Monoprice M600 Open Over-Ears for $100 w/FS

We have a group of offers at the Monoprice website, starting with week #2 of their Early Black Friday sales headling, headphone-wise, by the new condition open-back over-ear Monoprice M300 headphones, a name certainly not not an homage to the good old Sennheiser HD 600 🙂 This headphone is currently on sale for $100 with free standard US shipping, instead of its standard price of $130. It is not eligible for the weekend coupons. Limit up to 20 per customer at the sale price.

Monoprice is also running a limited time Home Theater sale with a variety of systems, speakers, subwoofers, mounts and the obligatory (and necessary mind you) audio accessories.

Back to the headphones, they also have a sale on one of their new recently released bluetooth headphones, the new condition BT-400 Closed Over-Ears go for $33 with free standard US shipping. Just like the previously mentioned 8323s, these too support apt-X.

November 10, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Monoprice 8323 with Bluetooth Closed Over-Ears for $20 w/FS

For a limited time [and not eligible for the weekend coupon], the Monoprice website is offering the new condition Monoprice 8323 with bluetooth closed-back over-ear headphones for $20 with free standard US shipping. Limit up to twenty pairs per customer at the sale price.

This is a newer model based on the wired 8323s. 8323 was their Monoprice PID, and because of the way their website works, new products get assigned new and unique PIDs. Thus the PID for the bluetooth 8323 is actually 24735 🙂 The customer reviews of the two are mixed together so keep that in mind ~ the vast majority of them there are for the older wired model.

I’ve had the wired model and certainly for the price it was a great deal but note that if you have a big head, this may be a tight fit. I could just barely fit inside and they do take up volume on your head when expanded.

They come with apt-X, and considering the price, one has to wonder exactly what the licensing fee for apt-X is and whether some of the more high-end headphone manufacturer (s’ fans) are using the apt-X fee as an excuse to justify the lack of it 🙂

PS: don’t forget to also check their Overstock sale of nearly 500 items for some randomness…

November 10, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Sunday: Monoprice XXX Triple Driver IEMs for $30

Good for Sunday only, coupon code VET25 drops the price of the new condition Monoprice XXX Triple Driver IEMs from $35 to $30. They come with free standard US shipping, so you get them delivered for free [unlike Prime, a rarity at Monoprice]. IF you want many more of these or you are planning a larger order of eligible items, coupon VET150 gets you 20% off orders of $150. Mayhaps they are all getting Triple XXX IEMs for Christmas this year? 🙂

These average 4.4 out of 5 based on 88 customer reviews at the Monoprice website…

November 10, 2018 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

PADs: Used LG V40 for $639

If you want to use the LG V40 flagship smartphone at a DAP but balk at the full new condition price, fear not! New York’s finest B&H Photo is offering it in USED condition for $629 in “condition 10”. This is the factory unlocked North American variant, in the “aurora black” color scheme.

With a 6-inch screen, this can be great for music videos and concerts too, and/or some of the more luxurious music playback and equalizer apps. With 6GB of RAM, it should be able to handle Android music and video streaming apps for years to come. It has 64GB on-board storage plus microSD slot.

On the other hand, if you prioritize on the quad DAC and you are not revved up to get the latest “phone” specs, the new condition unlocked LG V30+ goes for $495 after a $5 off (!) clip-on coupon. This is a USA warranty model. Being a “+”, it has 128GB on-board.

November 8, 2018 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: , ,

Thursday: MEE Matrix3 Bluetooth Over-Ears AND BT Audio Transmitter for $60

Among the Thursday 11/8/18 daily deals at the Best Buy website, you can get the new condition closed-back over-ear MEE Electronics Matrix3 bluetooth headphones for $60 with free shipping or free store pickup where possible/available. But that’s not all. Best Buy is also bundling with this the MEE Audio Bluetooth transmitter.

The headphone on its own has nearly 1000 customer reviews, it averages 3.9 out of 5 at amazon.com…

November 8, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

New Arrivals: Monolith Electrostatic Headphone System

The Monoprice Monolith headphone party continues with a new open-back electrostatic headphone system, now in-stock for $699 plus shipping. This comes with a portable headphone amplifier. Audio comes in (to the amp) from a 3.5mm audio input and goes out to the headphones through the electrostatic headphone jack. Annotated screenshot of the areas of interest of the portable headphone amp below:

November 6, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Tue: Philips SHB-9850-NC BT/ANC Over-Ears for $48

At the chagrin of some audiophiles, combo Bluetooth with ANC over-ear headphones are all the rage these days, so every manufacturer and their sister brands are trying to grab a piece of the pie. Which brings us to one of the NewEgg deals du jour for Tuesday, promo code EMCSEEPU3 gets you the new condition Philips SHB9850NC/27 ANC/BT Over-Ears for $48 with free shipping. This runs on Bluetooth 4.0 with apt-X and AAC support.

November 6, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

SMSL M6 DAC/Amp for $130 [MD]

Yet another SMSL product is running at the Massdrop website. For the next two days and change [from posting time here] you can get the new condition modest-looking SMSL M6 DAC/Amp for $130 with free USA shipping. You can select between silver or black (but there is no Raiders edition!). It will ship from Massdrop in late December 2018 and as usual with SMSL products, there is no mention of warranty in the listing.

November 5, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Tue: Master & Dynamic MH40 Over-Ears for $220

Name brand headphones return to the Best Buy daily deals, this time around it is the new condition closed-back over-ear stylish Master and Dynamic MH-40 in the metal-silver/brown color scheme going for $220 with free shipping.

NOTE that the numbers may be similar but the MH40 is over-ear while the MH30 is on-ear, so keep that in mind when price-checking. Note also that the numerous colors of these are often priced differently. Another sign of a “fashion headphone” ^_^ This is after all an unapologetically retro-fashion headphone!

November 5, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

Now (FINALLY) shipping: Monolith Portable HeadAmp + DAC with THX AAA

Wallets, open wide! Here comes THX! One of the CES 2018 [yes, that’s almost a year ago] products offered at the Monoprice Big Bang then is now ___finally___ shipping! It is the new condition Monolith Portable Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology, PID 24460, going for $280 plus shipping. Come on Monoprice, at least give it free shipping after 10 months of waiting 🙂

Digital inputs are of the micro-USB and 3.5mm optical kind, while the analog input is a standard 3.5mm. The 3.5mm is shared between optical and analogue Line IN. Lots of details and a couple of charts at the aforelinked page. There’s also a sub-1MB PDF user manual linked to there that is 22 pages long. There we learn that the volume knob is also a power button, a convenient way to save up on having yet another button ~ as long as it doesn’t accidentally turn on while in your bag.

PS: PID is the Product ID, a unique identifier given to every Monoprice product. The larger the number, the more recently it has been added to their website’s database.

PS2: the Monolith line-up at Monoprice has expanded so much so that they have created an audiophile-magazine splashy-ad type of a website to highlight all the products. There’s a total of eight Monolith branded headphones now. Guess the names before looking and win fabulous (virtual) prizes ^_^

November 5, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

EU: Shure SRH-840 for 127 euro

The discounting action continues for Shure at Amazon Germany. As of the time of writing, the new condition closed-back over-ear SRH-840 studio heapdhones are going for the very specific price of 127 euro with free shipping in Germany. VAT is included in the price for all EU countries… Other Shure closed and open over-ear/studio headphones are also discounting in different ways over there…

There’s also some discounting of models at Amazon USA, for example the open-back SRH-1440 goes for $300 with free shipping, while the good old SRH-440 is down to $79.

November 5, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Motorola Pulse Escape SH-012 Closed Bluetooths for $20 after coupon

A phone-heavy mobile gadgets sale [some of the older phones with good DACs could be value plays as “PADs” [Phones as DAPs]] including among others the new condition Motorola Pulse Escape closed-back bluetooth headphones for $20 after entering limited time promo code USAVE030 over there. The promo code drops the price from $50 to $20.

This is model SH-012 and the offer is only available on the black color scheme… They run bluetooth 4.1…

November 5, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

SMSL Sanskrit 10th SK10 DAC for $75 [MD]

It’s red DAC time at the Massdrop website where for the next five days and change (from blog posting time] they are offering the new condition SMSL Sanskrit 10th SK10 DAC for $75. Melisandre would definitely approve of the red, but you can also select the blue color scheme at checkout 🙂 These will be shipped by Massdrop in mid-December 2018. There is no mention of warranty in the listing…

November 5, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Mon: Creative Sound BlasterX G6 Hi-Res Gaming DAC and USB Sound Card for $100

Among the Monday NewEGG daily deals, thanks to promo code 115BBSR2, you can get the new condition Creative Sound BlasterX G6 Hi-Res Gaming DAC and USB Sound Card (with Xamp Headphone Bi-Amplifier for PC, PS4, Xbox and Nintendo Switch) for $100 instead of its regular price of $150. It has three reviews at NewEgg with a low rating, but the 17 at amazon.com do slightly better with an average of 3.3 out of 5.

November 5, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Mon: Pioneer HRM-7 DJ/Studio headphones for $99

Good until Monday at 11:59pm eastern time, B&H Photo is offering the new condition Pioneer HRM-7 DJ/Studio headphones (closed, over-ears) for $99 with free US shipping. It comes with two sets of cables (obviously detachable) and a replacement set of earpads. These have the two level headband design.

November 4, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Sun: Bang & Olufsen H8i Closed BT/ANC On-Ears for $250

Among the Sunday daily deals at Best Buy, you can get the new condition Bang and Olufsen H8i wireless (bluetooth) ANC closed-back on-ears for $250 with free shipping. Only the black color scheme is participating in the sale.

PS: reminder, it is that time of the year, the time to “fall back” time.

PS2: audiophool paranoia: the time change will affect the internal timing of DACs and cause increased fuchsia noise in the outputs 😉

November 3, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Sat: Bluedio Bluetooth sale (9 options)

Among the various Saturday Amazon Gold Box deals of the day there is a sale on various Bluedio headphones of the bluetooth kind. Most are over-ears while others are of the neckband earphone kind… Also among the daily deals is a good value for $17 for this Tenergy Stainless Steel electric tea kettle…

November 3, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Sennheiser HD1 Closed Over-Ears for $150

The latest Sennheiser Momentum headphones continue in the US market under the new “HD1” brand. Their new condition closed-back over-ear wired HD1 are currently on sale for $150 with free shipping by Amazon actual, available in both iOS and Android button configurations. iOS has both the black and ivory colors, while Android is only available in black.

Note that the iOS/Android difference is just some of the functionality of the buttons. Otherwise the headphones work regardless…

Speaking of Sennheiser, Massdrop has a profile article on the Massdrop x Sennheiser shipping. Oops, did I say “shipping”? I meant business relationship 🙂

November 2, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With:

DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp for $200 [MD]

Another Massdrop darling brand is back with another unlocked offering. It is the new condition DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp going for $200 with your choice of 110V or 220-240V power supply during checkout. This will ship at the end of the year by Massdrop. There is no mention of warranty in the listing…

November 2, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Tenhz P4 Pro IEMs for $80 [MD]

Another Massdrop headfoolia offering that came out of the gate strong. It is already fully unlocked with 5+ days to go [from blog-posting time]. “It” is not the Stephen King “It” but the new condition Tenhz P4 Pro IEMs going for $80, shipping in mid-December from Massdrop itself. There is no mention of warranty in the listing.

This earphone has four balanced armatures and MMCX cable. This is the first time I’ve heard of this company, so I literally “know nothing Jon Snow”…

November 2, 2018 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Refurb Bose SoundSport Truly Wireless for $130

The official BOSE eBay store is offering factory renewed with a 1-year warranty Bose SoundSport Truly Wireless earphones for $130 with free shipping. Two color options are available with a maximum of five units per eBay user at the sale price.

November 2, 2018 Filed Under: truly wireless Tagged With: , ,

Mitchell & Johnson MJ1 Headphones for $90 [MD]

Never a dull moment at Massdrop. Fully and unlocked and raring to go is the new condition Mitchell & Johnson MJ1 Headphone going for $90 with five days and change left in the offer [from blog-posting time]. This will ship in mid-December 2018 from Massdrop itself. There is no mention of warranty in the listing.

These have wooden earcups and use “electret” driver but does not require a specialized electrostatic amplifier. The name of the company may remind of …shoes, but it’s a London-based hi-fi company 🙂

November 2, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Used Focal ELEAR open over-ear for $529

If you are interested in getting a used Focal Elear headphone and are not tempted by the Massdrop variant, Hifi Heaven is offering a “Used – Very Condition” option for $530 with free shipping at Amazon Warehouse Deals. Next up for $569 is an open-box return by Fique and a “Used – Like New” condition by “Hifi Summit”. These three ship directly from the marketplace sellers with free shipping but not Prime or Prime-like shipping.

November 2, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Koss KPH30i Lightweight On-Ears for $20 + S&H [MD]

Also with 4 days and change left [from blog-posting time] is the new condition Koss KPH30i lightweight on-ears offered for $20 plus shipping in your choice of color scheme [three options are available]. They do come with a mic/remote combo, as do other Massdrop x Koss products. They will ship end of November and come with the usual Koss lifetime warranty.

In other MD action, the Fanmusic C6 cables which fit the HD 6XX and HD 58X but also the HD580, 600 and 650, are offered for $60 with free US shipping. At checkout you can select between 1/4″ or 4-pin XLR. The shipping estimate is just before Christmas 2018.

Speaking of Massdrop, if you are interested in closed-back headphones, they have a running Interest Check thread on closed-back headphones. If there any closed headphones you’d like to see offered there, this is a good opportunity to convince MD to bring them but also fellow shoppers to want them, so they can add their voice/support for model-of-interest 🙂

November 2, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Topping DX7s Balanced DAC/Amp for $360 [MD]

With four days and change to go [from blog-posting date], fully unlocked and ready to go, with 260+ units sold, Massdrop is offering the new condition Topping DX7s Balanced DAC/Amp for $360 in your choice of black or silver color-scheme for the device. This can go up to DSD-512. It has various connectors/options as expected of the price. It is expected to ship mid-December, so it could make it in time for the holiday gift giving seasons…

November 2, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With:

Monoprice M1060C Closed Planar Headphones for $250

This is an old fashioned sale, no coupon code or minimum purchase required to get these deals at Monoprice:

+ closed-back over-ear M1060C planar-magnetic headphones for $250 with free standard US shipping
+ UPDATE: offer ends 11/6/18

+ Monoprice 25 Watt Stereo Hybrid Tube Amplifier with Bluetooth for $100 with free US shipping

+ Monoprice Deep Blue 10 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker for $20 with free US S&H

+ Monoprice 4-Channel Speaker Selector for $15 plus shipping

UPDATE
I forgot to mention these in the original post, more action:

+ Monoprice Neckband Wireless Bluetooth Earphones with Retractable Earbuds for $35 with free US shipping

+ Brushed Aluminum Desk Headphone Stand for the very specific price of $9.74 plus shipping; up to 20 per customer at the sale price; no volume discount because they are already on sale;

November 1, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Now shipping: Monolith Liquid Platinum HeadAmp by Cavalli

One more headphone-related product is now in-stock and shipping at the Monoprice website. It is the new condition Monolith Liquid Platinum Headphone Amplifier by Alex Cavalli, PID 33305, going for $700 plus shipping. The number of new products at Monoprice has increased so much so that this is in the 33,000s. The good old 8323 closed over-ears were merely in the 8000s…

November 1, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: , ,

USA: Creative Super X-Fi pre-orders November 1st [today]

For the USA market, Creative (formerly Labs) are NOW accepting pre-orders for their brand new Super X-Fi headphone amp (aka SXFI) for $150. And for a limited time, while supplies last, during the pre-ordering period, pre-orders will receive a FREE pair of SXFI certified Creative Aurvana SE SFXI earphones per the bottom of the press release [screenshot of that section below]…

The earphones are added automatically included in the order when you add the SFXI amp to the shopping cart. The product title in the shopping cart indicates there are free earphones included [screenshot inside the shopping cart below]:

This has already been released in Singapore. Creative is learning from the world of smartphones and they are attempting to build a whole ecosystem around this with various SFXI-certified headphones and such.

They have also unleashed a FREE Google Play music player app that takes advantage of the technology but everyone can use it. It requires Android 6 and later and is 54MB. It was updated a couple of days ago.

Here’s a 3 minute video from the IDG/PC-World group of companies talking about this…

October 31, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

New at Massdrop (Thursday 9am ET): Hifiman Edition XX Open planars for $600

UPDATE: the shipping estimate has been revealed, it is the end of May 2019, that’s almost seven months from now, so patience is a virtue even for the patient ^_^

Massdrop strikes again! The date of interest this time is Thursday November 1st at 9am eastern! At that very point in time, after the Halloween festivities are over, they will launch a brand new custom co-brand headphone, the Hifiman Edition XX, an open-back planar-magnetic over-ear headphone. The verbiage at Massdrop says that at 20 ohm, an amplifier is not required, it can be driven from a laptop or portable media player. But what about the Sandisk Clip Plus? 🙂

The price is revealed in the listing, it will be $600 with free US shipping and subsidized international shipping. It will come with a 1-year manufacturer warranty which makes sense since it is a Hifiman x Massdrop co-operation.

The big unknown that will be revealed tomorrow is the shipping estimate. This is a new product, so I’m guessing don’t expect it to arrive in 2018 🙂

October 31, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Sandisk Clip Jam (8GB) for $30

The lime-green and red-orange color-schemes of the new condition Sandisk Clip Jam mp3 player are on sale for $30 with Prime shipping at Amazon’s website. These are newer models, after the legendary “Clip+”. They come with a 2-year warranty and support mp3, AAC, WMA, WAV and Audible’s DRM for audiobooks.

In addition to the 8GB on-board, they also have a microSD slot for additional storage. I don’t have this newer model, but I am frequently rotating between my three “Clip+” models which also have on-board storage plus microSD. You can view the music separately or together in the player.

It looks like this model however, unlike the Clip+, it does not have the Rockbox option…

October 31, 2018 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With:

AKG N90Q Reference ANC Over-Ears for $1000

For a limited time only, B&H Photo is offering the new condition AKG N90Q Reference class ANC over-ear closed-back headphones for a flat $1000 with free shipping and handling. Interesting choice to add ANC to a reference-priced headphone but if all the headphones were the same, it would be more boring 🙂

October 31, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Monoprice Headphone Stand (Aluminum) for $18 w/free S&H

Monoprice is back with a handful of special audio-related offers, some of which get unconditional free standard US shipping without coupons or other songs-and-dances…

+ Headphone Stand (PID 24462) for $18 with free standard US shipping
+ full aluminum construction; no assembly required

+ Monolith by Monoprice 6ft RCA Cable for $18 with free standard US shipping

+ Onyx Series Auxiliary 3.5mm TRS Audio Cable, 3ft for $1.05

+ Monolith by Monoprice Amplifier/Component Stand for $24

+ Lightweight on-ear headphones for $19
+ unboxing post coming soon [pictures taken; I must process them and write up the blog-post]…

October 31, 2018 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

SMSL SH-8 Head-Amp for $160, SU-8 DAC for $200, Both $340

Massdrop strikes again! Unlocked and ready for purchase with an early December 2018 shipment date is the new condition SMSL SU-8 DAC & SH-8 Headphone Amp drop [aka offer]. There are three options in this listing ~ you select them at the checkout. The SU-8 DAC goes for $200, the SH-8 amp goes for $160, or you can buy both for $340 [a $20 off combined purchase discount; stingy?] There are discussions, reviews and links for these models over there at the aforelinked MD webpage…

October 31, 2018 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Free Universal Case with Sennheiser HD 280 for $100

Proper studio headphones they are, the Sennheiser HD 280, and for a limited time, B&H Photo is bundling a FREE Auray UHC-725 Universal Headphone Case, all together going for $100. The case goes for $20 on its own and comes with a 1-year warranty of its own. The HD 280 are a known quantity. The case averages 4.8 out of 5 based on 14 customer reviews and it has a few questions answered as well. Between those and the pictures and descriptions [dimensions under the SPECS sub-tab over there] you can get a feel on what other headphones you can fit inside.

October 31, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Fiio RC-SE1 earphone cable (3.5/MMCX) for $25

This is not a magic cable. It’s a practical cable 🙂 The new condition Fiio RC-SE1 earphone replacement 47-inch cable is currently on sale for $25 when you add it to the shopping cart at B&H Photo. It is 3.5mm on one end, and gold-plated MMCX on the other end.

October 31, 2018 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,