Denon DHT-217 Dolby Atmos Soundbar with Bluetooth connectivity, Dialogue Enhancer, and 4K UHD HDMI Input

Product Information

Streaming Bonnie Raitt’s latest release, Just Like That (via ChromeCast to my Sony TV’s HDMI output), I heard a mostly natural rendition of her familiar voice, and there was enough bass (though still a bit boomy and disconnected) to easily follow the musical thread even through the lower notes. When I compared the Denon to a pair of powered speakers some eight times its modest cost, the contrast was obvious, with the far more expensive speakers sounding deeper, fuller, and more open in the midrange, and also with a sparkle that the Denon only hinted at – but not embarrassingly so.

A follow-up to its well received DHT-S216H all-in-one soundbar, Denon’s upgraded DHT-S217 keeps the same design as the older model but swaps out DTS Virtual:X support for Dolby Atmos. Since so much 4K streaming content now comes with Dolby Atmos sound, the DHT-S217 should appeal to users who get most of their home entertainment from a Roku player or Apple TV. The DHT-S217 doesn’t come with up-firing drivers that bounce Dolby Atmos height cues off your ceiling; instead, the soundbar uses virtualization to achieve its height effects, as do many other budget-priced and Atmos-enabled soundbars. How well does the Atmos virtualization work? We’ll get to that in a moment. Like most soundbars, the DHT-S217 includes a remote-learning feature that lets it “map” its remote’s commands to the keys of another controller – typically, your TV’s. Control-over-HDMI is also enabled, which will achieve the same purpose with most modern TVs without the “learning” process – most people will use this, since it means you'll have control of the soundbar from your TV's remote the moment it's plugged in. The Movie listening mode proved very similar, but with a bit more bass emphasis and a little boost to the voice range to enhance dialogue. On a related note, the remote’s Low/Medium/High Dialog Enhancer control can really push voices to the fore, especially at the High setting.Our Installation Service only includes connecting to existing points and fixings. This does not include installing or moving plumbing, connection points or electrics. Installing new points or moving existing points is the customer’s responsibility we can recommend local tradesmen however this will be at the customer’s expense and we not accept any liability for their work.

Inside the main soundbar cabinet is a pair of 1-inch front-facing tweeters, a couple of of 3.5 x 1.6-inch rectangular midrange speakers behind a fabric grille, and two surprisingly effective down-firing 3-inch subwoofers. There’s no Wi-Fi, which means no HEOS for music streaming, but users will be able to stream from a mobile device through the soundbar’s Bluetooth connection. Physical ports include HDMI eARC for passing Atmos sound to the soundbar, along with a HDMI input (for plugging any source directly into the bar), digital optical out, a subwoofer output (in case you do want to add more bass) and an analogue input.Without even having to touch the soundbar’s EQ adjustments, dialogue was rendered crystal-clear, with gunshots, car engines, and other low-frequency phenomena given the attention needed by the internal woofers. And for our mid-sized apartment living room, the S217 did a great job bouncing sound around the walls and ceiling for surround simulation, while keeping the most crucial audio (particularly dialogue) center stage. IV1, IV2, IV3, IV4, IV5, IV6, IV7, IV8, IV9, IV10, IV11, IV12, IV13, IV14, IV15, IV16, IV17, IV18, IV19, IV20, IV21, IV22, IV23, IV24, IV25, IV26, IV27, IV28, IV29, IV30, IV31, IV32, IV33, IV34, IV35, IV36, IV37, IV38, IV39, IV40, IV41, IV42, IV43, IV44, IV45, IV46, IV47, IV48, IV49, IV50, IV51, IV52, IV53, IV54, IV55, IV56, IV57, IV58, IV59, IV60, IV61, IV62, IV63, IV64, IV65, IV66, IV67, IV68, IV69, IV70, IV71, IV72, IV73, IV74, IV75, IV76, IV77, IV78, IV79, IV80, IV81, IV82, IV83, IV84, IV85, IV86, IV87, IV88, IV89, IV90, IV91, IV92, IV93, IV94, IV95, IV96, IV97, IV98, IV99 Working for Audioholics for the last 16 years has given me an opportunity to see some amazing products. I’ve had very good experiences with Denon receivers and always look forward to their new releases. In 2020, Denon released the industry’s first 8K-ready line of AV receivers including the AVR-X3700H. Based on the successes over their 110+ year span, Denon expanded their offerings to include items like soundbars, like the Denon HEOS soundbar, noise cancelling wireless earbuds, and wireless HEOS speakers. Now, Denon has introduced the Dolby Atmos Enabled DHT-S217 Soundbar with built in subwoofers. The Denon DHT-S217 is a classy-looking piece of audio gear, from its greyscale fabric covering to its slim, low-profile chassis. Behind the curtain, the bar is equipped with two one-inch tweeters, two midrange drivers, and two down-firing woofers located underneath. We also appreciate the inclusion of rear-facing keyholes if you want to mount the bar underneath your TV.