Denon DHT-S517 review: Affordable Atmos

Best Prices Today: Denon DHT-S517

$426.55

$449.98

The Denon DHT-S517 is a soundbar and subwoofer combo that won’t break the bank. It has plenty of ways to connect to your TV and is easy to use, even if you’re not the most tech-savvy. Moreover, it supports Dolby Atmos, giving you a spatial audio experience.

However, it is a crowded market, with rivals also offering affordable home entertainment audio systems. Can Denon’s soundbar beat them?

Design and build

• Light and compact
• Manual top button controls
• Companion remote for power, volume and EQ modes

The Denon DHT-S517 shares a very similar build to its more affordable sibling, the Denon DHT-S416, in that the overall finish is understated.

The back is matte black plastic, while the front is covered in gray fabric to keep everything clean, with the Denon logo in the centre. There are LED lights on the front to indicate your volume and bass levels. These also flash different colors to let you know how the soundbar is connecting and when Atmos is on.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

If you have a smaller TV, then the good news is that the Denon DHT-S517 won’t outshine it. It’s reasonably compact, although just over a meter long, and weighs 2.5kg, so it’s light enough for wall mounting, if desired. At the top there are buttons for power, volume, Bluetooth connection and input source.

The subwoofer connects wirelessly to the soundbar, although it still needs to be plugged in for power. This shares the same lightweight and low-profile design.

The Denon DHT-S517 comes with a remote that lets you control power, connection type, volume, bass, and EQ modes. While everything is clearly labelled, the remote is on the flimsy slide and could do with more pronounced, brightly colored buttons for users with accessibility needs.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Connectivity and Setup

• eARC and optical connections
• Bluetooth 5.0
• No real smart features

Setting up the Denon DHT-S517 is a breeze – once everything is hooked up, it just about works.

The back of the soundbar includes an HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) input, an optical cable port, an additional HDMI port, a power port and a USB-C slot for factory updates .

You’ll want to use this eARC connection for your TV if you want the benefits of Dolby Atmos or if you want to control speaker volume using your TV remote.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

If you’re watching through a media player, you should also make sure it supports Dolby Atmos and that the content you’re watching is optimized for it. You should be able to find the first online, and the second should show up in whatever digital library it’s in, if you’re streaming.

You’ll know when the Denon DHT-S517 is outputting Dolby Atmos because the light will turn aqua. It also turns green when the audio output is Dolby Digital.

Although the soundbar supports wireless Bluetooth connectivity, it does not support Google Chromecast or AirPlay, so it cannot connect to smart speakers or be used to stream audio. It also doesn’t have Google Assistant or Alexa support, so voice control isn’t possible.

Also, the Bluetooth connection only supports the A2DP codec, with no LDAC or aptX support. For better sound quality, you should opt for a wired connection.

Sound quality

• Impressive Dolby Atmos support
• Subwoofer suitable for small spaces
• Three EQ modes

There’s no denying that the Denon DHT-S517 is a solid soundbar for the price.

The bar itself packs an impressive seven drivers, with a dedicated center channel, mid-range driver and tweeter at each end, and a pair of speakers that power Atmos effects. All of this is combined with the included subwoofer, which handles the low end.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Dolby Atmos surround sound support works well. Streaming Avengers: Infinity War on Disney+, the sounds of gunfire and sci-fi machinery sounded like they echoed through the room, improving the experience over Spider-Man: Far From Home without Atmos.

That’s not to say the sound suffers too much without Atmos, whether it’s Spider-Man or the rich music of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Dialogue is balanced with music and sound effects, with fine detail present where it wouldn’t be on your TV’s built-in speakers.

The speaker is certainly best suited for a TV, however, and less impressive as a music player. While pop and rock songs sound well-balanced and impressive, high notes in some genres were hard to hear, with the flute in Emmelie de Forest’s “Teardrops” and the strings in Sebastian Bohm’s “Blue Monday” remix. getting lost in the mix. .

I wasn’t blown away by the bass either. Both speakers are probably fine for my London flat with close neighbours, but even so I tended to set the bass to max to get enough.

If you’re looking for room-filling rumble with your movies and music and have a bigger space to fill, you should consider upgrading to a larger, more powerful soundbar and subwoofer combo.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

There are dedicated EQ modes for movies and music, along with a night mode that automatically reduces bass and volume to socially acceptable levels, and a ‘pure’ mode for relatively unchanged sound.

There are also three levels of ‘dialogue enhancement’ available, which basically control the mids, and could be useful if you’re having trouble distinguishing conversation from background noise in movies and TV. I found that enabling this feature made vocals a bit too high-pitched and grating – the soundbar is clear enough without it.

Pricing & Availability

The Denon DHT-S517 soundbar has an official price of $449 / £379, but at the time of writing many retailers are selling it for significantly less than that. You can currently buy it from Denon in the US and from Denon, Amazon and Currys in the UK.

This reduced price makes it a very compelling option for a soundbar with Dolby Atmos. However, it’s not as cheap as the Creative Stage 360 ​​which also offers Atmos and a compact build. For another spatial sound option, you could also consider the Polk MagniFi 2 – although it’s a much bigger device.

You can find other options in our chart of the best soundbars. We also have a similar roundup for the best TVs if you want to complete your home entertainment setup.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Verdict

If you’re looking for the Dolby Atmos experience without breaking the bank, the Denon DHT-S517 soundbar is a great choice, especially if you’re looking to enhance your movie and gaming experiences.

It’s not quite perfect – the bass isn’t the strongest if you’ve got a big room to fill without turning up the volume, and it lacks smart features like Chromecast and Alexa support. Nonetheless, this is an easy-to-use soundbar that packs impressive sound for a solid price.

Specifications

• Two 1-inch tweeters, two 4.7-inch midrange speakers, one 1-inch full-range speaker, two 2.5-inch speakers, and one 5-inch bass speaker, 9 inch (subwoofer)
• Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS decoding
• HDMI in/out with ARC (4K support with HCDP 2.2, Dolby Vision and HDR10)
• In the
• Optical input
• Bluetooth
• USB port (service only)
• Bluetooth support
• Music, Movie, Night, Pure and Dialog Enhancer EQ modes
• Soundbar: 1050 x 60 x 95 mm, 2.5 kg
• Subwoofer: 172 x 370 x 290 mm, 4.3 kg