The Best Earbuds You Can Buy Just Dropped Under $300 for the First Time

Sony doesn’t know what to name the headphones, but it knows how to make them. The WF-100XM5 wireless earbuds were my favorite wireless earbuds last year, and they have since been supplanted by the Sony WF-1000XM6 earbuds.

Typically, whenever Sony releases a new version of its flagship headphones, you can usually be sure that they’ll be the best your money can buy until the next iteration – and right now, you can get the WF-1000XM6 headphones at a discount for the first time. They are $298 (originally $329.99), the lowest price since the recent release, according to price trackers.

The Sony WF-1000XM6 headphones are a direct competitor to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen), two outstanding options we’ve reviewed here in Lifehacker. The Bose are better suited to those looking for simplicity, ease of use, and comfort, while the Sonys are better suited to audiophiles looking to tweak and customize their experience exactly the way they like it, with more options and features.

The Sony WF-1000XM6 headphones are my favorite for pure listening pleasure. Yes, they’re comfortable and have amazing ANC, but the audio quality, especially when you tweak the EQ and can listen to audio in LC3 format and with Sony’s LDAC codecs, is the best in the Bluetooth earphone market.

As you can read in Lifehacker’s review, Sony has improved the number and quality of the microphone, making calls, ANC, and transparency mode clearer and more responsive to the noise in your environment. As for battery life, you can get eight hours listening with just the earbuds and 24 hours with the charging case.

If you are an Apple user, I think AirPods Pro 3 are a better option because they are cheaper and better suited to iPhones. If not, these Sony headphones are my top recommendation – provided you want the best audio quality from Bluetooth headphones you can find – and the current price is the lowest I’ve ever seen (and I don’t expect them to drop much lower in 2026).