Black Friday headphones deals live blog: save on AirPods, Bose, Sony XM4 earbuds and more
Our pick of the best Black Friday headphone deals
Sony WF-C500 earbuds was £90 now £49 at Amazon (save £41) (opens in new tab)
If you want straight-up good-sounding wireless earbuds without fancier features like active noise cancellation, and your budget is under £100, look no further. We have just awarded these Sonys a What Hi-Fi? Best Buy Award as our favourite budget wireless earbuds. They already represented the pinnacle of great value, and that was before their Black Friday price drop.
Now just £49 at Amazon, John Lewis (opens in new tab), Box (opens in new tab) and Argos (opens in new tab) – and in some colourful finishes in addition to black and white, too – the WF-C500 prove just how far true wireless earbud technology has come, and how accessible they are today too.
Bose QuietComfort SE was £239.95 now £189.95 at Amazon (save £50)
Who says you need to spend big bucks to get a pair of Bose wireless noise-cancelling over-ear headphones? While the most premium Bose 700 and Bose QuietComfort 45 are still around £250 even with Black Friday discounts, there is a more affordable option that can get you Bose sound and features for under £200: the Bose QuietComfort SE for £190 at John Lewis (opens in new tab), Amazon (opens in new tab) and Currys (opens in new tab).
If you're sitting there thinking "these look familiar", that's because they look almost identical to the QuietComfort 45 (and the QC35 II that came before them). They share many of their QC45's features too. In fact, Bose claims the SE have the same class-leading specs as their siblings, including brilliant noise cancellation.
While we haven't tested the QC SE, the main difference that we can spot is that the SE come with a soft fabric travel case instead of the sturdier hard shell case of the QC45. They also appear to feature always-on ANC, meaning you can only switch between the noise cancelling being on, or on "aware mode" (Bose's transparency mode).
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Sony WH-1000XM5 was £379 now £296 at Sevenoaks (save £83) (opens in new tab)
Sony headphones are all the rage this (and every) Black Friday, and right on cue we've spotted a massive saving on the best wireless headphones around, the Sony WH-1000XM5.
The Sony XM5 headphones are now available for £299. This is the lowest-ever price on the new XM5 headphones, having originally launched at £379 – so that's a saving of more than £80.
We did see this low price during the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale but we certainly haven't seen the price tag go any lower. So if you want to take the plunge on these class-leading wireless, noise-cancelling headphones, now looks like a great time to buy.
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Bose QuietComfort Earbuds was £249 now £134 at Amazon (save £115)
You might think Black Friday headphones deals are dominated by Bose and Sony. And you'd be partly right. To that end, we just couldn't ignore this deal on the original Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. Black Friday has seen these excellent wireless ANC buds drop to their lowest price ever. They're right up there with the best at the money, including the mighty Sony WF-1000XM4. Sound quality is superb, as is noise cancelling. They're also sweat and weather-resistant, which means they're great for exercise as well as your daily commute.
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Apple AirPods Pro 2 wireless earbuds was £249 now £229 at Amazon
Fresh from a five-star What Hi-Fi? review, the AirPods Pro have dropped in price. Apple's premium wireless ANC earbuds sound better the second time around, with this generation, in our opinion, the best-sounding yet. If you're already an iPhone or iPad user, the Pro 2 will slip effortlessly into your life and they're a fine alternative to the Sony WF-1000XM4 and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II of this world.
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Grado SR80x headphones was £130 now £99 at Amazon (save £31)
We interrupt the wireless earbuds deals to bring you news of a smart saving on the Grado SR80x on-ear, wired headphones. They're a firm What Hi-Fi? favourite and a multiple Award-winner so they come highly recommended. They look retro but perform better than anything else we've heard at the money. The Grados might leak a little, but if you're planning on listening at home with a desktop hi-fi system, then these excellent over-ears will work well as the focal point of said system, thanks to their dynamic and transparent sound.
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Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones was £330 now £219 at Amazon
These Sony headphones have been discounted in the weeks building up to Black Friday, but they've just dropped to an even cheaper price and can be yours for just £219. That's a huge £110 saving on their 'tested at' price. Not bad for a five-star pair of premium over-ears. They might have been overtaken by the more expensive WH-1000XM5 in the performance department, but they're still super-competitive at this level, not to mention comfy. Oh, and did we mention their active noise-cancelling is on point too? We think this is one of the best wireless headphones deals you'll see during Black Friday 2022.
(opens in new tab)Now that Black Friday is officially here, how about we celebrate with the top 5 best wireless headphones and earbuds under £100?
Because these days, it isn't all too difficult to find great sound without having to spend three figures. It is actually incredibly easy if you want just any old pair as you'll find thousands of wireless earbuds on Amazon that cost less than a round at a pub. But you don't want any old pair, do you? You want a great-sounding pair, which is how you've landed on one of the What Hi-Fi? live blogs. Well, we aren't going to disappoint you, because below are the 5 best Black Friday deals you'll see today.
They are all five-star pairs and some are even current What Hi-Fi? Award winners, so you can be sure you're getting quality as well as a discount.
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(opens in new tab)Now that Black Friday is officially here, how about we celebrate with the top 5 best wireless headphones and earbuds under £100?
Because these days, it isn't all too difficult to find great sound without having to spend three figures. It is actually incredibly easy if you want just any old pair as you'll find thousands of wireless earbuds on Amazon that cost less than a round at a pub. But you don't want any old pair, do you? You want a great-sounding pair, which is how you've landed on one of the What Hi-Fi? live blogs. Well, we aren't going to disappoint you, because below are the 5 best Black Friday deals you'll see today.
They are all five-star pairs and some are even current What Hi-Fi? Award winners, so you can be sure you're getting quality as well as a discount.
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Bose QC Earbuds II was £280 now £249 at Amazon (save £31)
We love a surprise Black Friday deal and this one has caught us slightly off-guard. Fresh from receiving a What Hi-Fi? Award for 2022, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II have also just received a price drop. That's right. These premium wireless in-ears have only ben on sale for a couple of months and their price has been cut from £280 to £249 at Amazon. Not only are they super-comfortable and some of the best-sounding earbuds we've heard this year, but they are also kings of noise-cancelling, with their ANC tech arguably the best in the category at this current time. Yes, they're not cheap, but this decent saving will make your purchase taste that little bit sweeter.
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Cambridge Melomania 1+ was £120 now £40 at Amazon
We've spotted that one of our favourite pairs of cheap wireless earbuds just got even cheaper in the Black Friday sales. The Cambridge Melomania 1+ are no-frills in-ears with serious sonic ability (and nine hour battery life from a single charge) and when they launched would set you back £120. Now you can save £80 on their original retail price which brings them down to just £40. A perfect Christmas stocking-filler if ever we saw one.
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JBL Reflect Flow Pro was £129 now £99 at Amazon
Sporty types might want to cast their eyes over this discount on a five-star pair of wireless earbuds from JBL. The Reflect Flow Pro are a great option for the gym or the great outdoors – they're IP68-rated which means they won't let dust in and they'll survive a dunking in water too. The ruggedised design includes ear tips that keep the buds in place during tough training sessions and the lively, entertaining sound quality will keep you pushing through to the finish. Highly recommended.
(opens in new tab)Sony wireless noise-cancelling over-ear headphones now only £69!
The popular Sony XM4 and newer XM5 may be on the end of excellent Black Friday deals (scroll down to see!), but they are still both over £200. If your budget doesn't stretch to that asking price – or even half of it – then may we suggest looking deeper into Sony's catalogue, because the Sony WH-CH710N are now just £69 at Amazon (opens in new tab), John Lewis (opens in new tab) and Argos (opens in new tab).
That's a £61 saving over the original RRP, and significantly lower than the £84 price tag they held earlier this week. Indeed, this is a brand-new price drop for the WH-CH710N and the lowest price we have seen them for.
We haven't reviewed this pair, but we really liked their predecessors (the WH-CH700N), which proved that Sony's talent for creating class-leading, wireless, noise-cancelling headphones not only at the premium end but also the budget one is irrefutable.
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Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds was £219 now £179 at Amazon
If you've been eyeing up a pair of premium wireless earbuds in this year's Black Friday sales, then you've got plenty of choices. Five-star performers like the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds and Sony WF-1000XM4 both have big savings and you can now add Sennheiser to the mix with £40 off its premium option, the Momentum True Wireless 3.
These excellent wireless in-ears boast a thorough feature set, effective active noise-cancelling IPX4 water resistance and intuitive touch controls. And they're no slouch in the sound department either.
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