The 16 Best Cyber Monday Headphone Deals We've Seen So Far

Choose your headphones carefully. A good pair can outlast a phone when treated right, and Black Friday/Cyber Monday is the single best time of the year to pick one up. 

Let’s not squander it. We’re not going to suggest any £18 pairs of earphones, now available at £2 off this week. We have looked through hundreds of headphone deals–from Amazon and John Lewis to Argos, Currys and more–and simmered the selection down to the pairs people want, those more people should want, as well as some less commonly seen sets you may not have considered. 

There are true wireless earphones, full-size headphones and some higher-end pairs only really suitable for home use that delivery the best sound quality of them all. 

WIRED's Cyber Monday Edits

Apple’s Black Friday headphone deals are routinely among the most popular, even when you only get £10-20 off. This year’s discount is a little more substantial, at £55 off Apple's own price. The AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charger are Apple’s top earbuds, even with the recent release of the AirPods 3 (£169). They are similar to the last version, complete with refined sound quality, strong active noise cancellation and seamless iPhone compatibility. MagSafe charging is the change this time, although the wireless charging case still has a wired port. This is likely why we’re seeing a better discount than we might usually get from recent Apple devices. For a bigger sound and further enhanced ANC, check out the Apple AirPods Max (£479), which are also reduced right

These true wireless earphones have sold for around £112 in the days running up to Black Friday, but have just dropped further to £99. They are quite possibly the best buy of all in-ear pairs for the deal hunters out there. Until the WF-1000XM4 were released earlier this year, the WF-1000XM3 were considered the best true wireless earphones around, pound for pound. It’s all thanks to a highly persuasive combo of excellent sound quality, effective active noise cancellation and relatively long battery life for a true wireless pair. now.

Now, although we loved the build quality and the excellent sound from Apple's premium over-ears, as well as their superb noise cancelling, we still had some reservations. In our review we said that they were heavy to wear (no amount of price discount can help us there) and that they were too expensive. Well, thank the lords of Black Friday because your prayers have been answered. Here is the blue version at more than £110 off. 

We loved these excellent all-rounder headphones when we reviewed them, with comfortable, expansive, detailed and energetic sound, and top-notch great specification and even a quality app to go with the cans. Our only qualms were the humdrum 17 hours of battery life and average noise-cancelling. Neither of these points stopped us from giving Sennheiser's third-gen Momentums a superlative rating.

Look no further if you want the best active noise cancellation you can get in a pair of true wireless earphones. While rivals like Sony have improved their ANC with more context-aware modes, the Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling Earbuds are still class-leaders for sheer effectiveness. Sennheiser and Sony pairs at this level offer slightly more dynamic sound, but as an all-round package these are excellent at £180. 

Over-ear headphones have become more techy in recent years, and that can make them appear to age faster. However, the 2018 Sony WH-1000XM3 might be this year’s best Black Friday headphone buy for those who want a high-end pair of wireless noise cancelling headphones without the usual high price attached. Despite being superseded last year by the WH-1000XM4 (down to £249), they still outclass many more expensive new pairs. They have excellent noise cancellation, dynamic sound, a sleek appearance and around 30 hours of battery life. While Sony made noticeable tweaks to the sound and ANC in the newer generation, this pair is like scoring a first-class plane ticket for EasyJet money.

The Beats Studio 3 Wireless were not at the top of our WIRED Recommends list at their original price. And, you should not consider this a £150 discount as Amazon claims, but it is a substantial one, enough to make these headphones a solid buy. They typically cost around £190 and are a good fit for iPhone users in particular, as they have Apple’s W1 chip for flawless communication with iPhone, iPads and the like. For the best sound quality, choose the Sony WH-1000XM3 instead, but this is one of the most affordable ways to get a full-size pair of headphones with one of Apple’s iPhone-loving chips.

Richer Sounds

In-ear headphones this expensive may be out of the reach of most, but Richer Sounds does currently offer the Beyerdynamic Xelento for £200 less than other sellers. The discount is not a fabrication. These earphones have a miniaturised version of the Tesla driver technology Beyerdynamic uses in its top full-size headphones, like the Beyerdynamic T1, for ultra neutral reproduction. Stuck in 2011 in the best possible way, these are wired earphones with an in-line remote, as the name suggests.