Polk Audio Command Bar vs Denon DHT-S517 review

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The present review is aimed to compare two soundbars - Polk Audio Command Bar vs Denon DHT-S517 that are meant to satisfy the needs of cinema and music lovers. Based on our rating, Command Bar has a total rating of 6.6 out of 10 versus 5.4 for DHT-S517. The competitors' control buttons are different: volume down, volume up, microphone, action and power, source, demo, volume down, volume up, respectively.

Audio features

Both soundbars have active amplification type. A significant difference between the units in the number of channels, the Polk Audio Command Bar has 2.1 versus 3.1.2 for the Denon DHT-S517. The output power is different and equal to 160 (overall) W for the Command Bar versus 40 (overall) W for the DHT-S517. Competitors do not have a built-in subwoofer. Rivals have wireless connection to separate subwoofer. The Polk Audio Command Bar got our rating of 6 out of 10, and the Denon DHT-S517 5 for its audio features and specs.

Streaming services

Soundbars do not have AirPlay support. Spotify support is available on the Command Bar.

Connectivity

Both models do not have WI-FI support. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. Each soundbar has 1/1 HDMI inputs/outputs. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature supports both devices. For connectivity, each of the soundbars received a rating of 7/10. App control is available for the DHT-S517. A built-in microphone is present only on the Command Bar. Multi-room is only available for the Polk Audio Command Bar.

Multichannel surround

Only the DHT-S517 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. The soundbars do not support the surround sound technology DTS:X. For multichannel surround Polk Audio Command Bar got a rating of 5, and Denon DHT-S517 7 out of 10.

Advantages Polk Audio Command Bar over Denon DHT-S517

Advantages Denon DHT-S517 over Polk Audio Command Bar