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Denon DHT-S517 – Soundbar with Dolby Atmos for under € 400,-

The new Denon DHT-S517 is designed as a soundbar that brings immersive surround sound into the living room at a particularly affordable price. It is designed to turn every TV set into a home entertainment centre.

The new Denon DHT-S517 can be described as something of a milestone, as it is the first time that Sound United LLC. has offered a solution from a renowned brand such as Denon that is designed to provide immersive surround sound at a particularly attractive price. Designed as a 3.1.2-channel audio solution, the new Denon DHT-S517 delivers Dolby Atmos for the living room, and that already at a price of less than € 400.

In this context, the manufacturer says that with the new Denon DHT-S517, every television will become a home entertainment centre.

Denon DHT-S517 – Designed as a 3.1.2-channel audio system

As is quite common in this class, the new Denon DHT-S517 is a solution that, in addition to the actual soundbar, can also make use of an active subwoofer, whereby this is of course not controlled by cable, but solely via radio.

As already described, the new Denon DHT-S517 is designed as a 3.1.2-channel system.

Inside the soundbar, a speaker array with a total of seven drivers in conjunction with DSP-based signal processing ensures that not only stereo, but also content in Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master and even Dolby Atmos can be reproduced.

Of course, this means that you ultimately rely on virtual surround sound, Dolby Atmos is generated via reflections on the walls and ceilings, for example. Depending on the nature of the room, this works, according to practical experience with many other such solutions, sometimes quite well, but sometimes not so convincingly.

The Denon DHT-S517 has different sound modes, such as Movie, Night and Music, so that its presentation can be adapted to the respective content, but also to the time of day. The Denon Dialogue Enhancer is supposed to offer particularly good speech reproduction and thus speech intelligibility at all times, and the Denon Pure Soundmode is available for music playback.

Practical equipment for the interfaces

HDMI is, of course, the primary connection between the TV and the Denon DHT-S517, whereby the corresponding output of the soundbar supports HDMI CEC for central control as well as eARC, i.e. an enhanced Audio Return Channel, so that content encoded in the latest surround formats can be transferred from the TV to the Denon DHT-S517 via streaming services.

Various source devices such as a Blu-ray player or a games console can be connected directly to the new Denon DHT-S517 via an HDMI input.

A digital audio input is available in the form of an optical S/PDIF interface, and there is also an AUX input for analogue signals in the form of a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack.

If you want to connect smartphones, tablets or notebooks directly to the new Denon DHT-S517, you can do so via Bluetooth. This, of course, provides direct access to countless streaming services. Network integration is not provided here.

Simple installation, simple control

Installing the new Denon DHT-S517 requires nothing more than a power connection and the HDMI connection to the TV set. Basically, you’re already set up, whereby you can simply place the soundbar under the TV, but you can also mount it on the wall. The corresponding holes are provided on the back.

The Denon DHT-S517 measures 1,050 x 60 x 95 mm and weighs 2.5 kg. The corresponding subwoofer is also very compact, measuring 172 x 370 x 290 mm and weighing 4.3 kg.

  • Foto © System Audio A/S | System Audio SA Cockpit App for Apple iOS
  • Foto © System Audio A/S | System Audio SA Cockpit App for Apple iOS
  • Foto © System Audio A/S | System Audio SA Cockpit App for Apple iOS
  • Foto © System Audio A/S | System Audio SA Cockpit App for Apple iOS
  • Foto © System Audio A/S | System Audio SA Cockpit App for Apple iOS

There are several control buttons directly on the unit to directly influence the most important parameters, and a remote control is also included in the scope of delivery. However, in daily use, one will probably rely solely on the remote control of the TV set, as this works, as already described, without any problems via HDMI CEC. However, and this should be mentioned at this point, the new Denon DHT-S517 also has a learning function for the TV remote control.

“TV manufacturers have been developing thinner and thinner screens with high resolution and great picture quality. However, there is less and less room for speakers, so sound quality audibly falls by the wayside. Our latest soundbar brings even better 3D sound to your home cinema in an instant – a real quantum leap in entertainment. You can only find such great, immersive sound from an easy-to-use system that’s compatible with any TV from a heritage brand like Denon.”

Trip Randall, President Denon Corporation

Pricing and availability

The new Denon DHT-S517 can already be ordered directly from the manufacturer’s website, with the company stating retail availability as the end of January 2022. The Denon DHT-S517 is only available in black. The recommended retail price is € 399,-.

Getting to the point

The special feature of the new Denon DHT-S517 is, first and foremost, the price, because Denon is a renowned company that is entering this class with a soundbar with Dolby Atmos. Based on the current situation, it can be assumed that Sound United LLC. will focus primarily on online marketing via its own Denon Web Store.

PRODUCTDENON DHT-S517
Price€ 399,-
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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