22 Awesome Gifts for $50 or Less

Sony’s new entry-level CH-720N noise-cancelling headphones came out this year and are pretty good , but if you can’t afford them (they list for $150), the company’s new budget on-ear CH-520 headphones are an interesting option for the price. They list for $77, but we’re currently seeing them on sale for under $60.

They don’t have noise cancellation and are pretty no-nonsense, but they offer good sound for the price, are lightweight and reasonably comfortable for on-ear headphones, and also have excellent battery life — they’re rated for up to 50 hours at moderate volume levels. What’s more, they have multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair them with two devices at once (like a smartphone and a computer) and swap audio between them. Voice call performance is decent, but not up to the level you get with the CH-720N.

Note that there is no wired option — these are wireless, Bluetooth-only headphones. The CH-520 offer an overall balanced sound with decent clarity. The bass has some punch but isn’t overwhelming, and you don’t get as wide a soundstage as you would with Sony’s more expensive over-ear headphones. That said, these definitely sound better than Sony’s previous entry-level on-ear headphones, and better than I thought they would. I tried the white color, but they also come in blue and black.