Focal Clear down to $990

Focal has by now accumulated a number of audiophile-tier headphones, and one of their first is currently on sale, the new condition wired open-back over-ear Focal Clear is on sale for a limited time for $990 at headphones.com

Headphones.com also has a parallel and very informative YouTube channel.

And if you happen to be reading this right when I post this, they have a live drawing for their Audeze LCD-X1 (2021) Giveway planned for 4/30/21 at 10pm eastern time…

They even have a 13-minute video explaining their reviewing process, YouTube-embedded below:

Wedn: Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Open Over for $349

Beyerdynamic is back with a Tesla headphone at the Newegg daily deals good until April 14 at 11:59pm pacific time in 2021. It is the new condition open-back over-ear wired Amiron Home going for $349 with free US shipping, sold and shipped by NewEgg, up to five pairs per customer at the sale price…

Also part of the Wednesday daily deals there is the new condition Sennheiser HD 2.30i closed-back wired on-ears with the Apple/iPhone button configuration going for $25 with free US shipping, sold and shipped by NewEgg itself, with to up five pairs per customer at the sale price. Only the white color scheme is on sale…

Thursday: Beyerdynamic Amiron Home wired open over-ears for $349 AC [And More Offers]

Beyerdynamic is back at the NewEgg daily deals and it is headlining the action for Thursday March 25 in 2021 as follows:

+ Beyerdynamic Amiron Home open-back over-ear wired Tesla headphones for $349 after the $100 off promo code shown over there
+ sold and shipped by Newegg actual, not by marketplace sellers

+ *GASP* no truly-wireless at NewEgg today 🙂

The headliner at the Thursday Woot daily deals is a sale on a “Grade A refurbished” second generation Apple Airpods for $100 with a 90-day Woot warranty… The PRO version already sold out…

Speaking of Woot, among their Best Sellers at the moment is the new condition Beats Solo PRO ANC/bluetooth closed-back on-ears going for $145 to $160 depending on color option. With a 1-year Apple warranty…

Next up, among the Adorama daily deals they have the Shure MOTIV MV-88 digital stereo condenser microphone bundled with the TASCAM DR-40X 4-track digital audio recorder, all together going for $230 with free US shipping. Their daily deals start and finish at 10am eastern instead of midnight, so this particular offer ends on Friday 3/26/21 at 10am ET. Or earlier if sold out of course…

Busy deals du jour headphone action as you can see, now we fly to the Best Buy dailies where the Geek-Squad refurbished Beats Powerbeats PRO truly-wireless (with earhooks) are offered for $110…

Last but not least, at the Amazon Gold Box they have a sale of various AUKEY truly wireless with prices ranging from $21 to $49. A total of 12 options are available. Some are simply different color variants of the same model. 12 options does not mean 12 different models…

Philips SHP-9500 Open Over-Ears for $62

The Philips SHP-9500 headphones fell off the hype train, as all headphones do, per the Unified Time-Decay Hype theory that has just been nominated for a Nobel prize 😉

BUT it remains one of the best bang for the buck open-back over-ear options out there! And if you are interested in it, it is currently on sale for $62 with free US shipping by marketplace seller “Phototech” with the order fulfilled by Amazon (shipping from Amazon facilities, gets free 2-day Prime shipping, payment, shipment and returns handled by Amazon, not the marketplace seller)…

And as fate would have it we have a text and picture unboxing of its first cousin, the SHP-9500S on the content side of this blog…

Look at that beautiful L 🙂 Can also work as a troll gift when you want to tell someone they are a …Loser – with that giant L 😉

Thursday: Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Open Over-Ears for $359 AC

Beyerdynamic returns at the Newegg daily deals, good until Thursday 3/11/21 at 11:59pm pacific time, you can get the new condition wired open-back over-ear Beyerdynamic Amiron Home for $359 with free US shipping after using promo code 93XQM59. This is sold and shipped by NewEgg actual…

Also part of the dailies is the Corsair VOID RGB ELITE Wireless USB Type-A gaming headset that gets further discounted using the limited time promo code 93XQN53…

Meanwhile among the Thursday daily deals at the Woot website you can get the new condition Samsung Galaxy Buds Live truly-wireless for $105 with free shipping for Prime members only… Even though they are new condition, they get a 90-day Woot warranty per the listing…

Speaking of the Samsung truly-wireless, the The Headphones Show YouTube channel just posted a video comparing the latest model (“Galaxy Buds PRO”) vs the above (“Live”)… The video is YouTube-embedded below…

Now shipping ($30): Koss KPH30i in the Clear color scheme

All aboard the new Koss Hype Train! The “Clear” color scheme of the KPH30i open-back lightweight headphones is now in-stock and ready to ship for its standard price of $30 by the Koss Amazon store. This is sold and shipped by the Koss store. It is not fulfilled by Amazon…

I have yet to see or hear this, so I can’t comment on it yet…

Saturday: Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO for $479 AC

As teased yesterday, the Saturday February 13 in 2021 daily deals at the NewEGG webSITE include the new condition wired open-back over-ear Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO with Tesla technology going for $479 with free US shipping after entering promo code 93XQH86 over there. Up to two pairs per customer. This is sold and shipped by NewEgg proper…

Speaking of NewEgg, their teasers for Sunday mentioned the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO (250 ohm). The sale price will be revealed over there on Sunday 2/14/21 at 12:01am pacific time…

In other daily deal action, the leader of the pack at Amazon USA for Saturday 2/13/21 is the new condition Yamaha RX-V685 7.2-Channel AV Receiver with MusicCast offered for $430 with free US shipping. Up to three per customer at the sale price. Sold and shipped by Amazon proper…

EU: Sennheiser HD 560S drops to 161 euro

While the Sennheiser HD 560 S open over-ears remains hard to find in the USA, in Europe, we have the first sizable discount, as of the time of writing it is down to 161 euro at Amazon Germany sold and shipped by Amazon Germany actual…

NOTE however that prices at Amazon Germany tend to fluctuate and oscillate between price-points, so the price you see over there may vary depending on which time of the day you check over there…

… BUT as of the time of writing the shipping estimate is “Usually dispatched within 1 to 2 months.”… These Amazon estimates are rather nebulous, sometimes they get to you faster, sometimes not. In general, Amazon tries not to over-promise a fast delivery to prevent disappointments and such…

As to whether one should get the HD560S or HD6XX or HD600 or Jubilee or something else from another manufacturer, well, the internet and the audiophoolia forums are full of opinions 🙂

And as they say about opinions… they are like onions, they may make you cry 😉

EU: Sennheiser HD 560S drops to 192 euro

Attention European shoppers! As of the time of writing the price of the new condition open-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 560S is down to 192 euro at Amazon Germany by Amazon Germany actual. This price oscillates between
192 and 199 euro depending on when you look at it.

Staying at the EU, and speaking of Sennheiser, you can get the new condition closed-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 300 lightweight for 39 euro at Amazon Germany… This should not be confused with the Sennheiser HD 300 PRO studio headphones!

Both of these are “organic sales”, not part of any lightning deals or deals of the day, so the prices can (or cannot) change at any time and for any reason (which of course the Amazon AI price bots do not explain to us mere mortals)…

In-Stock Now (USA): Sennheiser HD 560S for $200

All aboard the hype train! If you had been looking to find the new open-back over-ear Sennheiser HD 560S headphone in-stock, you can get it, as of the time of writing, for its starting price of $200 with free US shipping at authorized and reputable dealer B&H Photo of New York

To make sure I’m not hallucinating or sleep-blogging, here’s a screenshot of their page as of the time of writing:

Plenty has been written and said about it already on the interwebs, and the nature of the Sennheiser HD line-up makes for a never-ending combination of comparisons 🙂

Wedn: Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Open Over-Ears for $319

As teased yesterday, among the Newegg dailies good until 12/30/20 at 11:59pm pacific time or earlier if sold out you can get the new condition wired open-back over-ear Beyerdynamic Amiron Home for $319 with free US shipping, sold and shipped by NewEgg with up to three per customer… Yes, this is a Tesla headphone…

Also part of today’s dailies is the Onkyo CS-265(B) Colibrino CD Hi-Fi Mini System with Bluetooth offered for $149 with free US shipping which is important because these type of things, unlike headphones, they are on the heavy and boxy side 🙂

Philips SHP-9500 for $70, SPH-9600 for $95 (or $100 w/NeeGo mic)

The current Philips headphones stakeholders want to make Philips headphones great again, and supply is increasing in the US market with more retailers featuring them.

Currently in a Woot Plus Gift Under $100 they have the new condition open-back wired over-ear SHP-9500 for $70 with a 1-year warranty (it was $65 at an Amazon featured sale last week), while the SHP-9600 is at $100 but that’s not the best price.

$70 is also the price offered for the 9500 at the Massdrop website but the shipping estimate is late January 2021, and there’s no mention of warranty in the listing…

Parenthesis: just because there’s no mention of warranty in the Massdrop listing, it doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t come with a warranty, BUT if you want to be 100% certain, you have to look for that in the listing or ask Massdrop for an on-the-record answer… Some items sold by Massdrop may be international buys from manufacturers that don’t offer global warranties (import grey market type things)… It would have been nice if Massdrop was upfront with it in the listing, that’s how you build better trust and longer $relationships$ with customers…

Meanwhile the new cousin from suburbia, the open-back wired over-ear SHP-9600, goes for $100 with a FREE NeeGo microphone fulfilled by Amazon, or you can get the headphones only for $95.

EU: Sennheiser HD560S In-Stock for 195 euro

European e-shoppers, your time has come if you want to jump on the Sennheiser HD 560 S open-back over-ear wired bandwagon! As of the time of writing, the headphone is marked in-stock and ready to ship for 195 euro at Amazon Germany

In Ameereeka, the HD560S has “disappeared” from the Amazon website. It may sound like a strange thing, but on rare occasion historically this type of thing happens at Amazon with high-demand but hard-to-find items.

No need to panic, the headphone is NOT disappearing from the US market. New York’s B&H Photo has it in “Coming Soon” status and accepting pre-orders of it for $200…

Of course by the time it gets here, the hype train may decide to move on to a different train station, mayhaps the Koss KPH-30i 😉

Friday: Philips Open-Back Sale: SHP-9500 for $64, X2 for $120

It’s Friday, I’m open-back in love sings Amazon! A marketplace is offering, fulfilled by Amazon, a trio of Philips over-ear headphones, two of which are audiophile-famous open-back models!

+ open-back SHP-9500 for $64
+ we have a text and pictures unboxing of the 9500S
+ it’s hard to argue against this model considering the price, it can be a great first open-back over-ear headphone with great comfort and giant L/R so beginners can easily tell left from right 😉

+ on the same listing, Amazon has the open-back SHP-9600/00 for $95 after an $18 clip-on coupon

+ open-back X2HR for $120
+ multiple items on the same listing at Amazon, you can’t get an average score without manually calculating it

+ closed-back SHP-6000 for $32
+ averages 4.3 out of 5 based on 611 ratings

+ ratings scores are as of the time of writing of this blog-post and may be different if you are reading in this future (or in the past if you are a time traveler)

Hifiman HE-5XX Planar Magnetics for $220 [MD]

Planar time once again at Massdrop, Deputy Ambassadors of the Planar Republic 🙂

They are currently offering, as an in-stock drop (meaning it ships within a couple of business days from purchase), the new condition open-back over-ear wired Hifiman 5XX planar-magnetics, a Massdrop x Hifiman collaboration, for $220 with free US shipping and free US returns (discounted international shipping as well) with a 1-year manufacturer warranty…

This is the sixth Hifiman x Massdrop collaboration… Optionally you can purchase a 3-year MassDrop extended warranty for +$30. The extended warranty is US only…

AKG K-702 Open Over-Ears for $149

Good until Wednesday 12/2/20 at 10am eastern, ADorama is offering, as one of their deals of the day, the new condition AKG K-702 open over-ear wired headphones for $149 with free US shipping. It comes with a 2-year AKG warranty…

DARKVOICE 336SE OTL headphone amp for $200 [MD]

Among the Cyber Monday promotions at Massdrop there’s an OTL headphone amp, the new condition DARKVOICE 336SE OTL going for $200 with your choice of 110V or 220V. This will ship in early January 2021, so keep that mind if you are looking for holiday season gifts. There is no mention of warranty in the listing…

Speaking of Massdrop, they have a Gaming Value Meal of the non-edible kind. If you start with the Drop ENTR mechanical keyboard page and from there you add the Sennheiser PC-37X gaming headset, and proceed to the shopping cart their total price will drop from $180 ($90 each) to $150. A combined purchase discount. No coupon is needed, this happens automatically during this limited time promotion…

Another one of their offers if you are interested in Mr Dan Clark Audio (DCA) ear-speakers (ha!). They are offering the new condition Drop + DCA AEON open X headphones of the V-Planar magnetic kind for $450 with free US shipping and free US returns. This is an in-stock drop, it will ship in a couple of business days… Optionally you can add a 3-year Drop extended warranty for +$40…

Monday: Beyerdynamic DT PRO 990 (250) for $129

Beyerdynamics are frequent guests at the NewEgg daily deals but they don’t overstay their welcome, so it’s a pleasant surprise when they return, but they don’t visit every day 😉

Good until Monday 11/30/20 at 11:59pm pacific time, the new condition wired open-back over-ear Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO (250 ohm) is one of their deals du jour for $129 with free US shipping after promo code 93XQA39 entered in the shopping cart over there…

PS: I have to remember to mention “wired” now because there’s too many models overall and more and more of the newer headphones are wireless…

UPDATE: two of three colors of the Audio Technica ATH-CKS5-TW truly wireless are on sale for $100 each as one of their daily deals at Best Buy

UPDATE #2: another Cyber Monday deal at Amazon’s gold box, it’s another Sony phone+headphone combo, Xperia 1 + WH-1000XM3 together for $550

UPDATE #3: the new condition Sennheiser IE 80S BT neckband bluetooth earphones going for $200…

Hifiman HE-4XX Planars drop to $120

If you’ve been planar-curious but haven’t taken the jump in yet, here’s a lower risk price! Massdrop has dropped the price of the new condition wired open-back over-ear Hifiman HE-4XX planar magnetics to $120 with free US shipping and free US returns with a 1-year manufacturer warranty. My Oh My! These will ship in early December 2020.

You have an option to add a 3-year Drop warranty with accidental coverage for +$20, US buyers only. Normally I avoid optional $warranties$, but this is Hifiman 🙂 They average 4.4 out of 5 based on 1414 customer reviews over there, but do take a look at the 1-star reviews, thus mayhaps the $20 3-year Drop warranty is not a bad idea?

Philips SHP-9600 Open Over-Ears down to $100

The Philips open-back over-ear wired headphones are now expanding their reach in the US market. They have arrived at the B&H Photo website and during the Black Friday season, they have been discounted as follows:

+ SHP-9600 (latest model) down to $100

+ good old SHP-9500 down to $80
+ we have a text and pictures unboxing of it here

+ Philips X2 (previous generation) down to $145

Monolith Black Friday sale at Monoprice

Monoprice’s Monolith high-end audio brand is having its Black Friday sale as well. This includes speakers and subwoofers, but when you further page down over there you will find their headphone offerings. A total of eight products are on offer, five headphones and three DAC/amps!

Planar Open-Back Over Ears
+ M570 for $200
+ M1070 for $300
+ M1570 for $400
+ staircase prices in full octaves 🙂

Earphones
+ M350 planar earphones for $90
+ M-TWE truly-wireless for $100

DAC/amps
+ Monolith USB DAC for $70
+ Monolith THX AAA Balanced Headphone Amplifier for $330
+ Monolith Liquid Platinum Balanced Headphone Amplifier by Alex Cavalli for $400

Philips X3 Open Over-Ears for $199

The revitalized Philips is pushing forward with new products, and one of them is the open-back over-ear wired X3 headphone, the continuation of the line that began with the good old X1. As of the time of writing the X3 is down to $199 with free US shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual

The revitalized Philips also “revitalized” their prices upwards, angering some fans who got used to the good old SHP-9500 pricing. But I’m guessing Philips saw the crazy prices on some of the hype headphones du jour on Head-Fi and elsewhere and mayhaps they decided they want some of that too 🙂

Massdrop X Focal Elex Open Over-Ears for $550

It’s not FOCAL week, I just post whatever deals I run into 🙂 As one of their Black Friday offerings, Massdrop is offering their new condition Massdrop X Focal Elex open-back over-ear wired headphones for $550 with a 2-year manufacturer warranty. Per the listing this is handmade in France!

This is estimated to ship in mid-December. Given the COVID situation, it may or may not arrive by the year-ending holidays, so YMMV (as with everything these days)…

There’s also an optional $20 off combined purchase discount if you purchase it together with the DROP + THX AAA™ 789 LINEAR AMPLIFIER. You add this from the product listing page, not from the shopping cart like you used to…

Focal Elegia over-ears for $690, OB for $519, Used for $479

As part of the Black Friday festivities, for a limited time, Adorama is offering the new condition closed-back wired over-ear FOCAL Elegia [Audiophile Elegy?] for $690 with free US shipping and handling…

On the same listing you will see a used option for $479 and open-box for $519… Used quantities may be limited, so YMMV depending on when you read this and how much demand there is for the Elegia…

KOSS ESP/95X Electrostatic System (headphones and matching amp) drop to $390

Time to reuse my favorite most irritating phrase! Come on Barbie, let’s have an electrostatic party! It’s a sale, a Black Friday week sale at Massdrop and now $390 is all it takes to get your hands on the new condition KOSS ESP/95X ELECTROSTATIC SYSTEM. This includes both the electrostatic headphones and their matching amplifier. Free US shipping and free US returns. International shipping is not free but it is discounted. You have a power option of 120V or 220V depending on your location and power situation/needs/preferences…

This is a KOSS x Massdrop co-operation and it comes with the customary KOSS limited lifetime warranty of the legendary company from the state of Wisconsin. And when you open the package, you will definitely smell their dairy air 😉

This is a quick-shipping offer, they are estimated to ship on November 30 in 2020, so it’s not one of those wait-and-pray five month long Massdrop offers 🙂

Philips SHP-9500 resurfaces at …Massdrop!

It’s the return of an old hype-darling as Philips is getting re-invigorated with its new masters. That’s right, the open-back over-ear wired Philips SHP-9500 is now on-offer at Massdrop for $70. This is the standard version, not a Massdrop customization. The offer runs for the next seven days [as of the time of writing] and it is expected to ship in early January 2021, so patience is definitely a virtue, and it obviously won’t get here/there before Christmas 🙂

Plenty has been written about this and its SHP-9500S cousin. Here we have a text and pictures un-boxing of the cousin, which is pictured below…

Hifiman HE-4XX Planars drop to $160

Massdrop is back with more Black Friday 2020 offers, headlined by the new condition Hifiman HE-4XX planar-magnetic open-back over-ear wired headphones going for $160 with free US shipping and free returns. International shipping is discounted but not free. It comes with a 1-year warranty but optionally those in the US can add for an extra $20 a 3-year Massdrop warranty with accidental coverage.

This is not an in-stock drop. Shipping is estimated to begin in early December 2020.

Hifiman HE-35X Open Over-Ears (dynamic) for $75

There’s another bubbling under options for open-back dynamic over-ear headphones under $100 and it is currently on sale at the Massdrop website. “It” being the new condition Hifiman HE-35X going for $75 with free US shipping and free US returns. International shipping is not free but it is discounted. Customs and import duties are your responsibility…

This is an in-stock drop, meaning it is available to ship directly from the Massdrop warehouses. Needless to say, due to COVID, some delays are possible… It comes with a 1-year manufacturer warranty…

PS: some of the other well-known open-back options under $100 include Grado SR80/60*, Sennheiser HD 5**, Audio Technica ATH-AD*, Philips SHP-9?00?, etc…

Tuesday: wired Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Open Over-Ears for $319

Beyerdynamic is back at the NewEGG daily deals, this one good for Tuesday 11/3/20 until 11:59pm pacific (or earlier if sold out). It is the new condition open-back over-ear wired Amiron Home going for $319 with free US shipping, sold and shipped by NewEgg actual. No promo code is needed for this offer. Up to three per customer at the sale price…

Some of the other Tuesday daily deals at NewEgg:

+ Anker Soundcore Spirit 2 necklace-style IP67 bluetooth earphones for $20 after a $10 off promo code

+ 256GB AData microSDXC (UHS-I, C10, V10, A1) for $26
+ feed the DAPs, and PADs and smartphones and tablets too

Meanwhile the NewEgg teaser for Wednesday 11/4/20 includes the Sennheiser Momentum Free necklace-style bluetooth earphones. The price is not shown in the teaser. We have to wait for Wednesday to find out…

Wednesday: Beyerdynamic DT1990 PRO Open Over-Ears for $449

As teased, Beyerdynamic returns to the NewEgg daily deals with the new condition open-back over-ears Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO (250 ohm) for $449 with free US shipping. This is sold and shipped by HH Gregg through the NewEgg site.

PS: for those not familiar, HH Gregg was a brick and mortar electronics chain on the Eastern side of the country that eventually succumbed to the “internet era” in 2017 and closed all B&M stores. It decidedly out-survived Circuit City and Electric Avenue [no, not the song, the song is timeless]!

Hifiman HE-4XX Planar Open Over-Ears drop to $160

If you want to try out this “planar type” which has shown to have staying power, for a limited time Massdrop has dropped the price of the open-back over-ear HifiMan HE-4XX planars to $160 with free US shipping and free US returns. International shipping is discounted but not free (depending on location, situation, COVIDalia, etc)…

Also for a limited time, an open over-ear but dynamic headphone is on sale at Massdrop, the Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee are going for $150 with free US shipping and returns.

Both of these headphones are in-stock and ready to ship. Their current shipping estimate is around two business days from ordering time. No long waits for them to be made by the Audiophool Elves and Dwarves under the Magical Mystical Audio Mountain 😉

[DEAD] EU deal: Open Over-Ear Philips X2HR/00 for 112 euro

UPDATE: as of 10/14/20 recheck, this offer is dead in that the lowest price shown is $200~ and Amazon’s own offering is gone, so there is some hope it may return if it got pulled for some reason. The fact that Amazon’s own price hasn’t gone up is a little bit hopeful 🙂

Philips has “reactivated” as they have also launched the X3 which currently goes for $250 at Amazon USA, but if you are looking for the previous generation X2HR, it goes for 113 euro at Amazon Germany

The 112 euro is an “organic” price, it is not a Prime day deal, so anyone can buy it…

Philips SHP-9600 Open Over-Ears for $103 for Primes

If you are dying to try out the new Philips SHP-9600 [yes, the follow-up to the legendary 9500], and if you are a Prime member [or willing to start a new 30-day free trial] they are offering the new condition SHP-9600 over-ears for $103 with free US shipping thanks to a Prime-only discount…

On the other hand, if you are not sold on the new model and must needs get the previous generation, the SHP-9500 is sold by a marketplace seller (fulfilled by Amazon) for $80.

We have here at this blog a text and pictures un-boxing of the SHP-9500S, which sadly, though a mistake of my own, I no longer have 🙁

PS: for more Prime Days deals, check our on-going round-up here at this blog…

Monday: Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Open Over-Ears for $339

As teased yesterday, there’s another Beyerdynamic over-ear headphone on sale at the NewEgg daily deals for Monday 10/12/20, it is the new condition open-back Amiron Home going for $339 with free US shipping, sold and shipped by Newegg actual; not by iffy marketplace sellers over there… No coupon code is needed for this particular offer…

Sunday: Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO for $469 AC

Beyer is indeed very dynamic at the NewEgg daily deals, good until 10/4/20 at 11:59pm pacific time, you can get the new condition open-back over-ear Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO Tesla headphone for $469 with free US shipping when you enter promo code 93XPU86 over there…

This is sold and shipped by NewEgg. This is a 250 ohm headphone, so have the amps standing by…