New Sony XB950B1 and XB950N1 drop $50

The Sony XB950B1 and XB950N1 headphones that were part of Sony’s announcements at CES 2017 have both dropped $50 today at various authorized Sony dealers. So with the discounting in place, the XB950N1 closed over-ears with ANC and bluetooth are going for $198 in green or black color schemes. On the other hand, if you prefer used, there is a “Used – Acceptable” option for $139~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual.

Meanwhile the XB950B1 which has Bluetooth but no ANC is on sale for $148 with free shipping in black, blue or red. The lowest used price for this $111, so it’s much closer than the N1 above.

Both of these headphones support NFC and LDAC. LDAC is getting baked into Android “O” after Sony and The Google reached an agreement a few weeks ago.

PS: here is a visual explainer of LDAC at Sony Electronics.

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

Pay $48 for Sony MDR-ZX110 ANC, Get $50 to spend in the future

If you are a Dell power user, this is a little bit of a money maker deal. The Sony MDR-ZX110-ANC (closed with active noise cancelling) are on sale for $48 at the Dell website. During this promotion (it is mentioned prominently on the page over there while it is running), you will receive a $25 Dell promotional eGift card by mail, and IF you are a member of the Dell Advantage Loyalty Rewards (free to join), you will also receive a $25 reward there. So you pay $48 + taxes (if applicable) and you get $50 to spend in future purchases at Dell 🙂

If you are not familiar with how these $25 promotional offers work, check the terms and conditions of these offers over there!

May 2, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Sony MDR-100-ABN Bluetooth with ANC for $180

Now living in the shadow of the buzz-generating Sony MDR-1000X, the older Sony MDR-100-ABN (also Bluetooth with ANC) is having good reasons to get discounted. The black color scheme of the 100ABN is currently on sale, in new condition, for $180 with free shipping, by BUYDIG’s eBAY store. You have to do the “add to cart” song and dance to see the $180 price.

April 29, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Bose QuietComfort 15 ANC Over-Ears for $180

The Bose QuietComfort 15 ANC Over-Ears are making a sales tour across the various membership shopping clubs. They already sold out at Sam’s Town (okay, Sam’s Club), but they are currently in-stock at the Costco website. If you are not a Costco member, you can still buy them, but you have to pay a 5% surcharge (+$9 if my head-math is correct).

In case you are not tired of hearing this, there is a lawsuit against Bose that they have been profiteering from customer data without permission ~ when people are using their “Bose Connect app”. Details on this in this week’s Headphoolia round-up. The round-up name matches the situation 🙂

April 27, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Parrot Zik (first gen) for $100 (Yellow-Gold only)

But wait, there’s more! This is the fourth in a row Parrot post, so if you are trying to decide, check all four Parrot posts. The color of this is a bit of an acquired taste, which is why it is discounted significantly over the other color options. It is the new condition first generation Parrot Zik headphone (BT and ANC) in the Yellow-Gold color-scheme, going for $100 with free shipping by a trio of marketplace sellers, with the orders of all three fulfilled by Amazon. The headphones average 4.1 out of 5 based on nearly 600 customer reviews and has over 150 questions answered by internet people 🙂

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

Used Parrot Zik 3.0 Wireless for $180 w/promotion

The “Black Overstitched” color scheme of the Parrot Zik 3.0 headphones (bluetooth and ANC) is available in “Used – Good condition” for $225~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual (AWD). For a limited time, Amazon has an Earth Day promotion, where select items offered through Amazon Warehouse Deals get an automatic 20% off discount in the shopping cart. This is eligible, dropping the price to $180~. As usual, only products sold by AWD actual are eligible. Used products sold by marketplace sellers there do not get the discount.

This is indicated in the AWD listings:

The discount is reflected automatically in your shopping cart (top right corner):

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

Parrot Zik 3.0 (Green) Wireless for $250

In the second of three back-to-back Parrot Zik posts, the new condition third-generation (Zik 3.0) model, in the green color scheme, is on sale for $250 with free shipping, sold by Parrot’s Amazon store, with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so you get free 2-day Prime shipping if a member. The next close price for the other colors is $279~ for the brown color scheme, but it is shipped directly from a marketplace seller (“Tech for Less”).

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

Refurbished Parrot Zik (first gen) for $90

The first generation of the Parrot Zik Wireless headphones (bluetooth and ANC) are available in refurbished condition for $80 with free shipping and free returns at Groupon Goods with a 90-day warranty. It is available in Black or Black Gold. This ships in two days (after purchase) and should be delivered within seven business days. Groupon’s shipping speed is the anti-Prime, so if you need it quickly, there’s no way to expedite it at Gropuon.

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

[DEAD] Wednesday: Bohm B76 Over-Ears for $88, B66 On-Ears for $68 [BT & ANC]

This daily deal expired…

[Read more…]

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

AKG K545 Closed Over-Ears for $85 shipped [K495NC On-Ears for $95 shipped]

The new condition closed-back over-ear AKG K545 headphones, only in the white color scheme (the black one is sold out) are going for $80 at Woot’s website. Limit three units per customer.

This is part of a random headphone sale that carries 31 headphones of different kinds, including a handful of 1Voice earphones, older PowerBeats, and the new condition AKG K495NC On-Ears for $90, with the same limit of three. This sale has a mix of conditions, so check each listing individually, do not assume they are all new condition.

Shipping is $5 flat for everything you buy in a single day. They are not daily deals, but a longer-running offer that ends 4/18/17 at 11:59pm Central time.

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

[DEAD] Beats Studio Wireless Over-Ears (BT and ANC) for $210

This daily deal expired…

PS: this market segment (over-ears with bluetooth and ANC) continues to increase in popularity (to the chagrin of some audiophiles) and it is heavily contested as a nice profit margin segment in the $200+ price range, with Bose, Sony, Sennheiser, V-Moda, B&W, B&O, and many more vying for earfection. Ear affection that is, although on re-reading this new made-up-word, it sounds more like an infection ~ which the dissenting audiophiles will agree with 🙂

[Read more…]

April 13, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Sony MDR-100ABN/B Closed Over-Ear (BT, ANC) for $180

The new condition Sony MDR-100ABN/B bluetooth and active noise cancelling closed-back over-ear headphones are participating in an “add to cart” sale by BuyDig on eBay for $180 with free shipping. To see the price, you have to be logged-on to your eBay account and press the appropriate button to show the price. This is the black color scheme.

Interestingly, the limit is 50 per customer, so the “Add to cart” is for the lower price it seems. I haven’t attempted to buy 50 of them to test this 🙂 Buydig is an authroized Sony USA dealer.

The 100ABN has been superseded in the Sony line-up with the new MDR-1000X which go for $350 on sale, and according to some, they are neck and neck with the Bose QC35 in terms of ANC effectiveness.

If you don’t need ANC, the non-ANC version, check the post above this!

April 10, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Monday: NAKAMICHI ANC80 Over-Ears for $18

On the budget side of ANC, for Monday 4/10/17 only, promo code EMCSRERK6 gets you the new condition closed-back over-ear NAKAMICHI ANC80 with Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) for $18 with free shipping at NewEgg by NewEgg actual. Limit three per customer. They have four customer reviews over there.

April 10, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Sony MDR-1000X ANC BT Over-Ears for $348

One of the headphones giving Bose a run for its money on the ANC front (at least according to some of the reviewers and comparers) is the new Sony MDR-1000X with ANC and bluetooth, available in black or grey-beige, and on sale again for $348 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of up to three units per color per customer.

It has already amassed 259 customer reviews with a 4.3 out of 5 and has almost as many answered questions. Keep in mind, the answered-questions are open to everyone on Amazon, so it doesn’t necessarily mean they are accurate 🙂

April 2, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

AKG K-495NC On-Ears with ANC for $107

The new condition closed-back AKG K-495NC on-ear headphones with active noise cancellation (USB chargeable) are going for $107~ by Woot through amazon.com and fulfilled by Amazon, so they are Prime eligible. Note however that a number of the reviews complain of fragile construction, so be sure to look into that before considering them.

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

[DEAD] Noontec Hammo ANC Over-Ears for $70

This Friday lightning deal expired…

[Read more…]

March 29, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

Definitive Technology Symphony 1 Over-Ear for $200 w/coupon

Using coupon code C20SPRING, you can get the new condition Definitive Technology Symphony 1 Over-Ears with ANC and bluetooth, for $200~ with free shipping from World Wide Stereo on eBay. This is part of the 20% off eBay coupon offer (expires 3/27/17).

PS: the coupon discount caps at a $50 discount ($250 purchase), so items close to this amount get you the “bestest” discount.

March 24, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , , ,

[DEAD] Monday: refurbished Bohm ANC Bluetooth Over-Ears for $50

This daily deal ended but it is a recurring offer…

[Read more…]

March 19, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Refurbished Parrot Zik 3 with full warranty for $250

The official Parrot Zik eBay store is offering the manufacturer refurbished Zik 3 headphones with full manufacturer warranty for $250 with free shipping. They are available in four different color schemes. You can buy as many as you like. These have plenty of “techie features”, touch controls, custom app, bluetooth, NFC, ANC, presence detection (human-related, not “the presence region”), etc.

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

[DEAD] Sunday: refurb Bohm B66 BT ANC On-Ears for $37 w/FS

This recurring daily deal expired…

[Read more…]

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

[DEAD] Starts Saturday 8:30am ET: Beats Studio Over-Ear BT ANC (Metallic Sky)

This lightning deal expired… It was a 10% off discount…

[Read more…]

March 17, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Tuesday: Beats Executive ANC for $160

This daily deal expired…

[Read more…]

March 13, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

In-Stock Now: Sennheiser HD1 Bluetooth and ANC Over-Ears

Some of “The Great Profit Margin Wars” in headphones these days are fought at the closed-back over-ear headphones with both wireless (bluetooth) and active noise cancellation (ANC) and wired/un-powered playback. While these products sometimes trigger some audiophiles, to the average techie and consumer they sometimes present a do-it-all-Paul convenience. And thus they can command a higher price if they are made by a recognizable brand.

With the intro out of the way, the brand new Sennheiser HD1 (notice that Sennheiser even gave them the “1” in their rebooted Momentum naming scheme) in the closed-back over-ear, bluetooth and ANC is now in-stock and ready to ship for $500 at Amazon by Amazon actual in the black color scheme and the white color scheme. For now, they are on two separate listings, but I’m guessing eventually the Amazon product bots/humans will merge the listings together.

March 11, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

[DEAD] Sunday: Refurbished Bohm ANC Bluetooth Over-Ears for $50

This Sunday daily deal expired…

[Read more…]

March 11, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Shipping this weekend: Sony MDR-XB-950-N1 ANC BT Over-Ears

Another one of the headphones announced at CES 2017 is getting ready to ship. The Sony MDR-XB-950-N1, part of the Extra Bass line-up, with bluetooth, NFC and active noise cancellation, is scheduled to come in-stock on Sunday in either black (/B) or green (yes, green; the /G in the model name) color schemes at Amazon by Amazon actual.

It promises battery life up to 22 hours, 40mm drivers, included soft pouch, a Sony Connect app [see on Google Play, offered by Sony, not Sony Mobile], etc. If you look closely at the pictures and the comparison table in the middle of the product page, you will also notice that it can also play music via a 3.5mm input.

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

Used B-Stock refurb Sony MDR-10NC for $30 with free S&H [ANC battery does not charge]

If you are a high risk-tolerant shopper, eBay seller “TekDeals” (99.3%, California) is offering B-Stock Display condition manufacturer refurbished Sony MDR-10RNC headphones (NC = active noise cancelling BUT battery does NOT work) for $30 with free shipping. Over 200 units got sold from this listing so far. So the only way you can use active noise cancelling is if they are plugged in to a power source. You can use them in passive non-ANC mode. Check the listing for more details.

PS: if you are inexperienced with headphones, you may want to avoid this listing. If you know what you are doing, then you might be a better candidate for this.

PS2: speaking of eBay, continuing is the new condition sale of the open-back over-ear Philips SHP9500S headphones for $49 with free shipping by NewEgg. I just bought one, so an Unboxing and a Review Diary should be coming as soon as they arrive. The free shipping option says they’ll get here next week but you never know (sometimes it takes longer sometimes they arrive faster, it depends on how the economy shipping winds blow).

March 8, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Sony MDR-1000X ANC BT for $348

The new condition Sony MDR-1000X bluetooth and ANC over-ears are on sale again, going for $348 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of up to three per color per customer.

March 5, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Refurbished Bohm B66 BT ANC On-Ears for $40 w/FS

Yesterday it was the Bohm over-ears, today it is the Bohm B66 On-Ear BT ANC headphones that are one of the A4C daily deals, in manufacturer refurbished condition with a 12-month warranty for Bohm for $40 with free shipping. You have a choice of black or brown color schemes. Offer ends Tuesday 11:59pm ET Price increased only from $37 to $40 after the daily deal ended.

March 5, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

[DEAD] Monday: Refurbished Bohm ANC Bluetooth Over-Ears for $50

This daily deal is over too…

[Read more…]

March 4, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Sony MDR-100ABN BT/ANC Over-Ears for $199

Off to the eBay Daily Deals (most of which actually last more than a day, but new offers are loaded there daily), where BuyDig is offering the new condition black color scheme of the Sony MDR-100ABN headphones with Bluetooth and ANC and NFC for $199 with free shipping. Limit up to five per customer. To see the $199 price, you have to add it to the shopping cart and be logged on to your eBay account.

This is half the price of the newer Sony MDR-1000X which has been getting some good reviews and has a $400 regular price.

NOTE that Amazon actual has now began carrying imported versions of some headphones, so pay closer attention to the listings. For example, this is Amazon’s own imported version listing. And there’s also a separate certified refurbished listing.

February 20, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,

Fry’s Weekly Promo Code: Fiio X3 II for $147, Blue MoFi for $190, AT ANC27X for $30

Fry’s is now doing most of their discounts through unique coupon codes each email subscriber receives when they sign-up (for free) for their emailing list. The promo code for this shopping week (February 19-25 in 2017) gets you the following items:

+ Audio Technica ATH-ANC27X ANC headphones for $30 (limit 2)
+ Fiio X3 II digital audio player for $147 (limit 1)
+ Blue Microphones Mo-Fi Powered Over-Ears for $190 (limit 1)
+ the above three offers are good either in-store or online

February 19, 2017 Filed Under: digital audio players, headphones Tagged With: , , , , ,

[DEAD] Bose with coupon: QC25 or QC30 for $250, QC20 for $200, Etc

As of a 2/19/17 re-check, there are no Bose headphones left in the Bose store…

[Read more…]

February 16, 2017 Filed Under: headphones, in-ears Tagged With: , , , ,

In-Stock Now: AKG N90Q for $1500

The new AKG N90Q headphone is currently in-stock from two recognizable dealers at amazon.com by “World Wide Stereo” and “HiDef Lifestyle” of Pennsylvania.

February 11, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Monoprice Sonic Solace ANC Bluetooth (PID 116219) for $60

The Monoprice SonicSolace Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth over-ear headphones, model 116219, are currently on sale for $60 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual. The shipping estimate is a nebulous “1 to 2 months”, so don’t buy them if you want them delivered by Valentine’s day 🙂

February 10, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , ,

Used Noontec Airplane ANC Over-ears for $36 to $39

The Noontec Airplane (that’s the name of the headphone) active noise cancelling over-ear headphones are currently available in “Used – Good” condition for $36~ and “Used – Very Good” condition for $38.50~, both by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. Both have cosmetic imperfections and will come in damaged original packaging. They have detachable cables and are powered by two AA batteries, so a plus for fans of rechargeables or single-use batteries. They come with two cables and a zippered case. They fold to fit into the case.

February 3, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: , , ,