New Denon Heos Sub $300 Speaker Coming Wireless Soundbar By Xmas

The Heos 1 is set to go on sale in the second half of the
year and is the first speaker in the Heos Wi-Fi speaker line to mate with an
optional battery pack for portable use.


The six-hour battery is part of the optional Heos 1 Go Pack,
which also includes a Bluetooth USB adapter and a Splashguard, pricing for
Australia have not been announced.

 

The Splashguard adds IPX4 splash proof protection so the
speaker can be used by a poolside or during rainy weather.

 

Despite being a premium speaker brand the Denon Heos range
is still only being sold via specialist dealers with neither JB Hi Fi nor
Harvey Norman indicating whether they will range the speaker range which is
seen as being on par with what Sonos currently offer.

 

A Bluetooth adapter turns the Wi-Fi speaker into a Bluetooth
speaker when the speaker is out of range of a home’s Wi-Fi network.

 

Within Wi-Fi range, the speaker will share a Bluetooth
source with any Heos Wi-Fi speaker that’s on the network.

 

 The company is also
developing a Heos soundbar, which is could also be launched in time for peak
end of year selling period.

 

 The Heos 1 and the
soundbar will join three other Heos speakers: the Heos 7, Heos 5, and Heos 3.
The company also offers Heos Amp, which connects to any pair of passive
speakers; the Heos link preamp, which connects to existing sound systems; and
the Heos Extend, a Wi-Fi range extender.

 

The Heos 1 is a mono speaker, but like the Heos stereo
speakers, two can be paired while on a Wi-Fi network to operate as separate
left-right speakers. Heos systems use controller apps on iOS and Android
smartphones and tablets, as well as on the Kindle Fire, to send music to Heos
devices throughout the house. Music sources include music stored on the mobile
device, on networked sources such as NAS drives and PCs, and on USB sticks and
USB hard drives plugged into a Heos device.

 

Heos devices also stream cloud-based music services,
including Spotify, SiriusXM, Pandora, Rhapsody, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio. The
Heos One two-way speaker is available in black or white and will feature Class
D amp, biamplification, dual-band Wi-Fi, custom active EQ and crossover, and
MaxxAudio, a suite of sound-enhancing technologies from Waves.