Sound quality: Denon's DHT-C210 has acceptable overall sound quality - this model reproduces music and dialog reasonably well despite the obvious shortcomings in its sound. In the Pure sound mode the bass has good impact, but is a bit subdued and boomy and doesn't go deep. The midrange is fairly even, but is somewhat hazy and grainy, and a bit nasal, plasticky, and echoey. The treble is fairly extended, but is somewhat subdued and a bit smeared and sizzly. This model does a decent job of recovering room ambience, but sounds somewhat congested. The two channel sound extends a bit above but not much to the sides of the speaker array and lacks depth. When 5.1 channel program material is played the width and height of the sound stage expands, and depending on the program material extends somewhat beyond the height and width of the soundbar enclosure, but depth was still lacking and there was no rear surround effect - sounds that should have been in the rear come from the front. When playing Dolby Atmos program material in movie mode, the width and height of the sound field expands somewhat depending on the program material; the sound field can extend up and above into the ceiling, however there was no rear surround effect. The soundbar has various sound mode settings which have a noticeable effect on the sound field and/or tonal balance regardless of the type of program material that is being played. There was no significant difference between HDMI, optical, USB, Aux, and Bluetooth sound quality. Dolby Atmos program material can only be played through the HDMI input and through the HDMI ARC/eARC input when it is connected to a TV that has a HDMI ARC connection that supports Dolby Digital+ or a HDMI eARC connection that supports Dolby Digital+.
TV ease of use: Excellent overall.
Features ease of use: Very good overall.
