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We rate the AirPods Pro 2 (following a recent update that improved mic clarity) and, oddly, the budget Sony WF-C510 as having the best quality – but you can hear for yourself in our comparison.
What’s the best music streaming service?
Spotify is the world’s most popular music streaming service, and it’s one that we recommend as the best for most people in our best music streaming services guide. But there’s another service that beats Spotify when it comes to audio quality, and that’s Tidal.
Tidal offers uncompressed and high-res versions of music tracks and albums, including some in spatial audio. We selected it as the best option for audiophiles in our music streaming service guide, and also praised its broad library and fantastic interface.
There’s a world of music streaming options out there beyond Spotify. Check out our Tidal review to see exactly why we like it.
Size and comfort is something that people usually think about with earbuds (we have a whole guide to the best earbuds for small ears), but what sometimes gets missed when buying earbuds is the size of the case – and it really matters.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 Wireless Earbuds are getting a very good Black Friday deal at Amazon. These high-end buds are normally $249, but Amazon’s deal takes that down to $149, a 40% discount.
Bowers & Wilkins make some of the world’s best speakers, including the ones used for recording and mastering at London’s Abbey Road studios. You’d think they’d also make great headphones, and you’d be right about that. We gave them a 4-star overall rating in our Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 Wireless Earbuds review, and 4.5 stars in the sound quality category.
There’s one catch with this deal: it only applies to the Storm Grey color option. But Storm Grey, in my opinion, looks the best, as I’m sure you’ll agree when you click on that link below.
Simply consult our selection of AirPods How Tos – although a great place to start is our guidance on how to connect your AirPods for the first time. Had enough of virtual voice assistants? We can tell you how to turn off Siri reading messages on AirPods.
These open-ear earbuds are great for working out, with a secure fit that runners in particular will appreciate. But there’s another reason why you might want to jump on this Bose earbuds deal: surround sound. The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds can be used to convey surround sound information in movie soundtracks when used with the Bose Smart Soundbar (another Bose product that’s getting a great Black Friday deal).
So, if you’re a fitness nut, a home theater nut, or both, this Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Black Friday deal is for you.
A nice deal on the Sonos Roam 2
Time to shift gears a bit here with a Bluetooth speaker deal. The Sonos Roam 2 is getting a 22% discount at Best Buy, knocking the price down from $179 to $139.
Sonos speakers don’t get a ton of discounts outside of Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day, so if you’ve had your eye on the Roam 2, now is the time to roam on over to Best Buy’s deal.
As you can read in our Sonos Roam 2 review, what makes this wireless speaker special is its support for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth – the latter a useful feature when you roam away from home with the Roam 2. It also sounds “terrific,” has rugged build quality and comes in Black, White, Olive, Sunset, or Wave color options.
Sonos Roam 2: was $179 now $139 at Best Buy
While 99% of people will use wireless earbuds to listen to their phone, there is a growing movement of people who want to go back to have dedicated music players – perhaps as part of trying to avoid getting sucked into doomscrolling when you’re just trying to put on some beats to work to.
Even TechRadar’s Editor at Large isn’t immune. Lance Ulanoff almost got scammed by one such too-good-to-be-true deal – and he has some advice for you.
For Lance, it was the coming together of two issues: wanting to buy a coat quickly (owing to a recent cold snap) and the faked ‘closing-down sale’ of a ‘family run’ business. It led him down a path of almost buying an item that not only didn’t exist, but could have opened up a trap door into which he’d drop his money, his identity and buyer satisfaction. All that stopped him was his wife, a savvy shopper who didn’t like the look of what she saw online.
If you take nothing else from this missive, know that TechRadar will only share deals from trusted, verified household-name retailers. We will also only direct you to brand new products we rate highly – we never share any ‘refurbished’ item information. If you stray into the realms of auction sites and social media sellers this Black Friday, take a moment. Look closely and think carefully before you click ‘buy’.
Shokz awesome clip-style earbuds are already a bargain
Clip-style open earbuds are the hot thing right now, and the Shokz OpenDots One are best new release in this area – and they have a great deal, taking them down from $199 to $139.
They only recently came out, and we gave them 4.5 out of 5 in our glowing Shokz OpenDots One review – so this discount is fantastic, and is the first we’ve seen for them.
Clip-style open earbuds hook onto your ear, and don’t go into the ear canal – they’re really comfortable, they leave you able to hear the world around you as well as your music, and they sound superb.
Shokz OpenDots One: was $199 now $139 at Amazon
What are the best bang-for-buck earbuds that you can buy right now? That’s got to be the Nothing Ear (a), which scored five stars in our review at their full price of $109, but are regularly available for much less – and they’re just $59 right now.
What’s a good battery life to expect from wireless earbuds these days? We consider eight hours to be the average for anything with active noise cancellation turned on – anything below that disappoints us, and above that gets approval. Without ANC turned on, we hope for around eight hours from earbuds – but it might depend on the size (we don’t look too harshly very tiny and cheap earbuds for offering eight hours with no ANC, for example).
But that’s from the buds themselves – then there’s the case. Usually, you get two or three charges from the case, so the total amount of life matters too, and makes the whole thing more nuanced.
For example, Sony’s WF-C710N earbuds last well above average for the charge in the buds, but only have one charge in the case, so the total is a bit low. AirPods Pro 2 have a very average in-bud battery, but have one of the longest lives when you include the case. And the Beats Solo Buds have a gigantic 18-hour battery life… and no charge from the case at all.
You may have seen IP waterproof ratings on earbuds, often for earbuds that say they’re suitable for exercise – but what do they actually mean? Let’s break it does, because it might be useful when you’re looking at what to buy.
An IP rating is expressed as IP and then two numbers, or an X and then a number. The first number (or the X) refers to dustproofing. This can be useful, but we’re not getting into it here – an X means it isn’t rated for it. The second number refers to waterproofing.
A record-low price on the best earbuds of 2025!
A new lowest-ever price on the earbuds we rate as being the best you can buy right now? The ones better than AirPods, better than Sony, better than Bose? Yes please!
Released in January 2025, the Technics EAH-AZ100 are still the only earbuds to offer multipoint to three devices simultaneously, plus excellent sidetone tech for hearing your own voice in calls more naturally, as well as some of the most neutral and detailed audio in an even smaller, even more premium-feel design. We cannot recommend then enough.
Technics EAH-AZ100: was $299 now $222.99 at Amazon
Size and comfort is something that people usually think about with earbuds (we have a whole guide to the best earbuds for small ears), but what sometimes gets missed when buying earbuds is the size of the case – and it really matters.
Sony’s super-cheap earbuds are still a great deal
The Sony WH-C510 are earbuds we rate more highly than Apples AirPods 4, despite being half the price: in our review of the WF-C510 we said they are among our favorite low-cost earbuds thanks to their punchy, high-quality sound, comfortable fit and ultra-affordable price.
We rated them four and a half stars when they were at full price. At this discounted price they’re an absolute steal, as long as you’re happy without active noise cancellation.
Sony WF-C510: was $69 now $48 at Amazon
Third in my list of ones to avoid is the Earfun Tune Pro. What’s so bad about these? It’s a simple answer: the Earfun Wave Life are simply a much better proposition! We love those headphones, and if you see a great deal on them, don’t hesitate! But do hesitate to get their weaker sibling pair.
Next up, the Sony ULT Wear. These have some big Black Friday discounts already, so you might easily find yourself tempted… but there are so many Sony over-ear headphones I recommend wholeheartedly, that buying a Sony set only worthy of a four-star review after going 12 rounds in our intensive testing process – see our Sony ULT Wear review if you don’t believe me – would be a misstep, even if they’re heavily discounted. The Sony WH-1000XM4 are barely any more expensive right now! Get those!
I’ve recommended a load of deals I think you’ll like here, but let’s mention a few products I think probably won’t make good Black Friday buys, even if they get strong discounts.
First up is the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active. Here’s the thing: they’re made for using while exercising, but I don’t think they’re a great fit for sports use. The bass slider is a fun addition to help you crush those workouts, true, but the insecure fit undermines it all – even in relatively slow and strong workouts.
Looking at all these deals, you’re probably wondering just how many have really hit their lowest price or will drop further in a week, and how many other deals might appear on Black Friday itself. Unfortunately, we really don’t know – but there are two things to consider.
First, if you see a product you like and it’s the price you want to pay, then buy it, and don’t worry if it becomes $10 cheaper later. It’s about getting the product you want within your budget. Obviously, we don’t want you to buy a poor deal – we won’t tell you about those. But just don’t agonize over whether you should hold on or not; this stuff shouldn’t be stressful.
When it comes to spatial audio for movies, the Sonos Ace and Apple’s AirPods Max and AirPods Pro model really stand apart. There are other models that have great spatial audio with music (including several Sony models, and Bose’s Ultra range), but for movie fans who want immersion on the go, the Ace and AirPods are the way to go.
Sonos’ headphones – down to the right price?
The Sonos Ace have a nice Black Friday discount, bringing them down to $279. Their noise cancellation punches above that price, and the sound quality is very good for the price too – but as we said in our original Sonos Ace review, the real trick here is how good they are with movies.
The Dolby Atmos sound is just fantastic, and the spatial audio with head-tracking really feels like you’re sitting among a set of home theater speakers. It works over Bluetooth, or with Sonos’ soundbars, which is a trick few other headphones can manage.
Sonos Ace: was $399 now $279 at Amazon
The best-value noise cancelling headphones, no question
Here’s an interesting one – the Bose QuietComfort Headphones are technically a bargain right now at $199. Except that a few days ago, they briefly dropped to $169. Maybe they’ll do so again, or maybe not. The thing is, if you want noise-cancelling headphones, you should probably just ignore the $169 price and get them anyway.
We just recently re-tested all the best noise-cancelling headphones, and rated the Bose QuietComfort Headphones as the best option under $250, because they offer class-leading noise cancellation that’s basically as good as the models that cost nearly twice as much. We did direct comparisons against all the biggest competitors, in real-world environments, and these punch so far above their weight.
They’re better at blocking sound than the Sony WH-1000XM5 right now, and are notably cheaper. Maybe it’s worth waiting to see if you can save an extra $30, but if you’re feeling impatient, you’ll still find these to be an amazingly good value.
Bose QuietComfort Headphones: was $349, now $199 at Amazon
Super-cheap Sony alert!
Let’s stick with cheap Sonys for a moment – here’s a pair of Sony cans for under $40. That’s not a mistake: this deal takes a cool 46% off the list price. These were already impressively cheap headphones, and as we said in our WH-CH520 review they are “simply superb value”. They sound good, they run for 50 hours between charges and they’re comfortable too. What’s not to like?
Sony WH-CH520: was $69 now $38 at Amazon
Sony’s best earbuds, in our humble opinion
Sony’s newest affordable wireless earbuds for less than $80 in Amazon’s early Black Friday sale? Yup: the Sony WF-C710N are a real bargain.
For this money, you’re getting Sony quality for the kind of money you’d expect to pay for a much lesser brand. In our Sony WF-C710N review, we heaped praise on these buds for their bolstered battery life, fantastic sound quality and upgraded ANC. At this price point, my recommending them is a no-brainer.
We think these are the best Sony earbuds to buy right now, when it comes to balancing price and performance. The Sony WF-1000XM5 might be higher-end, but they’re not as impressive as they should be for three times the price of these excellent buds.
Sony WF-C710N: was $129 now $78 at Amazon
Good noise-cancelling headphones under $50
Here’s one for bargain hunters: the JLab JBuds Lux ANC might have sound that’s a little bass-heavy – but could be ideal for those who like that kind of presentation – but for under $50 the audio is much better than it has any right to be.
Also, the build feels far more premium than even the MSRP suggest,s and the battery life – at up to 70 hours, or 44 with ANC deployed – is unheard of for the level. Read our full JLab JBuds Lux ANC review for more, but know this: JLab is a trusted name in affordable head-fi and these over-ear headphones won’t disappoint for a good budget option.
JLab JBuds Lux ANC: was $74.99 now $46.54 at Amazon
Sony’s previous flagship hit their lowest price – but is it low enough?
These headphones have been superseded by the excellent Sony WH-1000XM6, but if you’ve been eyeing up the Sony WH-1000XM5 but didn’t like their fairly high price tag then today is a good day to buy. These premium headphones have just dropped below $250, which is as low as they’ve ever been – check out our review of the Sony WH-1000XM5 to get all the details on them.
They’re very good, but the question is whether this is going to be a low enough price to tempt people. Newer headphones from Bose, Nothing and Cambridge Audio are in this price zone, and there are cheaper headphones that very tempting too.
The XM5 are still excellent headphones, though – if you’ve been considering them, this is as cheap as they’ve ever been!
Sony WH-1000XM5: was $399 now $248 at Amazon
AirPods Pro 2 hit lowest-ever price
$139 is a true steal for earbuds this good! It doesn’t matter that AirPods Pro 3 have come out since then – they cost $80 more than this even with their down discount! Yes, they have better noise cancellation and longer battery life, but their other improvements aren’t so huge, and this model still sounds excellent, has really good active noise cancellation, and are packed with smart features.
For this price, there’s no better earbuds option for Apple users, and I bet most people would be happier keeping $80 in their wallet and buying these than getting the newer model.
AirPods Pro 2: was $239 now $139 at Walmart
Hello, folks! Welcome to our Black Friday earbuds and headphones guide – I’m sure lots of people will find themselves browsing the sales today, so if it’s a music upgrade you’re looking for, I’m here to help!