It’s officially Upgrade Season – here’s how to turn your living room into a proper cinema

September hits different. The kids are (finally) back at school, football’s gracing the telly, and cosy nights in are on the menu. 

And now, it’s finally time to tackle that nagging thought that’s been brewing all summer – why does your shiny new TV sound like it’s speaking through a paper cup?

It’s a common problem.  You splash out on a gorgeous 4K beast, get it mounted perfectly on the wall, fire up your favourite Netflix series and… the dialogue sounds like it’s coming from underwater, while explosions have all the impact of a wet flannel. 

It’s the universal letdown of modern TVs, but it makes sense. The razor-thin bezels and impossibly slim profiles of sleek modern tellies come at a cost – there’s simply nowhere to fit decent speakers. 

As a result, most built-in speakers are firing sound straight into your wall or down at your coffee table – anywhere except where you’re actually sitting.

It’s like having a Ferrari with a lawnmower engine. All that visual brilliance, completely undermined by paltry audio. But there is hope.

Enter the wireless revolution

Remember when setting up surround sound meant threading cables through walls, deciphering receiver manuals thicker than phone books, and generally turning your living room into a construction site? Those days are, thankfully, long gone.

Enter Denon, who has cracked the code with its Home series — proper cinema sound that connects over your Wi-Fi. No drilling. No cable-routing nightmares. No engineering degree required. Just plug them in, fire up an app, and you’re away.

Starting simple: the sound bar that punches above its weight

The cornerstone of this whole setup is the Denon Home Sound Bar 550. At 26 inches wide, it’s compact enough to sit under most TVs without looking ridiculous, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s some lightweight pretender.

It also supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X — the fancy 3D audio formats that put sounds above your head and all around you. 

Remember that scene in Blade Runner 2049 where the flying cars whoosh overhead? You’ll actually feel them passing by. It’s the difference between watching a film and being inside it.

The clever bit is how simple it is to set up. One HDMI cable to your TV, and that’s it. No faffing about with multiple connections or trying to remember which input does what. Bliss.

Adding the thunder: when dialogue needs backup

Once you’ve lived with proper dialogue clarity for a week, you’ll start craving something else – bass you can feel in your chest. That’s where the Denon Home Subwoofer comes in.

This 8-inch powerhouse connects wirelessly to your sound bar — just plug it into the wall somewhere in your room, and let the handy HEOS app do the rest. Suddenly, every explosion has proper weight behind it, and music gains that fullness you never knew was missing.

The beauty is in what it does for everything else too. When the subwoofer handles all the heavy lifting in the bass department, your sound bar can focus on what it does best – crystal-clear mids and sparkling highs. It’s like adding a turbocharger to your entire audio setup.

Going full surround: the final frontier

Here’s where things get properly exciting. Once you’ve tasted what decent front-facing audio can do, you’ll notice that some immersion from the rear will crank things up to the next level.

Adding rear speakers transforms watching films from a passive experience into something truly immersive. 

When someone walks up behind the protagonist, you’ll hear their footsteps behind you. When helicopters circle overhead in an action flick, you’ll feel like they’re circling around your room.

The genius of the Denon system is that you can use any of their wireless speakers as rears. The Home 150 is perfect for smaller rooms, the Home 250 hits the sweet spot for most living rooms, while the Home 350 is for those with serious space to fill.

Pop them behind your sofa, plug them in, pair them through the app, and you’re done. No trenches. No drilling. No getting tangled in cables.

The app that makes it all work

The HEOS app deserves special mention because it’s what separates this from the usual Hi-Fi faff. Everything – and we mean everything – gets controlled from your phone. Pairing speakers, adjusting bass levels, switching between stereo music and surround sound for films, and even playing different tracks in different rooms.

It’s the kind of seamless control that makes you wonder why every bit of home tech isn’t this straightforward.

When films finish, the music begins

When the Netflix credits roll, your cinema system doesn’t just sit there looking pretty. Every Denon Home speaker is also a serious music player. 

Stream from Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, or whatever service floats your boat. Play the same playlist throughout the house, or go full DJ and have different tunes in each room.

It’s like having a professional sound system that moonlights as your personal radio station.

Building your setup, your way

The brilliant thing about this approach is there’s no pressure to go all-in immediately. Start with just the sound bar, and experience the difference proper dialogue makes. Add the subwoofer when you’re ready for more impact. And complete the surround experience when you want the ultimate immersive experience.

Each piece works perfectly on its own, but together they create something genuinely special – cinema-quality sound that doesn’t require rewiring your house or consulting an installation manual.

Welcome to your new evening routine

This September, while everyone else is settling back into mundane routines, you could be settling into something far better – evenings where films sound as good as they look, where music fills your home with proper richness, and where your living room becomes the place everyone wants to be.

Upgrade Season is here. It’s time to give your ears the treat they deserve.