Pros
- Price competitive
- Excellent bass tones
- Built-in Chromecast
Cons
- The highs are too fast and sharp
- There is no preset for radio or sports.
- Big jumps between volume levels
Design & Build
The overall design is that of Denon DHT-S416 soundbar is elegant and subtle. It has a fabric lined front speaker that has the Denon logo in the centre. The bar and subwoofer have sharp edges and a black finish.
I tried this soundbar on the 50in television (not shown) and it worked well. If you own a smaller model, the device could take over the TV or be able to fit on your TV – it’s 990 x 54x 53mm. It’s certainly not the largest soundbar that we’ve ever seen.
The buttons on top of the bar are for power and source buttons, Bluetooth and adjusting the volume. In the rear, you will find the ports that you need to connect to power the device, as well as connector slots for your television (more about this in the next section). All the cables you require are provided inside the package.
The actions of the soundbar can be seen by the colour/number of lights that it displays. If, for instance, you reduce the volume, you’ll notice the number of lights diminish. If you switch off your TV off, lights on the soundbar will turn green, the lights will turn off to signal that the device is shut off.
The Denon DHT-S416 comes with an remote control that you can use to turn on the soundbar, alter the source, alter the bass and volume levels, and also play/pause music. There are three options to enhance dialogue as well as preset EQ settings for music, movies or night-time playsback.
The remote is easy and user-friendly, with bold and large text. However, the design and feel are a bit expensive, and brighter color options for the buttons could be better for people who have visual impairments.
Connectivity & Setup
The setup of the Denon DHT-S416 audiobar is simple. At the back, you have a slot for the power, an HDMI ARC port as well as optical cable slot (the method I used to connect to my television).
There are no additional HDMI ports available on this soundbar. This means you’ll be unable to connect any additional devices, like a gaming console via your audio setup and you’ll have to connect them to ports on your television.
It’s one of the very first Denon soundbar that can support Google Chromecast, meaning you can play music on your smartphone to apps like YouTube, Tidal, Deezer, Spotify and more. It also supports to use the Google Home app to sync the soundbar to other audio devices in your home.
Contrary to Polk MagniFi It doesn’t come with Google Assistant, so you aren’t able to control it using your voice.
You can also stream music through Bluetooth. The soundbar, however, does not support the standard A2DP codec and there’s a noticeable quality loss when playing music via Bluetooth as compared to other devices that have tested the aptX codec.
Wired provides the highest audio quality. In addition to that…
Sound Quality
The Denon DHT-S416 has the 2.1 setup with two stereo speakers and an amplifier. Dolby Digital decoding, and Dolby Digital Plus in addition to an wireless subwoofer that has an integrated cabinet.
The sound quality is impressive for its price. It’s vibrant and rich and you can pick up even the smallest details within scenes and tracks. The speaker performs top-of-the-line when you play games, high-action films or listening to bass-heavy music due to the booming low tones.
Bass is, in general, the most powerful aspect that this particular soundbar can offer. If you prefer to increase the volume you should bring the bass up, too. When you turn down the volume only a couple of notches, you lose that low-end audio quality.
The mids don’t sound too bad, and blend well with music and movies. Highs , however, sound too sharp but there isn’t much in the control. That means that instruments for percussion and synthesizers can make the sound ring slightly and do not blend in.
The Denon gives you a full-on experience. The Denon was the perfect choice for me to see Godzilla Vs. Kong and was amazed by the mechanical sounds, crashes, and planes sounded fantastic.
It doesn’t have an option for 3D and virtual surround technologies as Dolby Atmos on rivals. If you’re looking for something that’s more immersive, like the cinema, then look into buying more expensive models.
The audio presets work quite well. The bass rumble in movie mode was perfect for shows that had plenty of action and stunts while the music mode worked well for many different musical styles, such as electronica, jazz, and rock.
The night mode is much quieter and gentler so as to not disturb neighbors. It is also possible to use the Pure preset mode to listen to music without effects added on the top.
But there’s no setting for radio, sports, or podcasts. It means that you must adjust the settings to get the perfect level that can be frustrating. There are only three choices to enhance your dialogue and not the vast spectrum that you can get from bass.
The peaks between the volume levels are quite significant. For someone living living in a home I am always looking for the sweet spot where I can enjoy excellent audio for movies and not having my neighbors call the police to me with an noise complaint. It’s difficult to find that middle ground in this system.
If you live in an unattached property (or you don’t consider what your neighbors believe) it might not be a problem. But, I believe the soundbar could work just fine with some additional volume levels.
The subwoofer is wireless but at times, it would disengage to the soundbar. But, unplugging it at the wall and then turning the soundbar on and off was able to resolve the issue.
Price & Availability
The Denon DHT-S416 audiobar has an RRP of just PS299 and you can purchase it through Denon’s website or from the Denon site or Amazon UK. The soundbar isn’t currently available for purchase in the US.
In light of the fact that this bar has an acoustic subwoofer and a subwoofer, this is a reasonable price for what you receive. The closest equivalent price we’ve tested would be that of the Edifier S50DB however you don’t have the same booming bass is available with the Denon.
For a few hundred dollars additional, there’s an even more expensive model, the Denon DHT-S516H that comes with superior audio quality and more options for connectivity (though it doesn’t have Chromecast and Dolby Atmos). It also has the small Sonos Beam, that comes with Amazon Alexa support. But the Denon DHT-S416 does not have the same features as the price of this gadget.
If you’d like to know how other rivals stack up to each other, check out this guide on the top soundbars. If you’re looking to upgrade your whole audio and entertainment setup, you can also check out our recommendations for the most effective televisions available now.
Verdict
The Denon DHT-S416 soundbar is among of the cheapest options to buy when you’re looking for a subwoofer as well as a wireless model to boot.
It’s not able to produce the type of 3D immersive sound that expensive competitors like Dolby Atmos or similar products do but it’s still a decent overall.
The high-frequency artefacts are too sharp with this soundbar. The lack of a preset option for audio-heavy content like podcasts or sports is a pity. Also, it’s not the tiniest option available if you’re using an older TV.
There’s no doubt that this is a great soundbar, if you don’t require additional bells and bells.