The Denon DHT-S517 is a well-priced soundbar that gets more right than wrong
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(Image credit: Denon)
(Image credit: Denon)
T3 VerdictIt’s unrealistic to expect perfection, especially from a product priced so aggressively - but while the DHT-S517 gets far more right than it gets wrong, it’s not quite the finished article.
T3 Verdict
It’s unrealistic to expect perfection, especially from a product priced so aggressively - but while the DHT-S517 gets far more right than it gets wrong, it’s not quite the finished article.
Reasons to buy+Chunky, large-scale and (mostly) detailed sound+Well made, nicely finished and inconspicuous+Decent specification at the price
Chunky, large-scale and (mostly) detailed sound
Well made, nicely finished and inconspicuous
Decent specification at the price
Subwoofer is not as accomplished as the soundbar
Not short of competition
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Can it be done? Can Denon give you Atmos audio thrills without casting you into penury?
Denon DHT-S517 review: price and features
The Denon DHT-S517 is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it’s officially priced at £379. In practice, though, it’s routinely available for less than £329 and has been spotted for pennies less than £300 on occasion. American customers are looking at $399, while in Australia it costs AU$699 or thereabouts.
For reasons best known to itself, Denon isn’t interested in revealing how much amplification power the soundbar or the subwoofer incorporate. Let’s just go with ‘adequate’ and leave it at that.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Getting audio information into the system is about as straightforward as these things ever get. As well as Bluetooth wireless connectivity, the soundbar has some physical inputs built into recesses at the ear of its cabinet - a couple of HDMI inputs (one eARC-enabled), a digital optical input, a 3.5mm analogue socket and a USB slot for servicing. There’s no Wi-Fi, though, and consequently no wider compatibility.
Denon DHT-S517 review: design and setup
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Sensibly, Denon has chosen to err on the side of caution where the design of the DHT-S517 is concerned. Mind you, when you consider the specification/price ratio that’s at work here, it’s a wonder there was any money left over to employ a designer in the first place.
The soundbar part of the system is of usefully neat dimensions - at 60 x 1050 x 95mm (HxWxD) it’s not too wide to look out of place beneath a 48in TV and it’s not too high to get in the way of most of the televisions it’s likely to stand in front of. At 2.5kg, it’ll happily hang on its rudimentary key-hole fixings without jeopardising the plaster on your wall. The subwoofer, meanwhile, is an equally manageable 370 x 172 x 290mm (HxWxD) - and though it requires mains power, its wireless connectivity means it’s able to be positioned pretty much anywhere you like.
Both items are built from unremarkable but perfectly serviceable plastic, and both feature a quantity of dark grey acoustic cloth to cover their speaker drivers. Once both the sub and the soundbar have been plugged into the mains, they make a swift and stable wireless connection. And after that, control is available using a couple of different methods.
On the front of the soundbar, behind that acoustic cloth, a row of four little LEDs indicate what’s what as regards volume level, audio format and source. The five physical controls on the top of the ‘bar, which deal with ‘volume up/down’, ‘Bluetooth pairing’, ‘input selection’ and ‘power on/off’ will dictate the number of LEDs that light up at any given time, and their colour.
Denon DHT-S517 review: performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
It also does very agreeable work with midrange information. Even the least talky movie features a stack of centre-channel information, and the DHT-S517 projects dialogue well. Even if the airstrike has just been called in, voices are clear, coherent and filled with detail of tone and texture - and are entirely convincing as a consequence.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
As long as you keep volume levels the right side of ‘serious’, the same is broadly true of the top of the frequency range. Treble sounds have substance and bite here, carry enough variation within them to make the difference between, say, breaking glass and clattering cutlery perfectly obvious - and they’re always smoothly integrated. Get carried away with volume and the Denon will harden up quite readily at the top end, but at sensible levels it has a very nicely judged level of attack.
Things are slightly less positive at the opposite end, though. To start with, the relationship between soundbar and subwoofer could be more even - there’s no facility to adjust cross-over frequency here, after all, so the fact that the point of hand-over is so apparent is disappointing. And while the subwoofer delves deep into the frequency range, controls the attack and decay of its input well, and is more than capable of describing the biggest dynamic discrepancies, it’s far from the most detailed subwoofer around. The bass sounds it puts out are rather monotonal, so ultimately it doesn’t matter if it’s the sound of a bass drum or a collapsing building - it’s all much of a muchness to the DHT-S517’s bass box.
Denon DHT-S517 review: verdict
(Image credit: Denon)
(Image credit: Denon)
There’s lots to like - admire, even - about the DHT-S517. It’s a nicely made, low-key looker, and it delivers movie sound with real scale and confidence. Where soundstaging, effects steering and what-have-you is concerned, it’s as good as any price-comparable rival. But the soundbar isn’t on the best of terms with the subwoofer, and the subwoofer itself is something of a blunt instrument - which means the door is open to any number of rivals who want to steal the Denon’s thunder (and make off with your budget).
Denon DHT-S517 review: also consider
TheSonos Beam 2is more expensive than the Denon DHT-S517, doesn’t have a subwoofer of any type, and relies on digital audio processing rather than actual, physical speaker drivers to create an impression of spatial audio - and yet it’s profoundly competitive. In fact, it may be the best pound-for-pound speaker in the entire Sonos line-up - which is saying something. Plus, of course, it’s a member of the most accomplished multi-room audio system available.
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