Eleven headphone and earbud deals are already live, weeks before Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. No retailer has announced official sales yet.
The lead item is the Sony WH-CH720N at $88 at Amazon, down from $179.99, a $91.99 cut of about 51%. Sony just released the next generation of these headphones, which usually loosens prices on the outgoing model. A reviewer who tested them called the sound "near-flagship" and the active noise cancellation (microphones that pick up ambient sound so the headphones can counteract it) impressive. The trade-offs: they do not fold, and they skip Quick Attention and LDAC, a higher-quality Bluetooth audio format.
The rest of the list, with sale price and list price:
- Sony WH-CH520: $38, from $69.99
- Sennheiser Accentum: $99.95, from $189.95
- Shokz OpenFit: $99.99, from $159.99
- Shokz OpenRun Pro: $109.95, from $179.95
- Skullcandy Method 540 ANC: $119.99, from $149.99
- Shokz OpenDots One: $139.95, from $169.95
- Soundcore Sleep A30 Special: $168.99, from $199.99
- Sennheiser Momentum 4: $213.04, from $299.99
- Sony WH-1000XM5: $228, from $399.99
- Apple AirPods Max 2: $449, from $549
Divide those out and a pattern shows. The steepest cuts are on Sony and Sennheiser: 51% on the CH720N, 47% on the Accentum, 46% on the CH520 and 43% on the WH-1000XM5. The Skullcandy, Shokz OpenDots One and Soundcore picks sit between roughly 16% and 20%. The AirPods Max 2 get $100 off, about 18%, so the biggest name is not the biggest bargain.
The more interesting comparison is inside Sony's own lineup. The XM5 costs $140 more than the CH720N at these prices, and the source's own description of the cheaper pair suggests the gap buys the features Sony left out to hit the price.