Best Headphone Deals: Save on Beats, Bose, and Sony

Choosing the best headphones can be a challenge. With so many popular brands out there, from Apple and Sony to Beats, Bose, and more, how do you find the right pair? You’ll want to think about your budget, as well as what you’re planning to use your new ‘phones for, and don’t forget to check they have all the features you need.

To help you make the right choice, we’ve picked the best headphones deals out there, with a look at what makes them stand out. Keep reading to see what’s on offer — your new headphones are somewhere on this list.

Best headphone deals

Sony WHRF400 RF — £80, was £120

Why Buy

• Up to 150 feet of wireless range
• Simple setup
• Comfortable padded over-ear design
• Up to 20 hours of battery life

No Netflix binge is complete without a really excellent pair of home theater headphones, like these ones from Sony. The WHRF400 headphones are some of the best cheap headphones around, offering up to 150 feet of wireless range — or, if you prefer, you can enjoy a wired connection with the 3.5mm stereo minijack input.

With up to 20 hours of battery life, you won’t run out of juice part-way through the latest season of your favorite show, and when the battery runs low, just place them on the included charging stand to power up again in no time. These headphones are comfortable enough for all-day wear with their over-ear design and padded earcups for a secure fit. They’re super simple to set up, too — just connect the transmitter dock to your TV with the included cable.

You can even enjoy clearer dialogue in shows and movies with built-in Voice Mode. The only downside of these headphones is that they don’t support Bluetooth, but if that’s not a must for you, this deal is your opportunity to snap up an amazing pair of home theater headphones at a bargain price.

Beats Solo 3 — £130, was £200

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Why Buy

• Up to 40 hours of battery life
• Compatible with iOS and Android devices
• Sleek, stylish design
• Fast charging

Packing the Apple W1 chip, the Beats Solo 3 Headphones are sleek, stylish, and powerful. Fine-tuned acoustics and spatial audio ensure an immersive listening experience that you don’t find on other headphones.

With up to 40 hours of listening time from a single charge, you won’t be tied to your charger, and a quick five-minute charge gives you three hours of playback, great if you’re the type who’s always forgetting to recharge. None of this matters if your headphones aren’t comfortable, though. Thankfully, the Beats Solo 3 Headphones pack comfort-cushioned ear cups and an easily adjustable fit, so they’re great for long listening sessions or all-day wear, whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie, or gaming.

Easy to pair with both iOS and Android devices — just power them on and hold them near your iPhone to hook them up or use Bluetooth to connect to your Android phone or tablet — these headphones are also super-easy to control thanks to in-built controls on the ear cup. The only thing really missing from these ‘phones is active noise cancellation, but if that doesn’t bother you, these are an excellent buy, combining gorgeous style with amazing sound.

Beats Studio 3 — £170, was £350

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Why Buy

• Pure adaptive noise cancelling shuts out distractions
• Up to 40 hours battery life in low-power mode
• Sleek, minimalist profile
• Compatible with both iOS and Android devices

If you want a pair of Beats headphones but need noise cancelling, the Beats Studio 3 are the perfect pair for you. With pure adaptive noise cancelling (ANC) you can shut out the world, without compromising the quality of whatever you’re listening to.

Real-time audio calibration preserves clarity, so whether you’re listening to your favorite podcast or your Spotify playlist, everything sounds crystal clear. There’s support for Spatial Audio too, for an immersive experience when listening to music, watching movies, or playing video games. One of the most important things to consider when shopping for new headphones is battery life, and these babies support up to 22 hours of battery life thanks to the Apple W1 chip — the same chip found in the first-gen AirPods.

Turn off active noise cancelling and you’ll get up to 40 hours of battery life in low-power mode, with fast charging for 10 minutes giving you an additional three hours of play time. These headphones pair with both Android and iOS devices, with handy on-ear controls for your music, calls, and Siri. They’re comfortable enough to wear for long work or play sessions too, with soft over-ear cushions and a minimalist profile that doesnt’ look bulky — and you can pick them up in a choice of several colors.

Sennheiser Momentum — £200, was £400

Why Buy

• Active noise cancellation
• Smart pause stops playback when headphones are removed
• Powerful, crisp sound
• All-day comfort

Sennheiser’s Momentum Headphones are an excellent buy if you’re looking for a pair of headphones you can comfortably wear all day.

With their sheep leather head band and ear pads, they conform to the shape of your head and are supremely comfortable for longer listening sessions. Bluetooth connectivity ensures they’re a breeze to pair with all your devices, while active noise cancellation blocks out the outside world for undisturbed listening to your favorite podcasts or tunes. These headphones offer up to 17 hours of listening time on a single charge, and if you run out of juice you can always use the included analog USB-C audio cable for wired listening.

You’ll never find yourself hunting for your ‘phones again, as this pair works with the Tile app, making them easy to find, and with the Smart Control app you can control, personalize, and update your new headphones to suit your needs. The sound on offer here is crisp and powerful, with 99dB sensitivity, so everything you listen to sounds great, while smart pause means your tunes will stop playing when you take the headphones off and resume from where you left off when you pop them back on. Available in black or Sandy White (white with grey accents), the Momentum Headphones from Sennheiser are a great deal right now.

Bose QuietComfort 45 — £249, was £329

Why Buy

• Acoustic noise cancelling shuts out the world
• Up to 24 hours battery life
• Easy guided setup
• Adjustable EQ lets you tailor your listening preferences

Available in black, blue, grey, or white, the Bose QuietComfort 45 Headphones are great value at any price, but an epic bargain with this deal.

Active noise canceling (ANC) with enhanced signal processing and six external mics lets you focus on your music or immerse yourself in work, without being disturbed by sounds around you, while Aware Mode lets the outside world in if you’re on the go. With TriPort acoustic architecture venting the earcups, depth and fullness is enhanced for amazing sound, whatever you’re listening to — and the adjustable EQ makes it easy to choose presets or set the bass, mid-range and treble levels to suit your preferences. Getting started with these headphones is easy thanks to the Bose Music app’s guided setup.

The app also lets you access ANC settings, manage your Bluetooth connections, and more. You’ll enjoy up to 24 hours of listening time, with a 15-minute charge giving you an additional three hours play time, and the included USB-C charger boosts battery life back to full in around 2.5 hours. These headphones are also great for calls, with improved voice pickup and a noise-rejecting algorithm that filters out noise around you for clearer conversations.

Did we mention they’re so comfortable, you might forget you’re wearing them at all? Synthetic leather and impact-resistant nylon combine with pleatless cushions and earcup caps for long, comfortable listening sessions or calls.

Sennheiser Momentum 4 — £300, was £350

Zeke Jones/Digital Trends

Why Buy

• Amazing sound
• Comfortable enough for all-day wear
• Up to 60 hours listening time
• Effective active noise cancellation

First thing’s first, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Headphones make everything you’re listening to sound tremendous. The listening quality on offer is unmatched, with excellent refinement, detail, and bass performance, plus effective noise cancellation to shut out external sounds.

You can wear these headphones all day long, with their cushy earcups, lightweight build, and perfect clamping pressure. Battery life is also excellent, offering an impressive 60 hours of listening time from a single charge. The Momentum 4 headphones also look stylish, so you won’t feel like the odd one out on a work call or while travelling.

There’s just one button on the headphones that brings up your phone’s digital assistant, turns the headphones on or off, or pops them in pairing mode, depending on how long you press it for. To adjust the volume or control playback, just tap the right earcup, with phonecall gestures kicking in when you’re on a call. Speaking of, call quality is excellent, though if you’re wavering between the Momentum 4 and the Sony WH-1000XM5, the latter do a slightly better job of filtering noise around you.

The headphone app lets you control active noise cancellation as well as create and name “zones” with presets, based on areas you visit frequently, and also has basic EQ control. The only negative? Though the headphones will pause playback when you take them off, there’s no auto-off feature, so you’ll need to remember to turn them off manually when you’re done listening.

Considering the outstanding listening experience on offer, that’s a small thing, though.

Sony WH-1000XM5 — £350, was £400

Sony

Why Buy

• The best noise cancelling around
• All-day comfort
• Up to 30 hours listening time
• Sleek, modern design

The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are amongst the best headphones you can buy right now, with up to 30 hours of battery life (with ANC on) and quick-charge giving you up to three hours additional playback time in just three minutes — though you’ll need a USB Power Delivery charger. These headphones boast an elegant design with a slightly rubberized matte finish, and they’re a little lighter than the Sony WH-1000XM4, ensuring they’re comfortable enough for long listening sessions. The built-in wear sensor pauses playback automatically when you take the headphones off and resumes where you left off when you pop them back on — but this can be easily disabled in the app, if that’s your preference.

Whatever genre of music you’re listening to, everything sounds great, with beautifully balanced frequencies and expertly managed bass. You can use the Sony Headphones app for full manual EQ control, too. Enabling the LDAC codec (Android only) with lossless, hi-res audio provides a memorable listening experience.

These headphones offer some of the best active noise cancellation of any headphones on the market, with an eight-mic arrangement and dual-chip processing almost totally erasing external noise. When you’re out and about you can enable the handy Quick-Attention feature for transparency mode by covering the right earcup with your hand. Connectivity is solid too, with Google Fast Pair enabling speedy Android setup — setup is simple on an iPhone, too — and Bluetooth multipoint allowing for simultaneous connection to two devices.

Finally, if you’ll be taking calls using these headphones, call quality is outstanding and clear, making these the ideal ‘phones for work meetings and video calls. At this price, the Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones are a no-brainer.

Apple AirPods Max — £469 was £549

Why Buy

• Outstanding build quality
• Superior sound quality
• Extremely comfortable to wear
• Effortless setup

Want a pair of headphones that are exceptionally comfortable, effortless to set up, and provide awesome high-fidelity audio? Apple’s AirPods Max may be expensive, but they tick all the boxes, and then some.

Apple’s dynamic driver provides high-fidelity audio, while spatial audio with dynamic head tracking ensures your listening experience is so immersive, it’s easy to believe you’re at a live venue rather than sitting on your couch. Computational audio combines custom acoustic design with Apple’s H1 chip for a fantastic listening experience, and you can block out the outside world with Active noise cancellation for even more immersion, while transparency mode puts you back in the action again, so you’re aware of your surroundings. With their knit-mesh canopy and memory foam ear cushions, you’ll be set for all-day listening with the AirPods Max.

They provide up to 20 hours of listening time with active noise cancellation and spatial audio enabled, and have a handy ultra-low-power mode for storing them in the included slim Smart Case, so you don’t need to worry about battery drain. These stylish, modern headphones are also one of the easiest pairs of headphones to set up, with on-head detection and the option to seamlessly switch between devices. You can easily share audio to two sets of AirPods using your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Apple TV.

Yes, the AirPods Max are expensive, but their outstanding quality makes them worth every penny.

How to choose headphones

The secret to scoring a fantastic deal on pair of headphones is patience and preparation. Decide on the type of headphones you’re after and any must-have features (a set of wireless headphones with noise canceling technology, for example) before starting your search. Better yet, tunnel in on the specific cans you want.

This will dramatically increase your chances of taking them home. Of course, that’s a lot easier said than done. If you’re shopping on a budget, chances are you’re going to go with the first set within reach.

As long as you know whether you’re after noise-canceling, wired, wireless, or true wireless, this won’t be an issue — because we’ve vetted all of the products featured above, so you can find comfort in knowing they’re the creme de la creme. Just keep in mind that when it comes to headphones you get what you pay for. A £50 set of cans from a budget manufacturer like Anker or JBL aren’t going to sound the same as a £350 high-end pair from an audio titan like Sony, nor will they have the same noise-canceling chops.

But that’s to be expected: Not everyone wants the best in the business. It’s all relative to the user. These rules don’t just apply to big seasonal sales, either.

They’re the fundamentals of bagging a bargain on any pair of headphones. Luckily, we’ve done all the hard work for you. By shopping through Digital Trends, though, you can rest assured you’re seeing the best headphones at each price point.

All of the headphone deals above have been vetted by our team of product experts.

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