Black Friday is still a week away, but early deals include a wide variety of headphones at solid discounts. We’ve mainly focused on TWS earbuds, but there are some over-ear models as well.
Starting with Samsung, the company is pushing its Shop Samsung app and offering exclusive discounts. The Galaxy Buds FE were already the cheapest in the Samsung TWS range, now they are even cheaper. These sub-$100 earbuds have ANC and multi-point connectivity, and promise up to 6 hours of listening time (with ANC turned on).
Note: When you follow the Samsung links below, you’ll be asked if you want the online store or the Buy Samsung app. Choose the app for additional discounts not available in the online store.
The alternative is to get the Galaxy Buds2. They’re very similar, but add wireless charging support for the case and 360-degree audio for the earbuds. FE models feature wingtips, which provide a more comfortable and secure fit in some people’s ears.
The Galaxy Buds2 Pro are a cut above their siblings with dual speakers: tweeter + woofer in each earcup. They also have an IPX7 water resistance rating, which is more reassuring than the basic IPX2 offered by the Buds2 and Buds FE.
Google’s Pixel Buds Pro have always cost less than the Galaxy Buds2 Pro and that remains the case with the latest discounts. These only have an IPX4 rating, but that’s better than the Buds2 (and they’re only $20 total). The Pixel earbuds also have better battery life than the Samsung earbuds.
The Google Pixel Buds A-Series are a cheaper option (half the price of the Buds Pro). However, instead of using ANC, Google tried to be clever with Adaptive Sound, which tries to mask noise rather than cancel it and doesn’t work so well as it alters the sound – good enough for calls, but noticeably distorts music.
You can go even cheaper: at just $30 the OnePlus Nord Buds 2 have ANC (they promise to reduce up to 25 dB of noise). It’s not the best, obviously, but it’s more than what competitors offer at this price. They also have good audio, latency, and battery life.
If you spend $100, the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 have much better ANC and we found them quite comfortable. They support LHDC and LC3 codecs for high-quality audio, as well as cool tricks like spatial audio.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 have stellar noise canceling capabilities, much of it thanks to the foam ear pads. They’re also physically smaller than the XM4 generation and offer even better audio quality (and those were already pretty good).
It’s time for some over-ear models. The Sony WH-1000XM5s have better ANC than their predecessors (though not as good at low frequencies). Keep in mind, however, that there is no water resistance on these.
The older Sony WH-1000XM4s still offer great audio quality and ANC, plus the new hinge design on the XM5 model isn’t as comfortable as the old one. Combine that with the lower price and these could be the best choice for you.
Finally a pair of gaming-oriented over-ear headphones. Both Sony INZONE models feature boom microphones that automatically mute when you rotate them out of the way. Both can use a wired connection (in fact the H3s are wired only) for the lowest possible latency. The INZONE H9s also come with a dongle for a low-latency wireless connection and can simultaneously connect via Bluetooth to another device such as your phone. Both the H3 and H9 support 360 spatial sound.
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