Atmos 'bar a better bet for gamers?

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

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.