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Featuring a neutral sound profile, the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 is a good addition to any home theater. However, this system’s narrow 3D soundstage and lack of sub result in sub-par performance during movies and games.
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Table of Contents
Product Snapshot
Overview
The Denon Home Sound Bar 550 is a mid-range 2.0-channel soundbar that was first released in 2021, touting a 3D surround soundstage and Dolby Atmos in a compact form factor for television and music.
Although it has a 2.0 channel setup, it can be upgraded by adding a subwoofer and satellites, which are sold separately. You can find more advanced devices on our list of the best speakers today.
Since this speaker doesn’t come with a dedicated sub, it doesn’t reproduce deep extended low-bass. Built-in Alexa enables hassle-free customization. Shared HDMI ARC+Out ports, a full HDMI In port, USB port as well as aj Ethernet port provide wired connectivity.
This system has Bluetooth as well as Apple Airplay, allowing seamless streaming from a wide variety of devices. Although it supports Dolby Atmos, it doesn’t deliver a very immersive 3D soundstage. Continue reading our Denon Home Sound Bar 550 review and explore your options on our list of top-rated soundbars today.
Best For
PC
Consensus
our Verdict
Critics adore the Denon Home Sound Bar 550, praising its balanced audio profile, excellent connectivity options, and built-in Alexa voice assistant, and they recommend it for TV shows and music.
Editors at Trusted Reviewers love this soundbar’s super-low latency, which means that users won’t notice any discrepancy between video and audio during dialogue scenes.
Commenting about its balanced frequency response slope, reviewers from Sound and Vision say that it’s good for all music genres and TV dialogue. Built-in Alexa and app-based EQ presets enable managing this system remotely.
Being a 2.0-channel system, however, it downmixes 5.1 surround sound to stereo, so there are better choices for home theaters, as our Devialet Dione review shows. It also doesn’t get very loud, featuring an 87.8 dB peak SPL.
This soundbar is good for TV shows but only average for music and movies. The stereo immersion is expansive since the soundstage is wider than the bar.
Adequate voice clarity
Dialogues, vocals, and lead instruments sound clear since the mids and treble are well-balanced.
Smart integration
With the compatible HEOS smart app, switching between EQ presets, adjusting the soundstage levels, and accessing integrated music streaming services like Spotify and Amazon Music HD is pretty straightforward. It has Amazon Alexa built-in for hands-free control.
Great connectivity with low latency
The soundbar is compatible with modern devices and ensures seamless audio-visual syncing thanks to its low latency. It boasts eARC (15 ms), Optical (38 ms), and Full HDMI In (-56 ms), all of which have among the lowest latency we’ve tested, and there is an AUX port for older devices.
Reason to Avoid
Below-par surround and Atmos performance
The surround sound isn’t immersive as the soundbar downmixes it to stereo, and sounds don’t feel accurately placed. The front-firing speakers give the illusion of height (Atmos), but it’s not on par with the immersion and audio clarity you’d get with a full-blown home theatre.
Low bass lacks thump
Action movie enthusiasts might find the lack of immersion during intense fight scenes dissatisfying since there is no subwoofer, which is responsible for delivering powerful, extended low bass.
Fabric collects dust
The soundbar’s fabric covering attracts dust over time, which could hamper sound quality if not maintained well.
Fabric collects dust
The soundbar’s fabric covering attracts dust over time, which could potentially impact sound quality if not maintained well.
Denon Home Sound Bar 550 Specs
Bluetooth Enabled
Yes
Depth
4.7"
Dialogue Enhancement Feature
na
Energy Star Certified
Yes
Equalizer Settings
Basic
HDMI ARC
Yes
Height
2.94"
Number of Audio Channels
4
Subwoofer
Optional (sold separately)
Surround Sound Supported
Dolby Atmos, DTS:X
Voice Assistant
Amazon Alexa
Wall Mountable
Yes
Weight
7.3 lbs
Width
–
Wireless Connectivity
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Wireless Subwoofer Connectivity
Yes
Works With
Amazon Alexa, Siri
All Specs
Test Results
These are the most important criteria to test for Soundbars based on our comprehensive Testing Methodology.
Low End Roll Off (Hz)
63.5
High End Roll Off (Hz)
15,565.83
Max Volume Test (db)
87.8
Latency (ms)
15
THD @ 80dB
0.57
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The Denon Home Sound Bar 550 is a mid-range 2.0-channel soundbar that was first released in 2021, touting a 3D surround soundstage and Dolby Atmos…
The Denon Home Sound Bar 550 is a mid-range 2.0-channel soundbar that was first released in 2021, touting a 3D surround soundstage and Dolby Atmos in a compact form factor for television and music.
Although it has a 2.0 channel setup, it can be upgraded by adding a subwoofer and satellites, which are sold separately. You can find more advanced devices on our list of the best speakers today.
Since this speaker doesn’t come with a dedicated sub, it doesn’t reproduce deep extended low-bass. Built-in Alexa enables hassle-free customization. Shared HDMI ARC+Out ports, a full HDMI In port, USB port as well as aj Ethernet port provide wired connectivity.
This system has Bluetooth as well as Apple Airplay, allowing seamless streaming from a wide variety of devices. Although it supports Dolby Atmos, it doesn’t deliver a very immersive 3D soundstage. Continue reading our Denon Home Sound Bar 550 review and explore your options on our list of top-rated soundbars today.
Both the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 and the B&W Panorama 3 support Dolby Atmos, so they’re somewhat similar. The Panorama is a 3.1.2 system,…
Both the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 and the B&W Panorama 3 support Dolby Atmos, so they’re somewhat similar. The Panorama is a 3.1.2 system, though, so it has a discrete center channel, reproducing spatial audio better than the 2.0-channel Sound Bar 550. With 98.4 dB maximum SPL, the Panorama also gets much louder than the Denon, which only reaches 87.8 dB. Check out our B&W Panorama 3 review for details.
Featuring a 5.0.2 setup, the Sonos Arc provides a more immersive surround sound experience than Denon Home Sound Bar 550, which has just two channels….
Featuring a 5.0.2 setup, the Sonos Arc provides a more immersive surround sound experience than Denon Home Sound Bar 550, which has just two channels. The Sonos speaker has a 96.6 dB maximum SPL, getting much louder than the Denon Home Sound Bar 550, which only reaches 87.8 SPL. However, the Denon speaker has EQ presets, unlike the Sonos Arc.
Unlike the Denon DHT-S 216 soundbar, which doesn’t have built-in Wi-Fi and lacks a built-in voice assistant, the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 boasts built-in…
Unlike the Denon DHT-S 216 soundbar, which doesn’t have built-in Wi-Fi and lacks a built-in voice assistant, the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 boasts built-in Wi-Fi and features built-in Amazon Alexa. Both are 2.0-channel sound systems, however, and they both have an array of inputs including auxiliary in, HDMI ARC, and HDMI.
