Released back in 2020, the Sonos Arc proved to us that soundbars aren't a substandard method to achieve Dolby Atmos without a home theatre speaker system, and it has since gone on to become one of our favourite pieces of home cinema kit, winning multiple What Hi-Fi? Awards and even been inducted into our Hall of Fame – high praise indeed.
So why are we telling you not to buy one unless it drops below £750, especially when it usually retails for closer to £900? Well, it all hinges on Amazon Prime Day, which is fast approaching; although we don't have an official date for that day of savings quite yet, it usually falls in mid-July, meaning we could be exactly a month away.
Unless you need a soundbar right this very moment, we implore you to hold out for Prime Day, as it's usually the best time to snap up savings on AV gear, not counting Black Friday in November of course.
Why wait for Prime Day?
While it might not rival Black Friday or Cyber Monday, Prime Day is one of the biggest sale events this side of Autumn, making it a great opportunity to save some serious cash if you're in the market for a new soundbar this summer.
Just over a week ago, we saw the Arc plummet to its lowest price ever at £649 on Amazon (for the black model) and Richer Sounds (for the white variant), which has set some alarm bells ringing here – could we see this deal return in just a few short weeks? It's possible and certainly worth the wait if it means a potential saving of £250. That being said, a deal this good isn't guaranteed, with the Arc's price fluctuating greatly depending on the type of sale.
For instance, Price Spy reports that on Cyber Monday it dropped to as low as £510, which sounds a bit too good to be true. A more accurate figure would be in the £650 to £700 range, which is still a very good deal. Black Friday last year wasn't quite as enticing, as it looks like the Arc was just £50 off at £749 – fingers crossed for bigger savings this Prime Day.
What we can say for sure is that right now is the worst time to buy a Sonos Arc, as it is as expensive as it can realistically be. At the time of writing, the price for the Sonos Arc on Amazon (through its selection of retailers) is £899. This is the standard recommended retail price of the Arc, however, it originally retailed for £799 before Sonos announced a price increase to its entire product range back in 2021. There is a listing for £799 labelled as Amazon EU, however, we recommend you avoid this one as it includes import fees, which suggests it might be an international model.
Even if it's not part of the upcoming Prime Day sales, a deal on the Sonos Arc is bound to crop up sooner or later, it's all about patience and timing. We have our eyes peeled constantly for the best soundbar deals, so stay posted if you want to take advantage of serious Sonos soundbar savings. But as for right now, we recommend saving your money and holding out for a deal, as £899 is no small price to pay even for a soundbar this good.
Best Sonos Arc alternatives
While we sincerely hope the Sonos Arc goes on sale this Prime Day, there's always the chance it may not, which is why we've selected some backup options. These Dolby Atmos soundbars have been tested and approved by us, meaning you'll get a mix of excellent immersive sound and quality features. We've tried to aim for a similar price to the Sonos Arc, however, some options may be slightly more expensive – although they too have been subject to hefty previous discounts which could strike again this Prime Day.
Let's start with the Sony HT-A5000, a direct competitor to the Arc with the same £899 price tag. We had plenty of nice things to say about the A5000 in our review, from its powerful and well-measured sound, to its broad soundstage and robust bass, the Sony HT-A5000 ticks a lot of boxes for those in the market for a Dolby Atmos soundbar. It's only the slightly boxy-sounding voices and underwhelming height drivers (something that the Arc is renowned for doing really well) that hold it back from outshining the Sonos. That being said, it's a worthy competitor, and a soundbar you should have on your radar when Prime Day rolls around, especially as previous sale prices have dropped as low as £589 on Amazon in December of last year.
Next up we have the Bose Smart Soundbar 900, which too retails for nearly £900 on most days. It's a sleek, fashion-forward option for those with an eye for interior design and it helps that it sounds pretty good too. While it doesn't outperform the Arc, we still complimented its wide soundstage with its TrueSpace function switched on, and its Dolby Atmos performance was equally well received with appropriate directionality of sound and clarity. While we felt that the height channels were a bit restrained, and the low end could be more dynamic, the Smart SoundBar 900 still proved to be a capable (and super stylish) Dolby Atmos soundbar. You'll also be pleased to hear that it is often subject to some pretty sweet savings, as right now it can be snapped up for £785 (a saving of £115), although previous sale prices indicate that the Smart Soundbar 900 has dipped as low as £699 in March of this year; hopefully, this deal remerges on Prime Day.
Finishing things off with a pricier option, but arguably the best alternative on this list, the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus. This slimmed-down Ambeo takes plenty of the best characteristics found on the monstrous Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max and fits them into a more palatable form factor (and price range). The Ambeo Plus is a top-notch performer, with its detailed, expansive and rich sound that also happens to provide the most convincing Atmos experience out of these three bars. It is quite pricey at its usual asking price of £1299, however, it was recently spotted on Amazon for £1090, that's over £200 of savings. We understand that this might be stretching the budget slightly; however, let's say that hypothetically the Sennheiser goes on sale again and the Sonos remains at £900, then the disparity of prices between these two bars is looking much closer.
That being said, we know how hard it is to be patient, and if your heart is set on the Arc then we wouldn't blame you for biting the bullet and buying one at full price. We gave the Sonos Arc a five-star review at its original retail price, not to mention its various Awards, so the likelihood is that you'll be happy with the Arc even at full price. However, if you can meditate on it and hold fire on hitting that "buy now" button, you may be in for a serious case of delayed gratification.
MORE:
Check out our picks for the best soundbars
As well as the best soundbar deals
Read our latest Sony HT-A3000 soundbar review