Denon DHT-S716H soundbar review

How we score our reviews

Where to buy

Japanese manufacturer Denon announced two new high-end soundbars earlier this year: the DHT-S716H and the DHT-S516H.

The DHT-S716H is a 3.0 channel soundbar designed to offer immersive sound for home theatre enthusiasts. I set it up at home for a few weeks to see if the audio performance measured up to the high price tag.

Design

Design

• Fabric-wrapped design
• Shallow height means it can fit in front of most TVs
• Can be wall mounted
• 3.0 channels
• Remote included

• Read more about the Denon DHT-S716H's design

  The Denon DHT-S716H is designed to fit directly under your TV. At less than 3 inches tall, it can fit in in front of most TVs without blocking the bottom edge. If it does block your TV, you can easily mount it to your wall using the included keyhole slots. However, mounting supplies aren't included.

  It looks like a typical soundbar, with a long rectangular design measuring 1,100x72x148mm. It's wrapped in fabric that looks sleek but picks up dust, dirt and fingerprint marks pretty quickly.

  

  The back of the soundbar holds an impressive four 4K UHD HDMI ports and an ARC-enabled HDMI output. It also has a USB port, an ethernet port and a 3.5mm audio port.

  The DHT-S716H comes with a simple remote with volume and playback controls as well as six quick select buttons that can be programmed with your preferred controls.

  

  The box includes several cables that make it easy to get set up. All I had to do was put it in front of my TV, plug in the power cord and use an HDMI cable to connect it to the TV. All of the cables I needed were included in the box, but if you have a unique set-up, you might need additional cables.

Performance

Performance

• Can be voice-controlled using an Amazon Alexa device
• Supports Dolby TrueHD but not Dolby Atmos
• Impressive sound quality
• App isn't intuitive to use

• Read more about the Denon DHT-S716H's performance

  Overall, I was extremely impressed with the audio quality of the DHT-S716H.

  It has a rich, dynamic sound and the bass is deep enough to rumble. If you want more boom, you can pair it wirelessly with a subwoofer, but most people won't need to.

  

  The DHT-S716H has two modes, movie and music, and it offers high-resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

  It doesn't just work with your TV, you can also use it to stream music from services including Spotify and Amazon Music.

  

  The DHT-S716H can connect directly to Wi-Fi using the HEOS app. The app is free but takes a little getting used to. The settings are split between different tabs in the app and it takes a bit of trial and error to figure out where everything is.

  You can also connect it wirelessly to Amazon Alexa devices to control it with voice commands.

  Once I got the app set up, it was easy to stream music from my mobile phone and Amazon Echo smart speaker.

  

  If you already have more than one HEOS speaker, you can control them independently with the HEOS app, playing a different song in each room of your home.

Verdict

Verdict

• Great sound, but at a high cost

Should you buy it?

Denon's DHT-S716H soundbar offers an impressively deep sound considering it doesn't have a built-in subwoofer, but is it worth the asking price of $1,699?

It depends what you're looking for.

If you're an audiophile with limited space, the DHT-S716H packs a lot in a slim soundbar that you can easily mount on your wall. If you're looking for more bass for your buck, Denon also recently launched the DHT-S516H, a 2.1 channel soundbar and wireless subwoofer combination that retails for $1,699.

Pricing and availability

Price

RRP $1,699

Where to buy

Amazon

Specifications

.specHeader
{
color: #20436b;
}
.topSpecBox
{
margin-top:30px;
}

.mouseImage
{
border-radius: 15px;
max-width:250px;
}
.phoneSpecBox
{
font-size:1em !important;
}
.phoneSpecBox td
{
vertical-align: middle !important;
}
.specsHeader
{
margin: auto;
color: #0271e1;
font-size:25px;
}
.noBorderTable
{
border: 0;
/* max-width:500px; */
}
.noBorderTable a
{
text-decoration: none;
}
.phoneHubList
{
text-align: left !important;
}
.phoneSpecTable td
{
vertical-align: middle;
}
.phoneSpecTable th
{
width: 30%;
}

.gridCenter
{
margin-bottom: 0px !important;
}
.gridCenter .u-grid__col
{
margin-bottom: 0px !important;
padding-bottom: 0px !important;
}
.largePhoneText
{
font-size: 1.9375rem;
font-weight: 600;
color: #20436b;
}
.mediumPhoneText
{
font-size: 1.5rem;
font-weight: 600;
color: #20436b;
}
.specsHeader
{
margin: auto;
color: #0271e1;
}
.phoneSpecCol
{
padding: 0 !important;
margin: auto;
text-align:left;
}