This story is part of Holiday Gift Guide 2020, CNET’s gift picks with expert advice, reviews and recommendations for the latest tech gifts for you and your family.
The early Black Friday deals are in full swing. If you’ve been thinking about buying new headphones, several of the deals listed here are for some of our favorite models. And the discounts aren’t limited to one type of headphone — there are deals on over-ear, on-ear, noise-canceling and true-wireless headphones.
In some cases, prices for products are matching their all-time lows or even dipping to all-time lows. Here are the best headphone deals right now. I’ll update this list as more models go on sale or deals expire.
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The Beats Powerbeats Pro regularly hit $200 and sometimes get a little better discount, but $160 for certain colors (red, yellow, moss) is near the lowest price we’ve seen. Read our Beats Powerbeats Pro review.
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Sony’s newest noise-canceling headphones — and arguably the top noise-canceling headphones out there — recently went on sale for $300 as part of Amazon’s Prime Day. They’re now available for $278, the lowest price yet. Read our Sony WH-1000XM4 review.
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Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live earbuds came out a few months ago and we’re already seeing them discounted. It’s not a huge discount ($30), but it’s almost 20% off. They have perhaps the most innovative design of the year and I rated them highly, although the noise canceling is relatively light. One warming: While they fit my ears very well, due to their shape, they won’t work for everybody.
Watch this:
Galaxy Buds Live are the most innovative true wireless…
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The Beats Solo Pro are a very good set of on-ear noise-canceling headphones. The only issue is they’re overpriced at $300. At $170, they’re downright enticing. This is below the earlier sale price of $200 that we were seeing a few weeks back. Read our Beats Solo Pro review.
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The Jabra Elite 85h at $150 is a good value alternative to pricier premium noise-canceling headphones from Bose and Sony. It features good sound, a comfortable fit and excellent voice-calling performance, which makes it a good option for working from home. Read our Jabra Elite 85h review.
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Jabra’s Elite Active 75t are the slightly more rugged version of the Elite 75t, which are also on sale (they’re $140 or $40 off). Both models are among the best true wireless earbuds out there and now can be upgraded with active noise canceling via a software upgrade. (New models that shipped to stores recently may already be equipped with the upgrade.)
The Elite Active 75t look nearly identical to the Elite 75t, but upon closer inspection, you’ll notice the finish on the case and earbuds is slightly different. Instead of the hard smooth finish of the Elite Active 75t, the Active 75t have a soft-to-the-touch finish with a touch of grip to it. Or, as Jabra put it, they’re “built with a durable coating for dust and sweat resistance and features an increased IP water-resistance rating from IP56 (of the Elite Active 75t) to IP57, making them waterproof.” Read our Jabra Elite Active 75t review.
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Bose’s Noise Canceling 700 Headphones ($379) are the company’s current flagship noise-canceling headphone, but in recent weeks, we’ve seen the older but arguably more comfortable QuietComfort 35 II, get big discounts. $199 is the lowest price we’ve seen for it.
Note that with Sony discounting its new WH-1000XM4 to $278, we may see the Noise Canceling 700 Headphones also get some nice discounts as we head into the holidays. Read our QuietComfort 35 II review.
Read our Bose QuietComfort 35 II review.
Sony
If you can’t afford Sony’s WH-1000XM4, the company’s more entry-level WH-CH710N noise-canceling headphones are down to $88 after hitting $100 recently. They don’t offer the sound quality, build quality or noise-canceling performance of Sony’s 1000X models, but at $88 they offer good value for money. I don’t think they’re worth anywhere near $200, their list price.
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This is the lowest price we’ve seen for the Jaybird Vista, a very good set of true wireless sports earbuds that really lock in your ears (they’re one of top picks for runners) and are fully waterproof. The Vista has been out a while, so it’s due for an upgrade — maybe that’s why it’s on sale at its lowest price — but if a new model comes out any time soon, it’ll probably cost around $180. Amazon (linked below) has the grey model discounted; if you want “planetary green,” grab it at Jaybird’s site. Read our Jaybird Vista review.