Rather than getting sucked into the Black Friday whirlwind and spending on things that you didn't really want before, I always recommend buying just one worthwhile investment that will last for years and elevate your home or life.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, discounted by $300 for Black Friday, is the exact buy. It's a sophisticated sound system packaged into a single, slimline device that can fill the room with rich audio and surround sound.
Why I Recommend the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar as the Ultimate Black Friday Deal
Detailed clarity, big rooms, and rich trebles – the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar impresses across the board.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar delivers some of the most impressive audio I've ever heard from a soundbar – or any single device for that matter – and it's now just $699, which is an absolute steal considering what it offers.
And as Homes & Gardens' resident soundbar tester and a shopping writer of four years, this is how to use Black Friday to your advantage. Although it can be hard to ignore flashy deals and big savings, I don't see much value in buying things you previously didn't need.
Instead, I always treat Black Friday as an opportunity to bag something worthwhile for a fraction of the retail price. It means you're saving $100s on something that'll improve your life, rather than spending hard-earned cash on something that simply seems exciting.
But what makes the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar so worth it? It can produce hyper-realistic surround sound, which is so immersive when watching movies that you can hear what feels like characters approaching from every corner of your movie room.
This is owed to the masterful sound balance that Bose achieved with this flagship offering. Bass, mids and trebles all sound true-to-form, and you get deep rumbles and rich highs without them ever overpowering the subtle details.
The fast-paced action sequences in John Wick: Chapter 2 and Avengers: Infinity War demonstrated this beautifully. With lots going on, I could feel the rumbles beneath my feet and the loud booms surrounding my head, but I could also still hear individual voices in the crowd, and the rasps in a character's voice.
That's what creates an impressive, theater-level soundscape. Being able to experience the big booms, while also being able to hear exactly where a coin was dropped, for example, has you feeling like you're right there in the scene. That's something exciting Christmas films have a lot of, and elevating your audio setup will make those cozy nights in this winter even more enjoyable.
One of the most impressive showings of the clear, directional Bose sound for me was during Princess Mononoke, one of my all-time favorite films, where I could hear a character's echoing voice sounding both near and far at the same time. It's incredible to think it all just came from my TV stand.
And if, like me, you enjoy high-fidelity music, the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is perfect. Its nine speakers – including three tweeters and a dedicated subwoofer – produce well-rounded sound where every instrument and vocal sounds rich, clear, and powerful.
I tested it across rock, electronic, hip-hop, jazz, and much more – and at no point did the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar disappoint. Instantly, I knew it would make a substantial addition to any music room setup.
However, it's a little slower to set up than other soundbars such as the Sonos Arc Ultra or the Fire TV Soundbar Plus, but while its design isn't plug-and-play, it is one of the more stylish options in this premium genre of soundbars.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is discounted to $699 from $999 at Bose, available in black or white.
More to Shop
Here are a few more of our top soundbar picks that will elevate your home entertainment, this holiday season and beyond, which also happen to be on offer for Black Friday.
All prices correct at time of publication.
Now $100 cheaper for Black Friday, the Fire TV Soundbar Plus may not sound as powerful or detailed as the Bose, but for this low price, you'd be surprised at how much extra oomph it delivers.
Read more in my full Fire TV Soundbar Plus review.
For the same price as the Bose Smart Ultra, you could get a full sound system with a dedicated subwoofer and two surround speakers. It takes up more space, but you can't beat the level of customization offered by positioning speakers around the room and adjusting the sound of each ones.
Read more in my full Samsung HW-QS750F review.
Or, if you want the best of the best, the Sonos Arc Ultra outperformed every soundbar we've tested. In all honesty, the Bose Smart Ultra's sound really isn't that far off the quality of the Sonos, but the Sonos' 14 built-in speakers deliver more impressive booms and gorgeous-sounding music.
Read more in my five-star Sonos Arc Ultra review.
Next, learn how to hide a soundbar in your living room, and avoid this common soundbar placement mistake.
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