want to look at products with a 10:1 or better ratio. If nothing else, this should convince you to read reviews and forums and such before buying…
Thur: refurbished Audio Technica QuietPoint for $50 to $70
Good until 11:59pm central time on 1/2/20 [Happy New Year], Woot is having a sale on a couple of refurbished Audio Technica headphones with a 1-year Audio Technica warranty as follows:
+ ATH-ANC70 for $50
+ ATH-ANC7BSV-RB for $70
These are QuietPoint active noise cancelling headphones…
UPDATE: also a daily deal for Jan 2nd in 2020 are four color schemes of the new condition PowerBeats Pro truly-wireless earphones going for $200 per pair and you can buy as many as you like from Amazon actual. AppleCare+ for two years is offered optionally for +$29 per pair…
Wedn: iLuv BubbleGum Air truly-wireless for $20
Happy 2020 with a new daily deal, good until 11:59pm ET on New Year’s Day, it is the new condition iLUV Bubble Gum [do NOT chew them!] Air truly-wireless earphones going for $20 with free US shipping at B&H Photo where it is one of their deals of the day. Up to five pairs per customer at the sale price. As of the time of writing they have zero customer reviews…
Massdrop sale of the decade is ON (HD-58X, Noble Uni, Koss Electro, Etc)
Massdrop is currently running their Sale of the Decade, as the parade / barrage / onslaught of decade puns in articles and sales continues…
Among them (in price order by product type):
OVER/ON EARS
+ Sennheiser PC-39X gaming headset for $90
+ Hifiman HE-4XX planars for $130
+ Sennheiser HD-58X Jubilee for $135
+ KOSS ESP/95X electrostatic system for $400
+ Hifiman Edition XX for $500
+ FOCAL ELEX for $600
+ MR Speakers ETHER CX closed-back for $700
IN-EARS
+ NuForce Stride bluetooth necklace-style for $40
+ NuForce EDC3 for $60
+ Noble X Universal for $125
+ Empire Ears Zeus Universal for $750
DAC/Amps
+ LEX CAVALLI LIQUID CARBON X AMP for $160
Bower & Wilkins PX ANC BT Oval Over/On-Ears for $230
NOTE: Because of the oval shape, I’m not sure I buy into the over-ear claim of these, so be sure to research it…
For a limited time, Amazon actual is having a sale on the new condition Bower & Wilkins PX ANC BT headphones for $230 with up to five pairs per customer at the sale price. Two color schemes are available. They average 3.9 out of 5 based on 460+ customer ratings…
NOTE that these are now a previous generation model. The current B&W ANC Oval-Ear headphones are the PX5 and PX7 models which go for $248 and $348 and are on-ear and over-ear respectively.
Thur: Auray headphone holder contraption for $12
Good until 12/26/19 at 11:59pm eastern (or before that if it somehow manages to sell out or run out), you can get the new condition Auray headphone holder with adjustable angle for $12 at NY’s B&H Photo with up to five per customer at the sale price…
This averages 4.5 out of 5 based on 50+ customer reviews. Note that this is not a conventional stand, in that it does not stand by itself, you have to attach it to something using its clamp. Can be used vertically or horizontally. Measurements of the padded area and such can be found on the aforelinked product page. Check the reviews as well to see how it fits various headphones mentioned by the various viewers-like-you…
Sunday: AirPods with Charging Case for $145
One of the Sunday daily deals at the Best Buy website is the new condition Apple AirPods with a (wired) charging case going for $145 with free US shipping and/or store pickup where possible. Only this option/combo is on sale…
Sunday: Polsen HPS-A40 Over-Ears (w/Bass adjustment) for $50
Good until Sunday 12/22/19 at 11:59pm ET, there is a headphone among the B&H deals of the day, it is the new condition closed-back over-era Polsen HPS-A40 going for $50 with free US shipping. One unusual thing about this headphone is that it has a 3-level bass adjustment. It averages 5 out of 5 but based on just three customer reviews…
JLab JBuds Air Icon for $40 [truly wireless]
As part of their 12 days of deals, the Best Buy website is offering the new condition JLab Audio JBuds Air Icon Truly Wireless earphones for $40 with free store pickup and/or free shipping depending on the situation.
These average 4.2 out of 5 based on 225+ customer reviews at Best Buy.
My only experience with truly-wireless so far has been the Jaybird Run [see partial unboxing]. The low(er) battery life eats away at its benefits as the battery life of over/on-ear bluetooth headphones has increased dramatically… But that of course depends on your needs/preferences/priorities and so forth…
Sony ZX310-AP Closed On-Ears for $19
Through the magic of price-matching, currently the new condition closed-back on-ear Sony ZX-310AP/B headphone is on sale for $19 at NewEgg (by Newegg actual) and by Amazon actual. Up to three per customer at each retailer…
The “AP” stands for remote control button for an Android phone, and the “/B” stands for the black color scheme…
I’ve used both the ZX310 and the ZX100 and I’m convinced these were tuned for use in a (at least moderately loud) coffee shop. There, they sound very serviceable but listening to them in a quiet place brings out the worst of them…
UPDATE: speaking of Amazon, as part of cascading AmazonBasics (house brand) sales, they are offering the AB replacement cables for Bose Quiet Comfort headphones for about $11 per cable. Not related to the Sonys, I’m just stuffing this here because it does not warrant a separate post…
Wedn: Audio Technica M-series sale (M20x for $35, M40x for $69, M50x for $103, M50xBT for $129)
It’s a big Audio Technica day at the Amazon Gold Box for Wednesday 12/18/19. Hiding inside a Gaming and Streaming sale a number of well-regarded closed-back over-ear Audio Tehcnica ATH-M series headphones are on sale:
+ M20x for $35
+ M40x for $69
+ M50x for $103
+ M50x bluetooth for $129
The sale also includes Blue Yeti USB microphones for $89 each and the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition THX 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset for $55…
Limit three of each item at the sale price. You may be able to get more if any of the marketplace sellers are also offering it at the same price…
Wedn: Sony Xperia Duo, Anker/Soundcore, JBL, Etc
For a limited time on Wednesday, B&H Photo is offering the new condition Sony Xperia Ear Duo truly wireless earphones on sale for $80 with free US shipping in the gold color scheme…
On the other site of the pond, Amazon Germany is having a sale on Anker’s Soundcore audio gear including truly wireless models starting at $30, bluetooth necklace-style earphones starting at $10, bluetooth over-ears starting at $40, exercise bluetooth earphones starting at $20, and various bluetooth speakers.
Meanwhile at NewEgg, this is not doing well in customer reviews, but if you know what it is and why you need it, the JBL headphone charging case is on sale for $9, with up to three per customer at the sale price…
Tuesday: NuForce BeFree5 Truly wireless for $25
Good until Tuesday 12/17/19 at 11:59pm ET, B&H Photo is offering the new condition NuForce BE Free5 truly wireless earphones for $25 with free US shipping. They are available in black or blue color schemes with up to per customer. They average 4.5 out of 5 but based on just three customer reviews.
For more sales, check their latest holiday season offers…
Monday: Samson SR-350 for $10
Good until Monday 12/16/19 at 11:59pm eastern (or earlier if sold out), you can get the new condition closed-back over-ear Samsong SR-350 headphone for $10 with free US shipping as one of the deals du jour at NYC’s B&H Photo. This is the Special Edition Blue color scheme.
This should not be confused with the more famous Samson SR-850/950 headphones which share common ancestry with equivalent Superlux models. Just don’t ask me to recite all the models 🙂
Sennheiser HD8 DJ Closed-Over-Ears for $140
Good until 12/14/19 at 11:59pm eastern time, B&H Photo is offering the new condition closed-back over-ear Sennheiser HD8 DJ headphones for $140 with free shipping within the USA. Up to three per customer at the sale price. There, they average close to 5 out of 5 based on a Michael Jordan number of customer reviews…
PS (SPOILER ALERT): 23 customer reviews…
PS2: this is part of their latest offers for the holiday shopping season…
PS3: speaking of limited time deals, Amazon Germany is offering this AmazonBasics Transport for the Bose Soundlink Revolve speaker for under 4 euro. You can also fit other similarly shaped items in there. Check pictures, dimensions (I shouldn’t say measurements in an audio blog because some people might be measuring bags too) and customer reviews to see what else might fit inside…
Thur: Polsen HPC-A30 studio headphones for $15
Good until Thursday 12/12/19 at 11:59pm ET (or earlier if sold out), one of the B&H latest offers is the new condition closed-back over-ear Polsen HPC-A30 headphone offered for $15 with free US shipping…
It averages 4 out of 5 based on 70+ customer reviews. Off the top of my head it reminds me of a Tascam model, I’m getting visuals of a red/black color scheme, but I could be totally wrong…
Beyerdynamic DT770 (80 ohm) with $50 pGC for $179
As part of the limited time Green Monday festivities at NewEgg, you can check out their headphone sales which are headlined by the new condition Beyerdynamic DT770 (80 ohm) closed-back over-ear bundled with a $50 promotional gift card (hence the “pGC” in the blog-post title) going for $179 with free US shipping. Limit two per customer. This is sold and shpped by NewEgg…
Monoprice with Free S&H: Eapards for $9, Triple IEMs for $28, Planars for $70+
As part of the Green Monday festivities, Monoprice too has a Green Monday sale and they also have an Overstock/Clearance sale and in that sale they feature 10 headphones/earphones on sale as follows:
+ Memory Foam protein leather earpads for $9
+ Triple Driver IEMs for $28
+ Sonic Solace ANC/bluetooth over-ears for $50 in two colors
+ Monolith M300 planar earphoness for $70
+ M565 open-back over-ear planars for $157~
+ M600 open-back over-ear dynamic for $60
+ Monolith electrostatic headphone with amplifier for $300
+ space-eater Monolith Tube Amplifier with ESS Sabre for $190
+ all the items mentioned above in this post come with free US shipping
Focal Earpads for ELEX for $60
Massdrop is back with something specific and utilitarian, the FOCAL earpads for the ELEX headphones are currently running at Massdrop for $60 with free US shipping and returns. Nearly 500 units of these have been sold.
NOTE that these will ship on April Fool’s Day in 2020, that’s 3.5 months from the time of writing of this post, so keep that in mind if you need earpads yesterday…
Monday: Senal SMH-1000 Studio Headphones for $45
If you are looking for new condition studio headphones and cannot wait for another Sony MDR-7506 or V6 sale, then good until 11:59pm ET on Monday 12/9/19, B&H Photo is offering as one of their daily deals the new condition closed-back over-ear Senal SMH-1000 Studio Headphones for $45 with free US shipping. You can buy as many as you want at the sale price. They average 4.5 out of 5 based on 210+ customer reviews. The headphones come with a 3-year warranty, a rarity at these price [with a few notable exceptions such as the Koss limited lifetime warranty]..
Optionally, at the page over there, you can bundle them with the Auray Extra Deep Earpads for +$13 more. These Auray earpads are also compatible with the Sony V6 and MDR-7506, which means that they are probably compatible with other headphones that are compatible with 7506/V6 earpads. Check reviews and answered-questions and dimensions and such to be certain…
Speaking of B&H, they have now launched their Green Monday deals, because every Monday needs its own unique name 🙂
Speaking of daily deals, Woot is offering Apple & Beats on sale as follows:
+ urBeats 3 in-ears for $40
+ BeatsX bluetooth neckband in-ears for $70
+ Apple Earpods volume buy offer, one pair for $13, two pairs for $18, three pairs for $22
+ note that these come only with a 90-day Woot warranty
Free 3-month Spotify Premium trial
IF you want to try the premium Spotify experience, for a limited time, Spotify is offering a FREE 3-Month Premium trial. During these 90 days you get all the benefits of a premium (aka paying) member, with offline downloads, no ads, and so on.
Given that these days most of the major music streaming providers are mega-corps (Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft on-and-off), it may not be a bad idea to support the independent player in the field ~ if nothing else to keep the big boys in check.
That’s what I did, I went from Google Play (and I was in on the launch-time $8/month rate) to Spotify Premium. Neither service is perfect, if one could take the best features of each and blend them together, that would be GREAT!
Sunday: microSD sale (up to 400GB) and HyperX Cloud Stinger for $30
Feed your DAPS and PADs (= phones as DAPs) at the Amazonian Gold Box during Sunday December 8 in 2019 because there is a storage and accessories sale running until 11:59pm PT (or earlier if sold out). You can get up to three units of the same item per shopping cart.
MicroSD cards, of PAD and DAP interest, are offered from Sandisk with storage options ranging from 64GB to 400GB and prices from $9 to $47. They also have full-size SD cards on sale (Sandisk, Lexar) if you like to put music in your laptop’s memory card slots. And then there are various USB flash drives for additional and more portable musical storage and backups.
The accessories part of the sale is mostly gaming gear, and among them is the new condition HyperX Cloud Stinger going for just $30…
Recent Comments