Singles Day 2022 is here, let the Chi-Fi parties begin!

Yes, the premier Chi-Fi party is here! It is Singles Day 2022! I can’t go through all the sites and the individual sales, but here’s a round-up of some of the places to look for deals:

+ LinSoul Audio

+ Hifi Go

+ Shen Zhen Audio, also has regional Amazon stores, some ship from regional country (eg USA Prime eligible), some ship from China

+ Penon Audio, “old school” Chi-fi retailer

+ KZ Online Shoppe, old school budget IEMs

+ Fiio shop, I guess Fiio is now “old school”

+ Moondrop Audio, because the hype machine is hungry!

+ and a lot more!

And now off to the general-market retailers that also have plenty of Chi-fi gear, such as

+ GearBest (bought from them multiple times)

+ Aliexpress (biggest site, check each retailer like you would do on Amazon and eBay)

+ DH Gate

+ and a lot more

BECAUSE Chi-Fi is a lifestyle, it’s a never-ending journey, the shopping never stops and the latest must-have IEM is just a YouTube update away! Just today, Ryan of Super*Review rated the Truthear Hexa as the “easiest 5-star ever” (YouTube-embedded below), so run to buy this one too along with the rest of the must-have Chi-fis 🙂

November 10, 2022 Filed Under: store sale Tagged With:

BLON BL-03 IEMs for $27 [ship from Asia]

Among the products currently available at the LinSoul pre-XMas sale, it’s the budget-friendly BLON BL-03 in-ears offered for $27 with free shipping for most countries [I can’t possibly test this, I go by what their FAQ pages say].

Options include with or without microphone, and color scheme. The default cable is included with no other option.

Note that taxes and customs and duties and such are the responsibility of buyer and are on-top of the $27. At least there’s free shipping (which is not that hard considering the size of IEMs].

Linsoul carries many but not all the famous chi-fi brands. They have Fiio, Dunu, KZ, Thie, Tin, Aune, etc. However, there’s no Moondrop hype train 🙂

December 21, 2021 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Coupon Discounts if you multiple KZ X Crinacle CRN (or other KZ) IEMs [ship from China]

If you are planning to get multiple units of the hype-train KZ X Crinacle CRN IEMs, or if you are planning to buy multiple KZ products in general, you can take advantage of coupon promotions running at the official KZ online shop. While these promotions are running, you can find them on the individual product pages, below the “Buy Now” and “Add to Cart” black buttons.

The coupons are as follows:

  • $5 off $49+ with KZ5
  • $10 off $79+ with KZ10
  • $20 off $109+ with KZ20
  • $30 off $149+ with KZ30

If you search for the Crinacles (not to be confused with the Trader Joe Kringles), you will find two listings at the KZ online shop. This is the new listing for the actual Crinacles. You can also tell because there’s the “crincle” in the webpage’s url.

The second listing is merely the ZEX PRO listing that is being upgraded to the Crinacle. You will notice the text there that says:

“If you purchase this link, you will be upgraded to CRN”

These ship from China, but you get world-wide free shipping. Free shipping is a lot easier for IEMs than headphones or other bulkier or heavier products 🙂

December 18, 2021 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Buy the KZ x Crinacle CRN from Amazon (still ships from China)

All Aboard the IEM Hype Train! The KZ x Crinacle CRN (the artist formerly known as “KZ ZEX PRO”) is steaming up the hype machines of the headphoolia forums. With a reasonable price of under $40, curiosity can easily kill the audiophool cat’s wallet 😉

For the moment this ships from China, but if you don’t want to create a shopping account at new shopping websites (Ali, GearBest, KZ, LinSoul, etc), you have another option, because some of them are offering the IEMs through Amazon USA. These still ship from China but you have the convenience of not having to create an extra shopping account, re-enter credit card info, etc, etc.

The price is just under $40 after you use the limited-time clip-on coupons over there. This is achieved via a $7 off clip-on coupon from the Linsoul Amazon store and a $10 off clip-on coupon from the KZ Official Amazon store and the G.K Amazon shop (I haven’t heard of this one before, then again, I’m not a chi-fi guru YET).

Again, these ship from China, you just get the convenience and consumer-benefits of ordering from Amazon. Not to mention the 5% cashback if you have Amazon’s own credit cards…

December 18, 2021 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Xiaomi Fan Festival sale includes five headphones

GearBest is running a Xiaomi Fan Festival sale, and they have five headphone options under the “Top Electronics” category [there’s no method to directly link to that category ~ just page down until you find it]. There’s usually a nearly-free shipping option, sometimes registered-mail sometimes unregistered.

The options are:

+ Xiaomi PRO HD (QTEJ02JY) in-ears for $28
+ Xiaomi QTEJ03JY hybrid dual drivers for $20

+ Mi bluetooth 4.1 foldable closed-back over-ears for $72

+ truly wireless LYEJ05LM for $16
+ bluetooth headset LYEJ02LM for $13

+ also: Xiaomi bluetooth audio receiver for $18

April 2, 2019 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Budget find: 1-to-5 3.5mm splitter ships from China under $2

We have a budget find. If you don’t mind waiting, GearBest is offering this 1-to-5 3.5mm audio splitter for under $2 delivered. IT takes one 3.5mm audio input and has five 3.5 audio outputs. A basic 3.5mm audio cable is included so you can connect it to a music source. The headphones (should) have their one 3.5mm plugs 🙂

Note that this is unpowered, so the sound will be affected depending on which and how many headphones you connect to. I’m sure some can do the equations to figure it out ahead of time. I can’t [yet] 🙂

March 30, 2019 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Homage Earphones to Galaxy S8 for $2 shipped [from China]

If you are not in a hurry to receive them, about $2 get you a pair of earphones that appear to be an homage of the Samsung Galaxy S8 earphones. Unregistered shipping is almost free.

Being a Galaxy homage, they have a 3-button Android remote (along with a mic). They average 4.61 out of 5 based on 260+ customer reviews. As far as I can tell, you only get the earphones, no eartips or other accessories included. Well, it’s $2 after all 🙂

These are part of a GearBest.com weekend sale…

March 30, 2019 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With:

Flash Sale: KZ ZS10 In-Ears w/mic/remote for $34

GearBest (not GearBeast) has launched a weekend sale and among their various offerings, for a limited time, you can find the new condition KZ ZS10 In-Ears for $34 or 30 euro (depending on location). This is the black color scheme with a mic/remote.

They ship from China. Shipment from Hong Kong is more expensive. Shipping fees are very low for registered air mail ($2-$3 for many locations). Earphones are, after all, a small little thing 🙂

There are 187 units available as part of this flash deal as of the time of writing.

They have detachable cables, so you can mix and match if you have other compatible cables, or you can optionally turn them into bluetooth by using a compatible KZ bluetooth cable.

March 8, 2019 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

KZ ZS10 shipping late April for $45 to $46 [six options]

If you are a fan of the KZ in-ears, their brand new ZS10 is currently on sale for $45 (without mic) or $46 (with mic) with free slow shipping from China at GearBest. There are three colors, multiply by two (with or without-mic), making it a total of six options.

The shipping estimate is April 26-30. How fast you’ll get them after that depends on the shipping method. The free shipping option is unregistered (no tracking) with a 15-25 business days estimate. The $1.20 option is Registered Air Mail. The $2.04 option is “Priority Line” with a 7-10 business days estimate. Expedited shipping jumps to $15 with a 3-8 business days estimate.

Here’s a screenshot of the three color schemes:

April 17, 2018 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Tuesday: 8% off anniversary sale at GearBest

This anniversary promotion expired…

There are lots of KZ earphones and accessories among other things sold at GearBest (ships from China) and Tuesday 3/20/18, as part of the festivities of their four year anniversary, many items are having an 8% off sale. The price you see is the price you pay, there is no coupon code to enter. Discounted items have a “4th” next to their name.

March 20, 2018 Filed Under: store sale Tagged With: ,

Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid In-Ears for $16 w/free S&H [from China]

They are the Xiaomi Pistons, not the Detroit Pistons! GearBest is having a flash on the silver color scheme of the Original Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid Dual Driver for $16 with free slow shipping from China. You can upgrade shipping to faster or with tracking for additional fees. Earphones are fairly small, so shipping upgrades are not bad if you want/need them.

GearBest is the only seller on their website (unlike big marketplaces like Alibaba where many sellers offer products), so you don’t have to worry about the reliability of random sellers.

These currently go for $26 Prime-shipped sold by Amazon actual…

January 31, 2018 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Sodial replacement earpads for Sennheiser HD 201 for $3.65 w/free S&H from China

If you don’t mind waiting for free slow shipping from China, at NewEgg, marketplace seller “Sodial” is offering Sodial replacement earpads for the good old Sennheiser HD 201 headphones for $3.65 with free shipping from Asia. Earpads are small and squishy so they are easier to ship across the seven seas.

January 19, 2018 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: , ,

Xduoo X3 DAP for $76 w/free S&H [from China]

If you don’t mind waiting, or paying extra for faster shipping, GearBest is having a sale on the new condition XDuoo X3 digital audio players. The silver color schemes goes for $76, while the black color scheme goes for $80. With free slow shipping from China. The gold color scheme is not on sale.

Their button placement may be a unusual if you are used to the more symmetric digital audio players, so you may want to do some “usage visualations” to make sure you are okay with their positioning 🙂

January 18, 2018 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: ,

KZ ZS6 In-Ears for $29 w/free S&H (ships from China)

The black and red color schemes of the new condition KZ ZS6 in-ears are currently on sale for $29 with free slow shipping from China at GearBest.com. The other two color schemes go for more. They have detachable cables and a 1-button remote and mic.

January 12, 2018 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

Still Good: KZ ZS6 In-Ears for $29 w/FS from China

The 11/11 sale price of $29 has stuck around for two of the three color schemes of the KZ ZS6 in-ears, the black and red color schemes continue to be on sale at this price at GearBest with free slow shipping from China. The green color scheme however has been discontinued… The ZS5 continues to range between $18 and $20 depending on option…

December 7, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

xDuoo Nano D3 Digital Audio Player for $75 to $80 w/FS

Another new offer has gone live (and fully unlocked) at Massdrop, it is the new condition xDuoo Nano D3 Digital Audio Player offered for $75 with free shipping in early January 2018. They will ship from Massdrop, and all sales are final.

Separately this is offered for $80 with free shipping by Penon Audio on eBAY, shipping from Hong Kong. Depending on where you are geographically, this may get to you a lot faster than Massdrop.

December 5, 2017 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: , , ,

$7 off the KZ ES3, may be as low as $5 [ships from China]

For a limited time, coupon code NBVJQAYF drops $7 off the KZ ES3 earphones at ships-from-China seller GeekBuying. You need an account to test the coupon. The current price on their website is $11.59. I don’t know if the coupon is stackable with the discount, thus making it $4.59 or not. I don’t have an account with them, so unfortunately I can’t test the coupon.

December 2, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Xiaomi Original Headphones for $37 w/free S&H from China

The white color scheme of the relaxed version of the “Original Xiaomi Headphones” is on sale for $37 with free slow shipping from China at GearBest.com. The other two colors go for $55. The sale runs for the next five days (from blog-posting time). You can get faster shipping for additional fees.

November 30, 2017 Filed Under: headphones Tagged With: ,

XDUOO XD 05 DAC/amp for $150 (ships from China)

Patience is a portable virtue! If you don’t mind waiting for it to arrive from China (or paying extra for faster delivery), the new condition XDUOO XD 05 portable DAC/amp is now on sale for $150 with free slow shipping from China at GearBest. There’s also an optional combined purchase discount, and this purchase amount allows to buy “Add On” items (yes, Amazon is not the only one with “Add On” things).

It has full size USB audio input (separate microSD for charging), optical/coax, and 3.5mm IN/OUT on the back. It has gain and bass boost buttons on the front, along with a volume dial, and a little OLED display showing data source details (not song playing, but basic technical of the signal).

November 25, 2017 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: ,

Still good: KZ ZS6 In-Ears for $29 w/free S&H from China

Some of the 11/11 deals are still sticking around. For example, the black and red color schemes of the KZ ZS6 in-ears continue to go for $29 with free slow shipping from China at GearBest (for the longest time I thought it was GearBeast).

Meanwhile the KZ5 in-ears start at $18 (gray, no mic) and increase slightly based on color and mic. A number of their other earphones also continue to be on sale.

Note that this is slow shipping from China and the holidays will add to the delays, so if you are planning to use these as holiday gifts, it may be a good idea to have a Plan B to be on the safe side.

November 17, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

XDuuo DAP 11.11 sales (ship from China)

Xduoo too is participating in the Gearbest sales. Four of their DAPs are currently on sale with free shipping from China, including their X2 DAP for $34, their X3 DAP for $76, the X10 HD for $120, and the X10T for $204. They also have their XD-05 DAC/amp going for $150.

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: digital audio players Tagged With: , ,

Topping NX1 head-amp for $30 w/free S&H from China

The silver color scheme of the TOPPING NX1s headphone amp is currently on sale for $30 with free slow shipping from China at GearBest as yet another one of the 11.11 sales. The black color scheme goes for $5 more which is very close to the amazon.com price.

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: amps and dacs Tagged With: , ,

NuForce 11.11 IEM sales (10 options; ship from China)

More 11.11 action ten NuForce in-ear models, some wired, some bluetooth are participating in the Singles Day festivities at GearBest.com. These ship from China for free but it is slow shipping unless you want to pay for a faster delivery option.

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , , ,

Tennmak IEM sales including PRO for $22 w/free S&H from China

The Tennmak store at Ali Express is also participating in the 11.11 festivities, and among the offered items with the red “11.11” tag are two color schemes of the Tennmark PRO going for $22~ with free slow shipping from China. These have detachable cables. The option with a mic goes for $2 more, and the option with two cables goes for $30~.

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Xiaomi Hybrid Pro HD Hybrid In-Ears for $17 to $20 w/free S&H from China

Your color scheme preference determines the price on the new condition Xiaomi Hybrid Pro HD Hybrid In-Ears. The Gold color scheme goes for $17~ by the Xiaomi Store thru Ali Express. Or if you prefer the silver color scheme, you can get it for $20 from GearBest.

Both ship for free from China with slow shipping. Options are available for faster shipping but they are not free.

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Xiaomi Pistons Fresh In-Ears for $4 w/free S&H from China [five colors]

If you are collecting all the colors like Pokemons, or want to use them as stocking staffers or wear them in high-risk situations, no matter what, as part of the 11.11 festivities, GearBest is offering the new condition Xiaomi Pistons Fresh In-Ears for $4~ with free slow shipping from China. Four of the colors go for $3.59 each, while the silver goes for $4 each.

Each color has a quantity limit per customer (1 to 3) that seems to adjust based on the available units.

If you are planning a large Xiaomi order, or want to buy some of their more expensive products, the items on this Xiaomi 11.11 page are eligible for coupon code XIAOMI11 that gets you $5 off a purchase of $150+. Eligible items include some of their smartphones, laptops, wearables, and more.

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

Superlux HD681 for $20, HD668B for $29, HD660 for $38 [free shipping from China]

Some of the Superlux headphones are also participating in the GearBest 11.11 festivities, with free slow shipping from China. Among them:

+ Superlux HD681 for $20
+ Superlux HD668B for $29

The very Beyerdynamic looking Superlux HD 660 is out of stock and cannot be ordered at GearBest, but it goes for $38~ with free shipping from China from a couple of sellers at Ali Express.

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

VE Monk Plus earbuds for $6 w/free S&H from China [three color options]

The first, fourth (blue) and the fifth (golden brown) color schemes of the VE Monk Plus earbuds at AliExpress is on sale for the very specific price of $5.89 with free slow shipping from Aliexpress. The shipping estimate is 19-39 days, so keep that in mind if you are buying it for the holidays.

The reason the last three thumbnails over there have much higher prices is because they are multi-packs. The 3-pack goes for $15.72, the 5-pack for $27.14, and the 10-pack for $51.33.

We have here a text and pictures unboxing of the red VE Monks and an in-progress review diary. These ones I bought from Massdrop last year, not from Ali.

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: earbuds Tagged With: , ,

Original Xiaomi Bluetooth Music Sport Earbuds for $25 w/free S&H (from China)

Among the current GearBest Flash Sales they offer the new condition Original Xiaomi Bluetooth Music Sport Earbuds (Mini Version) for $25~ with free slow shipping from China in the black color scheme. The white color scheme is not on sale. It averages 4.63 out of 5 based on 16 customer reviews over there.

PS: these are in-ears, not earbuds, but I kept the name of the product as it is posted on their website if you want look for reviews and such.

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , , , ,

Shanling H1 portable head-amp for $110 (ships from China)

Among the various Shanling options participating in the 11.11 festivities is the new condition Shanling H1 portable head-amp offered for $110~ with free shipping from China by the Bright Audio store through AliExpress.

There are also some 11.11 offers on their digital audio players including the M1, M2s, M3s, M5, and more.

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: amps and dacs, digital audio players Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Dunu Titan 5 IEMs for $89 (ships from China)

This 11/11 sale expired…

[Read more…]

November 11, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

KZ ZS6 In-Ears for $29 w/free S&H from China [two colors]

UPDATE: it is now 11.11 in most of Asia, and the price of these dropped to $29 with free slow shipping from China in the black or red color schemes..

The 11/11 sales are just around the corner but why wait? GearBEST has a sale on all three TWO colors of the KZ ZS6 earphones going for $32 with free shipping in the black or red color schemes. This ship from China for free, but it is slow shipping. There are options to get faster shipping in the shopping but they are not free. But these are small things, so it shouldn’t cost much (depending on location, etc, etc, etc).

For more KZ action at GearBest, check all the KZ products they carry.

PS: the green color was on sale for $29 in mid October but not the other two colors.

PS2: the green sold-out as of 11/10/17 AM re-check…

November 10, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: , ,

[DEAD] Official Fiio Store 11.11 Specials at AliExpress: Fiio X DAP with IEMs or DAC/amp bundle

These Fiio 11.11 bundle sales expired…

[Read more…]

November 10, 2017 Filed Under: amps and dacs, digital audio players, in-ears Tagged With: , , ,

KZ ZS5 in-ears for $18 to $20 w/free S&H from China

Many and more KZ products are available at Gear Best and among them is a flash sale on the new condition KZ ZS5 in-ears with detachable cable going for $18 to $20 depending on color (gray or blue) and whether it has mic/remote or not. They get free slow shipping from China.

But that’s not all. Towards the bottom of the KZ sale page, there is a trio of earphone-related cases:

+ KZ EVA Earphones Accessory Zipper Box for $1.29

+ KZ Earphones Accessory EVA Zipper Box for $1.68

+ KZ PP Earphones Accessory Box Organizer for $1.98

+ with free, slow shipping, from China

November 8, 2017 Filed Under: in-ears Tagged With: ,

[DEAD] Heads Up (11.11 deal): Dunu Titan 5 IEMs for $89

Time flies, 11.11. is over…

[Read more…]

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