Sony’s best noise-cancelling headphones are down to their lowest price today

Today’s Dealmaster is headlined by nice discount on Sony’s WH-1000XM4, as the high-end wireless noise-cancelling headphones are currently down to $278 at various retailers. That’s more than $70 off Sony’s MSRP, about $50 off its typical street price online, and tied for the largest discount we’ve tracked to date, which we also saw on Black Friday.

At the moment, the WH-1000XM4 are our top pick among noise-cancelling headphones. There are certainly better-sounding headphones for the price, but the XM4’s bass-forward sound is still enjoyable for those who like a boosted low-end, and it’s possible to customize the audio profile through Sony’s companion app. Either way, the XM4s are very comfortable to wear for hours at a time, get an excellent 30 or so hours of battery life, and have several useful features, such as USB-C charging, a “speak to chat” function that automatically mutes music when you speak to someone else, and a great “ambient sound” mode that blends external noise with your music while you’re outdoors. More than anything else, their noise-cancelling quality is excellent, muting lower-frequency rumbles and, to a lesser-but-still-impressive extent, higher-pitched tones alike.

A pair like Bose’s Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 has better call quality, a more neutral sound, and the ability to customize noise-cancelling strength, but overall, we think Sony’s pair is the better deal, particular at this price. Elsewhere, our deals roundup also includes discounts on Apple’s M1 Mac Mini and Magic Keyboard, a budget pair of noise-cancelling headphones from Anker that we like, LG’s latest OLED TVs, and more. You can check out our full roundup below.

Top 10 deals of the day

Enlarge / The 2020, M1-equipped Mac mini.

Samuel Axon

Laptop and desktop PC deals

Apple Mac Mini (2020 model)—Apple M1, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD for $649 at Amazon and B&H (normally $699).
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go laptop—Intel Core i5-1035G1, 12.4-inch 1536×1024, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD for $649 at Amazon (normally $700).
WD Black SN850 (500GB) M.2 NVMe internal SSD for $119.99 at Amazon (normally $150).
WD Elements (12TB) external desktop hard drive for $197.99 at B&H (backordered—normally $215).
Microsoft Modern Mobile Mouse Bluetooth mouse for $24.12 at Amazon (normally $32).

<em>The Last of Us Part II</em>. — Enlarge / *The Last of Us Part II*.

Video game deals

Immortals Fenyx Rising (PS4, Xbox, Switch) for $29.88 at Amazon and GameStop (free next-gen upgrade—normally $40).
Desperados III (PS4, Xbox) for $19.99 at GameStop (normally $30).
Watch Dogs: Legion (PS5, PS4, Xbox) for $29.99 at Amazon and GameStop (free next-gen upgrade—normally $45).
Collection of Mana (Switch) for $19.99 at Amazon (normally $25).
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI (Switch) for $9.99 at Amazon and Best Buy (normally $15).
Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate Edition (PS5, Xbox) for $39.99 at Amazon (normally $55).
Mario Tennis Aces (Switch) for $37.89 at Amazon (normally $45).
Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) for $30 at Amazon and Walmart (normally $40).
The Last of Us Part II (PS4) for $29.83 at Amazon and Walmart (available for $20 used at GameFly—normally $38).
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2: Launch Edition (Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox) for $29.99 at Amazon (normally $40).
Mafia: Definitive Edition (PS4, Xbox) for $29.97 at Amazon (normally $40).
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (Switch) for $14.96 at Walmart (normally $25).
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Switch) for $49.94 at Amazon (normally $60).