[tiwaricd]

Anyone know what is the next evolution of the HEOS Drive? I was about to build out a whole home audio solution using the HEOS Drive and Superlink but it looks like Denon is saying these are "legacy" products now. But I don't see anything announced to replace them. I really liked the idea it would tie together other HEOS surround amps and wireless speakers in some rooms along with the 14 zone hard wired speakers.

If anyone knows if there is a new product on the way let me know or if you all have found another solution that would check these boxes it would be much appreciated... this has put a pause on my build out plans.

 

[nathan_h]

May be worthwhile explaining why HEOS was your first choice. That way people can suggest other ecosystems that may satisfy the same needs. For example, from what you describe, SONOS could be an alternative. I'm guessing you know about SONOS and didn't select it for a reason, but from what you describe, I could only guess at what that is.

 

[smoothtlk]

Might be because the Sonos has one of the least capable API's for integrating with other systems, vs. the HEOS has one of the best. And then subjectively, the HEOS line of speakers sound better.

 

[tiwaricd]

Thanks for the response, I have been looking at for a whole home audio system. I have 8 zones and a 5.1 now and will be adding about 4-6 more and 2 more surround set ups. There were lots of great options I saw but did not want to deal with dealer install and having to have them do something every time I wanted to tweak something. Also wanted the option to have some wireless speakers in the fold.

Heos stood out as it was better sound quality than Sonos and had a consolidate amp in a 2u footprint(linkable) and linked the marantz/denon amps for the surrounds.

That said I am open to other systems .. really looking for something high end with an easy interface for the fam (Poe wall controls already wired for and would be nice as well) that I can DIY and not have to call and pay for changes.

 

[nathan_h]

Might be because the Sonos has one of the least capable API's for integrating with other systems, vs. the HEOS has one of the best. And then subjectively, the HEOS line of speakers sound better.

Could be but since the OP didn't say, it could simply be that the the Magnolia guy said it was better than the Yamaha system.

 

[tiwaricd]

Could be but since the OP didn't say, it could simply be that the the Magnolia guy said it was better than the Yamaha system.

No it was just research I had done ... truthfully I really like the savant set up but don’t want to pay someone to make tweaks for me ...so narrowed it down to a few DIY solutions and settled on Heos as it checked the boxes ... better quality than Sonos... i don’t have to buy a $700 amp for each zone and find rack space for it... and I use Denon/Marantz.

Really just seeing what’s going on before I buy this stuff as they they switched to denon home vs Heos now and moved these to legacy on their site.. along with no rack mount solutions listed as part of the new lineup. Like the features but don’t want to buy into a ecosystem that is already been deprecated.

 

[ifor]

If you like the Heos Drive, then you might want to look at Bluesound BluOS and the NAD CI 580 V2 or the Monitor Audio IMS-4.

Both have 4 zones of streamers in a single chassis. Just mate it with an amplifier(s) and you're set. Both NAD and Monitor Audio have amplifiers to suit your needs,

If you want to have an ecosystem with a surround receiver, NAD has 2 units with BluOS built in. They also include Dirac for room correction as well.

Bluseound has wireless speakers too

 

[pgor888]

I just refreshed my 2011 era Denon/Marantz set up with a AVR 7706, Heos Super Link, and a Denon/Heos self powered speaker or two and love it. All in, I have 9 zones (6 Heos zones) including 5.1 for my living room display and 3.1 for my kitchen display via my AVR Zone 2 HDMI matrix switch. Love being able to ditch my old HDCP hand shake issue prone Key Digital HDMI matrix switch for the AVR matrix even if it takes a little longer to sync video. Sound on the Heos is awesome. So much more depth heard on my higher end sparkers v. direct Airplay audio streaming on my AVR and 2 Apple TVs in my AV rack. Airplay seems to cut out so much more of my source material frequency range v. Heos, which sounds pretty lossless to my ears. My RTI home control system works pretty seamlessly with the new Heos set up as well. Are you sure Heos is trending towards a "legacy" status?

 

[tiwaricd]

I just refreshed my 2011 era Denon/Marantz set up with a AVR 7706, Heos Super Link, and a Denon/Heos self powered speaker or two and love it. All in, I have 9 zones (6 Heos zones) including 5.1 for my living room display and 3.1 for my kitchen display via my AVR Zone 2 HDMI matrix switch. Love being able to ditch my old HDCP hand shake issue prone Key Digital HDMI matrix switch for the AVR matrix even if it takes a little longer to sync video. Sound on the Heos is awesome. So much more depth heard on my higher end sparkers v. direct Airplay audio streaming on my AVR and 2 Apple TVs in my AV rack. Airplay seems to cut out so much more of my source material frequency range v. Heos, which sounds pretty lossless to my ears. My RTI home control system works pretty seamlessly with the new Heos set up as well. Are you sure Heos is trending towards a "legacy" status?

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This is basically the set up that I am looking for... I see you have the superlink .. do you have the drive as well? HEOS is not heading for the graveyard but it was the Drive unit I was referring to.

 

[pgor888]

Ah. I can see why the Drive would be phased out. It is basically a Heos Superlink with amps. I have a stack of Emotiva amps so only need preamplifiers for processing/content. At the Superlink price point I suspect more people are like me and are running separates for passive speakers for most of their home and adding active Heos speakers here or there for small rooms.

 

[tiwaricd]

Ah. I can see why the Drive would be phased out. It is basically a Heos Superlink with amps. I have a stack of Emotiva amps so only need preamplifiers for processing/content. At the Superlink price point I suspect more people are like me and are running separates for passive speakers for most of their home and adding active Heos speakers here or there for small rooms.

How does that work? Do you just run the Emotivas wide open and control volume with superlink? Or does the Emotivas connet to the HEOS app?

 

[tiwaricd]

How does that work? Do you just run the Emotivas wide open and control volume with superlink? Or does the Emotivas connet to the HEOS app?

sorry .. new to this and building from the ground up so very curious

 

[pgor888]

No problem. My Superlink and my Marantz AVR 7706 are just "preamplifiers", which mean they can control volume and on/off / mute / EQ etc. but do not have speaker connections and instead send line level signal input (via XLR cables on the AVR 7706, and RCA pre outs from the Superlink, to my Emotiva amps). This is generally referred to as an AV "separate" set up and at a high level is generally preferred by audiophiles v. an "integrated" set up where a single device provides both signal input and speaker amplification like the Heos Drive and most AVRs sold at retail. See below for more reading on the topic.

Preamplifiers and Power Amps versus Integrated Amplifiers

 

[SamGresham]

I just refreshed my 2011 era Denon/Marantz set up with a AVR 7706, Heos Super Link, and a Denon/Heos self powered speaker or two and love it. All in, I have 9 zones (6 Heos zones) including 5.1 for my living room display and 3.1 for my kitchen display via my AVR Zone 2 HDMI matrix switch. Love being able to ditch my old HDCP hand shake issue prone Key Digital HDMI matrix switch for the AVR matrix even if it takes a little longer to sync video. Sound on the Heos is awesome. So much more depth heard on my higher end sparkers v. direct Airplay audio streaming on my AVR and 2 Apple TVs in my AV rack. Airplay seems to cut out so much more of my source material frequency range v. Heos, which sounds pretty lossless to my ears. My RTI home control system works pretty seamlessly with the new Heos set up as well. Are you sure Heos is trending towards a "legacy" status?

View attachment 3095010 View attachment 3095011


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I am new to this as well. I just bought a house that has speakers in the ceiling.
1 speaker, living room
2 speakers, kitchen,
1 speaker in the master bathroom
2 outdoor pool speakers.


The speaker wires all run into the basement and there was a shelf where they had some receiver in its spot. Does anyone know what the most cost effective way is to have 3 zones I can stream to is? I see that Chromecast audio is discontinued.

I may make a new post. But I really like that interface on your phone/ipad. Is that just he HEOS software?

 

[pgor888]

I am new to this as well. I just bought a house that has speakers in the ceiling.
1 speaker, living room
2 speakers, kitchen,
1 speaker in the master bathroom
2 outdoor pool speakers.


The speaker wires all run into the basement and there was a shelf where they had some receiver in its spot. Does anyone know what the most cost effective way is to have 3 zones I can stream to is? I see that Chromecast audio is discontinued.

I may make a new post. But I really like that interface on your phone/ipad. Is that just he HEOS software?

Will all those zones just be stereo zones or do you need the living room to also run surround sound for movies? If all that you need is stereo audio and you want the ability to run different source material in all zones simultaneously then I would go with a Heos Superlink and a modest 6 to 12 channel amp but there are lower budget options too. An Emotiva XPA11 would give plenty of extra channels in case you ever wanted to add additional speakers down the line in your house.

That front end on my Ipad is actually RTI Panel (the app for a third party smart home automation controller ) but the native Heos app is just as good and versatile.

I think you need to start with a budget though as Heos is not the cheapest system (but is not the most expensive option either) but I think it sounds the best.

If you wanted a budget option I would look at HTD. I ran one of their whole home stereo preamplifiers for years without issue and they also make integrated systems with onboard amps.

Home Theater Direct – Factory Direct Speakers & Whole House Audio

www.htd.com