Jeff Dunn
Today is the start of Amazon’s Prime Day sales event, which means there are a ton of gadgets on sale right now that may or may not be worth buying. We’ve put together a big roundup of the best deals we can find, but I wanted to give special mention to a few particularly noteworthy deals on headphones that we’ve reviewed positively: Sony’s noise-cancelling WH-1000XM4 for $248 and Jabra’s true wireless Elite Earbuds of 75 tons for $95.
Both deals match the lowest prices we’ve tracked at major retailers. If you’d rather not give Amazon more money, the Sony deal is also available at other stores. In Sony’s case, the WH-1000XM4 has a suggested retail price of $350, but has recently averaged closer to $315 on Amazon. The Elite 75t, meanwhile, costs $150, but has had a few dips to $130 in recent months.
What do you get with the Sony WH-1000XM4
Sony
We’ve featured the WH-1000XM4 in a few buying guides since they launched last August, and they remain our favorite choice among noise-cancelling wireless headphones. They’re not the absolute best of their kind in a vacuum: Apple’s AirPods Max are a bit better in audio quality, noise cancellation, and build quality. But that pair costs $549; for $300 less, the WH-1000XM4 gets more than close enough.
The design here is well padded and relatively light on the head, allowing the headphones to be worn comfortably for hours. They can be folded for easier storage, and Sony packs them with a sturdy little carrying case. The battery life is 30-35 hours depending on how hard you play, and the whole thing is charged via USB-C. While they use touch controls rather than more predictable physical buttons, we didn’t find changing songs or adjusting volume overly finicky in lengthy testing. They also let you connect to a number of devices at once.
The main selling point here is Sony’s active noise canceling technology, which is excellent at dampening low-frequency sounds like a bus or airplane engine and outperforms most at countering higher sounds like nearby voices. In addition, there’s an effective “transparency” mode, which blends ambient noise with your music when you want to be more aware of your surroundings. The companion app from Sony includes some helpful bonus features, such as a “speak to chat” setting that can automatically pause your music and let in ambient noise when you start talking to someone else.
In terms of audio quality, the WH-1000XM4 goes bass heavy as standard. It’s a full, punchy sound that many will appreciate in hip-hop and pop music, but those looking for a more neutral profile can still get it through the Sony app, which has a customizable EQ tool with several presets. audio profiles that really affect the sound . You can also listen passively over a cable. There is no aptX support, but you can listen through Sony’s higher quality LDAC codec if you’re the type to hear a quality difference there.
The main drawback of the WH-1000XM4 is the quality of the microphone, namely: fine but makes voices sound more muffled than other wireless pairs in this price range. Bose’s Noise Canceling Headphones 700, on sale today for $229, do better there. That pair also has the nifty ability to adjust the power of the noise canceling effect. Meanwhile, if you’re not willing to pay more than $200, we also like Anker’s Soundcore Life Q30 as a budget pick; they are on sale for $60.
Still, for those interested in a set of premium wireless headphones, the WH-1000XM4 is an excellent value at this price. They probably aren’t worth the upgrade if you own the older Sony XM3s, but since there was a two-year gap between the launches of those two pairs, we wouldn’t expect another upgrade in this line until sometime next year.
What you get with the Jabra Elite 75t
Jeff Dunn
It’s a similar story with the Elite 75t: More expensive alternatives like the Sony WF-1000XM4 and Apple AirPods Pro (which retail for $190) do a lot of things better, but as we’ve written before, Jabra’s pair has the right combination of price and feature set for most people.
The earpieces here are small and lightweight, with soft silicone tips that help keep the earbuds comfortable for extended listening. The in-ear design creates a snug seal that stays secure while riding and naturally isolates a fair amount of ambient noise. It also has an IP55 rating, so it can withstand a little sweat or light rain. The one-button controls on each earcup are simple enough to adjust playback and volume. They are also difficult to press accidentally. The earphones will pause automatically as soon as one is removed from your ear, and you can also listen with the appropriate earphones.
Battery life is solid at around seven hours per charge with active noise cancellation off and just over five hours with active noise cancellation on. The easily stowable charging case adds another 20 hours and charges via USB-C.
While all true wireless earbuds are more prone to connection hiccups than a larger pair over the ear, we’ve had few problems to that effect in lengthy testing. The earbuds also support multi-device pairing, although this can be a pain with certain laptops, so it’s worth confirming you won’t have any issues in the device return window if you tie the knot.
Like the Sony WF-1000XM4, the Elite 75t has an excited sound out of the box. It heavily emphasizes the bass and upper mids by default, which some may find overwhelming, but others can enjoy popular music. But again, those who want a more understated sound profile can get one without much trouble via Jabra’s app, which has an EQ tool and several effective sound presets. Any preferences you select are then stored in the earbuds themselves, so you don’t have to repeatedly dig into the app.
Jabra added active noise canceling to the Elite 75t via a firmware update months after the earphones launched, so the effect isn’t as strong as on a device built from the ground up for ANC. It is certainly not at the level of the Sony WF-1000XM4 or AirPods Pro. That said, it’s far from useless; low-frequency tones are attenuated enough to satisfy people who don’t need constant ANC active. Likewise, there’s a transparency mode that works well, and the built-in microphones present voices clearly enough on calls.
Unlike the WH-1000XM4, the Elite is 75t to do already have an upgrade on the market. Jabra’s Elite 85t launched late last year with native noise cancellation support, a slightly stronger IPX4 water resistance rating, a wireless charging case, a more neutral standard sound profile and a slightly clearer microphone setup. That pair retails for $170 during Prime Day. However, we don’t think the upgrade is significant enough to be worth that price difference; if anything, the Elite 75t is still a bit better in terms of comfort and battery life.
The recently released Beats Studio Buds may be more convenient for iPhone owners. And for those willing to pay more, the aforementioned WF-1000XM4 and AirPods Pro generally outperform. But for under $100, the Elite 75t is a strong buy for those looking to go completely wireless.
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