Denon's DHT-S216 Echo Wall Speaker with its all-in-one design and decent DTS Virtual:X analog 3D sound has been one of the most popular introductory echo walls. For friends who want to further improve the sound performance, Tianlong's latest DHT-S517 is more suitable: equipped with a separate ceiling channel unit, wireless subwoofer, and provides a true 3.1.2 channel Dolby Atmos sound output. There's also more sound mode options and additional HDMI inputs to diversify connections and gameplay.
Design & Specifications
Ceiling speakers and subwoofers provide true 3.1.2 channel output
The DHT-S517 consists of an echo wall host and a wireless subwoofer with a 1-inch (25mm) treble, 120-× 40mm runway-shaped midrange unit on the left and right of the echo wall, and a 1-inch full-range unit in the center. Both sides above the main unit are equipped with a 2.6-inch (66mm) full-range unit that emits sound diagonally upwards, which is responsible for providing ceiling channel sound. Wireless Subwoofer has a built-in 5.9-inch (15cm) woofer to form a complete 3.1.2-channel system, and a single echo wall can output The 3D sound of Dolby Atmos. The position of the unit above the echo wall fuselage adopts the design of the horizontal opening, so that the sound can be output more unimpeded, and the ceiling channel effect is better.
In addition to the left, center and right channel units, there are two sets of ceiling channel units that emit sound diagonally upwards at the top of the echo wall, and the upper sound effect is output by the ceiling reflection method.
The ceiling unit features a perforated mesh design that allows less obstruction in the sound output, helping to improve performance.
There are setting buttons on the top for switches, audio sources, Bluetooth, and volume.
Slim body design flexible positioning
The DHT-S517 can be mounted on a TV cabinet or wall, the main unit is quite slim and thin, and the height of about 60mm will not block the TV screen. The supporting thin subwoofer positioning is also more convenient, and in addition to direct placement, it can even be placed horizontally into the TV cabinet and other positions, and the installation is more flexible. The design of the rear reflective hole can effectively strengthen the low frequency effect when the back is placed slightly against the wall. The Echo Wall host provides 50W, subwoofer 100W, a total of 150W output power, enough to meet the requirements of small and medium-sized space placement, is a set of suitable for TV upgrades.
The front gray and black mesh texture is good.
The 60cm thin body design will not block the picture when placed, which is suitable for most TVs.
There are rubber foot pads at the bottom to prevent displacement when placed, and there is also a shock absorption effect to strengthen stability.
There are wall holes on the back, and the echo wall host is not heavy, and the wall installation is also very convenient.
Features & Connectivity
One-in, one-out HDMI supports more flexible eARC connectivity
Compared with the ordinary entry echo wall usually only a set of HDMI ARC/eARC terminals, DHT-S517 is equipped with one-in and one-out HDMI, plus optical fiber and 3.5mm audio input, which can be more convenient to connect to PS5, XBOX and other game consoles, or set-top boxes and other equipment. Among them, the HDMI input supports 4K HDR, Dolby Vision image pass-through, and the HDMI output supports eARC, when connecting a compatible TV to play Netflix and other streaming movies, you can return 3D sound effects to the echo wall output, basically plug and play, quite convenient. For users who can listen to songs, DHT-S517 also has a built-in Bluetooth function, which is convenient for mobile phones to broadcast songs wirelessly.
Provides one-in, one-out HDMI, support for 4K HDR images and eARC/ARC functions, as well as fiber optics and 3.5mm AUX inputs for a wide range of devices.
The thinner wireless subwoofer design makes the positioning a little more flexible, and it can be placed directly and horizontally.
Random small remote control with shortcut keys for sound source, sound mode, vocal enhancement, etc.
Multiple sound mode options and more vocal adjustments
Provides several sound effect modes such as movie, music, night, etc., through the Tianlong DSP sound effect processing can be virtual surround channel to enhance the effect of watching movies and listening to songs, the sense of space will indeed highlight a lot, and then share it in detail later. There is also a pure mode that bypasses the DSP to listen to songs in a straight-out fashion, sometimes more suitable for two-channel music. In addition, dhT-S517 also has Dialogue Enhancer, which can independently enhance the vocal output, sometimes watch movies, TV series, and even watch the news to make the voice more clear, and can also be adjusted in real time on the remote control. In addition to the pure mode, when using other sound modes, the DHT-S517 will automatically process the sound effects of Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD, Linear PCM, etc. as up-mixing, upscaling to 3.1.2 channel output, enjoying the analog 3D sound effect.
Different lights show the operation and setting status, such as blue light for Dolby Atmos, green light for other Dolby sound effects, and white light for Linear PCM.
Volume, sound source, sound effect format, sound effect mode will have different light display, it takes some time to get used to it.
Watching "Eternals" can see that 4K, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos can all "light up".
Sound performance
Low frequencies are clean and powerful, and the 3D sound is surrounded by outstanding feelings
Thanks to the DHT-S517's HDMI input and compatibility with the 4K HDR format, it is much more flexible in terms of equipment connection. This test also connects to the Blu-ray machine to play the test film in the "Dolby Atmos Demo" disc to see the effect of the basic 3D surround sound effect. Several segments of "Leaf" and "Amazed" can reproduce the rather three-dimensional upper sound effect, especially the positioning is very accurate, and the feeling of leaves flying around and insects jumping overhead is obvious. Surround sound can achieve about the full first half, or even some of the left and right backward orientations. Combined with the ceiling reflection sound effect, as well as the low frequency with sufficient sense of volume, it is enough to create a fairly wide stereo sound field in a space of about twenty square meters, which is quite good for a simple echo wall system. Low frequency has always been tianlong's strength, although this time it is matched with a thin body of super bass, but still provides a strong sense of energy, watch some explosions and fight scenes in "Eternals", the bass is clean and quite impactful, providing a good sense of encirclement under the space of about 100 square meters in the audition room.
Clear stereos, flexible choice of sound modes
Another strength of the DHT-S517 this time is the vocals, which are quite clear and stereoscopic, even under some chaotic ambient sounds, which can still maintain a very clear and prominent dialogue, and it is also set at the lowest level of dialogue Enhancer, and the actual use can also push the vocals a little higher as needed. Clear vocals are also helpful for listening to music such as pop songs, although it is only paired with basic Bluetooth, but the music reproduction is good, the treble is very detailed, and the low frequency has independent subwoofer assist. Under the music mode, the 3.1.2-channel up-mix provides a good sense of space, which is quite suitable for listening to concerts; while under the pure mode, it will maintain pure stereo output, the vocals will be more prominent, and the image will be clearer, each has its own advantages, can be selected according to needs, which is also the flexibility of DHT-S517 in terms of sound adjustment.
summary
Cost-effective choice for flexible connectivity and setup
Independent wireless subwoofer, built-in ceiling channel unit, providing a complete 3.1.2 channel 3D sound output, DHT-S517 has the specifications of the mid-range echo wall system, but the price is within 4,000 yuan, which is quite cost-effective. Compared with many entry echo walls with only a set of HDMI, ARC/eARC backhaul sound effects, DHT-S517 additional HDMI input makes the connection more flexible, plus optical fiber, 3.5mm, Bluetooth input, a set of echo wall can be connected to a variety of equipment, forming a set of quite complete audio and video system. The movie, music, pure and other sound effect mode settings also make the echo wall have better results when playing different content, which can be regarded as one of the best choices for the sound effect upgrade within 5,000 yuan for users of the streaming platform.
Denon DHT-S517 Echo Wall
Channel: 3.1.2
Support sound effects: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, etc
Wireless connection: Bluetooth
Input terminals: HDMI, fiber, 3.5mm Audio
Output terminal: HDMI (eARC)
Volume: 1049 × 96.5 × 58 mm (echo wall), 170 × 368 × 289.6 mm (subwoofer)
Weight: 2.5kg (echo wall), 4.3kg (subwoofer)
Reference price: HK$3780