Product test

Denon HEOS tested - The great little ones

29.12.2016

Translation: machine translated

Denon sets the bar high for sound with its Heos multiroom system. The fly in the ointment is the antiquated pairing method.

You must love your stereo system, right? At some point you spent a lot of money on the system, maybe you bought a subwoofer and/or an amplifier. But let's be honest, it would be more practical if you could bring your music from Spotify directly into your living room. But since stereo systems are not yet smart devices, this is difficult. Sure, you can wire your mobile to the stereo system. Also kind of stupid, because one of the main features of the smartphone is that it fits in your trouser pocket. So: music via WLAN in several rooms. Great idea, isn't it? But as these multi-room systems are a bit expensive, I'm testing them out for you so that you can sit back and enjoy your music as much as possible.

The speakers in Denon's Heos series are massive. They are not overly large, as compactness is also a priority here, but they are significantly larger than the speakers of competitors on the market. They're also heavier, but that's actually totally irrelevant because the idea behind multiroom systems is that you can hide the speakers somewhere and then the sound just magically appears in the room. So you power the speakers once and then you're good.

The archaic setup

Denon is one of the most traditional brands in the audio business. Founded in 1910 by American Frederick Whitney Horn with Japanese partners as 日本電氣音響株式會社 - Nippon Denki Onkyo Kabushikigaisha - the company quickly became known as DEN-ON. In over 100 years, Denon has taken pulse code modulation from theory to practice. A system that allows the digital representation of analogue data. The technology led directly to the CD, whose player converts digital data into analogue sound.

In short, Denon is innovative and has a lot of history to build on.

This history becomes the biggest problem with the multiroom setup, which is marketed under the name Heos.

My test setup looks like this:

Sound bars

Denon HEOS HomeCinema + Zone 2 Stereo Bundle

After placing the speakers in practically every room - the soundbar in the living room next to the TV, of course - I set about setting up and networking the devices. As with any multi-room system, Heos has a built-in security mechanism. This is to ensure that I can only access my speakers and not my neighbour's Heos system, which could possibly be within Wi-Fi range. With Sony systems, this is the verification of the connection via NFC, with Sonos you have to press two buttons to confirm. With Denon, this is far more archaic. With the Heos speakers, you have to connect your mobile to the speaker via a 3.5mm jack plug.

Yes, the 3.5mm jack plug. The same plug that has been abolished in the latest iPhone. The same plug that will probably no longer be used in upcoming models from other mobile phone manufacturers. Although things are currently looking bleak for the traditional plug, it can be assumed that Denon will adapt as soon as the need arises. This is not only supported by the fact that the company has been in business for 100 years. Denon is looking to the future, because the speakers are capable of playing high definition audio. If you want to do yourself a favour, play a FLAC file through the speakers.

A stereo system, as you know as well as I do, is something you buy and then enjoy for several years. With the Denon Heos, you run the acute risk of no longer having a device that can be set up without major effort or dongle history in five years' time. After setup, the gigantic LED light on the speakers is particularly annoying, but this can be switched off using the app.

But that shouldn't put you off buying it, because the sound is good. Really good.

The little ones make the difference

It's mainly the small speakers, i.e. the Heos 1 series, that impress. Denon has shown what the traditional company is capable of in a small space. The speakers deliver beautiful sound for their size and are fun to listen to. Even in the kitchen, where there is usually a lot of commotion, you can hear beautiful music even when the extractor fan is rumbling. Not because the speakers are so loud, but because they simply make good sound that doesn't have to be loud to drown out certain noise.

The Heos 5 series really impresses. The devices are roughly the size of a toaster, but perhaps slightly larger. They pack more sound power than some stereo systems. Deep bass, clear high tones, my home office is filled with pleasant sound.

Sound bars

Denon HEOS HomeCinema + Zone 2 Stereo Bundle

The soundbar, on the other hand, is a strange candidate. The sound is not bad. On the contrary. In combination with the subwoofer, "Mad Max: Fury Road" sounds as furious as it should, but the big surprise, the wow effect, doesn't materialise. The soundbar delivers exactly what it's supposed to, but doesn't blow me away. I hope it will sound different in your living room, because your home cinema isn't complete without the soundbar and if you can't integrate your home cinema system into your multiroom sound, then it's a waste of speakers, isn't it?

Streaming made easy

The Heos app for Google Android and Apple iPhone is software that you will hardly need. This is because the speakers can be controlled directly via Spotify, just like other streaming services, as long as they offer open interfaces. But if you want to group speakers, you'll need the app again. I would love to see a widget here that makes it easier to group speakers together.

After the initial setup, it is possible to use the Heos speakers without access to the Heos app. In an age where there is at least one app for everything that has to be used, this is very relaxing and really nice. For local music on a local server or a local device, however, I would use the Heos app. You can also use other apps, but the focus of the integration is clearly on streaming services.

The bottom line

Denon is a traditional brand that can still show the newcomers in the field what's possible. Unfortunately, they have just reached the point where critical functionality can only be accessed through third-party technology. The problem is that this technology - the 3.5mm jack plug - is currently facing a difficult future. Therefore, even though I can recommend the audio quality and hardware to everyone, I would wait for the next generation of Heos speakers for a setup that is as future-proof as possible, even if it can be assumed that the current generation of speakers will be secured on the software side.

Update 29.12.2016

As some commentators and Denon Switzerland have correctly mentioned, it is also possible to set up the speakers with an RJ45 cable. I mentioned this in an early draft of this article, but then realised that the little sentence I had there came out of nowhere and didn't go anywhere, disrupting the flow of the text considerably. That was probably a misjudgement of the situation on my part, for which I apologise.

So here's the paragraph I had: It's also possible to integrate the Denon speakers into the network using a direct connection between the router and the speaker. This is a little more future-proof, but extremely cumbersome. In particular, I didn't want to lug the subwoofer and soundbar around the flat unnecessarily and didn't want to take my router down from the top shelf, which is why I took my old 145 gram Samsung Galaxy S5 out of the drawer for the Setzo.

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Dominik Bärlocher

Senior Editor

dominik.baerlocher@digitecgalaxus.ch

Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.

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