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More action at members-only Massdrop, the following offers are running with 6-7 days left as of blog-posting date, and none of them is fully unlocked. They are:
+ Beyerdynamic Manufaktur DT 990 (600 Ohm) as low as $280 shipped
+ Colorfly C4 portable DAP (and DAC and AMP) as low as $508 shipped
+ SMSL M8 desktop DAC as low as $180 shipped
As of 6/24/15 recheck, the price is $550~… The previously mentioned used options at around $400 sold out, however, we have good news on the new-condition front. The open-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 700 are now down to $505 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual.
If you like modest-red headphones, the NAD VISO HP50, another frequently recommended model, is available in “Used – Very Good” (open-box with full warranty per this particular description) condition for $220 (was $200) by ListenUp thru Amazon. They ship from ListenUp so they are not eligible for free 2-day Prime shipping benefits. The other used colors go for $220+. These closed-back over-ears go for $300 in new condition. They average 4.4 out of 5 with nearly 100 customer reviews.
The new condition price of the Philips Fidelio X2 went back up to $300 (from sale at $250) but the used prices went in the opposite direction creating a bigger gap between the two. As of the time of writing there are two “Used – Very Good” listings for $227 (was $216~) at Amazon Warehouse Deals, and one “Used – Like New” for $241 (Was $230)… Prices updated here 6/19/15…
As of 6/23/15 recheck, the used options in this price range sold out… The Sennheiser HD 700 are currently available in “Used – Good” condition for around $408 by Amazon Warehouse Deals where the new condition price is $544~.
Tesla time, the Beyerdynamic T1 are currently available in “Used – Very Good” condition for $741 by Amazon Warehouse Deals.
More Massdrop offers were added today, but as of the time of writing, none of them are fully unlocked, however, they each have seven days left (from blog-posting date). They are:
The Ultrasone Edition 10 Limited open-back headphones with their S-Logic Plus are currently available in “Used – Like New” condition for $2000 plus $7 flat shipping by AudioCritic thru Amazon. The description for this particular listings states: “Mint condition. Comes with wood headphone stand and case. Original packaging. The serial number is 149x (only 2010 units produced). Ship same business day with tracking info and delivery confirmation.”
A new burst of offers is up at Massdrop today, but as of the time of writing, none of them have reached their lowest possible offer price (in their lingo, “fully unlocked”). These however have about 6-7 days to go from blog-posting date, so they have plenty of chances to get fully unlocked. They are (with shipping added to the price total, but not sales tax because I am not a tax calculation super-computer):
From $50 earbuds to a near flagship setup, the HD 700 headphones are bundled together with the Sennheiser HDVA 600 headphone amplifier, together for $1850 by the Sennheiser USA store and by marketplace sellers at Amazon.com.
An often recommended entry-point open-back over-ear headphone, the Sennheiser HD 518 is on sale again, going for $73 with free shipping, with a limit of five per customer at Amazon.com by Amazon actual. They average 4.5 out of 5 with 300+ customer reviews. They are straight up headphones, no mic/remote.
This is only a crackpot theory, so do not make any life-altering decisions based on it. According to my research, the last few times the new condition Philips Fidelio X1 open-back over-ears were offered as surprise Lightning Deals at the Amazon Gold it was on Wednesdays, at some point in the middle of the day. So Wednesday appears to be the magic day of the week! However, it is NOT guaranteed to happen every week.
Two weeks ago it happened, but not last week. The last time I believe it got offered for $140, which was lower than previous lightning deals of $170+. This does not appear in the schedule in the Amazon Gold Box ahead of time like many other lightning deals. It shows up when it goes live. The lightning deal price shows on the product page and the Gold Box. The sale price won’t appear if you do an Amazon search – you’d have to click through to the product page.
The X1 was replaced by the Fidelio X2 which currently returned back up to $300~.
AKG party at Massdrop (members-only but free to join). The closed-back over-ear AKG K553 Pro Studio Headphone is currently fully unlocked (lowest price possible) for $120 with free shipping. The offer is good for the next six days (from blog-posting date). This offer is limited to 1400 units, but you have plenty of time, as of the time of writing, only 166 units got purchased.
The items below have about 6-7 days left, but they are not fully unlocked as of the time of writing:
+ Creative Sound Blaster E5 USB DAC/Amp Combo as low as $156
+ Sony PHA-3 Portable DAC/Amplifier Combo as low as $708
+ Sieveking Omega Headphone Stand as low as $140
Tesla time! The closed-back over-ear portable (okay, “portable”) Beyerdynamic T70p headphones are currently available in “Used – Good condition” for $261~ or “Used – Very Good condition” for $279 (many listings) by Amazon Warehouse Deals. The number of used options may suggest that price pressure may build on the used prices and cause them to drop (only speculation, I cannot see the future!)
This older model is no longer available… The new condition Grado SR-60i On-Ears are officially down to $70 by the official Grado store (4OurEars) through Amazon.com. The typical price for these at authorized dealers was $80 when they were the latest model. Their replacement, the SR-60e go for $80. As of the time of writing, there are ten units left of the SR60i at $70.
As of 6/18/15 recheck, these sold out in Used condition…
[Read more…]
Bundle time! The Shure SRH 1540 closed-back over-ears are bundled together with the Fostex HP-P1 Headphone Amp & DAC, and together they go for $885 with free shipping at B&H Photo.
As of a 6/13/15 update, the $641 option sold-out. The lowest used price is $760 via AudioCritic… The $641 price by AWD actual The Reference Class AKG K3003i In-Ears are currently available in “Used – Very Good” condition for around $641 by Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD) actual. When you add it to the shopping cart, it says there’s only one left.
Flagship action! Hide your wallets, cut off the internet cable! The Hifiman HE-1000 flagship over-ear planar-magnetic headphones are now in-stock and shipping for their very flagship price of $3000 by Hifiman through Amazon. They ship from Hifiman, so they are not eligible for Prime shipping benefits. Check forums and audiophile websites for more details on these.
Members-only but free to join site Massdrop has a number of new offers added the last few days. The offers mentioned in this post expire in 6-7 days from blog-posting date. Of those added, the PS Audio Sprout DAC/amp is fully unlocked for $510 shipped, and the GUSTARD H10 amp for $312~ shipped. On the budget front, the Brainwavz S1 Earphones go for $28~ shipped. Not headphone related, but the U-Turn Audio Orbit Basic + Cue is also unlocked, for $195 shipped. The rest of the items are not unlocked as of the time of writing, but they have plenty of time left to go.
The closed-back over-ear AKG K550 headphones are currently going for $156 in new condition by authorized dealers at Amazon.com (Amazon actual, Huppin’s). In used condition, they go for around $118 as “Used – Very Good” by Amazon Warehouse Deals, where they have multiple listings which may (or may not) put price pressure. These average 4.2 out of 5 based on 138 customer reviews.
A new wave of offers got added to members-only Massdrop, which is free to join but you must be joined and logged on in order to see the various offers. As of the time of writing, the ones below are not fully unlocked and end in about seven days from blog-posting date:
The open-back over-ear deputy-flagship Sennheiser HD 700 are currently available in “Used – Very Good condition” (original damaged packaging) for $435 by Amazon Warehouse Deals.
As of a 6/5/15 recheck, Amazon actual sold out of this at $400… If you are not in a hurry to receive them, the planar magnetic HifiMan HE400i over-ears are currently on sale for around $403, in new condition, at Amazon.com by Amazon actual. They are however in “Temporarily out of stock”, so if you need them by a specific date (eg Dads/Grads) you may not get them. But if you do order them, you lock in the $403 price.
The new condition open-back over-ear Philips Fidelio X2/27 headphones have a solid discount and this is not part of a lightning deal. As of the time of writing, you can get them for $248 with free shipping, with a limit of five per customer at Amazon by Amazon actual. They average 4.7 out of 5 with 100+ customer reviews.
The open-back over-ear Shure SRH 1440 (their first adventure in open-back) are currently available in “Used – Like New” condition for $210 by Amazon Warehouse Deals. They average 4.8 out of 5 based on 23 customer reviews with only 5-star and 4-star reviews. The blurb for this listing says damaged original packaging.
UPDATE 6/2/15: the “Used – Very Good” sold out, but it looks like the “Used – Like New” got discounted a bit since earlier…
This 4-hour deal ended. The sale price was $900…
[Read more…]
The new condition price of the new second generation over-ear Sennheiser Momentum is $350 but if you don’t want to wait for future sales and you are comfortable with used headphones, both the iOS version (in black) and the Android version (in brown) are available in “Used – Good” condition for $262.50~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals. Only one listing is there for each option, so they may not last long (this is only a guesstimate).
More offers launched today at Massdrop, and as of the time of writing, two of them have reached the lowest price possible. The Philips Fidelio L1 semi-open headphones go for $100 plus $10 flat shipping, while Velour Earpads for the new ATH-Mx headphones from Sound Professionals are offered for $20 plus $2 flat shipping. Five color options are available at checkout and they fit the M50x, M40x, M30x, and M20x, along with the M50 (per the listing there).
Also launched there but not at their lowest price possible as of the time of writing are the Fostex TH500RP for $510, the Parrot Zik 2.0 as low as $328 headphones. On the in-ear front, the Beyerdynamic MXP 50 iE could go as low as $32~ shipped. Of potential interest, the red Focusrite 18i8 Interface could go as low as $305 shipped.
All the above end in about seven days from blog-posting date (not the date you are reading this).
PS: when looking at Philips headphones, beware of an “L” in their model name. It is an indicator of a Lightning connector (newer Apple devices). An example of a new Philips L-headphone, the Fidelio M2L (M2L/27).
More action at Massdrop, three more items got added, with their offers expiring in about seven days from blog-posting date. As of the time of writing, none of them are fully unlocked. They are:
* STAX SRS-3170 Electrostatic Earspeaker System as low as $1010 shipped
* Moe Audio MOE-SS01 IEMs as low as $42~ shipped
* xDuoo TA-01 DAC/Amp as low as $135 shipped
As of the time of writing, Amazon Warehouse Deals has the Ultrasone Performance 880 S-Logic Plus headphones in Used – Very Good condition for $231 (was $243) with free shipping. The new condition price is twice that… Price updated here 5/27/15 at 2:32am ET…
The new condition Audio-Technica ATH-R70x open-back headphones (an open-back parallel to their closed-back M70x) goes for $350 in new condition but you can get it for $288 in “Used – Very Good” by Amazon Warehouse Deals. Do check reviews if you are not familiar with these, as the AT *70x launches are being met with resistance. Which perhaps goes to show that almost every successful headphone line has a ceiling.
Even though it sounds totally ridiculous, I can’t resist saying “Come On Barbie, Let’s Have An Electrostatic Party!”. With that out of the way, the Koss ESP-950 Electrostatic Stereophone is on sale for around $735 at Amazon.com. Amazon’s own price is $736 while marketplace sellers go for as low as $733. The same price range can be found outside Amazon by World Wide Stereo on eBay and Sonix Electronix.
The Massdrop limited edition AKG K7xx headphones are back at their website, offered for $200 with free shipping, with the offer ending in about seven days from blog-posting date. This is the lowest price possible under this offer (only one price). This is based on the K702 65th anniversary edition, an over-ear open-back headphone. The sale is behind a login wall (only registered members can see it – but it is free to join), but their “understanding headphone reviews” blog post is open for all to read.
Another recently launched offer there, but not fully unlocked is the Fostex TH-900 as low as $1116 shipped (why isn’t a $1100 headphone getting free shipping?).
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