Creative Aurvana Live! for $48

The exclamation point is officially part of the model name, the closed-back over-ear Creative Aurvana Live! is going for $48 with free shipping by multiple sellers, including Amazon actual (look at the detailed listings as some sellers play the game of discounting by a penny or two so they can appear ahead of other sellers). These average 4.3 out of 5 based on 260+ customer reviews.

[DEAD] Used Creative Labs WP-380 On-Ears (BT, NFC) for $50

Rechecking on 3/7/16 shows none available in Used conditions. In other words, the available unit(s) got scooped up…

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Creative Aurvana Live (closed over-ears) for $49

The closed over-ear Creative Aurvana Live headphones that had their share of recommendation list spotlight are currently discounted. As of the time of writing you can get them in new condition for $49.03 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual (some of the marketplace sellers have them for a few pennies less). This maybe be a price-match of Jet.com or vice versa. The headphones average 4.3 out of 5 based on 250+ customer reviews.

Creative Aurvana Platinum for $160 (BT, ANC)

The Creative Aurvana Platinum brown-themed over-the-ear headphones are currently on sale for $160 by Creative Lab’s own store, with the order fulfilled by Amazon. These headphones have many buzzwords, NFC, Bluetooth 3.0, aptX, Multi-Point, Active Noise Cancelling, HD Voice, etc. They also play music via 3.5mm input sources, so it’s not just Bluetooth. They also promise lag-free audio, which is never a guarantee with bluetooth (an issue when watching videos). These average 3.6 out of 5 based on 58 customer reviews. Their starting price was “Beats Studio”, aka around $300 🙂

Massdrop: Audio Technica M50x + Creative E1 portable DAC-Amp for $177

Bundle time at Massdrop, fully unlocked for $170 plus $7 flat shipping is the combo of the Audio Technica ATH-M50x headphones and the entry-level Creative Sound Blaster E1 portable DAC/amp (USB or 3.5mm input, two headphone outputs). So if you happen to need both right at this time, it’s not a bad price. But if you don’t need both of them or right away, you can get better prices on each item individually.

For more on the Creative E1, there are 180+ customer reviews at Amazon. The E1 shares the same product page with two other models, so for E1-only reviews, use this pre-filtered reviews list (unfortunately they don’t provide averages on the filtered review lists).

The Massdrop offer mentioned in this post ends in about seven days from blog-posting date.

Massdrop Unlocked: AKG M220 Semi-Open Headphones for $70 shipped

The AKG Massdrop bromance continues with another iteration of the AKG M220 Semi-Open Studio Headphones, fully unlocked at the moment for $70 with free shipping. This will ship in mid November. Already some enterprising sellers are selling it, at a small premium, for $80 shipped through amazon.com.

Other offers at Massdrop (but not fully unlocked as of posting time):
* Calyx Audio PaT DAC/Headphone Amp could go as low as $85 shipped
* Creative Sound Blaster X7 Amp/DAC combo could go as low as $320 shipped

Massdrop Unlocked: FiiO E10K for $67

A new round of specials is up at members-only Massdrop, and as of the time of writing, with 7 days to go (from blog-posting date) the FiiO E10K USB DAC/amp is fully unlocked (= the lowest price possible under this offer), going for $63 plus $4 flat shipping.

Also offered there, but not fully unlocked, with five days to go, is the FiiO X5 2nd Generation Player that could go as low as $318~ shipped. Meanwhile the Creative Sound Blaster E5 USB DAC/Amp Combo, with six days to go, could go as low as $160~ shipped.

Tiered coupons at Creative Store (best is $50 off $250+)

The Creative (Labs) online store has a trio of tiered coupons _without_ any exclusions! They have headphones (over-ear and in-ears) and amps and other sound-related hardware. The coupons are as follows:

  • $50 off a $250+ order with GRAB50
  • $25 off a $150+ order with GRAB25
  • $15 off a $100+ order with GRAB15

Free shipping with orders of $35+. Some items are already discounted, the coupons are on top off those discounts. The coupons are limited time offers but it does not mention when they expire.

Used Creative Sound Blaster E1 portable head-amp with two outputs for $27.50

The Creative Sound Blaster E1 Portable Headphone amp with dual headphone jacks goes for $35 in new condition but if you are comfortable with used amps, you can get it for around $27.50 by Amazon Warehouse Deals in “Used – Very Good” condition. There are MANY listings at this condition/price, so price pressure may build and cause further discounting, so this is something perhaps to keen an eye out for in the next few days for a better price.

Massdrop: Creative E3, Gustard X12

Two new offers were added to members-only Massdrop, which, as of the time of writing, are not fully unlocked, but they have 6-7 days to go:

* Creative Sound Blaster E3 USB DAC/Amp Combo could go as low as $123~ shipped
* Gustard DAC-X12 USB Version could go as low as $452~ shipped

Massdrop: Creative Aurvana Live 2 as low as $78

The Creative Aurvana Live 2 closed-back headphones are up on offer at Massdrop with the lowest price possible during this promotion being $70 plus $8~ flat shipping. As of the time of writing, this is not fully unlocked, but it has about six days left (from blog-posting date) to reach the magic number of 25.

Meanwhile the first generation model (also known as CAL! for short) continues to be offered for $50 by a couple of marketplace sellers with the order fulfilled by amazon.com.

Creative Aurvana Live for $50

The closed-back Creative Aurvana Live are currently offered in new condition for $50 with free shipping by a couple of marketplace sellers, with the order fulfilled by Amazon (= eligible for free Prime 2-day shipping). They average 4.4 out of 5 based on 230 customer reviews.

If you prefer used, you can get them for $37.50 (Good) to $40 (Very Good) condition by Amazon Warehouse Deals.

Massdrop: Creative Sound Blaster X7 LE DAC/amp for $410

Added to Massdrop today, with seven days left (as of blog-posting date) is the Creative Sound Blaster X7 Limited Edition DAC/amp that could go as low as $400 plus $10~ flat shipping. This is a do-it-all type of DAC/amp, serving speakers and headphones alike. It is not a dedicated headphone amp. One of the pictures over there shows all the connectors at the back (zoom in). It has both 1/4″ and 1/8″ headphone inputs on the front.

Here’s a seven minute video with Creative guy talking about it:

Optionally, you can add to your order the Creative E-MU XM7 Bookshelf Speakers for +$120 (they go for $270 on their own – eg amazon.com).

Used Creative Sound Blaster E1 portable head-amp for $27

The Creative Sound Blaster E1 portable headphone amp is currently available in ample supply from the looks for it in “Used – Very Good” condition for around $27 by Amazon Warehouse Deals. As of the time of writing, there are three (!) pages of listings, with the last page showing “Used – Like New” condition options for $28.55… This averages 3.9 out of 5 based on 190+ customer reviews over there.

Creative Aurvana In-Ear3 Plus for $120 (was $134)

The brand new Creative Aurvana In-Ear3 Plus in-ears are currently on a bit of a sale, as of 6/28/15, it is down from $134 to $120 with free shipping by Amazon.com actual, however, the shipping estimate is now 2-4 weeks, so if you are not in a hurry… They have no customer reviews as of the time of writing.

Three Amps added to Massdrop, one fully unlocked

It’s been a very busy week at Massdrop, three more items were added, each with six days left (from blog-posting date). Of the three, one is fully unlocked, the red Calyx Audio PaT DAC/Headphone Amp goes for $89 shipped. The other two are not there yet, the Creative Sound Blaster X7 Amp/DAC combo could go as low as $310 shipped, while the Lake People G109 Headphone Amplifier could go as $460 shipped. As usual, I only post the initial listing for each item there, I cannot individually track each offer as time goes by.

[DEAD] Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBL with Creative E1 head-amp for $190

As of 5/23/15 the prices went up, but these are recurring offers…
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Massdrop: Creative Sound Blaster E3 for $92.55

Also fully unlocked at Massdrop, with seven days left (from blog-posting date) is the new condition Creative Sound Blaster E3 portable DAC/amp going for $90 plus $2.55 flat shipping. This is the lowest price during this offer.

10% off new Creative In-Ear3 Plus and In-Ear2 Plus

The new “Plus” Creative Aurvana in-ears are currently in-stock and have a 10% off discount if you use promo code NEWAURV at the Creative online store for the new In-Ear3 Plus ($150 – 10%) and the In-Ear2 Plus ($100 – 10%). Coupons end 4/19/15.

The Ear3 Plus is discounted at Amazon but not quite as much ($139 instead of $135) without coupon but it is “temporarily out of stock”.

Audio Technica ATH-M40x + Creative E1 portable head-amp for $110 total

This is an “if the stars align” type of a deal, if you happen to want both the new Audio Technica ATH-M40x closed-back headphones and the Creative Labs E1 portable headphone amp, they are bundled together for $110 with free shipping by Amazon actual (not by marketplace sellers). Who knew, Amazon is now making its own headphone + amp match-making schemes 🙂

The bundle has only one customer review but it is a detailed one. The headphones on their own average 4.7 out of 5 based on 243 customer reviews, while the E1 portable amp averages 3.7 out of 5 based on 66 customer reviews and has 26 questions answered.

Buy Creative Soundblaster E3 for $130, Get Hitz MA500 in-ears for FREE

The Creative Store has another offer. If you purchase the Creative Soundblaster E3 portable DAC/amp for $130, you can add to your shopping cart the Creative Hitz MA-500 in-ears for FREE. When you add the E3 to the cart, you see the option to add the earphones for free.

soundblaster_hitz_promotion

Buy Creative Soundblaster E5 for $200, Add Aurvana Live! headphones for $20 more

The official Creative store has a combined purchase promotion. If you purchase the Creative Soundblaster E5 DAC/Amp for $200, you have the option to add the Creative Aurvana Live closed-back headphones to your order for $20 more. The offer is shown in the shopping cart, after you add the E5 to the cart. You will see something like this:

soundblaster_aurvana_promotion

Two pairs of Creative Hitz MA2600 On-Ears for $50

The official Creative store has a limited time offer, for $50 you can get two pairs of the Hitz MA2600 consumer on-ear headphones with their triangular shape. The package includes the headphones and nothing else.

Used Creative Labs HN-700 ANC for $16

On the less-than-an-ATM-bill front, especially if you get Prime shipping benefits, the old (discontinued) Creative Labs HN-700 with active noise cancelling is available in “Used – Like New” condition for around $16~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. The ANC circuit is powered by two AAA batteries. It averages 3.6 out of 5 based on 15 customer reviews. The usual ANC caveats apply.

Creative Sound Blaster E1 portable headphone amp for $33.50

The Creative Sound Blaster E1 portable headphone amp is currently on sale for $33.50 at Amazon.com by Amazon actual with the usual free shipping options (Prime or $35+ order). It averages 4.0 out of 5 based on 43 customer reviews and if you are curious about it, it has 12 questions peer-answered. This is competing with the likes of the Fiio E6 and such.

[DEAD] Tue only: Creative Aurvana In-Ear 3 + Soundblaster E1 head-amp for $90 [updated]

This deal of the day expired…
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[DEAD] Creative Aurvana Live for $50 (limit 5)

As of a 12/8/14 PM recheck, the price is up to $80 offered by marketplace sellers (Creative and others). However, Amazon’s own offer is gone, which sometimes is temporary and may (or may not) return later on… One of the frequently recommended sub-$100 closed-back headphones, the Creative Aurvana Live! is now on sale for $50 with free shipping, with a limit of five per shopping cart, at Amazon.com, both by Amazon actual and also by Creative’s Amazon store (in case you need more than five). Creative is fulfilled by Amazon, so they get Prime shipping benefits… These average 4.5 out of 5 based on 192 customer reviews.