Best Deals on Headphones

While there’s nothing revolutionary about the design of Sonos’s first headphone, it is well-executed. If you like the Sonos brand, this is a good opportunity to get this model at a discount, as it doesn’t go on sale often. The sleek and even minimalist Ace is actually flattering when sitting on your head. The wireless noise-canceling model also offers warm, comforting sound and solid bass.

If you want earbuds, but don’t like the feel of plugging up your ears, the Bose Ultra Opens are a unique option. They hook on your ear, just above the lobe, kind of like a cuff-style earring. They sound surprisingly good, too, once you get the placement just right. And it’s totally easy to hear things around you with a clarity that the "transparency" mode of most earbuds can’t match.

If you’re a fan of the Google Pixel phone, then the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a solid choice for a complementary earbud. They have a Find My Device function, and the sound can be adjusted through the Pixel app. The Pixel Buds 2 earn very good sound quality grades and score well for noise cancellation.

This wireless model from JBL delivers acceptable sound quality and top-notch active noise reduction. These earphones have an isolating design and an ambient sound monitoring feature; they will provide some muffling and electronic canceling of external noises and also reduce the amount of sound that escapes from the earpieces. As such, they are best for those who want highly portable earphones that reduce the amount of noise they hear from their surroundings, or don’t want the sound from the earpieces to disturb others.

Can’t fall asleep without noise, but your partner needs total silence? These wireless headphones from Ozlo are designed for bed, and they’re the top choice among the models we tested. They’re lightweight and bendable for a snug, comfortable fit. And more importantly, they block out disruptive noise. The battery lasts 10 hours, so you’ll wake up with your music still playing, and the accompanying app offers a wide variety of white noise options (and you can still play your own audio via Bluetooth). For this price, these are probably more ideal if you’re going to use them frequently.

As with the Ozlo headphones above, these earbuds are made for sleeping. The Anker Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds offer everything you need to rest without interruptions. They effectively drown out noise, and the battery reliably lasts for an entire night with some power to spare. (You can count on a 9-hour battery life, Anker says, and 45 hours with a fully charged case.) The headphones also offer active noise cancellation—a new addition to the A30 model. And the price has dropped $20 in the last few weeks.

If you’re looking for earbuds that prioritize fit above all else, check out the Beats Fit Pro. These noise-canceling buds have soft silicone ear tips in three sizes, plus wingtips that fit into the pinna (the exterior of your ear) for additional security. They have actual buttons, too, rather than the touch-sensitive controls on many other models, which may make it easier to operate them while on the go. The Fit Pros also sound really good and feature effective active noise cancellation, making them a solid alternative to the similarly priced AirPods Pro.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 is two generations old—Sony recently introduced the XM6—but headphone tech doesn’t advance that rapidly, and the XM remains a solid performer with fine sound and very effective noise-canceling. These headphones did dip as low as $160 during Black Friday, so you’re not getting the absolute best price, but this is the lowest price you’ll see outside of major sale days.

The AirPods Max sound really good and have superb and flexible noise-canceling tech. They have a high-performing transparency mode to pipe in outside sound, as well as spatial audio capability. But the biggest selling point might be the distinctive design and premium feel we’ve all come to expect from an Apple product.

For all of the popularity of Apple’s AirPods, these are a rather unusual. Lacking the padded ear tips that plug your ear canals, they don’t offer much passive noise cancellation, but they do have reasonably effective noise-canceling tech. And so, you can elect to turn the noise-canceling feature off and hear what’s going on around you, which can be great when you’re on a run or walking on a busy street. In terms of sound and fit, the buds are very similar to the regular 4th-gen. AirPods. These did cost $99.99 during Black Friday, but we likely won’t see another discount that steep until July when Amazon typically holds it Prime Day sale.

When you’re looking for workout headphones, nothing’s more important than the fit. Earbuds that don’t stay on aren’t of much use. The Powerbeats Pro 2 aims to solve that problem with earhooks that keep these good-sounding, noise-canceling earbuds firmly in place. Among our testers, some found them very secure, but others had to fiddle to get a decent fit, so pay attention to the return policy, especially if you’re giving these as gifts.

The Bose Quiet Comfort earbuds sit near the top of our ratings, with really satisfying sound and exceptional active noise cancellation. Bose headphones also earn top marks from our members for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction. The discounted price is $20 more than the best we saw, but we don’t expect that discount to return until July for Amazon’s Prime Day sale and big sales at other major retailers.