Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget
We're into day two of Amazon's latest storewide sale for Amazon Prime members, Prime Big Deal Days, and there are still plenty of hefty discounts on headphones, earbuds and gaming headsets we recommend. We’ve sorted through the best headphone deals of the October Prime Day event below, which include new lows on the AirPods Pro, Sony WF-1000XM5, Beats Studio Pro, Amazon Echo Buds and more. Just note that some, but not all, of the offers are only accessible if you subscribe to Prime.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 is back down to $248, which is $20 more than its all-time low but roughly $80 below its average street price. This is Sony’s last-gen pair of wireless noise-cancelers, but it still delivers powerful ANC, 30-ish hours of battery life and a similarly rich feature set as the newer WH-1000XM5 (which isn't on sale as of this writing). Unlike its successor, it can also fold up for easier storage. It doesn’t have the XM5’s adaptive ANC system, however, and its mic quality isn’t as clear. It’s slightly heavier too, plus it sounds a bit boomier out of the box. But for less than $250, it remains a great value. We gave the XM4 a review score of 94 back in 2020.
The in-ear Sony WF-1000XM5, meanwhile, are on sale for $278. That’s only $20 off, but it marks the first discount we’ve seen for the top pick in our wireless earbuds buying guide. We gave this true wireless pair a score of 87 earlier this year: Like Sony’s over-ear models, it comes with a range of useful features, powerful noise cancellation and a warm yet detailed default sound. The design here is also much more agreeable than previous Sony earphones.
The Sony LinkBuds S are on sale for $128, which is a price we’ve seen in the past but still takes about $30 off the pair’s average street price. We highlight the LinkBuds S as an honorable mention in our wireless earbuds guide, as we like its compact design, decent noise cancellation, handy bonus features and warm sound. It can’t match the ANC strength or battery life of the WF-1000XM5, but it also costs a fair bit less, which helps.
The USB-C version of Apple’s AirPods Pro is down to $189, which is $60 off Apple’s list price and a new low. The Lightning version is available for the same price. This is the “best for iOS” pick in our buying guide. Both models still deliver strong ANC, a superb transparency mode and a pleasingly warm sound. They also come with a variety of Apple-specific features, including hands-free Siri access, Find My tracking and fast pairing with other Apple devices. A recent update added an “Adaptive Audio” mode that dynamically blends its ANC and transparency modes based on your surroundings, while the new USB-C model comes with improved dust resistance alongside the new charging port. That said, you really need to be committed to the Apple ecosystem to get the most out of this, and the six-hour battery life is just OK. We gave the AirPods Pro a score of 88 last year.
Apple’s second-gen AirPods, meanwhile, are back down to $89. That’s $10 off their usual street price. We can’t broadly recommend the base AirPods to most people these days, as their one-size-fits-all design won’t work for everyone and there are better-sounding options for the money. However, if you’re all-in on Apple devices and just want the usual AirPods perks in an unsealed design, this deal makes the pair a little more palatable.
The Beats Studio Pro is on sale for $180, which is a new low and a sizable $170 discount. We gave these wireless over-ears a review score of 81 in July: We can’t recommend them over the top picks in our guide, but they offer a pleasant, even-handed sound, helpful ANC and the ability to stream higher-quality audio over a USB-C connection. Like most Beats headphones, they also play nice with Android. That said, multi-device pairing doesn’t work with iOS, there’s no wear detection and the mostly plastic design isn’t super premium. But at this price, the Studio Pro could make sense if you really dig the Beats aesthetic.
The Beats Fit Pro is down to $160, which is a price we’ve seen multiple times in recent months but still takes $40 off the pair’s MSRP. The Fit Pro is the “best for workouts” pick in our wireless earbuds guide, as it offers most of the Apple-friendly perks you’d get from a set of AirPods — Beats is a subsidiary of Apple — in a sportier, more stable design. Its punchy yet refined sound is a plus, and it uses physical control buttons instead of touch panels. However, it lacks multi-device pairing and wireless charging, and its ANC is a step down from the AirPods Pro. We gave the Fit Pro a review score of 87 in 2021.
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 is on sale for $54, which matches its all-time low and comes in $25 less than usual. The Space A40 is the top pick in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds, as it includes a host of features that belie its price: adaptive ANC, multi-device pairing, wireless charging, a transparency mode and up to 10 hours of battery life. Its audio quality and ANC aren’t quite as powerful as more expensive pairs, but both are more than effective enough for the money. Unlike many budget wireless headphones, its default sound doesn’t completely blow out the bass. Just note that its call quality is mediocre, and it lacks wear detection, so it won’t auto-pause when you remove an earbud.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC carry most of the same benefits as the Space A40 but use a “stem” design reminiscent of Apple’s AirPods. They put a little more emphasis on the bass by default, but you can change that sound profile up with a few EQ tools in Anker’s app. They also support wear detection. If you prefer this sort of form factor, the Liberty 4 NC is down to $80, which is a $20 discount and matches its lowest price to date.
The Anker Soundcore Space Q45 is on sale for $100, which is a $50 discount and an all-time low. While not as nice as most of the pricier models in this roundup, the Space Q45 is a fine value if you can’t spend more than $100. Its adaptive ANC is better-than-average and can be set to a manual mode if needed, it supports multi-device pairing and its design is comfortable to wear for hours at a time. Sound quality is where the price is most evident, as it’s a little too uneven in the treble, but its bass-heavy profile should work for fans of hip-hop and EDM. You can tweak the sound somewhat through the EQ tools in Anker’s Soundcore app.
If you want a decent set of noise-canceling over-ears for as little as possible, the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 is also worth considering. It’s now down to $56, which is $24 less than usual. This pair isn’t built as well as the Space Q45, nor does it sound as nice out of the box, as it massively inflates the bass and degrades when ANC is active. Call quality is worse too. That said, it’s comfortable, its battery can last more than 40 hours and the ANC itself is excellent for less than $60. You still get multi-device pairing and a customizable EQ as well.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are available for $199, which is an all-time low and roughly $75 off their average street price. This pair has technically been replaced by Bose’s new QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, which add a new spatial audio mode. That model isn’t discounted as of this writing, however, and the two pairs are largely similar otherwise. The QC II’s chief selling point is its ANC performance, which is still among the most powerful on the market. If that’s your chief concern, saving $99 to buy the older pair may still make sense. Just note that it lacks multi-device pairing and wireless charging, and that its earpieces are on the bulky side. We gave the QC IIs a review score of 87 last year.
Along those lines, the Bose QuietComfort 45 are down to $229. That’s $30 more than the lowest price we’ve tracked for these over-ears but still $80 below their average street price as of late. This is another noise-canceling set that Bose recently replaced, but the differences between the QC 45 and the new QuietComfort Headphones appear to be small, so the older model is worth a look when it’s discounted like this. We gave the QC 45 a review score of 86 in 2021, and we still like its lightweight design, upper-tier ANC and easygoing sound. You can’t manually adjust the intensity of the ANC, unlike the newer model, and Sony’s XM5 and XM4 provide longer battery life and a more versatile feature set for those willing to pay up. But if that’s not you, the QC 45 is a fine alternative at this price.
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 is available for $142, which is a new low. This pair has normally retailed around $180 in recent months. This is the runner-up pick in our wireless earbuds guide, as Engadget’s resident audio expert Billy Steele considers it the best-sounding true wireless pair he’s tested. That warm yet customizable sound is joined by a solid adaptive ANC system, though Sennheiser’s pair isn’t as effective as the Sony WF-1000XM5 in that regard, nor does it have the same deep feature set.
We’re mostly sticking to wireless headphones here since that’s just the way the market has moved, but if you want a quality wired model, the Sennheiser HD 560S is worth a look at $150. While not an all-time low, that’s about $35 below the pair’s typical street price. We recommend the HD 560S in our guide to the best gaming headphones. Its open-back design lets in and leaks a ton of noise, but it sounds spacious, detailed and well-balanced, which makes it a treat for critical listening. It’s comfortable to wear for extended periods as well. Just don’t expect much in the way of deep sub-bass response.
Prime members can get the latest Amazon Echo Buds for $35, which is $15 off and an all-time low. This is another pick in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds. Specifically, the Echo Buds should appeal to those who prefer a more open design, one that lets in outside noise but doesn’t insert directly into your ear canal. They can sound solid for the price with a bit of EQ tweaking, and they support features we don’t often see for less than $50, such as wear detection and multipoint connectivity. They also have Alexa baked in, natch. Their IPX2 sweat-resistance rating isn’t enough for workouts, and their five-ish hours of battery life is just average, but they’re worth a look if you’re on a tight budget and hate the feel of traditional in-ear headphones. We gave them a score of 77 earlier this year.
The Shokz OpenRun Pro is down to $125 for Prime Big Deal Days, which is $25 more than the lowest price we’ve tracked but still $55 below its usual going rate. This is a recommended pair of bone conduction headphones, which means it hugs the side of your head and delivers sound by passing vibrations through your skull. (It’s not as uncomfortable as it sounds.) The main benefit is that this leaves your ear canals completely open, so you can enjoy a playlist or podcast without being shut out from the outside world. The downside, usually, is that you don’t get as full a sound as you would with a traditional pair. That’ll still be the case here, but we’ve found the OpenRun Pro to deliver more low-end depth than most of its peers. They’re fairly comfy and get up to 10 hours of battery life beyond that.
The Google Pixel Buds Pro are on sale for $120, which is a new low and $80 off Google’s list price. This is the “best for Android” recommendation in our wireless earbuds guide, and it earned a review score of 87 last year. Its ANC and V-shaped sound profile aren’t as superlative as our top picks, but they’re fine, and the whole package integrates tightly with Google’s line of Pixel phones. An upcoming firmware update promises improved call quality — one of our review’s chief complaints — and the ability to automatically pause music when you’re speaking, similar to what pairs from Sony and Apple offer. Those with smaller ear canals may find the fit to be tricky, though we had few issues with comfort in testing.
The JLab Go Air Pop is down to $16.44 for Prime Big Deal Days, which is about $6 less than usual. We highlight this set in our budget wireless earbuds guide, as it gets you a compact shape, IPX4-rated water resistance, eight or so hours of battery life and a full set of functional touch controls for dirt cheap. Its boomy sound isn’t exactly great, but it’s serviceable, which is a victory when we’re talking about $16 wireless earbuds. Plus, while it lacks a companion app, JLab bakes three EQ presets into the earbuds themselves.
The top budget pick in our gaming headphones buying guide, the HyperX Cloud Stinger 2, is on sale for $35. That’s just a modest $5 discount but matches the lowest price we’ve seen. The Cloud Stinger 2 doesn’t have the most balanced or detailed sound, but its V-shaped signature gives action scenes a nice level of impact, and its mic quality belies the dirt-cheap price. The design is comfortable too, though it’s made from cheap-feeling plastic.
If you’re willing to pay a little more, the HyperX Cloud Alpha is another decent value at $60, which is $15 or so lower than its typical street price. We note this as an honorable mention in our guide: It’s been around for a few years now, but it’s comfortable, and its detachable mic is solid. It’s better built than the Cloud Stinger 2 as well. At this price, they don’t sound bad either, though an underemphasized treble means they aren’t especially detailed.
If you’re looking for a wireless headset, the Logitech G535 is back down to $80, which is about $25 below its average street price. This is an honorable mention in our gaming headsets guide, as we like its lightweight design, Bluetooth support and agreeable, relatively well-balanced sound. It forces you to crank the volume to reach a listenable level though, and its mic makes voices sound a little too thin. It also doesn't work with Xbox consoles. But if you really want a wireless gaming headset for less than $100, it’s well worth a look.
Your October Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Fall Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
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