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Yes, if you know where each brand hides its discount. Bose has the QuietComfort Ultra headphones at $199 against $429 through its certified refurbished shelf, with the same one year warranty as new, and only the Ultra Open earbuds cut on new stock. Soundcore and Skullcandy mark down current models outright, with the Space A40 earbuds at $54.99 against $99.99 and the Crusher 720 at $139.99 against $209.99. Black Friday still goes deeper on the newest flagship over-ears bought new, so if that's specifically what you want and you can wait, November is better. For everything else, and for a refurbished flagship, this is a real window.
Before you compare a single price, know what you're actually buying. Active noise cancellation and passive isolation do completely different jobs, and most people buy ANC for the one it can't do. ANC is very good at constant low-frequency sound: aircraft engines, HVAC hum, road and train rumble. It's close to useless against the office conversation two desks away. That's not a quality problem, it's physics, and it changes which headphone you should buy depending on where you plan to wear it. More on that below, along with the deals we're tracking at each brand, checked against the product page.
Early Columbus Day Headphone Deals
Three brands are running real cuts on their own sites, and they discount in three different ways. These are the live markdowns at each, checked against the product page.
- Adaptive ANC
- 50 hours with case
- In-ear
Soundcore's noise cancelling earbuds with 800 reviews on the brand site, with adaptive noise cancelling that the listing rates at up to 98% noise reduction on a commute and 50 hours of playtime once you count the case. At $54.99 they sit in the price band where earbuds get proper noise cancelling and a proper seal, and they do both.
This is the pair to buy if the number is the thing. Every flagship earbud on this page does the same job better, and none does it for a third of the price. Try the other ear tips in the box first, because the seal is what decides how much of that 98% you hear.
$54.99$99.9945% off
- Adaptive ANC 3.0
- Dolby Audio, LDAC
- 8 hours ANC on
The current top earbud in the range, with a newer adaptive noise cancelling system that the listing says adjusts every 0.3 seconds, Dolby Audio, LDAC and Hi-Res support for Android phones, and six microphones for calls. Eight hours with noise cancelling on, 32 with the case, and a 10 minute charge buys five more hours.
The LDAC support is the reason to pick these over the Space A40 if you have an Android phone and a lossless streaming plan, because that's the codec that carries the extra detail. On an iPhone the codec falls back to AAC and the gap between the two pairs narrows.
$89.99$129.9931% off
- Hybrid ANC
- 40 hours ANC on
- 40mm drivers
The budget over-ear with more than 6,000 reviews on the brand site, with four microphones driving hybrid noise cancelling, 40mm drivers that carry a Hi-Res Audio badge, and 40 hours of playtime with noise cancelling on, 60 with it off. There's a BassUp button for when you want more low end than the tuning gives you.
The noise cancelling is aimed at engine and cabin rumble rather than voices, which is true of every pair on this page but more noticeable at this price. Buy these for a flight or a bus, not for an open-plan office, and treat them as the pair you won't mind losing.
$39.99$59.9933% off
- Sensory bass wheel
- THX Spatial Audio
- Up to 65 hours
The newest Crusher, which is the headphone with a physical wheel on the earcup that turns the bass into something you feel in the cups rather than just hear. This generation adds THX Spatial Audio, deeper cushions and a battery the listing rates at up to 65 hours, which is more than double most flagship pairs.
Nobody buys a Crusher for accuracy, and the wheel is the whole point: turn it down and you have a comfortable, long-running wireless pair, turn it up and every movie explosion arrives through your cheekbones. At $139.99 it's cheaper than the mid-range over-ears from the big brands and more fun than any of them.
$139.99$209.9933% off
- Open-ear design
- Waterproof
- Stable hook fit
Skullcandy's open-ear pair, which sits outside the ear canal on a hook so you hear traffic, a running partner and your own name while the music plays. The listing rates it waterproof rather than merely sweat resistant, and the hook keeps it in place through a workout.
Open ear is a different product from noise cancelling, not a cheaper one. There's no seal, so expect lighter bass and no isolation at all, and buy this for running outdoors, cycling or a shared office where you need to hear people. For a plane, buy one of the sealed pairs instead.
$99.99$149.9933% off
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Game and chat mix
- Wired cable included
The wireless gaming headset in the range, with Bluetooth 5.2 for a console, PC or phone, a game-to-chat mix and custom EQs in the Skull-HQ app, and a cable in the box for a wired connection when latency or battery matters. Sidetone lets you hear your own voice in the mic so you stop shouting.
The wired option is the reason to consider this over a Bluetooth-only headset. Bluetooth adds a delay that competitive players notice, so plug it in for the match and go wireless for the podcast afterward, which is the setup most people actually end up with.
$106.99$144.9926% off
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Certified Refurbished)
- Refurbished by Bose
- Up to 24 hours
- 1-year warranty
The first generation QuietComfort Ultra, restored by Bose itself and sold with the same one year warranty as a new pair. This is the headphone the whole flagship noise cancelling conversation is about, with the Immersive Audio mode that puts the sound in front of you rather than inside your head. The listing rates it at up to 24 hours, or 18 with Immersive Audio on, and Bose dates the $230 saving through September 30.
This is the deal on the page. Bose holds new-stock pricing hard, so the refurbished channel is where the real money comes off, and $199 for a QuietComfort Ultra with a Bose warranty undercuts most mid-range pairs bought new. The second generation refurbished is $329, and the differences don't justify the gap for most people.
$199$42954% off
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (Certified Refurbished)
- Refurbished by Bose
- 6 hours, 3 case charges
- Immersive Audio
The first generation Ultra earbuds through the same refurbished channel, at half the original price with the one year warranty. Six hours per charge, four with Immersive Audio on, and the case holds three more full charges. The $150 saving is dated through September 30 on the listing.
Bose says each refurbished unit is restored with genuine Bose parts where needed and tested before resale, which covers the parts of a used earbud you'd actually worry about. If you want new stock instead, the sale page has the same earbuds in one color at $229 against $299, so the refurbished pair saves a further $80 for the same warranty.
$149$29950% off
- Open-ear cuff
- Up to 7 hours
- IPX4
The one new-stock headphone Bose has cut: the cuff-style open earbud that clips to the edge of the ear and leaves the canal clear. The listing rates it at up to 7 hours, four with Immersive Audio, with 19.5 more in the case, and IPX4 against sweat and rain. Bose dates the $100 saving through October 11.
The same $199 price shows up at Abt, so this is a brand-wide cut rather than a Bose-only one. It's the most comfortable open-ear design in the category because nothing sits in or hooks over the ear, and the trade is the same as every open pair: no isolation and lighter bass by design.
$199$29933% off
Prices come from each brand at the time this page was last refreshed. Bose dates its refurbished savings through September 30 and the Ultra Open cut through October 11; Soundcore and Skullcandy don't date theirs, so check the current number on the product page before you buy.
Top 3 Headphone Deals on Amazon
The three over-ear pairs with the steepest discounts on Amazon, ranked by markdown. If you're buying for a commute or a flight, this is the section that matters, because sealed over-ear cups are where ANC does its best work. Check the seller line on each listing, since the Amazon price on a flagship pair is often a marketplace seller rather than the brand, and the refurbished channels above usually beat it with a longer warranty.
When Headphones Actually Go On Sale
Headphones follow the consumer electronics calendar rather than the appliance one, which means the windows are more frequent but shallower, with one clear annual low.
| When | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Black Friday and Cyber Monday | The annual low, and the only time the current flagship models take a real cut rather than a token one. If you want this year's Bose or Sony over-ear at its best price, this is the week. |
| Early Columbus Day, into October | The back-to-school markdowns roll into the October Prime Day window, so the value brands cut current models outright and Bose restocks its refurbished shelf. Not the deepest on a new flagship, but the widest choice of the year outside November. |
| Amazon's July and October events | Strong on earbuds and the mid-range, thinner on premium over-ear. The budget brands cut hardest here. |
| Whenever a new generation lands | The single most reliable discount in audio. When the successor is announced, the outgoing model drops and stays down, and on headphones the year-over-year difference is usually small. |
| Any time, on certified refurbished | The premium brands hold their new-stock pricing hard and discount through their own refurbished channels instead. That's where the real money comes off a Bose or a Sony, not off the new box. |
| Late November through December, on the newest release | If a model launched in the autumn it won't be discounted for the holidays. Demand is peak and supply is the point. You're paying full price for the privilege of being early. |
What Actually Counts as a Good Headphone Deal
List prices in audio are close to fictional, so the percentage tells you very little. These are the numbers worth acting on, by what you want the headphones to do.
- Flagship over-ear under $250. The current Bose or Sony noise cancelling models. They rarely go below this new, which is why the refurbished channel matters so much in this category: Bose has the QuietComfort Ultra at $199 through its own refurbished shelf, with the new-pair warranty.
- Solid mid-range over-ear under $120. Where the value actually is. You get most of the isolation and a good chunk of the ANC for a third of the flagship price.
- Wireless earbuds under $90. Enough for good ANC and a proper seal, and the Soundcore Space A40 at $54.99 and Liberty 5 at $89.99 both land inside it. Above that you're paying for ecosystem features rather than sound.
- Gaming headset under $70. A comfortable wired set with a decent boom mic beats a wireless one with a bad mic every time, and it never dies mid-match.
- Kids headphones under $25. Buy volume-limited, buy wired for school, and buy two, because they get sat on.
Where to Shop Headphones
Worth checking beyond Amazon, because the premium brands discount through their own refurbished channels rather than off the new box, and that's where the real gap sits.
How to Pick the Right Headphones
Match the noise strategy to the noise. ANC handles constant low-frequency sound, so it's superb on a plane, a train or next to an air conditioner. It does very little against speech, because short wavelengths would need the microphone almost at your eardrum to cancel. If your problem is a talkative office, buy for the seal instead of the ANC rating.
The ear tip is the product. On any in-ear pair, the seal determines the bass, the isolation and how well ANC performs. Most people use the tips that came fitted and never try the others in the box. Spend five minutes on that before you spend anything on an upgrade.
Buy the outgoing generation. Audio is one of the few categories where last year's flagship is genuinely almost as good and routinely half the price once a successor is announced. The gap between generations is usually a feature or two, not the sound.
Take certified refurbished seriously here. The premium brands protect new-stock pricing and use refurbished as the discount channel, so that's where the real money comes off. Buy from the brand or its official storefront, and check the warranty length rather than assuming.
Weight and clamp beat specifications. The pair you wear for three hours is the pair you keep. Frequency response charts won't tell you whether your ears hurt by the end of a flight, and no amount of sound quality survives a headband that pinches.
Headphone Sale FAQ
The Bottom Line
Decide where you'll wear them before you compare anything. On a plane or a train, buy sealed over-ear noise cancelling and let the ANC do what it's genuinely good at. In an open-plan office, buy for the seal and the fit, because ANC won't touch the voice two desks away no matter what you spend. Outdoors on a run, buy open ear and accept the lighter bass as the price of hearing a car. Then remember that in audio the discount usually lives in two places: the outgoing generation once a successor is announced, and the brand's own certified refurbished channel. The early Columbus Day window is exactly that pattern: Bose at $199 for a refurbished QuietComfort Ultra, Soundcore and Skullcandy at a third off current models, and only the newest flagship releases bought new worth waiting on.
