Mar 25, 2026
3 min read
Denon is back with its new Home 200, 400 and 600 speakers, introducing a new look and more ways to expand your system.
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I replaced my Sonos Era speakers with an unexpected choice - and it didn't miss a beat
Denon Home 200 and 400
main takeaway
- Pros: Wide, spacious soundstage, AirPlay enabled
- Disadvantages: more expensive than competitors
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Sonos isn't the only company investing in the whole home audio game;Denon has released three new smart speakers, bringing its lineup to seven.The Denon Home 200, 400, and 600 have new looks, Dolby Atmos support, and other ways to expand your Denon ecosystem around your home.
The question is how adept is Denon's HEOS ecosystem at serving as a whole-home audio hub, and should you consider it over Sonos? Once you're locked into an ecosystem, it's difficult to get the perfect room-to-room sound you're looking for, and expensive if you want to start over. Let's take a closer look.
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What's new in Denon Home 200
The Home 200 succeeds the Home 150, swapping out the denim surrounding material for a more nondescript woven pattern.The buttons and ports are now in less obvious positions, the branding is quieter, and the front square shape is rounded for a modern look.
Denon's Home 200 is similar in audio structure to the Sonos Era 100, with a Cladd-D amplifier, two tweeters, a woofer, and a built-in microphone for voice assistant compatibility.Like the Era 100, the Denon matches the Home 200 with AirPlay, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless streaming.If privacy is a concern, both speakers also have a microphone button to disconnect the built-in microphone.
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However, the Home 200 has two separate ports for connecting the 3.5mm input and USB-C, which allows you to connect analog devices, and you can connect the Home 200 through the USB-C port with an Ethernet adapter.You can control the Home 200's bass, treble and range on a 10-point scale, and the HEOS app lets you switch between balanced "Auto" sound and "Pure" sound, which reduces digital processing.
On the sound front, the Home 200 offers an unusually wide soundstage for its small size.Before modifying any EQ settings, the Home 200's tweeters are emphasized, providing detail in vocals and harmonies with very clear imaging and instrumental separation.
Denon says the Home 200 supports Dolby Atmos, but I wasn't able to access it through AirPlay on Apple Music. I imagine you can access it with a Home 200 stereo setup connected to a Denon soundbar, or with another music streaming subscription.
However, I listened to Charli xcx's "Sympathy is a Knife" several times in Dolby Atmos with a Sonos 5.1 surround setup, and all the digitized harmonies in the chorus that I usually hear in surround came through the Denon Home 200 speakers.
In comparison, Sonos' mid-range option in the Era 100 offers sound with more emphasis on bass and treble, which most people will like, especially in movie or TV viewing environments.
What's new in the Denon Home 400
Denon's Home 400 speakers are a variant of the middle sibling in the home speaker range, featuring six Class-D amplifiers, two tweeters and two uplifting midrange drivers.This speaker succeeds the Home 350 and debuts with a new, modern look.
This speaker is very similar to the Sonos Era 300, which has two tweeters, two midrange drivers, and two woofers.Denon's Home 400 replaces the previous generation's DTS:X surround sound with the more accessible Dolby Atmos, includes Bluetooth and AirPlay, and has a 3.5mm line-in port along with a USB-C port for external devices or cables.
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Like its younger brother, the Home 400's sound is very detailed and clear, with noticeable detail and depth, although the smaller Home 200 offers a wider soundstage.The bass is tight and doesn't interfere with the rest of the sound.
HEOS vs. Sonos
My main concern was to find out why the whole home ecosystem.The answer to that question largely depends on what kind of person you are and what goals you want to achieve.For starters, Denon currently only has one HEOS-compatible soundbar, so you're limited to one model if you connect your system to a TV.By comparison, Sonos' S2 system supports seven soundbars, ranging in price and size.different.
Denon's HEOS works like Sonos' S2 to move from room to room;Sonos offers more products in its ecosystem.For streaming, Sonos offers Apple Music in its app, making it one of the third-party services to do so, allowing you to access Dolby Atmos from a speaker.
HEOS doesn't support Apple Music, but Denon speakers do support AirPlay.However, HEOS supports subscription-free TuneIn access, which is great for people who like local radio stations, talk, music, sports, or news.
Sonos has several music streaming services, but many of them (besides the basics: Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, etc.) are for commercial use like gyms, spas, corporate offices, retail stores, or hotels, so you probably won't use them unless you're into that sort of thing.
Also: I connected an Ouracast Bluetooth receiver to my TV and it's a useful home audio upgrade.
As a result, Sonos and Denon achieve very similar results in their respective whole-home audio ecosystems, but there are huge differences in each company's hardware.Sonos products have much stronger midrange, low midrange, and bass; This makes them ready for movies, TV shows, podcasts and entertaining guests.
Denon products emphasize mid and higher frequencies, have a more balanced tone, support connection to analog devices and support higher quality reproduction, making them aimed at the most critical listener.
Basically, if you want to start with a home theater and then expand it to other rooms, you should choose Sonos;if you plan to have smart hi-fi speakers in your home and focus on home theater, you should choose Denon.
Shopping tips
The Denon Home 200 and Home 400 speakers are great comebacks for the company, proving that five years apart brings tangible upgrades.They make beautiful table centerpieces for your home, as well as smart high-fidelity speakers.
Denon's new home speakers can also double as rear speakers for your HEOS-powered home theater, but the company only offers one soundbar to connect them to.However, to make up for the lack of soundbars, Denon offers several HEOS-enabled AV receivers, amplifiers, and network audio players.
