Verdict
Very Good - attend ( in an understated way ) and great - voice ( up to a distributor point ) , the Denon DHT - S517 has plenty to urge it . It ’s at loggerheads with its own subwoofer , though , and it ’s not without believable competition …
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
A 3.1.2Dolby Atmos soundbar / wireless subwoofer organisation , for well under £ 400 , by a trade name with nothing to prove ? Seems like a no - brainer , does n’t it ?
And yet Denon has a scrap on its hands to call on the DHT - S517 into a success story – after all , some of the big hitters around ( Sony and Sonos to name but two ) have likewise priced soundbars available that want to do a similar chore for you .
For the umteenth time on this website then , it becomes apparent that a ) nothing ’s aboveboard , and b ) you ’ve always got a choice to make .
The Denon DHT - S517 is on sales agreement now , and the prescribed assembly line is that it cost £ 379 . Do just a picayune inquiry though , and you ’ll realize there ’s no need to pay off that much – cough up any more than £ 329 and you ’re just not trying .
In the United States , meanwhile , you should look to make up no more than $ 399 , while in Australia consider AU$699 absolutely top belt .
Design
discreetness is a big part of the design brief where soundbars are concerned ( unless you’reBang & Olufsen ) , and the designer of the DHT - S517 has n’t tramp . The soundbar is slim and unnoticeable – it ’s a stripling 60 x 1050 x 95 mm ( HxWxD ) , so wo n’t take care out of billet in front of small television set and wo n’t foul the bottom of their screen either .
Or , at least , it wo n’t unless it ’s one of those CRT screen that tries to sit as close to the surface it ’s standing on as potential . And the soundbar count just 2.5 kilogram , too , so if you do make up one’s mind to put it on the paries using its integrated keyhole mounting it should prove problematic .
The wireless subwoofer that accompanies it , meanwhile , is an every bit trim 370 x 172 x 290 mm . It connects wirelessly to the soundbar , so is glad enough to be positioned more - or - less anywhere that ’s commodious – although it ’s important to bear in idea it needs plugging into the mains .
Both elements of the DHT - S517 are made almost whole of plastic – which is not a unfavorable judgment , you see , merely an observation . Build quality is well up to the standard everyone expects from Denon , the finish is evenly impressive – and the quantity of morose grey acoustical cloth that covers the business area of each speaker supply a little to the impression of timbre and understated good taste .
Features
The DHT - S517 wants to serve a 3.1.2 version ofDolby Atmosspatial audio soundtrack . Where the .1 is coming from is quite obvious : the wireless subwoofer is fit with a forward - firing 15 cm bass driver and a rear - venting bass reflex port wine . The amount of power that ’s available to move the driver is , for some understanding , not for public consumption .
The 3.2 is the responsibility of the soundbar , of form . Denon has fitted it with a 25 mm full - range driver set front - and - center to take care of centre - channel tariff , while at each end of the typeface there ’s a 120 x 40 mm track midrange driver in tandem with a 25 mm tweeter deal with the left- and right - television channel info .
On the top of the soundbar there are a couple of slatted grilles – behind each there ’s a 66 mm full - cooking stove driver , weight to best reach some reflectivity and furnish the transonic top that ’s the whole Dolby Atmos party - piece .
Getting the audio information on board in the first place can be reach in a number of way . Your well secure ( as far as spatial audio is concerned ) is to habituate theeARC - enabledHDMI socket on the rear of the soundbar – it ’s join there by asecond HDMI , a digital optical socket and a 3.5 mm analog input signal . There ’s also a USB slot purely for servicing . Wireless connectivity is limited toBluetooth .
The wireless connexion between soundbar and subwoofer happens almost the moment they are both powered up , but in the improbable outcome that they ca n’t regain each other without help there ’s a mate button on the subwoofer ’s rearward panel .
Exerting control over the DHT - S517 is dim-witted enough . The soundbar has some physical controls on its top , between the Atmos speaker grilles – here ’s where you’re able to make out with powerfulness on / off , bulk up / down , Bluetooth pairing and remark selection .
You ’ve also the option of the bundled remote - dominance French telephone – it ’s nothing particular to look at or to hold , but it covers all the controls already mentioned , and has a few more besides . Mute is available , as is an independent bass level control . There ’s no facility to adjust the crosswalk frequency between sub and soundbar , but you may at least equilibrise their relative production .
There ’s a midrange equivalent weight , call Dialogue Enhancer ( select High , Med or Low ) , some EQ presets ( Movie , Music and Night ) and a staring button that disables all the Denon ’s cagey audio processing and delivers medicine in genuine stereo .
The soundbar will let you make love what ’s what using a serial of four lilliputian light-emitting diode behind its acoustical fabric . book level , audio data formatting and select input are all unwrap – once you ’ve commit the import of unlike colours and different numbers game of luminance to memory , of grade .
Sound Quality
“ It ’s honest , but … ” is never the most encouraging way to start a word of the agency a speaker system of rules perform , but here we are . The Denon DHT - S517 is good , but it ’s not quite the gross solution .
trouble , such as they are , focalize almost entirely on the subwoofer . It ’s just not all that elaborated when it come to describing the bass clobber – so for all that it punches with actual solidity and very decent control , there ’s not an horrendous lot of variation in the sound it take a crap .
Dynamic headroom is all well and good – and this subwoofer has plenty , make no mistake – but without at least a hint of the wanton - and - shade that ’s as present at the bottom of the frequency reach as everywhere else , it ’s less convincing than it otherwise would be .
And it ’s not on the best of terms with its partnering soundbar . A lack of crossing over control is n’t an issue if the transition between the two speakers is nice and smooth , but here it just is n’t . The tip where audio ceases to be the soundbar ’s duty and becomes the subwoofer ’s trouble is all too apparent .
Elsewhere , though , the Denon is a fairish flake more effected . Its treble and midrange replication is tout ensemble more detailed and bring out than its bass activity , and unless you ’re heady with volume levels the top of the frequency range is a substantial , by rights textured and nicely contain listen .
The midrange is , if anything , even more telling : representative externalise well , have a scoop of distance in which to operate even if the soundtrack on the whole is kicking right off , and there ’s plenty of textural detail keep on and let out .
The soundstage is deserving praise too , both in terms of its musical scale and its organisation . The DHT - S517 is a far gravid listen than its physical dimensions might suggest , and lays out a wide , inscrutable stage on which a movie soundtrack can do its affair . The height effect of Atmos soundtracks is n’t the most pronounced , it ’s true … but it ’s there , and it ’s just as locked in place as everything else pass off on the stage .
It ’s deserving noting here , though , that every now and then the Denon does n’t recognize an incoming Dolby Atmos signal for what it is . So every now and then , it needs its HDMI cable unplugging and reattaching so as to get that cyan LED light that point an Atmos soundtrack to ignite up .
Effects direction is believable , the distance from left to right field is significant , and the soundbar is just as happy to parcel out with big dynamic variants as it is exposing the more minor dynamic conflict apparent in talking to pattern or melodic instruments .
Music , though , shakes the DHT - D517 ’s confidence a little . Its unity and positivity take a knocking , and on the spur of the moment it ’s apparent you ’re listening to quite a number of individual loudspeaker drivers rather than one fused loudspeaker . So time in particular , and expressiveness in general , read a bit of a hit .
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Should you buy it?
The craft - off between pronounced Dolby Atmos core and double-dyed ease of utilization is n’t too big .
If you require a full - on sensation of transonic height it ’s likely to be a mo more than Denon wants for the DHT - S517 .
Final Thoughts
No naturalistic client is expecting the full Dolby Atmos pyrotechnic from a system as affordable and heavyset as this one – and for sure enough , a relish is all you get . But nevertheless , its comfort of employment , its physical free will and its brand - name carry it quite a long way of life , and the bulk of its transonic feature stockpile it further still . With a better - sorted subwoofer it would be an even stronger contender .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every soundbar we go over thoroughly over an prolonged period of metre . We employ industriousness standard trial to compare features properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to go over a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
Bass can be adjusted on the soundbar with the single bass part mastery on the remote .
Full Specs
Sustainability
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As part of this mission , whenever we look back a product we station the company a series of questions to help us gauge and make see-through the encroachment the twist has on the environment .
We currently have n’t received answers to the questions on this product , but will update this page the second we do . you’re able to see a elaborate breakdown of the questions we ask and why in oursustainability info Sir Frederick Handley Page .
