Most Black Friday headphone and earbud deals have been extended through the weekend and into Cyber Monday. And many of CNET’s favorite headphones are on sale right now at their lowest prices to date, including the new AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C) and Sony WH-1000XM5. We’ve rounded up the best headphone and earbud deals, with a focus on the brands we know, love and have tested.
Black Friday isn’t the end of the deals. Cyber Monday continues many of the best holiday deals, and often includes some new sales, too. See the best Cyber Monday deals, and keep up with all the latest deals with our full Cyber Monday live blog coverage.
Note that all the big online retailers have deals, including Amazon, Walmart and even Apple, so you can take advantage of any memberships or cards you might have with them. Our team of shopping experts are watching these deals round the clock, so be sure to check back regularly as we find more deals and retailers.
The AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C) are at their lowest price to date — $60 off their list price. Now would be a good time to nab them if you had your eye on a new pair.
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Apple’s entry-level AirPods 2 are near their all-time low price. Yes, Apple’s AirPods 3 have better quality sound and spatial audio, but a lot of people still like the fit (and price) of the AirPods 2, which are slightly smaller than the AirPods 3 and have longer stems.
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Sony’s budget on-ear CH-520 headphones are down to $38, matching their low price to date. They lack noise canceling and are pretty no-frills, but they feature good sound for their price, are lightweight and pretty comfortable for on-ear headphones, and also have excellent battery life (they’re rated for up to 50 hours at moderate volume levels). Additionally, they have multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair them with two devices simultaneously, such as a smartphone and computer, and switch audio. Voice-calling performance is decent, though not up to the level of what you get with the over-ear CH-720N.
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Beats’ new Studio Pro headphones may not be worth $350, but they’re certainly worth considering at $170, which matches their low price to date. We’re tempted to describe them as more affordable plastic versions of the AirPods Max. That’s not quite accurate, due to a choice in chipsets and one notable missing feature, but read our full Beats Studio Pro review to find out what makes these very good headphones — with some caveats.
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Sony’s entry-level noise-canceling headphones are $52 off, matching their lowest price to date. They have a bit of a plasticky budget vibe, but they’re lightweight and very comfortable. We were pleasantly surprised by their sound. No, they don’t sound as good as the WH-1000XM5s, but they sound more premium than they look (and feel), and their performance overall is a significant step up from their predecessor, the CH-710Ns.
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The Beats Solo3 have been out for several years but they remain very popular as on-ear headphones. On sale for $100, they’re near their low price.
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Should you buy headphones on Black Friday?
Black Friday is usually one of the best times of the year for electronics deals, and that includes things like headphones and earbuds. While there are some deals that happen throughout the year, such as Prime Day, these are few and far between, and we’ve already passed both Prime Day events for this year. As such, this is probably the best time to buy headphones until next summer.
Where is the best place for Black Friday headphone deals?
The big retailers — like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Target — often have the biggest deals. That said, a lot of the brands offer deals on their own websites as well, so you might want to take a look at the websites of Samsung, Sennheiser, JBL and, potentially, Apple, although they rarely offer deals.
What makes a good Black Friday headphone deal?
One thing to keep in mind is that the list price of a product doesn’t always tell you the real value, especially as retailers have started offering Day 1 deals on products. Often the list price is artificially inflated to make the deal look more attractive, so you’ll want to check around and see what is the true value or “street price” of a product. There are handy historical price-checking sites out there that can help you check if the deal is actually notable or if it’s been discounted to the price regularly. You might also want to install CNET’s Shopping plug-in to give you a bit of help with all of that.
