Last-Minute Gift Ideas: The 7 Best Over-Ear Headphones for Music Lovers

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Over-the-ear headphones have a way of helping you sink even deeper into your favorite tunes, and 2022 has been a great year for music fans.

SZA, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Drake and Beyoncé are some of the artists who have blessed the music world with new albums this year, and with holiday sales heating up, now would be a great time to find headphones at a discount.

To make the search a little easier, we’ve rounded up seven of the best over-the-ear, noise-canceling headphones on the market. The list includes options from Best Buy, Amazon and other major retailers who are offering last-minute holiday sales on select brands and fast and free shipping in many cases.

Below, find headphones from Sony, Apple, JBL, Bose and other top brands starting at $59.99 and up. For more product recommendations, be sure to check out our roundup of the best wired headphones and our Ultimate Gift Guide.

Enhance your soundscape with JBL Live 660NC headphones. These affordable headphones are equipped with 40mm drivers delivering JBL’s signature, booming sound while adaptive noise cancelling and smart ambient technologies lets you choose which sounds to let in and which to keep out. These headphones feature voice assistant capabilities (with a tap on the ear cup) and up to 50 hours of uninterrupted listening time. If you want a cheaper JBL design, the Live 460NC headphones are on sale for $64.99 (regular $129.99).

Soundcore by Anker Life Q30 headphones are one of the better, over-ear options that you can find for under $80 — and they’re even cheaper for the holidays. The Life Q30 headphones, on sale for just $59.99 at Amazon, are equipped with active noise cancellation, multiple sound modes and up to 40 hours of playtime.

Major sound at a great price. Marshall’s Major IV Over-Ear Headphones provide unrivaled sound quality with custom tuned, dynamic drivers and a whopping 80+ hours of listening time – that’s three solid days of battery life before you need to charge them again. You can even fold the Major IV for easy storage and they’e available in brown or black colorways. Purchase the Major IV headphones online at Marshall.com and SSENSE and on sale for $99 at Amazon.

Bose 45 wireless, noise cancelling, headphones are currently discounted $80. These top-rated headphones provide up to 24 hours of playtime (they charge via USB in up to two-and-a-half hours, while a 15-minute charge gives you up to three hours of juice) and plush ear cushions make it easy to wear them for hours at a time. Bose 45 headphones have six external microphone and are available in several colors including midnight blue, triple black, eclipse grey and white smoke.

“Sony’s best headphones yet!” Save $50 on Sony’s WH-1000XM5, noise-cancelling headphones. Available in black or silver, these top-of-the-line headphones provide crystal clear sound by way of four microphones and the battery lasts up to 30 hours on a single charge making them great for travel but you can, of course, use them at the office, home, school and the gym.

Apple’s AirPods Max are basically like a larger version of the AirPods, but you can get them in cool colors like sky blue, space gray, green, pink and silver. AirPods Max discounts rarely drop below $50, so if you want to score an even deeper discount, renewed headphones are priced at around $415 and up at Amazon and $240+ on Ebay.

For audiophiles who don’t mind splurging, Focal offers a wide selection of high-end, high-fidelity headphones such as the Bathys over-the-ear headphones. These $800 headphones blend active noise cancellation with hi-fi sound providing a truly dynamic listening experience that can last for up to 30 hours at a time. Bathy’s feature an aluminum-magnesium M-shaped dome (made in France) along with wired and Bluetooth connectivity. Click here for more Focal headphones and speakers.

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