Denon announced a free U26 firmware update to its Denon Home range of premium wireless speakers and sound bar. The latest update adds Alexa Built-in voice assistance to the entirety of the lineup and wireless 5.1 surround sound capabilities for the Denon Home Sound Bar 550. Owners of the new sound bar can now pair Denon Home 150, 250 or 350 as wireless rears for a fully immersive experience. Additionally, the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 receives a DSP boost for improved bass response.

Denon Home product owners must first turn on the built-in microphones within the HEOS app and link the speaker to their Alexa account to use Alexa. Users can tell if the microphone is activated via the front light strip, which was previously dormant. Once turned on, users can ask Alexa to play music, hear the news, check the weather forecast and control smart home devices. The microphones in Denon Home speakers will remain disabled and unpowered unless users choose to enable Alexa.

In addition, two new capacitive touch buttons will be activated on the top panel of Denon Home speakers to control Alexa in two different fashions. One button mutes the microphone and the other allows owners to set Alexa to actively listen. When muted, the front light strip will briefly glow red to indicate the mic is off, while the touch button will remain red until the mic is unmuted.

Home cinema fans with a Denon Home Sound Bar 550 can now wirelessly connect a pair of Denon Home speakers as rear surround channels. Users can also pair a DenonDSW-1H subwoofer for larger rooms and bigger bass to complete the full 5.1 surround setup.