Denon has announced a major update to its HEOS multi-room audio platform to support both Bluetooth wireless audio streaming and hi-res audio playback. Starting today, all new HEOS products, dubbed HS2, will allow you to send audio over Bluetooth to one HEOS device and then play that content throughout the system over your Wi-Fi network. New HEOS devices will also support playback of 24/192 WAV, ALAC, and FLAC files, with suppport for DSD and AIFF files in the works. The company says that you will be able to add a new HS2 HEOS device to an existing HEOS system and enjoy hi-res audio playback.
From Denon
Denon Electronics announces that it is making significant upgrades to its popular HEOS wireless multi-room sound system. Introduced by Denon in 2014, the HEOS series continues to evolve to meet consumer demand as the popularity of wireless multi-room sound systems grow. Effective today, the HEOS family of speakers, pre-amp and amp will be adding Bluetooth accessibility--giving consumers the choice of utilizing either Wi-Fi networks or Bluetooth to play music through their HEOS system.
In addition to the Bluetooth, HEOS will now feature compatibility with high-resolution audio files for the ultimate listening experience. Users can listen to uncompressed WAV (PCM), ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) and FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) music files up to 24-bit/192-kHz over network or USB. And coming soon users will also be able to listen to DSD (DSD is the audio coding format of SACD) and AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) audio tracks all in the convenience of their home. The new platform includes an ARM A9 1.25-GHz Processor with 512 MB of flash memory combined with 256 MB of RAM.
"We are pleased to introduce this new upgrade to our HEOS platform that brings high resolution audio playback, built in Bluetooth, and a significant increase in processing power that will intensify performance and support new features that we can't wait to bring to the HEOS family!" said Brendon Stead, SVP product development at Denon. "Consumers are embracing our HEOS line of products, and we are looking forward to making the platform even better with new software features."
Denon introduced the series with three speakers and a HEOS Wi-Fi extender. Since that time, the HEOS line has announced additional product line extensions, including an indoor/outdoor speaker, soundbar with subwoofer, pre-amp, amp and whole home multi-zone amplifier to the series.
Now HEOS brings Denon-quality audio to any--or all--rooms in the home by easily connecting via Bluetooth or an existing Wi-Fi network through the HEOS app, available for iOS, Android and Fire devices. It instantly gives users multi-room audio control at their fingertips, commanding music in every room from any HEOS device. Another bonus is the ability to stream the Bluetooth content from one speaker to other speakers over the Wi-Fi Network and add one new HEOS HS2 device to an existing HEOS product without concern of compatibility issues.
They can use HEOS to group several rooms together and play the same song, perfectly synchronized through advanced technology. Or play a different song in every room when everyone wants to listen to their own tune.
And HEOS flawlessly delivers users' favorite music from the world's leading cloud sources like Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, Rhapsody, iHeart Radio, TIDAL, SiriusXM, Soundcloud and Amazon Music. Users also have the ability to stream content stored on their smart devices, PCs, Macs or NAS drives on any home network.
In the future, the Denon HEOS Series will continue to expand with new and innovative products. The HEOS multi-room wireless sound system is available at select Denon dealers. For more information visit www.HEOSbyDenon.com.
Additional Resources
• Which Multi-room Wireless Audio System Is Right for You? at HomeTheaterReview.com.
• Denon Announces New HEOS Home Cinema Soundbar/Subwoofer System at HomeTheaterReview.com.
