Marshall Heston 60 vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550 Soundbar Comparison

Marshall Heston 60 vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550

Marshall Heston 60

5.1-channel | $700

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Denon Home Sound Bar 550

4.0-channel | $699

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Marshall Heston 60 vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550: the short answer

Across 13 features we can compare from the published specs, the Marshall Heston 60 comes out ahead on 4 and the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 on 2.

Reasons to choose Marshall Heston 60 over Denon Home Sound Bar 550

Channel layout: 5.1 vs 4.0
Room correction: Yes vs No
Streaming: Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect vs Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect
Height: 2.63 in vs 2.94 in

Reasons to choose Denon Home Sound Bar 550 over Marshall Heston 60

Rear speakers: Optional vs None
Voice assistant: Alexa built-in, Google Assistant optional vs Google Assistant optional

Side-by-Side Comparison

	Marshall Heston 60	Denon Home Sound Bar 550
Channel layout Counts speaker channels the bar actually has. More ear-level and height channels means a wider, taller sound field.	5.1	4.0
Height channels Drivers aimed at the ceiling, which is what makes Dolby Atmos sound overhead rather than just wide.	0	0
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes
DTS:X	Yes	Yes
HDMI to the TV eARC carries lossless Dolby TrueHD and Atmos from the TV; plain ARC compresses them.	eARC	eARC
HDMI inputs A spare HDMI port for a games console or disc player.	1	1
Video pass-through	—	4K
Subwoofer Included beats optional beats none: a separate subwoofer is where deep bass comes from.	Optional	Optional
Rear speakers Real rear speakers put effects behind you; without them surround is simulated from the front.	None	Optional
Room correction	Yes	No
Streaming	Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect	Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect
Voice assistant Built in, rather than through a separate smart speaker.	Google Assistant optional	Alexa built-in, Google Assistant optional
Dialogue enhancement	Yes	Yes
Height Lower is less likely to block the bottom of the TV picture.	2.63 in	2.94 in
Width / suits TVs from Neither is better: match the bar to your TV. See the size simulator below.	28.75 in / 40-inch	25.63 in / 32-inch
Drivers in the bar	7	6
Power (total, as published) Makers rate soundbar power differently, so the totals are not a like-for-like comparison.	75 W	—
Weight	6.08 lbs	7.3 lbs
List price	$700	$699

Green marks the better figure where one is better. Dashes are specs the maker does not publish.

Size: Both Soundbars in Front of a TV

Drawn to scale. The solid bar is the Marshall Heston 60, the dashed outline the Denon Home Sound Bar 550. Pick your TV size and how it stands to see whether either would cover the picture.

Full Specifications

Marshall Heston 60 Specifications

Sound
Channels	5.1
Dolby Atmos	Yes
DTS:X	Yes
Drivers	Tweeters: 1.25" Dome (5); Woofers: Cone (2); Enclosure: Ported
Power (bar, total)	75 watts
Frequency response	45-20k Hz
Subwoofer	Optional
Rear speakers	None
Virtual surround	Movie Mode
Dialogue enhancement	Yes
Night mode	Yes
Room correction	Yes
Connections
HDMI to TV	eARC
HDMI inputs	1
HDMI version	2.1
Optical inputs	No
Analogue input	3.5mm
USB	No
Subwoofer output	Mono-RCA, Wireless
HDMI CEC	Yes
Streaming and Control
Wi-Fi	802.11ax
Bluetooth	Yes
Streaming	AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, TIDAL, Pandora, SiriusXM, TuneIn, YouTube Music
Voice control	Google Assistant optional
App	Apple iOS, Android
Remote included	Yes
Learns TV remote	No
Physical
Dimensions (W x H x D)	28.75 x 2.63 x 4.88 in / 730 x 67 x 124 mm
Weight	6.08 lbs / 2.76 kg
Wall mounting	Yes (no bracket supplied)
Warranty	1 Year parts, 1 Year labour
List price	$700

Power is the maker's total across all drivers and is not comparable to an amplifier's per-channel rating.

Denon Home Sound Bar 550 Specifications

Sound
Channels	4.0
Dolby Atmos	Yes
DTS:X	Yes
Drivers	Tweeters: 0.75" Dome (2); Midrange: 2.1875" Cone (4); Woofers: 2"x3.5" Passive Radiators; Enclosure: Passive Radiator
Subwoofer	Optional
Rear speakers	Optional
Virtual surround	Virtual Surround
Dialogue enhancement	Yes
Night mode	Yes
Room correction	No
Connections
HDMI to TV	eARC
HDMI inputs	1
Video pass-through	4K
HDMI version	2.0b
Optical inputs	Yes
Analogue input	3.5mm
USB	USB-A
Subwoofer output	Wireless
HDMI CEC	Yes
Streaming and Control
Wi-Fi	802.11ac
Streaming	AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, TIDAL, Amazon Music, Pandora, SiriusXM, TuneIn
Voice control	Alexa built-in, Google Assistant optional
App	Apple iOS, Android
Remote included	Yes
Learns TV remote	Pre-programmed
Physical
Dimensions (W x H x D)	25.63 x 2.94 x 4.69 in / 651 x 75 x 119 mm
Weight	7.3 lbs / 3.31 kg
Wall mounting	Yes (no bracket supplied)
Warranty	2 Years parts, 2 Years labour
List price	$699

Power is the maker's total across all drivers and is not comparable to an amplifier's per-channel rating.

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