Pre-order Etymotix ERX IEMs for $249 (arrive late Oct 2022)

Massdrop is back again with another product pre-order debut! As promised, starting at 9am pacific time on 8/2/22 they are accepting pre-orders for their new in-ears, the Etymotic ERX, for $249 with free US shipping and returns.

But before you place the order, note that this will ship in late October 2022. That’s nearly three months of waiting – as of the time of writing of this blog post. So patience is indeed a virtue 🙂

Included are three different type of eartips, from single to triple flanges. Etymotic are more recognizable by their multiple-flange eartips and their DEEP insertion.

August 2, 2022 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order the all new Samsung Galaxy Buds PRO truly-wireless ($200 new, $150 with trade-in)

Samsung has now revealed their new Samsung Galaxy S21 flagship smartphones for which they are having pre-order store credit bonuses along with more generous than usual smartphone trade-in promotions (up to $700 credit on select Galaxy, iPhone and Pixel models)…

OF headphone interest, they revealed the new Galaxy Buds PRO truly-wireless which have been building some pre-release hype (mayhaps as a counter-weight to Apple/Beats hype?). Not only that, but they were the Opening Act of the presentation, they were the first product revealed and Samsung spent considerable time on them!

The video embed below starts playback right at the Buds PRO segment:

Samsung made some bold statements about these (as it is often the case with hype-presentations). These are the notes I took while watching it live:

  • using real-world-speaker-inspired 2-way speakers
  • system-in-package breakthrough in the assembly to fit them in
  • 2mm vent for airflow and circulation
  • mesh and inner chamber thing for dealing with wind noise
  • ANC using inner and outer mics
  • intelligent ambient aware mode
  • 360 audio motion and head tracking
  • audio by AKG
  • auto-switch between phone and tablet and such
  • IPX7
  • stay-on while running
  • beam forming mic technology
  • work with Galaxy Buds Live accessories

All this hype can be yours in three colorful color scheme options for $200 at B&H Photo and Amazon actual and such…

OR if you buy it from the Samsung.com store, where you can optionally get it for $150 with an eligible trade-in. This should not be confused with the “up to $700 smartphone trade-in promotion”. The $50 trade-in credit is separate and for the Buds. Not sure exactly how it works: the trade-in info is buried in the fineprint. It is mentioned on the left of the blue “BUY NOW” button at the top right corner of the page over there.

January 14, 2021 Filed Under: truly wireless Tagged With: , , , ,

FREE Sony WH-1000X M3 ANC/BT Over-Ears with Sony Xperia 1 flagship preorder

Most smartphone manufacturers include some kind of a budget but flashy sounding earphone with their flagship purchase (eg the AKG-branded earphones of the Galaxy models). But Sony, desperate to make a dent in the smartphone now, looking at an opportunity now with the Huawei problems, is throwing in their most popular headphone for free with pre-orders of their new flagship Xperia 1 flagship smartphone.

The free headphones of the bundle are none other than the closed-back WH-1000X M3 ANC with bluetooth over-eras which range from $300 (on sale) to $350 (their default price)…

The Xperia 1 and the included headphones both support LDAC, mayhaps the ideal test setup for LDAC Audio since it is Sony’s brainchild. The phone has a 6.5 inch (21:9) OLED, Snapdragon 855, Android 9, 128GB on-board storage, 6GB RAM, microSD (up to 512GB), Bluetooth 5.0, “Hi-Res Audio”, Dolby Atmos, etc…

The price is $950 with or without the headphones and the offer is available for a limited time at select authorized Sony USA dealers such as Amazon actual and New York’s B&H Photo…

NOTE that Amazon breaks down the prices of the bundle differently to prevent people from buying the bundle with the free headphones and then returning/cancelling the order and keeping the headphones 🙂

July 4, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Pre-order new Fostex T-XO II planars for $180

Planar continues to be all the rage these days and if you are on the planar steam train and patience is one of your virtues, Massdrop is launching a new headphone (an “In the Works” product) and accepting pre-orders for $180, it is the Fostex T-XO II planar magnetic headphones. The $180 price is good until July 18 in 2019. After that, the price will climb to $220 which is its “regular” price.

One thing of note with this headphone is that it is tuneable in two different ways: it includes two sets of damping foam and two sets of earpads, so you have four theoretical combinations to experiment with. Make sure you have a notebook standing by 🙂

That part about patience being a virtue? I was not joking! The shipping estimate for this is March 2020, that’s EIGHT months from the blog-posting date 🙂

June 19, 2019 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Pre-order the new Massdrop x Fostex TR-X00 with Removable Cables

Fostex the People! I just can’t resist recycling this old joke 🙂 Massdrop is back with two new TR-X00 closed-back wood over-ear headphones! They are the old favorites but now with removable cables. These are a pre-order, an “in production” listing, with a mid-April 2019 shipment estimate. Just in time for the tax deadline 🙂

The Purple Heart goes for $470, while the Ebony goes for $520. This being a Massdrop-Fostex partnership, they come with a 2-year warranty.

These being a pre-order, they also come with these perks:
+ coupon for $10 off your next Massdrop order
+ a polishing cloth
+ an exclusive Q&A with the project leader

So if you are a fan of removable cables, and you are a boldly going early adopter of pre-production, hide your wallet 🙂

March 1, 2019 Filed Under: headphones 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: ,

A Feast of Trade-Offs: the new Koss Porta Pro Wireless (BT 4.1, apt-X) for $75 [MD] or $80 NOW!

Good news, bad news! If you wished there was a bluetooth version of the legendary Koss Porta PROs, we have both! A brand new wireless (bluetooth 4.1 with apt-X) version is now available for purchase at Massdrop. The bad news is that it goes for $75. Up to three headphones per customer. The drop is limited to US (free shipping) and Canada.

Seven more units need to get purchased before this offer unlocks. The drop ends Sunday night. It will ship in late May 2018 and it comes with just a 1-year warranty, not the legendary Koss limited lifetime warranty.

This is a feast of trade-offs and silver linings… A hard case is included. No NFC.

However, if you don’t want to wait for Massdrop, for $5 more you can get them from KOSS fulfilled by Amazon. $80 wiht free shipping ~ free 2-day shipping for Prime members. Two days is faster than late May 2018 🙂 Amazon does not have a limit, you can buy as many as you want.

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

Pre-order Audeze Mobius Planar Cinematic headphones for $250

Audeze had been teasing this and the tease has now solidified. The Mobius is a planar-magnetic cinematic immersion 3D type of a headphone and for a limited time, you can be among the first to pre-order it at IndieGoGo for $250 as an early bird special price. The official price will be $400 when it launches. Note that delivery is Massdrop-like, June 2018. It ships worldwide. They have a total of 1000 available, with 656 available at the $250 tier. There are many more available in the $299+ tiers.

PS: it turns out, the first fifty to commit to this were able to pre-order it for $200. Needless to say, that sold out very quickly…

For more on this new critter, there is a 17 minute video of it at Head Fi YouTube, also YouTube-embedded below…

March 14, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , , , ,

Pre-order new blue-black Audio Technica M50X headphones

If you want to be among the first to get the new blue/black color scheme of the Audio Technica M50X and don’t mind paying full price, this new color scheme is now available for pre-ordering for $169 at B&H Photo…

March 12, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Pre-order new “Truly Wireless” Jabra 65t and Sony WF-SP700N

“Truly Wireless” earphones are not going to win awards for audiophile qualities and beautiful charts any time soon but they have their place and use-cases as long as they work for what you want them to do. While updating the Headphone Tracker two more of the new headphones announced at CES 2018 are now available for pre-ordering as follows:

+ Sony WF-SP700N for $178 in four color schemes at B&H Photo with a March 12 release estimate

+ Jabra 65t for $170 by Amazon actual with a March 20 release estimate

March 4, 2018 Filed Under: truly wireless Tagged With: ,

Pre-order new AKG N5005 IEMs for $1000

Another one of the new four-figure headphones is now available for pre-ordering, it is the AKG N5005 available for pre-ordering for $1000 at B&H Photo. There is no release estimate at the moment. This too surfaced while updating our on-going Headphone Tracker…

March 4, 2018 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , , ,

Pre-orders new Sony MDR-1AM2 Closed Over-Ears for $298

The closed-back over-ear Sony MDR-1AM2 is the “M2” version of their MDR-1A, and it was part of the Sony CES 2018 announcements, and while updating our on-going Headphone Tracker we have a pre-order option for $298 with a March 13 release estimate at authorized Sony dealer
B&H Photo…

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

Pre-order new 1More Triple Driver Over-Ears for $250

If you want to be among the first to try out 1More’s Triple Driver Over-Ear Headphones, they are now available for pre-ordering for $250 at Amazon by Amazon actual. They are in a “temporarily out of stock” status which is all-encompassing, so it is hard to guess on a hard date.

These were among the many new headphones revealed at CES 2018.

If you want to follow the action on these and other new headphones, follow our permapost that is the New Headphones Tracker. You can bookmark it but I’ve also added links to it towards the top of the blog sidebar.

February 13, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Preorders accepted for new Audio Technica M50X in Black/Blue

If you like the Audio Technica M50X but the only thing that’s stopping you front buying them is that your favorite color combination is Black and Blue, instead of the other existing colors, Audio Technica has you covered! Coming out in early February is the Black and Blue version of the M50x, named officially the Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBB and it is available for pre-ordering for $169 at Woodwind & Brasswind and at Musician’s Friend.

January 29, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Sennheiser HD 820 gets July 2nd release estimate

Patience is a virtue! Massdrop has prepared you for this! The latest update on the release date of the all new Sennheiser HD 820 closed-back flagship headphone is now July 2nd in 2018 at reputable New York dealer B&H Photo.

IF you are interested in this or other newly revealed headphones, stay tuned to our on-going Headphone Tracker perma-post.

January 26, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order new FOCAL CLEAR Professional ($1700)

NAMM trade shows typically do not bring out as many new headphones as does CES in Vegas, but that is not to say that there are no new headphones at NAMM either!

Following on the launch of the CLEAR, Focal is back with a “Professional” version of their open-back over-ear FOCAL CLEAR headphones. Some Melisandre red can be found on the interior of the new headphone and a starting price of $1699. Pre-orders are accepted at reputable and authorized dealers such as Adorama.com and B&H Photo. An exact release date is not yet available.

We have just added this new top tier headphone to our on-going Headphone Tracker which has been refilled/reloaded with all the new things that came out at CES 2018 [check our our round-up for a summary of sorts].

January 26, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order new Mackie In-Ears (3 options, $100 to $200)

Mackie has revealed a trio of in-ears at the NAMM 2018 trade show and they are now available for pre-ordering, and with free shipping at Adorama as follows:

+ Mackie Single Dynamic Driver for $100

+ Mackie Dual Dynamic Driver for $150

+ Mackie Dual Hybrid Driver for $200

A lot of other audio and music gear have been revealed at NAMM 2018. You can see a visual summary of a lot of the new announcements and place pre-orders at Adorama.

January 26, 2018 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Pre-order new Moshi Avanti Air Bluetooth On-Ears

It’s pre-ordering season! Another new headphone unleashed in Vegas at the 2018 CES trade show is the style/fashion-priority Moshi Avanti Air, a bluetooth on-ear headset, and this new model is now available for pre-ordering by the maker (Moshi) with the order fulfilled by Amazon with a very fashionable price of $300.

A 30-second video from the Moshi YouTube channel shows a variety of views of the new headphone…

January 12, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order new B&O Beoplay H9i and H8i ANC/BT Over and On-Ears

Another pair of headphones that was announced at CES 2018 is now available for pre-ordering. It is the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay duo of H9i and H8i, an over-ear and on-ear respectively duo of bluetooth with active noise cancelling headphones. Each one is available in two color schemes and their pre-order prices are $499 and $399 respectively, with a late January 2018 release estimate.

Of practical interest, these charge via a USB-C port on the headphones, so you don’t have to fight with the micro-USB cable.

Pre-orders are accepted as follows:

+ H8i for $399 at Amazon actual

+ H9i for $499 at Amazon actual

January 11, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Pre-order new Sennheiser HD820 Closed-Back Flagship Headphone for $2400

If you want to be among the first to get hands ears on the all new Sennheiser HD 820 closed-back flagship headphone, pre-orders are accepted for it for $2400 at the Sennheiser website, along with the B&H Photo website. Their release estimate is early summer 2018, so pretend it’s a Massdrop offering if it will help make the wait less insufferable 🙂

The parallel HDV 820 DAC/amp has no wait, it is already in-stock and shipping at authorized dealers for $2400 as well.

This is one of many new headphones revealed at CES 2018, we are keeping track of them at our CES 2018 headphone summary. I’m adding new releases as fast as I can. This usually takes a couple of weeks of updates before it is finished 🙂 We’ve done these for most major trade shows, you can find all those posts under the New Headphones category.

January 9, 2018 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Sennheiser HD 660 S now orderable at Amazon

Deciding on a Sennheiser HD 6??-series headphone is more complicated these days. You have the old guard of the HD 600 and HD 650, the Massdropping HD 6XX, and the price-dropping HD 700. But that’s not all. Sennheiser is releasing the brand new HD 660 S as well, with a starting price of $500, and this new headphone is now slowly starting to roll out.

If you are a fan of shopping at Amazon, you can now purchase it for $500 at Amazon by Amazon actual. The stock situation is “Temporarily out of stock”, so the shipping estimate is nebulous at the moment, so if you are buying it as a holiday gift for someone, keep that in mind.

November 18, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order new 1More Spearhead VR headset

1More is expanding into the world of VR! Their website is currently the only place that is accepting pre-orders for their brand new 1More Spearhead VR headset for $150. Their release estimate for this is mid-December 2017.

November 16, 2017 Filed Under: headset Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order LG G6+ with Quad DAC and QuadPlay headphones for $500 [Amazon Prime Lockscreen Ads version]

From the “Phones as DAPs” department, Amazon is now accepting pre-orders for the new condition LG G6+ 128GB smartphone with the quad-DAC and QuadPlay headphones [included in the box] for $500. This is the Prime Exclusive with Lockscreen Offers and Ads version, so keep that in mind.

The regular LG G6, which is also getting its own Lockscreen version for $400, does not have the Quad-DAC.

These are expected to ship November 9 in 2017, and they are available for purchase for Prime members only.

If you are not a Prime member, or not logged on to your Prime account, you will see a different offer – the LG G6+ will be $800 and it will encourage you to sign up for Prime. After you become a paying Prime member, you will receive a $300 Amazon Gift Card, making it a $500 phone when you factor in the $300 gift card.

October 26, 2017 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order new BOSE QC35 II Over-Ears and SoundSports Free Truly Wireless Earphones

BOSE has revealed two new headphones the last few days, and they are now available for pre-ordering at authorized dealer B&H Photo.

The second generation QuietComfort QC35 II bluetooth and ANC closed-back over-ears are available in two color schemes with a pre-order price of $349 and a mid-October 2017 shipment estimate.

“Truly wireless” earphones are all the rage these days, and Bose has jumped on this hype train with the new Bose SoundSport Free Wireless In-Ears (bluetooth) in two color schemes, the conventional black and the navy-citron, for $249 each. There is no release estimate for this model.

UPDATE: pre-orders for the Truly Wireless Bose model are also accepted at Amazon.com with an October 22nd release estimate.

September 27, 2017 Filed Under: headphones, in-ears Tagged With: , , , ,

[DEAD] Pre-order new Philips X2HR Open Over-Ears

As of 9/18/17 recheck, the pre-order option disappeared…

[Read more…]

September 14, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Pre-order new Beats Studio 3 Wireless Over-Ears

Apple focused on earphones and the Solo line during its short reign as Beats Corporate Overlords, but now the over-ear line is also getting some attention. The new Studio 3 Wireless Over-Ears have been officially revealed at IFA 2017.

As it is the trend these days, these are both Bluetooth and with Active Noise Cancellation, using a built-in battery, and with increased battery life. Even though Apple went Lightning cable on the iPhones, these are conventional headphones with a 3.5mm cable, and microUSB charging.

They are available in four different unibody colors, with a late October release estimate [only an estimate!], and a price of $350. This is also the price of the pre-order price of the new Sony WH-1000X M2 [that’s the second generation of the MDR-1000X ~ Sony rebooted the naming scheme because it expanded the line-up to earphones as well].

Pre-ordering is available at authorized Apple dealers B&H Photo with free expedited shipping (when they become available obviously).

September 7, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Pre-order new Sony WI-1000X Neckband Bluetooth Earphones

Building on the success of the MDR-1000X, Sony is expanding that line with earphones too. The new WI-1000X is a neckband bluetooth earphone, a parallel model to the new WH-1000X M2, and it is priced in that range too.

The neckbands will have a sticker-shock (?) starting price of $300 in black or gold and they are available for pre-orders at Amazon with a mid-September 2017 release estimate.

UPDATE: also part of the 1000X line-up is a new “truly wireless” line, the WF-1000X. This too is available in gold or black, and has a starting price of $200, with a mid-September 2017 release estimate according to amazon.com.

The reason you are seeing an increase in new headphones is because this week, in Berlin::Germany, the IFA 2017 high tech trade show is happening. I am keeping an on-going tracking posts that summarizes the New Headphones of IFA 2017.

August 31, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , , ,

Pre-order new Sony WH-1000X M2 for $350

Following the success of the MDR-1000X, Sony is coming back at IFA 2017 with a new model and a slightly different name. The new WH-1000X M2 (Mark 2) is a $350 closed-back over-ear with ANC and bluetooth, touch controls, and support for both apt-X HD and LDAC (Sony’s).

This will be available in two colors (black or gold color schemes) and it is expected to ship mid-September 2017. Already pre-orders are available at amazon.com.

August 31, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , , ,

Pre-order new Audeze LCDi4 Planars for $2495

If you want to be among the first to get the new flagship Audeze earphones, the planar LCDi4, they are now available for pre-ordering at reputable online dealer B&H Photo for the flagship price of $2495 with free expedited shipping when they get released. There is no specific shipping estimate other than the all-encompassing “coming soon”.

July 14, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

You can now Pre-Order the Shure RMCE-LTG Lightning Cable Accessory

The Shure RMCE-LTG, a Lightning Cable Accessory with a 3-button remote/mic, with an integrated DAC, and officially supported by some of the Shure SE IEMs (215 to 846) was announced at CES 2017 but it took a while before it became available for pre-ordering. But the time has come and as of the time of writing, you can pre-order it from two well known online retailers as follows:

+ $100 with free shipping at B&H Photo with a May 29th shipping estimate

+ $119 at Amazon actual without a shipping estimate (it just says “temporarily out of stock”)

May 23, 2017 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Pre-order new Panasonic Ergofit RP-HJE120B Bluetooth for $36 to $40

The Panasonic ErgoFit wired earphones are often among the best sellers at amazon.com, especially when you consider they are available in multiple colors that appear in the Top 20. But there’s not a whole lot of profit margin in sub-$10 earphones, so Panasonic is trying to fix that with their new…

… new bluetooth Ergofits, model RP-HJE120B. They are available in “only” four colors (compared to the wired models) and are available for pre-order for $36 to $40 depending on color. They are expected to ship in a few weeks.

Reminder: the 1More Triple driver sale starts at 12pm ET today at NewEgg.

May 16, 2017 Filed Under: earbuds Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] 1More Triple Driver IEMs with Lightning Connector available for pre-order

As of late 4/10/17, the pre-orders are sold-out and cannot be ordered… 1More is striking while the iron is hot, they have a new Triple Driver IEM, with a Lightning Connector, available for pre-order for $150 at Amazon. The shipping estimate is a nebulous “1-2 months” which often means just about anything (since it doesn’t have a hard date).

On the other hand, if you want the regular triple driver IEMs, they go for $80 at Costco but they were on sale for less late last year.

April 9, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order 1More Quad Driver IEMs for $200

If you want to be among the first to get the new 1More Quad driver IEMs and don’t want to wait for future discounts, they are now available for pre-order for $200 at Amazon.com, with two seller options, Amazon actual or 1More’s Amazon store (fulfilled by Amazon, so you get Prime benefits). 1More’s estimate is April 11, while Amazon’s own estimate is “temporarily out of stock” which could mean just about anything 🙂

PS: the Costco website does not carry the quad drivers (yet?). I can’t check the Costco stores due to lack of superpowers 🙂

April 5, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Pre-order new Fiio X5 III DAP for $400

The third generation Fiio X5 Android-powered but dual-OS digital audio player was one of the products that stood out during the CES 2017 cycle, and now, if you want to get in line to get it, as a boldly-going early adopter, you can pre-order it for $400 at authorized dealer Adorama.com. Your credit card will be charged after it ships. There is no shipping estimate at the moment. Orders will be sent out on a first-come first-served basis.

February 23, 2017 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order new Blue Ella Planars and Sadie Powered

All aboard the Planar Hype Train! Blue Microphones revealed a trio of new headphones at CES 2017, and two of those three are now available for pre-order as follows:

+ “Ella” planar-magnetic closed-back for $700 at amazon.com and adorama.com

+ “Sadie” powered closed-back for $400 at amazon.com and adorama.com

+ “Satellite” (bluetooth, ANC, and obviously powered) has no price or release date or detailed specs yet

PS: I am using the Powered category here on this blog to denote headphones that have a built-in amplifier IF they are not bluetooth/ANC. In other words, the built-in amp is a feature, not a necessity. Or something like that 🙂

PS2: once I finish “digesting” all the new CES 2017 headphones, I will update the Headphone Tracker by adding the new models and removing the ones that have been steadily in-stock. So it will the contain pre-release and hard-to-find headphones only. It’s easier to do one big update instead of doing many small incremental updates, so stay tuned! It will be completed this week #EmptyPromises 🙂

January 9, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,