Atmos 'bar a better bet for gamers?
Home Cinema Choice|Spring 2022
Denon's DHT-S517 is a high-quality TV audio upgrade, but Steve May questions if its compact nature is really made for movie night
Steve May
Atmos 'bar a better bet for gamers?
DENON'S DHT-S517 IS a Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbar pitched squarely at the boxset bingeing mainstream. It sits below the brand’s Home Sound Bar 550 model (reviewed in HCC #323) and trades HEOS multiroom music support for more basic Bluetooth connectivity.

It’s affordably priced and surprisingly compact. But is it, y’know, filmic?

The DHT-S517's wireless subwoofer looks about half the size of subs typically included with 2.1 packages, while the bar itself measures just 105cm wide. So it's immediately apparent this is a soundbar system for those that really don’t have the room for a traditional 'bar and subwoofer package; it’s an audio upgrade for a TV (better suited to ones 55in and below), rather than a pint-sized cinema setup.

Looking up

It's perhaps unusual, therefore, that this model represents Denon's first foray into native Dolby Atmos playback on a soundbar, with a pair of physical upfiring drivers instead of the virtual Atmos DSP trickery seen on previous – larger – offerings from the brand.

Denon is a little coy about the system's power output, although retailer websites indicate the soundbar has a cumulative 50W-rated output, with an additional 100W allocated to the subwoofer. Not an excessive power plant then, but I found it goes loud enough without faltering in a smaller room.

Cosmetically, the design is spot on. Both the slender 6cm-high soundbar and sympathetically svelte bassmaker feature curved edges and are fronted in smart grey fabric, which will help it blend in with most decors.

Esta historia es de la edición Spring 2022 de Home Cinema Choice.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición Spring 2022 de Home Cinema Choice.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE HOME CINEMA CHOICEVer todo
AV Avenger
Home Cinema Choice

AV Avenger

You should think twice before accepting an invitation to play Resident Evil 4 with spatial audio in a haunted prison, warns Steve May

time-read
2 minutos  |
May 2023
Catalogue classic Star Wars: Ep. VI - Return of the Jedi → Ultra HD Blu-ray, Disney
Home Cinema Choice

Catalogue classic Star Wars: Ep. VI - Return of the Jedi → Ultra HD Blu-ray, Disney

Forty years on from the movie's cinema release, Anton van Beek ponders what might have been if things had gone a little diff erently during the making of Return of the Jedi…

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 2023
Feedback
Home Cinema Choice

Feedback

Got an axe to grind? Need to comment on current tech? Want to share your knowledge with our readers? Team HCC is here to help

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 2023
M&K Sound V12
Home Cinema Choice

M&K Sound V12

TIME ON TEST: Three years REVIEWER: Steve Withers

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 2023
Sony 'bar demands to be upgraded
Home Cinema Choice

Sony 'bar demands to be upgraded

This well-specified Dolby Atmos soundbar may have a mid-range price tag, but you'll soon want to spend more, cautions Steve May

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 2023
Short and sweet
Home Cinema Choice

Short and sweet

Marantz's compact AV receiver returns with a new look and boosted features – Jamie Biesemans slips it into his AV rig

time-read
5 minutos  |
May 2023
Discreet delivery
Home Cinema Choice

Discreet delivery

A slim, stylish Scandinavian on-wall system impresses Mark Craven with its handling of the sweet stuff

time-read
5 minutos  |
May 2023
One project, two rooms
Home Cinema Choice

One project, two rooms

Dan Sait reports on a custom install where a JVC PJ/ Atmos system is joined by a stylish media den

time-read
2 minutos  |
May 2023
THE KING OF B RDA HOLLYWOOD
Home Cinema Choice

THE KING OF B RDA HOLLYWOOD

Three of his movies have taken over $2billon at the global box office, he's pioneered SFX and 3D technologies, and he's been to the very bottom of the Pacific Ocean. That's James Cameron by the way, not Anton van Beek

time-read
10+ minutos  |
May 2023
System selector!
Home Cinema Choice

System selector!

Given three similar budgets, Mark Craven, Steve May and John Archer assemble three different AV setups focused on movies, streaming and gaming

time-read
8 minutos  |
May 2023