Black Friday can become a bit predictable with each year that passes. We expect the usual hundreds of hundreds of pounds slashed from the price tags of flagship TVs and the usual suspect soundbars often get a hearty discount too, but it's nice to be surprised sometimes.
After all, Black Friday is about finding that hidden gem of a deal and feeling triumphant in saving hundreds on some top-quality home cinema and AV tech. So, while they're few and far between, we've sought out the most surprising Black Friday deals that spotlight truly great deals on top-notch TVs, soundbars, AVRs and speaker packages.
However, there's also a deal that hasn't really been worth the wait, while another one of our favourite products hasn't been discounted at all. These have been noted, and we've also vented our frustrations on this page too.
The 5 best surprise Black Friday AV and TV deals
Starting with this incredible Denon deal, you can save £370 on this Award-winning AVR right now, dropping the price down to £370. Its rich, dynamic and broad cinematic sound is certainly a steal at this price, while its spectacular spread of connectivity options including three HDMI 2.1 connectors for 4K/120Hz gaming, VRR and ALLM is the icing on the cake.
It also supports all of the primary HDR standards we'd expect including HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision and HLG, making it an AVR that impresses us both audibly and visually.
While it's not the cheapest Dolby Atmos soundbar deal out there right now (you can find 8 of the best Dolby Atmos soundbar deals here) it's a nice surprise to see Sennheiser cut a fair chunk off the Ambeo Plus' asking price.
This five-star soundbar is usually overshadowed by the Sonos Arc and Sony HT-A7000 who both greatly undercut it in the price department while offering a competitive performance. Black Friday has turned the tide, however, making this soundbar cheaper than the Sony HT-A7000 and therefore, a pretty solid choice if you want a top-notch performer.
Its punchy, textured and dynamic presentation is certainly worth the money at this price, while its impressively broad soundstage can seriously add some cinematic oomph to your TV's sound.
TCL's flagship Mini LED snatched up a What Hi-Fi? Award just a couple of weeks ago, and for good reason too. Its punchy, vibrant picture is backed up with dazzling brightness and impressive clarity, all while being much cheaper than other flagship sets on the market. It's also got some seriously impressive gaming chops, with the ability to reach a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz; ideal if you like to hook your PC up to your TV.
We were pleasantly surprised to see it in the Black Friday sales, and even more impressed when we saw it had dipped below a grand for the 65-inch model. At this price, we're struggling to think of a reason not to recommend it.
Now who doesn't like an OLED TV? This is LG's former flagship 4K model, launching last year to critical acclaim. The G2 is still a stunner of a TV, and right now it's the same price as this year's step-down model — the LG C3 OLED.
With its punchy, crisp and dynamic picture, LG struck gold with the G2 and while we also love this year's G3, it's certainly not dropped to this sort of money. With £1200 off the asking price, this is a prime example of bypassing the latest model to score yourself a stellar deal on a still fantastic TV.
Another What Hi-Fi? 2023 Award winner here, Bowers & Wilkins' home cinema speaker set includes two pairs of speakers we already raved about, so there was no surprise when it won the coveted Product of the Year award in the speaker packages category.
What is surprising is seeing it at this price, as £750 off is a mighty fine saving. It's an ideal alternative for those who don't fancy big, bulky floorstanding speakers and would rather opt for something a bit sleeker and more understated; without sacrificing sound quality of course.
The 3 biggest Black Friday disappointments
This might be controversial as technically this is a great deal on a brilliant TV. The LG OLED42C3 is the gaming TV of our dreams, and it's practically the only TV of this size worth buying; so if you've bought one this Black Friday we don't blame you.
However, last year we saw its predecessor, the LG C2 OLED 42-inch, drop to as low as £699, something we would have liked to see the C3 follow suit with. I suppose we can't have it all, but it's worth noting that there are alternatives. For example, the slightly larger 48-inch LG C2 is also down to £899, meaning you can get a bigger TV with practically the same feature set and picture performance, for the same price.
A major disappointment that's plagued us this Black Friday is the total lack of deals on the Sony TA-AN1000. Despite it dropping to £799 during Amazon's latest Prime Day sales, there are no savings to be had right now, with the price sticking firm at £999.
While it's still an AV amplifier we can heartily recommend at full price, we would have liked to have seen it go down to its previous lowest price, and because it hasn't we've opted to recommend the Denon AVR-X28000H at its incredibly competitive price.
The same sentiment is felt with the Apple TV 4K (2022), which is sticking firm at £169. We know Apple doesn't tend to drop the price of its hardware during these sales periods, but it's still frustrating not to be able to recommend a good deal on our Award-winning media streamer.
Google and Amazon have both heavily slashed the prices of their respective 4K streamers, but the Apple TV is so good that we'd still recommend it as the streamer to splurge on this Black Friday.
MORE:
Check out the best Black Friday deals
As well as the 8 best Black Friday deals on Dolby Atmos soundbars
