Best Prime Day headphone deals: What to expect in 2024

With Memorial Day out of the way, it can seem like a long slog to the fall/winter holiday season for the deals-conscious buyer. But that most unofficial of summer holidays is coming… Prime Day. Prime Day is set to come this year in July, though we aren’t exactly sure when at this time, and Prime Day deals (early, official, and third party) are around the corner. Here, we’re looking specifically at headphones (and, admittedly, some nice earbuds) and how they’re being treated this Prime Day. So, if you’re looking to get dirt cheap headphones, high-end headphones on the cheap, or anything in between this Prime Day, this is the place to keep tabs on the constantly evolving state of the deals as we’ll be constantly updating this as official Prime Day begins.

Today’s best headphone deals

Prime Day isn’t here just yet, but we do know it’s coming back on July 16 and 17 this year. That means one thing when it comes to deals on headphones: Bookmark what you’re interested in right now, especially since there will be early Prime Deals available in the run-up until the main event. There already some great headphones deals going on as we speak, and if you just can’t wait (or your old headphones are broken) it’s still fine to shop deals now so long as you accept that the widest range of deals, and possible better prices, are coming later.

Here are the best headphone (and earbuds) deals going on now:

• 1More SonoFlow SE — $49, was $55

• Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) — $190, was $249

• Sony WF-1000XM5 — $248, was $300

• Bose QuietComfort — $249, was $349

• Beats Studio Pro — $250, was $350

• SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro — $283, was $350

• Sennheiser Momentum 4 — $290, was $380

• Sony WH-1000XM5 — $328, was $400

• Apple AirPods Max — $449, was $549

• Bowers & Wilkins Px8 — $529, was $699

When do the Prime Day headphone deals start?

Officially, Amazon has announced that Prime Day 2024 will run from July 16 to 17, with the best deals appearing during those two days.

The better answer, however, is that “Prime Day” always starts early. Other companies do not live in a world where they cannot see, hear, and communicate with the Amazon world. As a result, big retailers and headphone manufacturers alike will be chomping at the bit to get sales started early to get their deals in front of your face before the Amazon sale takes your dollars. And then, there are the official early Amazon Prime deals from Amazon itself, sometimes for everybody and sometimes only for Amazon Prime subscribers.

All of this early action and deals from multiple sources can get confusing. We’re going to keep the most important information on Prime Day headphone deals (both from Amazon and competitors) here on this page, so be sure to give us a bookmark and check back often to keep up with the latest.

Is Prime Day a good time to buy headphones?

Generally speaking, Prime Day is a great time to buy headphones. This is the major summer shopping holiday, not to be outdone until Black Friday and (ironically enough) the possible second fall Prime Day we’ve been seeing lately. As previously stated, this isn’t just an Amazon holiday, as there is a lot of competition to get your summer dollars and retailers know that the average person isn’t wearing more than one or two pairs of headphones per season.

So what’s the salient advice? Wait.

If you can hold off on your headphones purchase until that point in July when sales heat up, you’ll have the best possible selection to choose from. There’s nothing wrong, per se, in buying discounted headphones now if you need them and you see your dream pair on sale, but clutching onto your wallet for just a while longer will hold the best results.

How to choose headphones on Prime Day 2024

There are many ways to pick headphones for Prime Day this year. Part of it can be intuition, but you may also with to use some strategy. Here are a few techniques to consider to make picking your headphones a smooth process.

Keep your budget in mind: We already have a collection of quality cheap headphones that cost under $100. Many more headphones will be joining the ranks of the under $100 crew as Prime Day proceeds. One exercise you can try here is to pick out a pair of headphones that you’d be willing to buy now, at their non-sale price, and then look at other headphones that are currently more expensive but are overall better than the ones you’d currently buy. Later, if these better headphones drop below the price of the headphones you would buy anyhow, they become a safe low-chance-of-regrets buy.

Look at the favorites: The best headphones are the best headphones for a reason, be sure to check them out. Our overall favorite headphones, Sony’s WH-1000XM5 are already on sale here in June (see above) but others might be holding out to start their sales later and even the WH-1000XM5 might get a better deal as the days progress.

Shop with a purpose in mind: To avoid picking up something just because it is on sale, envision what using the headphones looks like to you. If tuning out the world and finding inner peace (or your grindset) is the goal, look for deals on the best noise-canceling headphones. If you want to get fit, check out these headphones for running and other exercises. Want to max out your couch potato joy? Try some of the best headphones for watching TV. Finally, note that there will be a lot of overlap here (you’ll see the WH-1000XM5, again, in two of these lists) and that’s okay. Headphones can be generalist objects while also serving a primary purpose.

Consider the form factor: When we think headphones, we typically think of two earcups with a band over the head. But you may also want some of the best true wireless earbuds, especially if you’re on the go a lot and don’t have much room in your go bag for full headphones. They’re getting better than you might think. Or, you might hate the feeling of having something on, or in, your ears all the time. If that’s the case, try some of the best bone conduction headphones that transmit sound into you directly via vibrations. There are a lot of innovative headphones out there that don’t fit the typical model if you aren’t satisfied with it.

If you’re gifting to a gamer: If you have a young gamer in the house and the dlip, beep beep beep, chugugugugugugu sound coming from their room is driving you up a wall, you aren’t the first to have ever considered gifting yourself a pair of headphones for them. However, we suggest you be kind to your young gamer and get them one of the best gaming headsets instead, which are better for the team games they love to play with friends.