The Deals Thread (CLOSED! See the last post for the link to the new thread)

[CarpeDijon]

I emailed Dakmart/Adgtron and they advise to go with refurbs, fwiw.  See my email and their email  below (in reverse chronological order):
 
 

 Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:56:39 +0000
From: 6y5pfr8qqb27rw2@marketplace.amazon.com
> Subject: Re: Product details inquiry from Amazon customer  
 Both are 100% perfect and complete 
 Neither has the original box
 Refurbished by Sennheiser
 The Referbs are better

Thanks
> 
> On Jan 16, 2013, at 23:15, "___ - Amazon Marketplace" <[e-mail address removed]> wrote:
> 
> > Hello. You are selling the Sennheiser Momentum headphones (ASIN: B009FHFFIG) in both "Used -- Like New" and "Refurbished" conditions. Please tell me (A) are the used ones merely open-box items and (B) are the refurbished ones refurbished by Sennheiser? Thank you.
 

 
I appreciate your input, devhen.  
 
Quote:

 
I would take refurbished over used any day unless you're talking about 'seller refurbished' versus 'manufacturer refurbished'. The whole point of refurbishing an item is to return it to brand new condition so it can be resold. With headphones that's easy-- replace ear pads / drivers / head band or whatever has the problem along with anything that has signs of wear and the result is a like new headphone at a huge discount. And often times there is actually nothing wrong with the refurbished item, it was just returned by a customer that changed their mind for some reason.
 
Everyone I've heard from who has bought refurbished cans through Dakmart has said they were indistinguishable from brand new headphones. Manufacturer refurbished headphones also come with warranties (albeit typically short ones, usually 2-3 months). Used on the other hand comes with none of this. Anything that might be wrong with the headphone hasn't been fixed and the warranties aren't transferable. You're lucky if they've even been thoroughly cleaned. There is no guarantee that the item will be in the condition described. The seller's perception of 'like new' might be your idea of 'very used'.
 
And I know I'm getting really anal and paranoid now but... I refuse to put ear pads on my head that have been worn for an indeterminate amount of time by a stranger. So that adds the cost of new ear pads to the cost of any used headphone. Hahaha. Every pair of manufacturer refurbished cans I've purchased or that people I know have purchased came with no signs on the ear pads of any use whatsoever, or on any other part for that matter.
 
Granted, I've bought other refurbished items that were not in like new condition but I've had nothing but positive experiences with refurbished headphones. It all depends on the manufacturer since they're the ones doing the refurbishing. Manufacturer refurbished Senn's are a very safe bet in my experience.
 
You may want to check their site. Sometimes their refurbished 'phones are even cheaper when bought directly through their website. http://www.dakmart.com

 

[imackler]

Sound Professionals has refurb lim ed ATHM50 w/ full manufacturer warranty for $119.99. http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?category=9009
The limited edition are pretty sharp! 

 

[devhen]

imackler, your link ist kaput.

 

[imackler]

Quote:

imackler, your link ist kaput.

fixed! 

 

[DemonFox]

Quote:

Im with you there. The best thing about factory refurbished goods is that a human being has actually inspected and tested it. In many respects, this is better than buying "new" where defects can slip through the production process.

I seek out factory refurbished goods whenever I can.

 
Interesting, those are all great ways to look at it about refurbished products. The only refurbished cans I own are MMX 300 from Beyer that I got a steal and they do work great but I thought that was the exception more than the rule but maybe I'll give them more of a look in the future.

 

[DemonFox]

Anyone know of any Portable or small desktop Tube Amp/Dac with Toslink inputs for around or under $300?? New or used. I'm still pretty new to the AMP market so my knowledge is pretty limited at the moment. I know the e17 is a great deal but is there better out there that I should be looking at? Saw some cool little Chinese ones on eBay for pretty cheap but lord knows what kind of quality we're looking at there...
 
Here's one for example...
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Class-A-12-6-series-6N11-12AU7-Tube-valve-vacuum-Hybrid-Headphone-Amplifier-AMP-/111001618753?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item19d8364941
 
And this one...
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-sApIII-High-impedance-Professional-TUBE-headphone-amplifier-BB-OPA2604-/290797739690?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item43b4e55eaa
 
Neither of them have toslink inputs but still are kinda interesting
 
Edit: I understand that the e17 is not a tube amp but it is a good low price amp/dac with a toslink and a lot of options.

 

[devhen]

The E17 isn't a tube amp but I'm sure you know that. That's a good question... the first thing that came to mind was the Hifiman EF-2A but it doesn't have toslink, just USB I think (and only 16-bit at that).
 
What about the Grant Fidelity TubeDAC 11 or the Maverick Audio D1 (+/- Plus)? Although I'm not sure if you can connect headphones to the tube buffer on the D1. I know you can on the TubeDAC 11.
 
You might have an easier time finding a separate toslink DAC and tube amp instead of an all-in-one unit.

 

[littlexsparkee]

Why not just get an Audioengine D1? Amp + DAC, USB and optical inputs. It's a fantastic piece of gear that can be found for as low as $130 sometimes, overstock.

 

[CSGO rice]

how often do lcd2's go on sale around here?

 

[devhen]

Quote:

how often do lcd2's go on sale around here?

 
Zero to never. Unless someone like soundearphones.com does their 25% off gift cards promotion which can be used to pick up an LCD 2.
 
Unless I'm wrong. In which case I'm sure someone will correct me. I'm interested in finding a deal on the LCD 2 as well.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Quote:

how often do lcd2's go on sale around here?

 
Zero to never. Unless someone like soundearphones.com does their 25% off gift cards promotion which can be used to pick up an LCD 2.
 
Unless I'm wrong. In which case I'm sure someone will correct me. I'm interested in finding a deal on the LCD 2 as well.

They do occur from time to time, but you need to vigilantly watch this thread (and other sources) to pick them up.  I recall a couple of deals on new and returned bamboo LCD-2's during the holiday period.

 

[DemonFox]

Quote:

Why not just get an Audioengine D1? Amp + DAC, USB and optical inputs. It's a fantastic piece of gear that can be found for as low as $130 sometimes, overstock.

 
Its not a tube amp but still very very interesting at $169... I own the ef2a right now and the dac is very unimpressive and cracks a lot when ever the cord is slightly touched or even left alone. I think there maybe a problem with it so its actually about to be sent back to Amazon... Now the amp on the other hand is stupid powerful and incredibly smooth hence the reason why I wanna stay with a tube amp. It helped with the sparkle of the D5000's and made them calm down quite in the upper range. The smooth warm feeling of the tube amp was amazing and I'm hooked!! Which is why I want one with a proper Dac so I can see what it is I've been missing all this time. I had a shot at a EF5 but forgot to bid on time and lost it. Like new for only $281
 
The Audioengine looks like a very solid amp and Amazon has it with Prime so I could have it tomorrow if purchased right now. Have anyone of you used or tried the Aune T1?? Its under $200 but doesn't have a toslink... Not sure if I'm overstating the need of the optical drive is there that much of a difference with the music vs the usb?? Always figured it was have a smoother delivery than the USB and would sound better but honestly I don't know, What do you guys think??
 
SPDIF input vs using a usb. Which delivers the best quality sound??
 
FYI - The sound from the DAC on the e07k was 10x better IMO than the ef2a. That was a total shocker

 

[DemonFox]

Quote:

how often do lcd2's go on sale around here?

 
Not often but places like TTVJaudio.com will do sales from time to time and there is one other place that does good deals on returns for cans like the HE-6 and LCD's but I can't remember for the life of me. I think it was posted a little while ago in this thread maybe someone can help me. I think KG Jag may have been the one to post the site.
 
Also eBay typically has some used ones that can be had for decent prices as well.

 

[devhen]

Its not a tube amp but still very very interesting at $169... I own the ef2a right now and the dac is very unimpressive and cracks a lot when ever the cord is slightly touched or even left alone. I think there maybe a problem with it so its actually about to be sent back to Amazon... Now the amp on the other hand is stupid powerful and incredibly smooth hence the reason why I wanna stay with a tube amp. It helped with the sparkle of the D5000's and made them calm down quite in the upper range. The smooth warm feeling of the tube amp was amazing and I'm hooked!! Which is why I want one with a proper Dac so I can see what it is I've been missing all this time. I had a shot at a EF5 but forgot to bid on time and lost it. Like new for only $281

The Audioengine looks like a very solid amp and Amazon has it with Prime so I could have it tomorrow if purchased right now. Have anyone of you used or tried the Aune T1?? Its under $200 but doesn't have a toslink... Not sure if I'm overstating the need of the optical drive is there that much of a difference with the music vs the usb?? Always figured it was have a smoother delivery than the USB and would sound better but honestly I don't know, What do you guys think??

SPDIF input vs using a usb. Which delivers the best quality sound??

FYI - The sound from the DAC on the e07k was 10x better IMO than the ef2a. That was a total shocker

I think you'll find that USB inputs sound just as good as optical inputs as long as the device supports full bit depth and sample rate on the USB input. For example, some devices support 24/96 over optical but only 16/48 over USB.

There is however a chance that you might experience more jitter over the USB input. Newer DACs with asynchronous USB shouldn't have issues though.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Quote:

Why not just get an Audioengine D1? Amp + DAC, USB and optical inputs. It's a fantastic piece of gear that can be found for as low as $130 sometimes, overstock.

 
Its not a tube amp but still very very interesting at $169... I own the ef2a right now and the dac is very unimpressive and cracks a lot when ever the cord is slightly touched or even left alone. I think there maybe a problem with it so its actually about to be sent back to Amazon... Now the amp on the other hand is stupid powerful and incredibly smooth hence the reason why I wanna stay with a tube amp. It helped with the sparkle of the D5000's and made them calm down quite in the upper range. The smooth warm feeling of the tube amp was amazing and I'm hooked!! Which is why I want one with a proper Dac so I can see what it is I've been missing all this time. I had a shot at a EF5 but forgot to bid on time and lost it. Like new for only $281
 
The Audioengine looks like a very solid amp and Amazon has it with Prime so I could have it tomorrow if purchased right now. Have anyone of you used or tried the Aune T1?? Its under $200 but doesn't have a toslink... Not sure if I'm overstating the need of the optical drive is there that much of a difference with the music vs the usb?? Always figured it was have a smoother delivery than the USB and would sound better but honestly I don't know, What do you guys think??
 
SPDIF input vs using a usb. Which delivers the best quality sound??
 
FYI - The sound from the DAC on the e07k was 10x better IMO than the ef2a. That was a total shocker

You may already know this--both the EF5 and EF2A are hybrid amps.