Best Prime Day deals: Headphones

It’s here (again), Prime Day is back for more time-limited deals that sound great at first glance, but may or may not actually be all that amazing. Not to worry, though, we’ve taken a gander through what’s available and picked what we think are the best deals of the day. And when we say “best deals,” we’re not just finding the biggest discounts and calling it a day; we’re limiting our picks to things that you might actually want to buy.

The Quick Answer

For a quick guide to the best Prime Day deals for headphones that suit your needs and budget, check out our top picks below. Each has a link to our full review.

The best for most:

The best for iPhone:

The best for audiophiles on a budget:

The best ANC headphones:

The best budget ANC headphones:

The best old ANC headphones pick:

The best under $100 pick:

The best mid-range audiophile pick:

Best headphone deal for most people: Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless

The best deal for the most people out there is the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless. Sure, this is an older set of ANC headphones, and sure, they may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, they offer sound quality and a price that’s uncommon for ANC headphones. We chose these over the Bose QuietComfort Headphones because of this, along with the better app support and connection options.

It’s not surprising to see these headphones on deep discount as they’re rumored to be on the way out, but that doesn’t mean that they’re any less capable of handling your needs. With performance that is close enough to the high-end but not for the same price, this is the best deal for most people. But you may want to click around in the reviews just to make sure, as there’s a number of finer points that you may want to dig into.

Read our full Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless review

Best headphone deal for iOS users: Beats Studio Pro

While we aren’t enormous fans of the Beats Studio Pro, Apple device users should have a relatively decent experience with these headphones — provided they have heads on the smaller side. More on-ear than over-ear, the shallow and narrow ear cups tend to put pressure on the outside of your ear, which can get a little uncomfortable. However, not everyone experiences this, and you could be totally fine.

If this describes you, you can get Beats’ best set of headphones in years. The Studio Pro offers decent sound, USB-C lossless listening, and a handful of advanced features befitting the sale price — but not the MSRP. At Prime Day pricing, this is a decent pickup if you’re in the market.

Read our full Beats Studio Pro review

Best older headphones that are still good

Rather than go over each pick exhaustively, you might want to see if there are any older headphones out there that fit your needs for a bargain. After all, not everyone needs the latest-and-greatest, especially if the deal is good enough. Here’s a few older headphones that should be on your radar:

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

Now outdated thanks to the release of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen.), we finally have our first post-superseded sale on the flagship Bose ANC headphones. Considering that the new headphones don’t offer a huge upgrade over the originals, those who don’t care about USB-C listening and yet another immersive audio mode might be interested to learn that the original Bose QuietComfort Ultra have gotten many of the software features of the new headphones over the years — and consequently, aren’t all that different from the new model.

Of course, the downside here is that you might not get firmware updates for very long, and the price could very well be much better. Still, a $100+ haircut on price isn’t anything to scoff at. This is a very good deal, especially for those with Android phones using a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or newer.

Sony WH-1000XM4

Though now quite outdated by today’s standards, the Sony WH-1000XM4 offer fair audio quality, excellent noise canceling, and a very steep discount. That’s because, at almost 5 years old, these headphones aren’t likely to be found in stores, and what remains is likely back-stock.

Still, if you don’t care much about immersive audio, advanced features, or LE audio: the Sony WH-1000XM4 might be a good pickup for you. At this price, there are very few 1:1 competitors in terms of noise cancelation that have Sony’s track record.

Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless

These headphones offer noise cancelation, decent sound, and a respectable price. Though they’re getting on in years, at Prime Day pricing they could be a solid pick for someone who isn’t satisfied by cheaper models. Coming in under $100 on sale, it’s hard to turn up your nose at the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless.

That said, if you’re a large-eared person, or you simply can’t go without USB-C listening: these aren’t the cans for you. Additionally, users without a modern Android phone won’t be able to make the most of the aptX implementation on the headphones. Any phone that’s under 4 years old should be fine, but it’s something to consider.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones

These headphones might not have amazing app support, but they cancel a lot of outside noise. With decent tinker-free sound and a low price to boot, these go up against the Sony WH-1000XM4 squarely. Those looking for headphones that don’t require (or allow) too much tinkering will find a capable commuter buddy in the Bose QuietComfort Headphones, as they’re comfortable and do exactly what’s asked of them.

However, if you’re in need of the latest features: you’re barking up the wrong tree. These headphones are as bare-bones as they get, even using physical-only controls on the back of the ear cups.

Best headphone deal for beginner audiophiles: Sennheiser HD 560S

The Sennheiser HD 560S is a long-time beginner audiophile favorite, owing to its already-low price and decent performance. However, it’s not for everyone — especially those who need their headphones to go out into the world, instead of just live at the computer. Still, if you have access to an interface or other 3.5mm port: the HD 560S is a capable set of open-backs for the desk.

Sound-wise these headphones are fairly easy to equalize to your preferences, though they do beg for some tinkering out of the box. That’s really fine, though, and will give you a push in the right direction to figure out more about your own listener preferences. That said, many will like the sound out of the box, especially for under $200.

Read our full Sennheiser HD 560S review

But you should consider upgrading to the HD 505

Though I’d like to tell you that everyone will be happy with the HD 560S and call it a day, I can’t. In fact, Sennheiser alone has a lot of options out there that offer a big step up in audio quality on sale this Prime Day. Specifically, we think most people would be happier with the HD 505 instead — if they can afford it. Better sound in a familiar package with fewer cable headaches is a list of positives we can all get behind, and we here at SoundGuys prefer this product to the one listed above. The main differentiator here is that the HD 560S currently has a better sale price than the HD 505, making the recommendation a little less black-and-white.

Read our full Sennheiser HD 505 review

The best deals we didn’t pick

There are loads of headphones that we think are great, but didn’t make this list. I’ll tell you why for each so you can decide whether or not you agree with me, and go from there.

• Sony WH-CH720N ($179.99 at Amazon): These older ANC headphones are old but still good, it’s just that the discount isn’t huge — and there are better deals for a similar price.
• Sony WH-1000XM5 ($387 at Amazon): These are solid headphones, but a mild discount and the potential for hinge failure means these may not be the best bang for buck.
• Nothing Headphone (1) ($299.99 at Amazon): While these are decent headphones, a recent firmware update is causing issues for some users, and has for quite a while now. Since it hasn’t been fixed yet, we don’t want to lead anyone to buyer’s remorse.
• Bowers & Wilkins Px8 ($699 at Amazon): Though good headphones, the discount isn’t enough to justify telling everyone to go and grab these headphones over the other entries on this list.
• Shure AONIC 50 Gen 2 ($349 at Amazon): These are quite old now, and demand a better deal for inclusion on this list.
• Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus ($217.95 at Amazon): These are quite old now, and demand a better deal for inclusion on this list.
• Sennheiser HD 660S2 ($499 at Amazon): While excellent headphones, these are quite expensive in comparison to other Sennheiser entries on this list.

What you should know about headphones

What “good headphones” are to any given person out there can differ, so we try to lay out everything as plainly as possible. Here’s what you should be looking for if you do any further research on your own.

Frequency response

This is the chart you should be looking for if you want to know more about how the headphone is tuned. Though frequency response doesn’t contain information about distortion, it’s the most important information you can get about a given product. If you’re a little lost looking at squiggly lines on a chart, we can help you out in understanding the chart and what it means.

Isolation and noise attenuation

Headphones used at home may not need to block out the world around you, but if you’re a commuter or office worker: isolation and ANC will make or break your experience because the world is loud! We can measure exactly how much noise is blocked or destroyed in our labs, and show it to you. The higher the line on our chart, the less noise makes it to your eardrums in those particular frequencies.

Features

Of course, we can’t measure features. However, we can provide context into what you might actually need versus what you might want. For example, the latest Bluetooth standards might not be necessary right now, but headphones are meant to last users 5 or more years: there’s a lot that can change in that amount of time. So you’re going to want to find headphones that can not only work well with your devices, but have long battery life plus a backup method to listen to audio. This can be over a regular old 3.5mm jack, or the latest USB-C digital connection. Gym rats will want some sort of moisture protection higher than IPX5, and travelers will want good ANC. Keyboard warriors looking for something to stay by the computer may not need any features at all. It all depends on your use.

How we test headphones

When SoundGuys tests headphones, there are many things that we measure and observe. We do this because there are plenty of things that we can objectively ground for our readers. Using state-of-the-art equipment and software, we measure:

1. Frequency response.
2. Distortion.
3. Isolation.
4. A simulated panel of 200+ users’ impressions of any product’s sound quality.
5. Active noise cancelation (ANC).
6. Battery life (if applicable).

We also may special mind to the intangibles, such as:

1. Build quality.
2. Comfort.
3. Ease of use.
4. Special features.

This way, we can provide a more complete picture than anyone else on the internet of how a set of headphones performs, and whether or not you should buy it.

How we choose the best Prime Day deals for headphones

As our staff is comprised of experts, musicians, and journalists, we have a somewhat unique blend of experience with headphones. However, we don’t just pick what we like: we have a massive database of objective testing data to help us aim our recommendations. We can tell you how something will sound, how long the battery will typically last, and even how much outside noise the headphones will cancel out.

When we look through the list of Prime Day deals, we selected only headphones that we felt people would be happy with buying, and then found the best deals among that list. To satisfy our requirements, the picks had to:

1. Perform well enough to befit the price.
2. Be easy to use.
3. Actually come with a meaningful discount.

You might think that the bar is in hell with only those criteria, but you’d be surprised.

Why you should trust SoundGuys

The staff at SoundGuys has collective decades of experience reviewing all things personal audio, with a focus on headphones and earphones. Our work is so entrenched in the niche that even our own in-house developed Headphone Preference Curve has been validated for over ears and in-ears. Other outlets even use it to help with their own coverage. It’s not an exaggeration to say that we know a thing or two about what makes good headphones, and how to know what meets that standard.

Our staff is also only paid for the work they do, and not to venerate one product over another. Nobody in the employ of SoundGuys has an incentive to convince you to pick a particular set of headphones over another — monetary or otherwise. None of our staff work for vendors, and none of our staff are allowed to personally have skin in the game when it comes to particular manufacturers. If we recommend something, it’s because we actually have evidence to support its inclusion in a given article.