Real discounts cluster around generation changes and around festive offers, and only the first of those is reliable. Waiting for a sale is sensible for some purchases and a slow way to not own a system for others.
Generation changes are the real thing. A new series launches, the outgoing model becomes cheaper, and for a while you can buy last year's very good AVR or speaker at a price that reflects the calendar rather than the sound. AV gear is not a phone; stable models hold their price for long stretches, and the moment they move is when a successor appears on the manufacturer's site. Is that the moment to ask us what the outgoing one costs? Yes, and that is a fair question rather than a cheeky one.
Festive offers range from real to cosmetic. The way to tell them apart is boring: track the authorised-market price of the item you want for a few weeks before the "sale", and check that the discounted unit is current stock with full warranty as per brand and distributor policy. A price that was raised in September and reduced in October is a marketing exercise, not a discount. If the number under the crossed-out number is what it was all along, nothing happened.
What I would caution against is the other failure: waiting six months to save a small percentage while the system you would have enjoyed sits unbought. Six months of films through television speakers to save a few percent on a subwoofer is a poor trade, particularly on speakers, whose prices in India move slowly and whose value to you starts on the day they go in.
The rule of thumb, then. Electronics with an obvious successor due: wait, or ask about the outgoing model. Speakers and subwoofers you have chosen carefully: buy when the room is ready. Everything else: check the price history before you believe the banner.
If you tell us which model you are watching, we can usually say whether anything is due to move on it.
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