Best Prime Day Headphones Deals: Save Big on AirPods, Beats, Sony and More

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From music to phone calls or streaming shows, a set of good headphones makes a difference in your audio experience. Many of the best models, however, come with a hefty price tag. With Amazon's October Prime Day event starting tomorrow, there are currently some great early deals to save on earbuds and headphones from Sony, Amazon, Jabra, Apple and so many more of our favorite brands. We've been scouring the sale pages so you don't have to, and these are the best Prime Day headphone deals worth shopping ahead of the Oct. 8 event.

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Take advantage of these deals and instantly improve your audio experience. Grab another pair or two for your favorite music lovers to get a jump on the upcoming holiday season. We'll be updating this roundup frequently, so check back later for an updated selection of products and deals.

Want to save even more this Prime Day? You could earn a $150 Amazon gift card instantly on approval of a Prime Visa card, and Prime members will earn up to 5% cash back on purchases through Amazon. There are also some mouth-watering deals for Prime members only that you should definitely check out.

Prime Day earbud deals

The AirPods Pro 2 are a fan favorite for good reason. They sport excellent sound quality, with active noise canceling, an adaptive transparency mode and spatial audio -- all powered by Apple's H2 chip. 

Some of our favorite budget wireless earbuds can be yours with a big discount right now, but you'll need to follow a few steps. First, you'll need to ensure you have Amazon Prime, then you'll need to clip the on-page coupon before you add them to your cart. Finally, you'll need to enter our exclusive code EAP3CNET during checkout for the best price. 

Apple's just-released AirPods 4 are already seeing savings at Amazon, albeit a slight discount of $10. Still, it's nice to save on such a new Apple product. Note that the ANC-equipped version is currently at full price.

More earbud deals:

• Amazon Echo Buds (2nd gen): $35 (save $85). Not the latest model but for 70% off, it's a great option. 
• Soundcore by Anker P20i: $20 (save $20 with coupon). These Anker earbuds are affordable at full price but for only $20, they become even more of a bargain buy. 
• Jabra Elite 10: $196 (save $54). Dolby Atmos Sound gives you an immersive audio experience with solid noise cancellation and useful physical buttons to control volume and play/pause.
• Skullcandy Indy ANC wireless earbuds: $40 (save $80). Active noise cancellation helps you tune out the rest of the world with ease.
• Amazon Echo Buds (2023): $25 (save $25). A newer version of the earbuds at an impressive 50% off. 
• Skullcandy EcoBuds: $25 (save $15). A simple, budget-friendly option that will get the job done. 
• Monster wireless earbuds: $30 (save $50). Both water and sweat-proof, these monsters are great for any adventure. 
• Sony WF-C700N Earbuds: $85 (save $35). These sleek matte black earbuds are noise-canceling and water-resistant.

Prime Day headphone deals

Apple AirPods Max are usually more expensive, but now you can save $150 on these cream-of-the-crop headphones. Best paired with an Apple device because of the spatial audio virtual surround for iPhones and iPads and multipoint Bluetooth, allowing you to automatically switch between iOS devices. The best discount applies to the pink model, pictured, although other colors are $100 off. Note that these are the Lightning-equipped model, not the just-released USB-C model (but other than that connector and some new hues, they are the exact same). 

This is one of the only proper over-ear Beats headphones currently on sale. The Beats Studio3, despite being a little dated, is one of our favorite headphones because of its fast charging, Apple compatibility, and beautifully simple design.

More headphone deals:

• Skullcandy Crusher Evo wireless headphones: $152 (save $48). With a 40-hour battery life, you'll never worry about battery life again. With rapid charge technology, you can charge them for 4 hours in just 10 minutes.
• Ozeino 2.4Ghz wireless gaming headset: $30 (save $20). Play across PlayStation and PC with real-time gaming audio, Bluetooth and a 30-hour battery. 
• Bowers & Wilkins Px8: $531 (save $168). Adjustable microphones help enhance voice clarity, greatly improving call quality.
• Dyson Zone noise-canceling headphones: $384 (save $316). Cream-of-the-crop headphones with activated carbon filters that absorb fumes such as nitrogen dioxide and even reduce odors.
• Soundcore Anker Life Q20 headphones: $50 (save $10). Features exclusive BassUp technology that instantly strengthens the bass output.
• Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones: $99 (save $100). The Solo3's Apple W1 chip allows it to pair seamlessly with your devices, maximizing its 40-hour battery life.
• Soundcore by Anker Life Q30 Headphones: $64 (save $16 with on-page coupon). Get a whopping 40 hours of playtime and both internal and external microphones.

Prime Day workout headphone deals

A decent price on our favorite bone-conduction headphones for running. Our testing found them to be lightweight and sound great, while still leaving your ears free to hear the outside world. 

More workout headphone deals:

• Beats Powerbeats Pro wireless earbuds: $160 (save $90). For 20% off, you can listen to your favorite tunes all day for up to 9 hours and over 24 hours with a charging case.
• Bose Ultra Open Earbuds: $249 (save $50). These clip-on open earbuds from Bose are designed to provide rich, private audio for runners. They come with IPX4 water resistance, have 7 hours of playtime and can last an impressive 48 hours with the included case.
• Boean Bluetooth headphones: $15 (save $14 with on-page coupon). Made with a flexible ear-hook design for all sports. 
• Bone conduction headphones: $27 (save $13 with on-page coupon). They are best used for running but can be used during any physical activity.
• JLab Go Air Sport: $20 (save $30 with on-page coupon). These budget-friendly buds have a secure ear hook and up to 32 hours of playtime.

What is Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale?

Amazon's October Prime Day event is officially called "Prime Big Deal Days," but the shopping extravaganza essentially functions as a second Amazon Prime Day event ahead of the holiday season. 

If you've never shopped during a Prime Day sale before, you might be wondering exactly what it entails, so here's a brief explainer. It's a two-day Amazon sale that will offer exclusive savings to Amazon Prime subscribers with limited-time offers, flash deals and rock-bottom prices. It's a rare chance to score Black Friday-level pricing outside of November, so it's usually well worth shopping. 

When is Amazon's October Prime Day 2024?

Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days are Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 this year. Although the sale event is still around four days away, you can take advantage of some early deals right now. Generally speaking, the deals will end at midnight on Oct. 9. Some deals may linger beyond the set times of the sale event.

Are headphone deals available before Prime Day?

Amazon's October Prime Day officially kicks off on Oct. 8, but you don't have to wait until then to score a stellar deal on headphones and earbuds. As you'll see above, plenty of big-name brands like Apple, Bose, Sony and Anker are discounting their audio gear ahead of the event itself. 

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How do October Prime Day deals compare to July Prime Day?

There are lots of similarities between the two sales. Many of the same deals return during the October sale, especially on Amazon's own devices, such as Blink and Ring home security devices, Fire TVs and tablets, Echo devices and more.

The main difference is related to the timing of the sale. Since July Prime Day is in the summer, there's more focus on back-to-school and outdoor deals. This includes school supplies, grills, lawnmowers and more. During October Prime Day, we see more deals geared toward the upcoming holiday season, such as kitchenware for a Thanksgiving meal or toys and games for kids for Christmas.

How we choose the best Prime Day headphone deals

Many of us here at CNET have covered shopping events for over five years, including Black Friday, Prime Day, Memorial Day and countless other shopping events. In that time, we've learned how to spot the best deals among a sea of thousands of superficial offers and scams, and we surface only the best offers from trusted retailers. We look for real discounts, quality reviews and remaining sale time when choosing headphone deals to show you. 

• Real discounts mean genuine savings. We check pricing history for products listed as on sale, so we know when it's a case of an inflated list price rather than an actual discount. 
• Quality reviews and testing are super important for any product. A discount isn't worthwhile if it results in a subpar product experience, no matter how much you saved. 
• Remaining sale time is important, too. Some deals are around for only a short time or may be limited in supply. If that's the case, we'll let you know upfront so you don't come back to the deal later only to be disappointed.