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There are only a few days till Amazon's October Prime Day event. It's officially dubbed "Prime Big Deal Days," and you'll find spectacular bargains on everything Amazon sells (which is everything). Though the main days are Oct. 8 and 9, CNET's deal bounty hunters are already finding some really sweet early Prime Day deals, particularly on headphones and earbuds that are worth checking out.
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If you want to share the gift of great sound this upcoming holiday season, scroll down to check out the best deals we could find. Check back if you don't see anything you like right now, though, since we'll be updating this roundup frequently. Want to save even more this Prime Day? You could earn a $150 Amazon gift card instantly upon approval of a Prime Visa card, and Prime members will earn up to 5% cash back on purchases through Amazon.
Prime Day earbud deals
The AirPods Pro 2 are a fan favorite for good reason. They sport excellent sound quality, with active noise canceling, an adaptive transparency mode and spatial audio -- all powered by Apple's H2 chip.
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Some of our favorite budget wireless earbuds can be yours with a big discount right now, but make sure to enter the discount code EAP3CNET and clip the on-page coupon when checking out to get the best price. This deal is exclusive to Prime members. Non-Prime members can snag this for $6 more.
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Apple's just-released AirPods 4 are already seeing savings at Amazon, albeit a slight discount of $10. Still, it's nice to save on such a new Apple product. Note that the ANC-equipped version is currently at full price.
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More earbud deals:
Prime Day headphone deals
Apple AirPods Max are usually more expensive, but now you can save $120 on these cream-of-the-crop headphones. Best paired with an Apple device because of the spatial audio virtual surround for iPhones and iPads and multipoint Bluetooth, allowing you to automatically switch between iOS devices. The best discount applies to the pink model, pictured, although other colors are $100 off. Note that these are the Lightning-equipped model, not the just-released USB-C model (but other than that connector and some new hues, they are the exact same).
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This is one of the only proper over-ear Beats headphones currently on sale. The Beats Studio3, despite being a little dated, is one of our favorite headphones because of its fast charging, Apple compatibility, and beautifully simple design.
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More headphone deals:
Prime Day workout headphone deals
A decent price on our favorite bone-conduction headphones for running. Our testing found them to be lightweight and sound great, while still leaving your ears free to hear the outside world.
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More workout headphone deals:
What is Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale?
Amazon's October Prime Day event is officially called "Prime Big Deal Days," but the shopping extravaganza essentially functions as a second Amazon Prime Day event ahead of the holiday season. If you've never shopped during a Prime Day sale before, you might be wondering exactly what it entails, so here's a brief explainer. It's a two-day Amazon sale that will offer exclusive savings to Amazon Prime subscribers with limited-time offers, flash deals and rock-bottom prices. It's a rare chance to score Black Friday-level pricing outside of November, so it's usually well worth shopping.
When is Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days event?
Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days are Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 this year. Although the sale event is still around four days away, you can take advantage of some early deals right now. Generally speaking, the deals will end at midnight on Oct. 9. Some deals may linger beyond the set times of the sale event.
How do Prime Big Deal Days compare to July Prime Day?
There are lots of similarities between the two sales. Many of the same deals return during the October sale, especially on Amazon's own devices, such as Blink and Ring home security devices, Fire TVs and tablets, Echo devices and more.
The main difference is related to the timing of the sale. Since July Prime Day is in the summer, there's more focus on back-to-school and outdoor deals. This includes school supplies, grills, lawnmowers and more. During October Prime Day, we see more deals geared toward the upcoming holiday season, such as kitchenware for a Thanksgiving meal or toys and games for kids for Christmas.
Are headphone deals available before Prime Day?
Amazon's October Prime Day officially kicks off on Oct. 8, but you don't have to wait until then to score a stellar deal on headphones and earbuds. As you'll see above, plenty of big-name brands like Apple, Bose, Sony and Anker are discounting their audio gear ahead of the event itself.
How we choose the best Prime Day headphone deals
Many of us here at CNET have covered shopping events for over five years, including Black Friday, Prime Day, Memorial Day and countless other shopping events. In that time, we've learned how to spot the best deals among a sea of thousands of superficial offers and scams, and we surface only the best offers from trusted retailers. We look for real discounts, quality reviews and remaining sale time when choosing headphone deals to show you.
- Real discounts mean genuine savings. We check pricing history for products listed as on sale, so we know when it's a case of an inflated list price rather than an actual discount.
- Quality reviews and testing are super important for any product. A discount isn't worthwhile if it results in a subpar product experience, no matter how much you saved.
- Remaining sale time is important, too. Some deals are around for only a short time or may be limited in supply. If that's the case, we'll let you know upfront so you don't come back to the deal later only to be disappointed.