As a veteran of more Black Fridays than I can count, I’ve learnt that the best way to grab a genuine bargain on something like one of the best soundbars is to plan in advance. That’s partly because a bargain on something you didn’t really want isn’t really a bargain. But it’s more because if you choose your shortlist carefully there’s a very high likelihood of getting what you want for the price you want to pay.
So how do you do that?
I’d say the first thing to do is to skip the most recent releases: a soundbar that only launched last month is unlikely to get any good discounting (although sometimes there are surprises). Whereas products that have been out for a while are ripe for discounting – and if they’re from a big brand with wide appeal, that improves the chances of getting a decent deal. Many retailers like to lure you into their Black Friday events by offering deals on desirable brands in the hope that you’ll end up buying more things too.
Don’t ignore less well-known brands, though: some of our favorite budget buys already punch way above their price tag, and could get even more affordable during what’s become the key pre-holiday shopping event. Here are three soundbars I’d suggest for your shortlist.
Sony HT-2000: A Sonos alternative with a surprisingly big sound
In our Sony HT-2000 soundbar review we gave this excellent soundbar four and a half out of five stars: it’s reasonably priced and delivers a surprisingly big sound from its compact chassis. It’s particularly good at handling dialog in movies and the bass is much better than many similarly priced rivals.
The headline features here are impressive Dolby Atmos and DTS:X performance thanks to Sony’s clever audio processing, and while there are a few limitations – if you want to use it as a streaming speaker you’re limited to Bluetooth quality, and there’s no voice assistant support – neither of those things would be a deal-breaker for me, because I just want a soundbar that sounds excellent and doesn’t cost too much money. And this Sony delivers on both fronts.
I’m pretty certain you’ll see Black Friday deals on this model, because they’ve already started: at the time of writing Amazon UK is listing it for £299, down from £449, and Amazon US is listing it for $298, down from $499.
Sonos Ray: the smallest Sonos soundbar packs a punch
We think that the Sonos Ray is the ideal affordable soundbar for older or smaller TVs: it’s a good fit for TVs between 24 and 50 inches. It’s an excellent upgrade for those TVs’ audio systems, and it’s particularly good for movie dialog. With four speaker drivers plus bass ports, it adds the low-end thump as well as overall clarity that so many smaller TVs lack.
In our Sonos Ray review we said it is a “massive, massive upgrade over TV speakers” with decent bass and very clear speech. It’s really good for music – we thought it was best-in-class for that in its price bracket – and features “top-tier” wireless streaming over Wi-Fi.
At full price – it launched at £279 / $279 / AU$399 – we felt that it was a very solid buy if not a bargain. But the street price has dropped considerably since then and I’d expect it to go lower this month.
Ultimea Poseidon D50: surround sound for an ultra-low price
I’m seeing multiple discount deals on this ultra-affordable soundbar already, so this is shaping up to be a huge Black Friday bargain: the D50 initially launched at £169 / $219 but the official has since dropped to £149 / $119 (about AU$180) and deals have driven the price down even further.
Even at its original price, this soundbar system was extremely cheap – and cheap in this case doesn’t mean nasty. In our Ultimea Poseidon D50 review we gave it four stars and said that it was a refreshing product: it’s not particularly bothered about looking pretty or wowing you with a list of features you’ll never use; it simply gives you a solid overall package comprising a main soundbar, a subwoofer and two surround satellite speakers.
The D50 doesn’t do Dolby Atmos or DTS:X but it’s way louder and much more bassy than the speakers in most TVs and makes movies and gaming much more fun. We enjoyed its performance in live sports and liked the whooshing fighter jets in Top Gun: Maverick, and it does a decent job in music too. If you’d like to upgrade your TV’s audio without breaking the bank, this is one of the most affordable ways to do it.
More Black Friday deals in the US
- Amazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums
- Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $119
- Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
- Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
- Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets
- Lowe’s: up to 30% off appliances, holiday decor & tools
- Target: 40% off Christmas decor, clothing & furniture
- Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69
- Wayfair: 54% off Christmas, furniture & decor
More Black Friday deals in the UK
- Amazon: up to 66% off tech & essentials
- AO: up to £500 off Dyson, Bosch & Hisense
- Argos: up to 50% off appliances, tech & toys
- Currys: deals on Ninja, Shark & Lenovo
- Dell: laptops from £279
- Dyson: up to £550 off vacuums
- John Lewis: up to 50% off tech & fashion
- Ninja: up to 30% off air fryers & blenders
- Samsung: deals on appliances & phones
- Shark: up to £130 off vacuums & fans
- Very: up to 40% off tech, toys & fashion
