Amazon Prime Day is swiftly approaching, which can only mean one thing: the early deals are here. Despite the sales event not officially kicking off for another two weeks, we're already seeing savings on some of our favourite home cinema products.
Take the Sony HT-S2000, for example, which is a terrific soundbar for the money. It's a simple, effective plug-and-play option for enhancing your TV's sound, and we thoroughly approved of it in our full review.
We tested the 'bar at £349, and deemed it a great value soundbar at that price. However, a saving on Amazon has knocked that price down to just £270; that's a rather tasty saving of £79, not bad at all.
While that deal is a pretty solid savings, there is a better deal out there, though it does involve spending a little bit more money.
The Sonos Beam Gen 2, a serial Award-winner and benchmark product at this price point, is also on sale at its lowest ever price.
At £299 on Amazon, the Beam is currently £200 off the £499 price we tested it at. For some odd reason that we can't quite work out, this deal only applies to the white finish, though this deal is so good that we don't mind.
While we still stand by our recommendation of the Sony, we have to go with the Sonos as the price difference is so close for quite a substantial upgrade.
The Beam Gen 2 adds a considerable number of features compared to the Sony, including wireless streaming and access to voice assistants. It also sounds much richer, with better Dolby Atmos height effects and greater detail levels.
While the Beam doesn't feature dedicated upward-firing height channels – not that we'd expect to see this in a 'bar of this price and size – it does use clever audio processing to emulate Dolby Atmos height effects, and we can attest to how effective this method is.
Furthermore, those who already own products within the Sonos ecosystem will be able to link the Beam to their other speakers for a fully integrated multiroom arrangement.
And, if you're curious about a full surround sound setup, then the Sonos is the one to go for, as it's compatible with other Sonos smart speakers (which can be used as wireless surrounds), as well as the Sonos Sub 4 and Sonos Sub Mini.
While the features and performance disparity didn't hold the Sony back when there was a £150 difference between it and the Sonos, a £29 difference is where things get awkward for the Sony.
If you want a direct comparison between these two 'bars, then here's what we said in our Sony soundbar review:
"Is the sound upgrade of the Beam worth an additional third of the price of the Sony? Being the sonic snobs we are, we believe it is, but the Sony isn't a million miles off, so if that extra saving over the Sonos is important to you, it will serve you well."
We deemed the Beam to be a worthy upgrade over the Sony at full price if you're budget had some wiggle room.
Therefore, we would recommend spending the modest amount of extra cash courtesy of this deal, as you'll be rewarded with a much more capable soundbar.
With the Sonos Beam Gen 2 now at its lowest price at Amazon, now is a perfect time to pick up this superb Dolby Atmos soundbar.
MORE:
Here are our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars
As well as our full Sonos Beam Gen 2 review
And check out our Sonos Beam Gen 3 price predictions, potential release date and wishlist
