[Hi-Fi EDU]

Massdrop added the AKG K812 for $836 to their holiday bazaar (only 2 pairs remaining as of writing).
 
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/akgk812

 

[Blueshound24]

The well regarded KEF LS50 speakers at their Black Friday prices on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EPDMDZ8/

Edit: Hurry up and buy these out before I give in

 
Great price on an awesome speaker. I love mine

 

[echineko]

Great price on an awesome speaker. I love mine

You're not helping mate, I'm on the edge as it is

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Do you need a sub to get a full range out of these?

The well regarded KEF LS50 speakers at their Black Friday prices on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EPDMDZ8/

Edit: Hurry up and buy these out before I give in

 

[echineko]

Do you need a sub to get a full range out of these?

Not entirely sure, as I've not heard them without a sub, but I would expect in order to fill a reasonably large listening room, you would probably want a dedicated sub as well. Probably not an issue if it's for desktop use. But really, I was good waiting for next year till these go on sale again, this isn't exactly the best timing. If it wasn't for the recent BF splurging, I'd be all over this already

 

[MarcoGV]

 

Great price on an awesome speaker. I love mine

You're not helping mate, I'm on the edge as it is

I'll help. 

.  I heard these speakers powered by an inexpensive Sony AV received in a showroom about a year ago, and they sounded much worse than the much cheaper Pioneer SP-BS22 bookshelf speakers.  The KEFs were a bright mess; the Pioneers were even and natural sounding. The KEFs are very highly rated by reviewers I respect. I am confident that the KEFs would sound much better with a proper amplifier.   However, I would not buy them and expect them to sound right with a basic receiver.  It may also be that there was something else wrong with the setup in the showroom, but for the purpose of helping you

, I will leave my comments at this.

 

[Sil3nce]

The KEF speakers are darn good.
I've owned the KEF X300a for a year, and have been nothing but impressed with how good they sound.
But if I was to upgrade, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up the LS50.
 
Also, the Audeo PFE012 just arrived. They impressed me straight out of the box. Best $35 I've spent. With the grey filters, they sound like a ER4S/CK-10 mix.

 

[RERO]

Full Compass has a few more UM3X RCs in stock (12 as of this post) for $199.
I think they have the least stock left (the only other seller I can find is Reverb) so if they run out of stock, others might raise their price.
 
http://www.fullcompass.com/prod/173340-Westone-UM3X-RC

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  Full Compass has a few more UM3X RCs in stock (12 as of this post) for $199.
I think they have the least stock left (the only other seller I can find is Reverb) so if they run out of stock, others might raise their price.
 
http://www.fullcompass.com/prod/173340-Westone-UM3X-RC

Why must you do this. MUST>RESIST.

I'm going to put on my Earsonics SM2V2 and remind myself I have a similarly great IEM already. But maybe that extra BA might be what I need...

 

[imackler]

Lots of deals at Sonic, including new mystery bags: http://www.head-fi.org/t/761701/hottest-sonic-electronix-deals-and-promotions/210#post_12175086

 

[Uberclocked]

 
Why must you do this. MUST>RESIST.

I'm going to put on my Earsonics SM2V2 and remind myself I have a similarly great IEM already. But maybe that extra BA might be what I need...

Extra drivers =/= better sound. You already have a great pair of iems; only an idiot would buy the UM3X when they already have a pair of iems that are in the same tier.

 

[Blueshound24]

Do you need a sub to get a full range out of these?

The well regarded KEF LS50 speakers at their Black Friday prices on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EPDMDZ8/

Edit: Hurry up and buy these out before I give in

 
I am very pleased with the LS50's bass response on my desktop. I do have a couple of subs under my desk-top setup, however occasionally I have turned them off for comparison to being on, and sometimes forget they are off, and not notice much of a difference with the type of music I listen to, and I'm not a basshead.
 
I think they will be hard to beat for my purpose for nearfield due to their addictive coherence with the concentric tweeter/bass driver. You would be hard pressed to hear the crossover even as close as I listen to them which is about 3.5' in a equal sided triangle setup. I initially drove them with a NAD C 356BEE with good results, however they do open up a little more with more power, and now use a Parasound Halo integrated. The LS50's sensitivity is 85dB and nominal impedance is 8Ω, but drops to as low as 3.2Ω, so they do benefit with some serious power pushing them. The Halo has 160 watts x 2 into 8 Ω, and 240 watts x 2 into 4 Ω. The NAD had 80 watts/channel and did ok with them, but I think the Halo is a little better.
 
Come to think of it, I do find myself using the subs more with the Parasound due to it being more of a neutral SQ than the warmer NAD. Keep in mind they do require a couple hundred hours of break-in to really shine.

 

[Triggerfish]

Anyone have any recommendations or deals on a record player with usb output? Trying for a last minute present for my father in law. He has a massive collection of records that he has been looking to rip but has never got around to it.
Thanks all.

 

[KG Jag]

Anyone have any recommendations or deals on a record player with usb output? Trying for a last minute present for my father in law. He has a massive collection of records that he has been looking to rip but has never got around to it.
Thanks all.

 
Does he already have a quality turntable?  If so, you might go for a phono pre-amp with that feature--such as this one:
 
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PAZPHOUSB
 
The Zphono-USB includes two pairs of stereo line-level input jacks so you can also make digital recordings from other analog sources such as an AM/FM tuner, satellite radio, or tape deck.

 

[Asr]

Why is there a photo of an (admittedly attractive) scantily-clad girl in a workout gym in this thread's recent images?? Unfortunately, clicking the photo doesn't provide a link to the post, maybe someone who follows this thread regularly can link it? Just curious about the context in which that post was made....

 

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In any case, anyone that might be looking to buy an AKG K712 might want to keep an eye on Amazon, which has it for $315 right now (as do a few marketplace sellers as well): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E4WXWBE/
 
But Camel* also shows that Amazon had it for ~$288 just 10 days ago, so it might be worth monitoring for a while longer too: http://camelcamelcamel.com/AKG-Over-Ear-Mastering-Reference-Headphones/product/B00E4WXWBE