Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6 vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550 Soundbar Comparison

Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6 vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550

Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6

5.1-channel | $798

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Denon Home Sound Bar 550

4.0-channel | $699

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Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6 vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550: the short answer

Across 13 features we can compare from the published specs, the Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6 comes out ahead on 4 and the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 on 3. Only the Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6 comes with a subwoofer, which matters when comparing the prices.

Reasons to choose Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6 over Denon Home Sound Bar 550

Channel layout: 5.1 vs 4.0
Subwoofer: Included vs Optional
Rear speakers: Included vs Optional
Height: 2.56 in vs 2.94 in

Reasons to choose Denon Home Sound Bar 550 over Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6

HDMI inputs: 1 vs 0
Streaming: Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect vs Bluetooth only
Voice assistant: Alexa built-in, Google Assistant optional vs No

Side-by-Side Comparison

	Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6	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.	0	1
Video pass-through	—	4K
Subwoofer Included beats optional beats none: a separate subwoofer is where deep bass comes from.	Included	Optional
Rear speakers Real rear speakers put effects behind you; without them surround is simulated from the front.	Included	Optional
Room correction	No	No
Streaming	Bluetooth only	Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect
Voice assistant Built in, rather than through a separate smart speaker.	No	Alexa built-in, Google Assistant optional
Dialogue enhancement	Yes	Yes
Height Lower is less likely to block the bottom of the TV picture.	2.56 in	2.94 in
Width / suits TVs from Neither is better: match the bar to your TV. See the size simulator below.	35.75 in / 43-inch	25.63 in / 32-inch
Drivers in the bar	4	6
Weight	5.75 lbs	7.3 lbs
List price	$798	$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 Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6, 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

Sony BRAVIA Theater System 6 Specifications

Sound
Channels	5.1
Dolby Atmos	Yes
DTS:X	Yes
Drivers	Tweeters: 0.625" Soft-Dome (2); Midrange: 1.8125" x 3.25" Cone; Woofers: 1.8125" x 3.25" Cone; Subwoofer: 7" Cone; Enclosure: Ported
Subwoofer	Included
Rear speakers	Included
Virtual surround	S-Force Pro Front + Vertical Surround Engine
Dialogue enhancement	Yes
Night mode	Yes
Room correction	No
Connections
HDMI to TV	eARC
HDMI inputs	0
HDMI version	2.0
Optical inputs	Yes
Analogue input	3.5mm
USB	No
Subwoofer output	Wireless
HDMI CEC	Yes
Streaming and Control
Wi-Fi	No
Bluetooth	Yes
Voice control	No
App	Apple iOS, Android
Remote included	Yes
Learns TV remote	No
Physical
Dimensions (W x H x D)	35.75 x 2.56 x 3.88 in / 908 x 65 x 99 mm
Weight	5.75 lbs / 2.61 kg
Subwoofer size	10.88 x 15.25 x 16.63 in (W x H x D), 25.57 lbs
Wall mounting	Yes (no bracket supplied)
Warranty	1 Year parts, 1 Year labour
List price	$798

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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