DENON HEOS MULTI ROOM SYSTEM - AVAILABLE VERY VERY SOON :)

Richersounds.ie: John

Guys we have just heard that our first few HEOS units have just been shipped to us and will land next week - so excited!

We've never heard so much industry noise about a new audio product launch as we have heard about this new multi room multi room system from Denon - and in our opinions - its all deserved - this is a superb product and the first system that can challenge Sonos at every level and win and I'd even say that it's a great option for Opus and high end legacy multi room systems.


The whole system is a wireless Multiroom audio system that is made up of a combination of stand alone speakers, amplifiers, preamps and accessories - best of all it can work with some AV Receivers to allow you to integrate and control a proper AV system into a multi room system - without spending a fortune!


The initial products in the Heos range are 3 Active speakers - the Heos 3, 5, 7 and a Heos 'Extend'


HEOS 3
The HEOS 3 is a speaker for medium sized rooms -


as with all HEOS products its controlled by the HEOS APP which is available now free for either Apple IOS or Android devices - the APP is simplicity itself to use and although it can control all the Heos devices AND some AV Receivers AND Streaming services ( inc Spotify Connect!) analogue inputs AND USB Thumb key - its still so easy to use its laughable - how come no-one else has designed an app so comprehensive and so simple to navigate?



The HEOS 3 speaker is a proper stereo speaker and like all the other HEOS products has been tuned acoustically by the famous golden ears of Ken Ishiwata ( he of the Famous Marantz KI series..) even the 3 has twin drivers and discrete two channel class D amps.

Now it gets a bit smarter - every HEOS product also has a range of inputs - USB - so you can plug in a USB thumb key or USB drive and a 3.5mm input for any legacy inputs ie TV, record deck, CD Player etc!

The 3.5mm input means that you can plug in your CD player or turntable into any HEOS speaker and listen to it straight away on that speaker, the clever bit though is if you add a another HEOS product, you can access the music from the 1st speaker across the network - and with no discernable delay across the system!

If you want a larger sound-stage you can configure 2 HEOS 3 speakers to work together as a stereo pair!

The Heos 3 is £249 and arriving next week.


HEOS 5



The Heos 5 is the step up speaker - designed for larger rooms - it has all the features of the HEOS 3 but adds 2 separate woofers and tweeters for better audio - again each of these are powered by a quality separate class D amp - total of 4 amplifiers! ( for a multi room speaker this is pretty unusual!)

The HEOS 5 has amazing sound from a really discreet footprint - like the HEOS 3 it is APP controlled but also has volume controls, mute button and multi status LED indicator on-board ( don't worry you will be able to switch the LED off!)

Again just like the HEOS 3, the HEOS 5 uses Dual band wireless to connect to your standard home wifi network - the HEOS doesn't have to use a dedicated 'Bridge' like other systems, its happy to operate on your own network ( more of that later!)

The HEOS 5 is £349


HEOS 7


I've heard the HEOS 7 and I really don't understand it.....

I can't understand how it can possibly sound so good ( OK I know its not cheap - but it just sounds A M A Z I N G )

This is the biggest HEOS speaker - it's still compact but it contains twin tweeters, twin mid range woofer drives, a large active sub driver and TWO passive drivers - and yep, 5 separate amps - I've heard it on a couple of occasions now in large areas and it just floods the room with amazing quality sound and literally you have to turn the bass control down - its a complete party animal!

Like the HEOS 3, 5 and all the other HEOS components, you can stream music from most favourite music services including Tunein and Spotify - you can also stream music stored locally on your phone or tablet or NAS drive or of course any USB connected device. The HEOS system is so clever that if music sharing is enabled on any device within the network ( ie a visiting friend) it can also access that!

The HEOS 7 also has a high quality headphone output for private & night time listening - it will retail at £499

HEOS EXTEND

This is an optional unit that enhances the quality of the HEOS network ( and in turn will make your Home network larger and much stronger! It allows you the flexibility to place HEOS units far from your central hub. The Guys at Denon reckon that this is pretty much the best Wifi extender that you can buy!



The Extend is a great price at just £79

Now it gets interesting......

The final two products are not here until next month but are of the most interest to the Audio freak....


HEOS AMP

This is a really clever unit that allows you to turn an existing audio setup into part of the HEOS system. Its speaker terminals mean you can hook up any speakers while its optical-in also gives you the opportunity to connect your TV and have that audio streamed throughout the house - the HEOS AMP has 2 * 100 Watt amps built in and I heard it playing through some serious POLK speakers and it sounded amazing!

The HEOS amp has a range of inputs and outputs - Optical input, USB input, 3.5mm Analogue input and line input ( and SUB output if you are mad enough to need more Bass!) - this means that you can use any of these inputs to play music through the HEOS amp and of course across the HEOS platform.


The HEOS AMP is £499.95

HEOS LINK

Like the HEOS AMP the link has all the above features - but its a clever unit as you can use your own Denon AMP ( ie the PMA 520 / 720) Mini System ( like the DM39) or AV RECEIVER ( like the AVR2000) to provide high quality amplification.


The HEOS LINK also has SUB out to connect a decent active subwoofer and again the clever bit that you wont find on any other multi room product anywhere near this price is that it also has a 12V trigger AND a remote flasher output that can control your Denon amp product from within the HEOS app - it really is amazing in action!

We can't wait to get the AMP and LINK in - they are due in during September but they are really worth waiting for, and we feel that the whole range isn't just an option for Sonos - it's actually a better system ( and that's saying something as Sonos is an excellent system)

The Link will be £279

Products to follow in 2014 and 2015 include:

TV Soundbar

TV Sound plinth

Heos 1 speaker ( ultra compact speaker with optional battery unit which will make it completely wireless and portable - even use it in the garden!

Bluetooth dongle - you can also add Bluetooth functionality to any HEOS product


We have a number of opening promotions planned on the HEOS system including a 90 day no quibble trial / refund deal and a money off deal on any additional HEOS products purchased within the 1st 60 days..and as ever we will do our best to enhance these deals for Boardies

We will have the system on Demo from next week - pop in and have a blast or of course you can purchase it, try it for a couple of months and return it for a full refund for any reason!

Have a look at the What Hi-fi 1st look here:
http://www.whathifi.com/news/hands-heos-denon-wireless-multi-room-system-review

and the dedicated Denon microsite is here:
http://usa.denon.com/us/heos

Thanks again and if you have any queries just drop us a line - I know that my own Opus multi room system at home is looking seriously twitchy....

ATVB,

John Mc & Crew