I love the Sonos Arc and it's cheap right now, but you should buy this instead

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Sonos has taken a lot of flak lately – much of it justified, some of it not – which is probably why it has been so aggressive with pricing during Prime Day in October, aka Amazon Big Deal Days.

Right now, you can buy the Sonos Ray for just £149 direct from Sonos, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 for £315 at Sevenoaks, and the flagship Sonos Arc for £630 at Amazon. Great deals all.

I'm personally a big fan of all of those Sonos soundbars, but I absolutely love the Arc. In 'normal' times, I think it's the best performance-per-pound soundbar you can buy. But these aren't normal times, and there is an alternative deal that is so ludicrously good, it makes the Arc look like a rip-off, even with that big discount.

That deal is on the Samsung HW-Q990D which, once cashback is factored in, can be yours for just £579 from Richer Sounds.

Plainly speaking, that's a bonkers deal. The Samsung Q990D isn't just a soundbar: it's a soundbar, a pair of wireless surround speakers and a wireless subwoofer; it's an 11.1.4-channel Dolby Atmos system in a box with twin HDMI 2.1 inputs (the Sonos has none). And it launched just a few months ago for a price of £1699, with the previous best deal price having been about £1000.

It's also, as of today, a What Hi-Fi? Award-winner.

So yes, while I love the Sonos Arc and it is pretty much as cheap as it gets right now, you shouldn't buy it. You should buy the Samsung HW-Q990D instead.

Samsung HW-Q990D was £1699 now £579 at Richer Sounds (save £1120) via cashback
Our favourite Dolby Atmos soundbar system, the Samsung HW-Q990D is what our expert reviews team called "a hugely compelling package overall" thanks to its big, immersive and three-dimensional sound. It is not only a superb choice for movie enthusiasts but also gamers courtesy of its twin 4K/120Hz HDMI 2.1 inputs. Getting this price involves claiming cashback. You pay £979 upfront, then put in a cashback claim for £400 (maybe even £500) with Samsung. T&Cs here.
What Hi-Fi? Award-winner

As mentioned a couple of times now, getting that price does involve claiming cashback from Samsung. That sort of thing usually puts me off, but in this case the deal is just too amazing to ignore.

The price you pay upfront is £979 but, once you have bought the system, you can then place a cashback claim directly with Samsung.

Richer Sounds says this cashback amount is £400, hence the £579 price it and we are quoting, but Samsung's T&Cs suggest the cashback amount on this specific item is in fact £500, potentially dropping the final price you pay to just £479. Either way, this is an incredible deal.

For what it's worth, you can buy the Q990D elsewhere and still claim the cashback from Samsung (the full list of qualifying retailers is also in the Samsung T&Cs), but Richer Sounds is already offering the best price, so that's where I would buy it from.

MORE:

These are the best TV deals available right now

Here's our full Samsung HW-Q990D review

And here are the best Prime Day in October deals still live

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Tom Parsons has been writing about TV, AV and hi-fi products (not to mention plenty of other 'gadgets' and even cars) for over 15 years. He began his career as What Hi-Fi?'s Staff Writer and is now the TV and AV Editor. In between, he worked as Reviews Editor and then Deputy Editor at Stuff, and over the years has had his work featured in publications such as T3, The Telegraph and Louder. He's also appeared on BBC News, BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4 and Sky Swipe. In his spare time Tom is a runner and gamer.