Denon's all-new home speaker offers style, substance and serious spatial
audio chops but I still have one (very minor) gripe

Date:
Sat, 06 Jun 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Description:
How much do you value flexibility? Since I've used the Sonos Play, I value it a lot

FULL STORY ======================================================================Denon Home 400: two-minute review The Denon Home 400 sits in the Japanese brand's completely repositioned Home 2.0 range for 2026, and it doesnt take much to see the updates as a direct challenge to Sonos and the best wireless speakers on the market. The range features three speakers the Denon Home 200, 400 and 600 all of which promise spatial audio from a single box. Theyre all tuned
by sound masters, built for native stereo playback even as singular units, deliver an immersive experience, and have refined designs.

The Denon Home 400 sits right in the middle of the range, but occupies a bit of a sweet spot. Its $599 price tag puts it at the same ball park as the
Sonos Era 300 , and I think Denon comes out of the comparison looking like
the better option. Along with Sonos, though, theres no shortage of
competition from the likes of Apple s HomePods, JBLs Authentics 300 and the WiiM Sound smart speakers. While the Denon range technically supports Siri, this is a product thats much more about the sound than it is the smarts. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

In use, it sounds tremendous and is highly customizable with a full spatial audio experience where you really can hear the difference. The HEOS app works brilliantly, and set-up is a doddle. It also has a sense of style. This is a speaker that looks premium rather than plasticky, and that alone may make it easier to recommend than Sonos for many potential buyers.

Is it worth the premium price, though? Ive been hands-on to find out what the Denon does differently. (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) Denon Home 400
at very.co.uk for 449 Denon Home 400 review: price and availability Released on March 24th, 2026 $599 / 449 / AU$999 (approx.) The Denon Home 400 costs $599 / 449 / AU$999 (approx.) and is clearly positioned to rival the Sonos
Era 300 , which costs $479 / 449 / AU$749 officially, but it is a bit more likely to be available on offer, having gone down to $379 / 339 on Amazon within the past six months.

Other similarly sized rivals include the JBL Authentics 300, which costs $450 / 380 / AU$600, or the bass-heavy Brane X for $599 / 475 / AU$915. Apple fans will also, of course, consider whether a HomePod 2 ($299 / 299 / AU$479) may better suit their needs, as it has a few clever tricks and perks for the iOS faithful. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) Denon Home 400 review: specs Swipe to scroll horizontally

Speaker drivers

2 x 0.75-inch tweeters, 2 x 1-inch upfiring drivers, 2 x 4.5-inch woofers

Amplification

6 x Class D amps

Dimensions

11.8 x 5.9 x 8.6 inches (300 x 150 x 219 mm)

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth, 3.5mm line-in, USB-C

Streaming support

HEOS app, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay 2

Voice assistant support

Siri (only if you have a HomePod on the same Wi-Fi network)

Other features

HEOS multi-room, stereo pairing

Colors

Charcoal, Stone (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) Denon Home 400 review: features Native Dolby Atmos with adjustable height and bass Several connectivity options Voice control only via Siri, and only if you already
have a HomePod The core selling point of all the new speakers in the Denon range is Dolby Atmos support with adjustable sound modes. Ill go into that in more depth in the 'Sound quality' section below, but it is a meaningful differentiator between this speaker and most of its competition. The vast majority of other smart speakers will either not have Atmos or rely on (the admittedly clever) digital processing trick of spatial virtualization. Thats what the Denon Home 200 does, too.

The one option offering proper Atmos is the aforementioned Sonos Era 300. The Denon Home 400, just like this rival, packs in true Dolby Atmos with a six-driver setup: dedicated left and right drivers, upfiring drive units and two 4.5-inch woofers (all powered by six independent Class-D amplifiers).
What this means is that youll get much more width throw a Dolby Atmos track at this speaker and youll hear a wider soundstage and real height, as it bounces sound off your ceiling. The adjustability in the Auto mode means you can dial in exactly how much bass extension, width or height you want.

You can use voice assistance on this speaker, but Im not going to pretend its a headline feature. Apples Siri is the only voice assistant on offer, so
youre not going to find Google Assistant or Alexa as an option during setup. And, in order to set it up, you need to have an Apple HomePod or HomePod mini on your Wi-Fi network to handle the Siri requests you make on the Denon speaker.

Luckily, Ive got some HomePods in another room, so I could test this, and it works fairly well, but I wouldnt go around suggesting that this is a speaker with built-in voice control. Its more of a niche added extra, as long as you already have an extra accessory that would cost you at least 99. (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) In general, the HEOS app (HEOS stands for Home Entertainment Operating System , thanks for asking) is excellent and great if you think you might set up a multi-room ecosystem of speakers after investing in this one. It covers multiple brands, not just Denon, and works with a wide range of speakers, soundbars and receivers.

Overall, the Denon Home 400 offers a broad range of connectivity options, including a 3.5mm AUX for use with turntables or MP3 players, and a simple native Bluetooth button to connect to other devices if youre not using the app. Bluetooth LE Audio is coming via an update, and it has support for ALAC and aptX formats over Bluetooth. Youve also got Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and Qobuz Connect built in, too.

Through the USB-C port, you can deliver firmware updates via a pen drive or use wired Ethernet via any USB-C adapter, which is a nice benefit compared with others that might make you buy a proprietary dongle. Obviously, its not quite the same as built-in Ethernet, but its not a feature everyone would
use.

Theres no remote with the speaker, its designed for use with the feature-filled HEOS app, where you can gather together your music services including Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Soundcloud, Tidal, Qobuz and TuneIn and internet radio stations, along with control of the multi-room setup and audio customizations. I wish my choice of streaming service, Apple Music,
were added to the picks, but its otherwise an app I find hard to fault. Features score: 4.5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) Denon Home 400 review: sound quality Outstanding spatial audio performance from a single
unit Excellent customization for height and width Pure mode for a more direct and balanced experience Were going to be talking a lot about spatial audio in this section, because that really is the Denon Home 400s party piece. It can take a well-encoded Atmos mix and make it feel three-dimensional. Its in the Auto setting by default, and thats probably where Id leave it in my environment, in which its more than capable of an immersive room-filling sound.

If spatial isnt for you, youll prefer the Pure sound mode. This bypasses the DSP and works as a great mode for anyone wanting the typical stereo image experience.

Id already had a chance to hear the Denon Home 400 in a London hotel suite, and that gave me a sense of just how impressive it would be. During Ed Sheerans Shivers, I could hear a noticeable height extension that makes it perceptibly different when compared with the Home 200. Listening to the Atmos mix of Riders on the Storm by The Doors reveals background vocals in the height layer, an element thats harder to pick out in the neutral mode.

Having the speaker within my own apartment only further confirmed how adept
it is with spatial sound. To test it, I mostly focused on playing Dolby Atmos from Apple Music over AirPlay, but I also used it with Spotify Connect, radio stations, and I set up both Spotify and Deezer within the HEOS app to test those, too. The experience is convincing, theres a lot of clarity to be heard across the whole frequency range, and two woofers deliver significant bass oomph. (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) Listening to Rayes Where Is My Husband! in Dolby Atmos is highly rewarding for how much extra detail you start to hear in the layers of instrumentation, all while keeping her
powerful vocals right in the center. I used the HEOS app to dial up the width and height, and you can feel the backing vocals spread out on the soundstage, with the instruments becoming easier to identify in space.

Putting the 400 in Pure mode and switching over to Click Clack Symphony shows that theres a place for both modes. Pure is much more direct and balanced. Theres clearly more vocal presence in this mode, and the stomps have far more impact. You can get a different sonic experience by switching between both modes, something this track shows so well its bordering on ethereal in Auto with those spatial customisations, yet sounds intimate on the Pure setting.

In general, I find the sound hard to fault. By default, the Auto mode may
have a smidge too much bass for my tastes, but its easily remedied by moving the slider down two notches in the app. The Pure mode is fairly neutral in
its approach, but still has its fair share of energy and dynamism. If you listen to spatial tracks, play around with Auto, but most of us should find Pure less fatiguing, making it a better 'set and forget' option. Sound
quality score: 4.5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) Denon Home 400 review: design Durable and stylish look Two neutral colorways Will suit most living spaces Immediately after unboxing, its clear that the Denon Home 400
is more than your average utilitarian speaker. The best thing about its
design is the lack of visible plastic, which is only really visible on the speaker's top section. The rest is covered by a seamless piece of fabric with no obvious seams, and the bottom of the speaker just like every model in the new Denon range is a sturdy titanium base plate. It adds a little bulk,
sure, but also the satisfaction of knowing that this is durable and not something that can be tipped over.

Underneath the speaker, a light glows to let you know its turned on. This was something that my wife initially felt ruined the look, but its easily solved because you can lower the brightness (or turn the light off entirely) in the app. Crisis averted. There are physical controls on the right side of the device, allowing you to control volume and playback, along with three quick select buttons (for your favourite internet radio stations or streaming services) and an action button to summon voice control.

The speaker also comes in the same two neutral colorways as the rest of the range Charcoal and Stone (my review unit). Ive got no complaints. Its a speaker thats designed to look good in the living room without commanding attention, and it does exactly that. Its also worth noting that, on the back, theres a switch to mute the microphone and that its a hard-wired off button thats not connected to the network circuitry.

I find this looks much less plasticky in comparison to rival speakers
(looking at you, Sonos) and that the Home 400's buttons and controls are easier to understand and use (looking at you, Apple). It ends up being a winner on multiple fronts. Design score: 5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) Denon Home 400 review: Usability & setup Controls are easy to understand and use The HEOS app is intuitive and full of features But theres not much voice control available here The Denon Home 400 is an exceptionally straightforward speaker to set up and use. The box gives you the speaker unit itself and the power cable. Once its plugged in, you set it up with the HEOS app, a process that took me approximately five to 10 minutes, and connect it to your home Wi-Fi network, telling the app whether the speaker is away from walls, in a corner, or just in front of one wall, which helps it adapt its sound.

You do need to use the app so that you get all of the internet-connected features, but it doesnt take long at all to get started. Once you pick some favourite radio stations in the app, you can also press and hold on the
preset buttons to save them for quick access, and you can always just use the Bluetooth button to connect devices that might not be on your wireless network. The same applies to wired playback.

I tested both with my MP3 player, the Activo P1, and found it seamless in
use. However, its worth mentioning that I couldnt get the Denon to play back at one of its supported higher-res Bluetooth codecs over the P1; it stayed stuck in SBC despite supporting higher bandwidth options.

In day-to-day use, though, this is highly intuitive to use, both wirelessly and if you were to connect an AUX cable to an MP3 player, CD player or turntable. Denon has said a goal with this product is getting you to your music with minimal button presses, and that holds true in use, whether youre using those quick select buttons, or just playing wirelessly over the HEOS app, Spotify Connect or AirPlay. The one downside would be for those who are used to voice control of their playlists. Unless you use Siri and already
have a HomePod, this doesnt work well for that.

If you were keen to set up multi-room groups, this would also work well, with controls within the HEOS app, plus the ability to create a stereo pair with two Denon Home 400s. Its also a great feature that the ability to mute the microphone is a physical control, not something that exists only in software, something thats great for peace of mind if you dont want to use voice assistance or have your voice recorded. Usability & setup score: 4.5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) Denon Home 400 review: value Premium price to match the Sonos Era 300 Cheaper units dont deliver spatial audio
this good Rivals are a bit better for voice control, though At $599, the Home 400 is priced at the top of the standalone premium home speaker market,
making it a direct rival to the Sonos Era 300. For me, the Denon more than matches its Sonos competition when it comes to powerful spatial audio and is also a more stylish speaker with more intuitive control and better connectivity. The Denon gives you spatial customization missing from Sonos, and it also has built-in AUX, USB-C and the option of Ethernet.

While rivals like the Sonos Era 100 and Apple HomePod are cheaper, theyre
also more locked into ecosystems. Theyre good as affordable rivals, but the Denon offers the more powerful, more immersive and more customizable sound. And, while the JBL Authentics 300 also holds a lot of appeal, and Im a particular fan of its style and retro controls, it lacks native Dolby Atmos, so it doesnt feel like a direct rival.

The one thing youll want to keep in mind is the lack of capable voice assistance from the Denon at launch, but if that doesnt matter to you, the customizable spatial sound, ability to connect to players and turntables,
plus intuitive control make the Denon Home 400 a good value buy in this price tier. Just make sure youre keen on spatial sound and know you want to hear
the layers inside a mix, as thats what sets this apart. Value score: 4.5 / 5 Should I buy the Denon Home 400? Swipe to scroll horizontally

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

Native Dolby Atmos, with multiple connectivity options, but limited voice control possibilities.

4.5 / 5

Sound quality

Outstanding spatial audio, with solid set-and-forget settings.

4.5 / 5

Design

Durable, stylish look with two colorways to choose from, plus a general absence of plastic.

5 / 5

Usability & setup

Easy-to-understand controls, with an intuitive app, but needing a HomePod to make Siri work is a drawback.

4.5

Value

It's not cheap, but it's certainly worth the money with spatial audio this good.

4.5 / 5 Buy it if You want the best spatial audio from a single speaker The best feature of the Denon is hearing all the layers in the mix, from a single box. Few are the competitors who can match it. You want connectivity, flexibility and audio customization There are many ways to get to your music and/or radio stations. And it's easy to get there, too. You're starting a multi-room system Like the Denon in general, it's easy to set up and covers multiple brands. Dont buy it if You like to talk to voice assistants all the time The lack of Alexa or Google Assistant may be prohibitive for some, and even using Siri requires a HomePod to get it going. You only stream standard stereo The Atmos features are some of this speakers most rewarding benefits. Denon Home 400 review: also consider Swipe to scroll horizontally Denon Home 400 competitors Header Cell - Column 0

Denon Home 400

Sonos Era 300

Apple HomePod 2

Price

$599 / 449 / AU$999 )approx.)

$449 / 449 / AU$749

$299 / 299 / AU$479

Speaker drivers

2 x 0.75-inch tweeters, 2 x 1-inch upfiring drivers, 2x 4.5-inch woofers

4x tweeters, 2x woofers

5x tweeters, 1x woofer

Amplification

6x Class D amps

6x Class D amps

Not listed

Dimensions

11.8 x 5.9 x 8.6 in (300 x 150 x 219 mm)

6.30 x 10.24 x 7.28 in / 160 x 260 x 185 mm

5.6 x 6.6 x 5.6 in / 142 x 168 x 142 mm

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth, 3.5mm line-in, USB-C

Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C (3.5mm line-in and Ethernet via adapter)

Wi-Fi (802.11n), Bluetooth 5.0 (not audio)

Streaming support

HEOS app, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay 2

Sonos app, Apple AirPlay 2

Apple AirPlay 2

Voice assistant support

Siri (only if you have a HomePod on the same Wi-Fi network)

Alexa, Sonos Voice Control

Siri

Other features

HEOS multi-room, stereo pairing

Dolby Atmos support, Sonos multi-room control, Sonos home theater option, stereo pair option

Dolby Atmos support, Thread/HomeKit smart home hub, auto-calibration, stereo pairing option, Apple TV home theater option Sonos Era 300

If youve already got some products in the Sonos ecosystem, it may make sense to pick Denons closest rival. Some may argue Sonos has a stronger app for an interconnected whole-home audio system, but just note that it has less physical connectivity. Here's our full Sonos Era 300 review . Apple HomePod 2

Yes, it's older now, but it still sounds fabulous. And the HomePod is a
better value option if youre an Apple-only household, especially if you like to use Siri and will benefit from its smart features, such as handing off audio from your phone to the speaker by bringing it close. It works very well with Apple gadgets and Apple Music, of course. Here's our full Apple HomePod
2 review (Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks) How I tested the Denon Home 400 Tested with music streamed from Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music via AirPlay, and radio stations within the HEOS app Also tested Bluetooth and wired performance with the Activo P1 audio player Used Audio Pro A10 MkII for comparison during listening tests Tested over several weeks of both casual
and critical listening I tested the Denon Home 400 using a wide range of different music genres and styles, including popular hits, soundtracks, ambient playlists and classical. I listened to podcasts and radio content, too, over several weeks of testing. I primarily used the Denon Home 400 in
one spot, on a table in my living room, and that gave me a sense of how well it was able to fill the space in my small flat.

I used Bluetooth and wired connections with my Activo P1 music player, and also streamed using the HEOS app itself, accessing Deezer, Spotify and radio stations from this interface. Most of my spatial listening was tested via AirPlay, playing tracks mixed for Dolby Atmos through Apple Music.

For some direct comparisons, I used the other speakers that I currently have in my flat, including an Audio Pro A10 MkII and a couple of HomePod Minis in
a stereo pair. And, to get a great understanding of the speakers performance, I made sure to listen to the widest possible range of genres at varying
volume levels. First reviewed: June 2026 Read TechRadars reviews guarantee Denon Home 400: Price Comparison 449 View 449 View No price information Check Amazon We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices powered by



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