Denon CEOL Carino review

Denon provides a convenient small form factor remote control that lets you adjust volume, change source and turn on some of the features such as the wide soundstage mode. The remote was a useful and convenient inclusion. It comes in black regardless of which model you opt for, however.

We were disappointed by the speaker’s production of lower frequencies, with the bass particularly lacking any presence or delivery. It sounded particularly weak during our hip hop test tracks and this transferred across to other genres of music as well. If you want any real bass impact you’ll want to connect a separate subwoofer.

Mids and trebles at least fared better but overall sound was still somewhat muddy. During our instrumental test tracks, in particular, the sound lacked the crispness we were expecting of speakers at this price point. We found the wide soundstage mode did enhance the width of the sound but we also felt it made the audio sound flatter as a side effect. The maximum volume was respectably loud.

The CEOL Carino has a beautiful design and as an entire package it’s very well put together. The controls are a delight to use and it has thoughtful design features like the integrated cable tidy. The main control unit is easy to use and we loved the touch controls. Being able to use the speakers with your Bluetooth devices is also handy. We were just a little disappointed by the sound quality that we felt should have been better considering the Carino’s high price tag and Denon’s reputation.