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Anker’s Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, the company’s first earbuds to feature active noise canceling, are a mostly excellent set of true-wireless earbuds that measure up pretty well against Apple’s AirPods Pro for significantly less money. Like the AirPods Pro, they have an IPX4 water-resistance rating (splashproof). 

While I had an issue with the included ear tips and had to use some other tips (it’s crucial to get a tight seal or both noise canceling and sound quality will suffer), they should comfortably fit most people. Sound quality is better than with Anker’s earlier Liberty Air 2, and the noise canceling is effective. These also work well as a headset for making calls and are available in multiple colors.

They were on sale for $100 for a few days when they launched. Luckily, that price has returned on Amazon. Read our Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro review.

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The Beats Solo Pro are really good on-ear noise-canceling headphones. The only issue is they’re overpriced at $300. Woot had them for the best price we’ve seen to date — $135 to $140 — earlier in June. Also, for a few weeks, Amazon had certain colors available for $150. Now that best price is only available at Walmart, with most (but not all) colors selling for $149 and the light blue version going for as low as $135. Read our Beats Solo Pro review.

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Samsung’s long-awaited active noise-canceling earbuds were released early this year for $200 (yes, the Buds Live also have noise canceling, but it’s pretty modest). The Galaxy Buds Pro were briefly on sale at Woot for $140 but are now $170 or $30 off at most retailers. I’ve been mostly impressed, particularly with the sound quality and call quality, and there are some nice bonus features, including an improved ambient noise mode with voice detection. There’s also a virtual surround feature that currently only works with the new Galaxy S21 models, but will slowly trickle out to other Galaxy devices. The noise canceling is also effective if you get a tight seal from the included ear tips. That said, just how good you think they are will ultimately depend on how well they fit your ears. Read our Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro review.

Sennheiser

The Sennheiser PXC 550-II didn’t get much attention when it was released in 2020 and its $350 list price faced daunting competition from Sony and Bose. But we’ve spotted it for less than $200 on Amazon, a value purchase featuring very good sound (it’s got a slightly warmer sound profile), good noise canceling and solid voice calling. Battery life is impressive at around 30 hours with noise-canceling on. The only minor annoyance is that these have micro-USB charging rather than USB-C.

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These aren’t true-wireless earbuds, but the neckband-style Beats Flex are the most affordable Apple wireless headphones you can buy right now. Discounted to $39, they’re quite good for the money and have a few features for Apple users missing from the new Beats Studio Buds. Read our Beats Flex review.

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Google’s new Pixel Buds A-Series just hit the market at $99. But if you want extras like wireless charging, wind reduction and swipe controls for volume, we’re seeing nice discounts on the earlier Pixel Buds 2 (the price briefly dropped to $79 at Walmart). At launch, the Pixel Buds 2 had some Bluetooth hiccup issues but they’ve improved over time with firmware upgrades and are a good set of true-wireless earbuds, particularly for owners of Google’s Pixel smartphones and other Android phones. The previous low on these was $120. Read our Pixel Buds review.

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The Beats Powerbeats Pro (list price $250) earbuds remain a top true-wireless sports model with many of the same features as Apple’s standard AirPods, but in a water-resistant design with better sound. You can get the lava red option for $150. Read our Beats Powerbeats Pro review.

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Way back in 2015, Swedish company Earin was the first to release a set of true wireless earbuds. Its third-gen A-3 earbuds look a lot like what the standard AirPods would look like if you removed their trademark extruding stems. Typically $199, they’re 20% ($40) off for Prime Day.

They fit my ears securely and they sound decent — arguably better than the AirPods — for this type of earbud, though they’re slightly bass-restrained. I also found they work well for making calls even though they don’t have stems (their noise reduction is decent though not fantastic), and I liked their charging case. 

The A-3 buds have an IPX52 water-resistance rating (they can withstand a sustained spray of water but aren’t fully waterproof) and deliver five hours of battery life, with five extra charges from their charging case. They have 14mm drivers, Bluetooth 5.0 and Qualcomm’s higher-end QCC5121 chipset. AAC and aptX audio codecs are supported. (Certain Android devices like Samsung Galaxy smartphones support aptX streaming, but iPhones do not.)

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Sony’s excellent noise-canceling headphones were on sale for $278 during the 2020 holidays and that price returns sporadically. But $248 is their new low. Read our Sony WH-1000XM4 review.

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Bose is once again discounting its top noise-canceling headphone for Prime Day. The Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, which usually retail for around $379 (after starting out at $399), can be had for $229 in the “soapstone” color. That’s a new low and an exclusive Prime Day deal. Meanwhile, the black and silver editions are down to $300.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are on sale for $249, but if you had your eye on this Bose model, this is the lowest price we’ve ever seen for it. Read our Bose Noise Cancelling 700 review.

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The EarFun Free Pro are among my favorite budget true wireless earbuds, and they’re now at their new low price of $45 for Prime Day. They have active noise cancellation with a transparency mode, wireless charging and Bluetooth 5.2. Rated for 7 hours of battery life without the noise-canceling function on, or about 6 hours with it on, they’re IPX5 water-resistant, which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water.

They sound good for the money, with relatively clean, balanced sound and bass that has some kick to it — they’re pretty open-sounding. Lightweight and comfortable to wear, they have little fins that help keep them securely in your ears, and they look fairly discrete.

Don’t expect them to cancel noise as well as the AirPods Pro, but they do provide some decent muffling. It’s worth noting that you can use either the left or right earbud independently and there’s a low-latency mode for video watching (and presumably gaming). Call quality was decent, too: Callers said they heard some background noise but it wasn’t intrusive and they could hear my voice well. The touch controls were responsive. 

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Released in mid-2020, the Jabra Elite 45h were essentially billed as the best on-ear headphones for the money. While there’s nothing terribly fancy about them, they’re among the best on-ear headphone values right now, with good sound quality, a sturdy design and comfortable fit (for on-ear headphones, anyway). Plus, these Bluetooth on-ear headphones perform well as a headset for making calls and include a sidetone feature that allows you to hear your voice in the headphones so you don’t talk too loudly. It offers multipoint Bluetooth pairing, a key feature for those working at home who want to pair with their PC and smartphone at the same time. Battery life is also good. 

We’ve seen the Elite 45h hit $70 in recent weeks, but $55 is the low price.

Jabra’s slightly more rugged Elite Active 75t earbuds have been on sale for the last week in certain colors, and now the standard Elite 75t buds are on sale for $55 off at $95 in an exclusive Prime Day deal. The Elite 75t has been out for a while but remains a good set of true wireless earbuds, adding active noise canceling last year with a software update.

Note that the Elite Active 75t are on sale for $120. That’s $10 less than their previous low price.

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If you can’t afford Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless II earbuds ($230), the CX 400BT are a good budget alternative. They’re a little bulbous (they stick out from your ears), but they deliver very good sound and decent noise canceling. Overpriced at their list price of $200, they typically sell for $150 and often drop to $100. This Prime Day Deal is $20 less than their previous low. They’re also available in white. Read our Sennheiser CX 400BT review.

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Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live earbuds came out last summer. For Cyber Monday 2020, they were $60 off at Woot and now they’re back to $60 off at Amazon for Prime Day. I rated them highly, although the noise canceling is relatively light. A word of warning: While they fit my ears well, due to their beanlike shape, they won’t work for everybody. Read our Galaxy Buds Live review.

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Amazon

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As far as sound, comfort level and build quality, you’d be hard-pressed to do better than Anker’s SoundCore Life Q30 for the money, particularly now that it’s on sale for $60 with a $20-off instant coupon on Amazon (the blue and pink colors cost $10 more). It doesn’t quite have the clarity or bass definition as some of the top premium models, but it’s less than one-third the price of those and gets you 75% of the way there in terms of sound: It’s well-balanced overall with punchy bass, and there’s an app that allows you to tweak the sound. Noise canceling is good for the price, though not at the level of the Sony WH-1000XM4 or Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. Battery life is rated at an impressive 40 hours with USB-C charging.

The only area where the Q30 falls a little short is voice calls. It picks up your voice fine in quieter environments, but it doesn’t reduce background noise all that well. 

Compared to the Q20 ($50), the Q30 does offer improved sound (it’s not a huge difference, but it definitely is a notch up) and a more premium design. Anker often offers the Q20 at a $10 discount at Amazon. Eventually, we should see something like that on the Q30.

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While Jabra’s Elite 75t series has been out for a while, they’re still one of the best true wireless earbuds out there and have added noise canceling via a firmware upgrade. Earlier firmware updates improved voice-calling performance. 

The Elite 75t buds aren’t quite as comfortable to wear as the AirPods Pro, but they arguably sound a touch better, with clearer overall sound and better bass definition, so long as you get a tight seal. (The step-up 85t have more powerful bass.)

The Elite Active 75t buds are slightly more rugged than the standard 75t and usually cost $20 more than the standard 75t. Their current sale price of $114 is the lowest price we’ve seen for the Active version.

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AfterShokz

AfterShokz’ bone-conduction wireless headphones aren’t quite what many people picture when they think of earphones, because they don’t go on your ears — these headphones actually deliver sound to your ear through your cheekbones. That openness allows runners and bikers to hear traffic sound, an important safety feature, and these also stay on your head securely and are comfortable to wear.

The company’s flagship Aeropex model doesn’t go on sale all that often — they came out in 2019, so it’s possible a new model may be on the way — so $30 off is a decent deal (it was briefly as low as $125 last December). Note that while AfterShokz continues to make small improvements to performance with each new iteration of its wireless headphones, the sound quality still can’t match that of a traditional headphone. Read our AfterShokz Aeropex first take.

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Jabra describes the Elite 85t as “semiopen” earbuds, meaning you don’t have to jam the tips all the way into your ear canal. Rather, the new, more oval-shaped tips nestle in your ear for a more comfortable fit — according to Jabra, anyway. A touch of sound will leak in, however, because you’re not creating a supertight seal. Engineered with Qualcomm technology, Jabra calls the Elite 85t’s noise canceling “Advanced ANC,” which is designed for earbuds that don’t have true noise-isolating designs.

Personally, I didn’t find the 85t earbuds any more comfortable than the 75t. They didn’t stay in my ears quite as securely, though they did stay in. While the 85t buds are bigger — and so is their charging case — they definitely seem like siblings in terms of design. They do sound richer than the 75t, with more bass, and their voice-calling capabilities are also very good. They also feature multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can take a call on your smartphone while being connected to your computer.

Available in multiple color options, they’re splashproof like the AirPods Pro (IPX4 water resistance rating) and list for $230, but we’ve seen them sporadically discounted to $180. $161 is their new low price. Read our Jabra Elite 85t review.

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1More’s ComfoBuds Pro are currently at their new low price of $70 after recently selling for $75. If you get a tight seal (three different sized ear tips are included), not only do these sound good but they also perform well as a headset for making calls, with three microphones in each earbud. There’s a touch of presence boost in the treble and the bass packs a good punch, which gives these a dynamic sound profile (they’re not laid back) and they play loud for those looking for that.

You can toggle between two levels of noise cancellation (as well as “off”) using the touch controls — and there’s a pass-through transparency mode and a wind noise-reduction mode. You can also toggle through all of those modes using the companion app for iOS and Android. Battery life is rated at six hours with noise canceling on and eight hours with it off. The earbuds are IPX4 rated for water resistance, which means they’re splashproof, the same as the AirPods Pro. 

In short, if you don’t want to spend $200 or so on the AirPods Pro, the 1More ComfoBuds Pro is a good budget alternative. Note that 1More also makes an open version of the ComfoBuds (see below), which is similar to the standard AirPods and costs around $50. This Pro version is better.

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This is the lowest price we’ve seen for Sony’s true-wireless noise-canceling sports model, the WF-SP800N earbuds. Funnily enough, I wrote at the end of my mostly positive review that I’d like to see them more in the $160-$175 range. Well, in black, they’re down to $88.

These aren’t quite the WF-1000XM3 earbuds with a water-resistant body — they’re missing Sony’s QN1e processor — but there’s still a lot to like about them, including excellent sound, solid noise cancellation and good call quality. They’re definitely a significant upgrade over the WF-SP700N model, which came out in 2018, and their “arcs” (sports fins) lock the buds in your ears. Just make sure you get a tight seal from one of the included sets of ear tips or else both the sound and noise canceling will be lackluster. Read our Sony WF-SP800N review.

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This pretty much ties the lowest price on record for Apple’s venerated earbuds, a great pick for anyone who doesn’t like the in-ear feel of noise-canceling earbuds (namely the AirPods Pro, which are currently on sale for $190). Not that the price says $119, but you get the $19 discount when you add the AirPods to your cart.

And if you pay using your Amazon Prime Rewards Visa, you’ll score 6% cash back, effectively dropping your price to an all-time-low $94. Read our Apple AirPods review to learn more.