Why let a little thing like it actually being a Thursday stop you enjoying Black Friday 2024 savings in earnest? That seems to be the philosophy going around Amazon and most retailers this year.
And while that does slightly kill my soul and make the whole event feel a little less special – I remember when Black Friday was a physical event where people had mere minutes to get their hands on the best deals – I’ve already spotted not one, but four silver linings.
Specifically, there are a wealth of excellent discounts doing the rounds on some of 2024’s best Dolby Atmos surround-sound packages, marking the perfect opportunity for any home cinema enthusiast to embrace the “dome of sound” movie experience.
These are the four that I, and the wider What Hi-Fi? home cinema reviews team, are most excited about.
1. Sonos Arc
All the headlines may currently be about the new Sonos Arc Ultra, and for good reason. Having finally finished testing it, our reviewers can safely confirm it’s one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars ever made, and a fantastic option for any movie fan. Hence its perfect five-star rating.
But, its arrival means that the still very competitive original Sonos Arc has had its price outright slashed this Black Friday. Specifically you can buy the original Sonos Arc for £629 at Sevenoaks Sound and Vision. That’s a giant £270 saving on its regular price and the cheapest we’ve ever seen it sell for.
If you’re interested we recommend you jump on the deal fast for two reasons.
First, because it makes the Arc far cheaper than the Ultra, which costs £1000. Having run the two head to head during our review testing we can confirm that while the Ultra is fantastic and offers many improvements, especially for height and low-end heft, the first generation Arc is still excellent – and easily one of the top performers you’ll find at its current discounted price.
Second, because the Ultra will replace, not sit alongside, the original Arc. Sonos has confirmed the Arc will instead be retired, so once stocks are gone, you won’t be able to buy one.
2. The Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9
If you fancy splashing a little more on your next soundbar, I’d suggest looking at the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9. Despite being incredibly new, Sevenoaks Sound and Vision is currently selling the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 for £999, a £400 saving on its regular £1399 price.
That’s the best price we’ve ever seen it retail for. The reason I recommend it so highly is more to do with its stellar performance, however. The Theatre Bar 9 is a What Hi-Fi? Awards 2024 winner and one of the best premium Dolby Atmos soundbars currently available.
Highlights include a clever 13-driver set-up. This pairs four front woofers and three standard tweeters and two beam tweeters on the side. Up top, these are complemented by two up-firing speakers. The latter lets it offer one of the best Atmos experiences we’ve encountered without full fat ceiling mounted speakers. Add to this its superb clarity, detail and dynamic punch and it’s hard not to recommend, especially with its current discount.
3. Sony HT-A9
As professional shiny-things chasers, myself and the What Hi-Fi? team understands the urge to focus on the latest and greatest hardware. Which is why if you’re looking for a fully wireless, multi-speaker Dolby Atmos system, your eye may naturally have fallen on the current deal on Sony’s flagship Bravia Theatre Quad. And there’s nothing wrong with that! It’s actually a very good deal that lets you buy the Sony Bravia Theatre Quad for £1999 at Sevenoaks Sound and Vision – a solid £500 saving on its regular price.
But for myself and the team, it’s actually the Sony HT-A9 that’s worth looking at. The five star system may be older, but like the Arc further up this list, it’s still remarkably competitive. It’s also much cheaper as VIP members can buy the Sony HT-A9 for £1399 at Richer Sounds, a £200 saving on its regular price. If you’re not a VIP, don’t worry, all you have to do is sign up for a free account on Richer Sounds’ website.
The HT-A9 offers the same core wireless Atmos set-up as the Quad, working with four fully wireless speakers that pair with a control box you attach to your TV. It remains a favourite among our team thanks to its simple set-up, non-fussy nature and wide, detailed and dynamic audio – which are key reasons our home cinema editor continues to uses one in his house to this day.
4. Samsung HW-Q990D
Finally, if you’re after a full Dolby Atmos system with a bit more low end heft, I’d recommend looking at the latest deal on the Samsung HW-Q990D. The deal lets you grab the Samsung HW-Q990D system for £1199 at John Lewis, a healthy £500 saving on its regular price.
For the money you get a full system that combines a central soundbar with twin wireless satellite speakers and a wireless subwoofer. The entire package adds up to a 22-driver set-up that can deliver 11.1.4-channel Dolby Atmos surround sound.
The reason I recommend it over competing soundbar surround-sound systems is that, based on our testing, it’s not only Samsung’s finest Atmos set-up to date, it’s one of the best on the market holistically – hence why it has a perfect five-star rating. During all our checks the unit delivered a large, immersive and three-dimensional sound with plenty of bass. So if you care about having plenty of low-end heft for your home cinema audio, this is the one to get.
MORE:
These are the best Black Friday soundbar deals we’ve spotted
Our picks of the best OLED TV deals
We rate the best soundbars
