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This is a repeat of a deal from a few months back, but it’s a little sweeter now than it was — and quite possibly the ideal Valentine’s Day gift. It’s where geek and romantic combine!
Headphones? Romantic? Surely I jest. Headphones are a solitary, isolationist affair. Unless, of course, two people could somehow listen to the same music, movie, podcast or whatever. But that’s not possible without one of those old-fangled audio splitters, right? Right?!
Enlarge ImageOne, good. Two, better.
Xfire
Wrong! For a limited time, and while supplies last, Xfire has two Mixcder ShareMe Bluetooth headphones for $53.98 shipped. That’s after adding two of the same color (black/red or white/blue) to your cart and applying coupon code 7H5ZTJV8 at checkout. Regular price for two: $80.
In case the name didn’t give it away, the ShareMe headphones were designed for, well, sharing. After pairing one set to your phone, tablet or PC, you pair the other set to the first one.
That’s a pretty good trick, but it’s not the only one ShareMe has up its sleeve. The headphones are cushioned and comfy, though as with all over-the-ear designs, they get a little sweaty after a while. And they fold for easier storage.
There’s a built-in microphone so you can make and take calls, though I find it weird to converse with cups over my ears. Double-tapping the power button will invoke Siri or Google for hands-free voice commands. Nice.
I particularly admire the battery life, which is rated at 20 hours.
I gave the headphones a quick test-drive and found the comfort very good, the sound quality above average considering the price point, the sharing feature excellent and the battery life amazeballs. The black/red version looks really slick, but I don’t especially like the blue/white styling. Just my $0.02.
As for the mostly glowing Amazon reviews, take note that Xfire sends these headphones to select reviewers in exchange for “honest, unbiased reviews.” I’ve discussed this topic before, and my advice remains the same: In perusing the reviews, look for specific likes and dislikes, and take any broad gushing with a big grain of salt.
Make no mistake, these are not Bose-quality headphones. But they’re good, and they offer a nifty dual-listener capability matched by few other such products. Maybe it’s a stretch to call this a Valentine’s Day gift, as you’re getting something out of it, too — but at least it’ll last longer than flowers!
Enlarge ImageSarah Tew/CNET
Bonus deal: Are you into yoga? You might be after reading this: Kicking off at 8 a.m. PT today, Dealfisher (via eBay) has the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro laptop for $679.99 shipped. It’s new, not refurbished, and features a 13.3-inch touchscreen (an ultra high-resolution one at that), a 360-degree hinge, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. CNET’s reviewer didn’t love the performance and battery life, but keep in mind the system was priced at $1,300 — and a 7-hour runtime isn’t exactly terrible.
