tldr; Budget Denon with sub. 3.1.2 Atmos, solid build. Great entry to Denon quality.
$499.00 on AmazonScores based on sentiment analysis of topic-related comments
Best praise vs top criticism for Denon DHT-S517
“The rear speakers don’t need to be near the sofa, mine are in the rear corners, 8ft away approximately works a charm and reasonably discrete. Life is short dude, man up and go for what you want, she’ll be convinced when she hears it all singing. ;) Failing that, yes i second the 800c.. my folks have it and love it. Loud, good bass and crystal clear vocals. I heard a Denon bar in a store, that sounded lovely.. may be worth considering. (I have 990c)”
“Pass through is only able to be changed to auto the TV. The soundbar, a Denon S517, doesn’t allow me to change settings other than the just different sound modes on the controller (bass, volume + or -, and dialog enhancer). But the soundbar apparently does passthrough as long as I’m connect in the eArC port on both tv and soundbar. The thing that baffles me is that I don’t hear a difference in sound if passthrough is set to auto or off. Appreciate the input. I’ve been disappointed in the Denon S517 soundbar since it doesn’t support DTS surround and it’s past the date of being able to exchange it. Wish it told me what mode it’s in instead of the power light being a certain color (example: don’t digital is a green light on the soundbar but can’t tell when it’s on don’t digital plus). Frustrated.”
21 Reddit opinions analyzed • Last updated 4/4/2026