Mahwah, N.J. – Denon is expanding its line of wireless multizone-audio speakers down in price to a suggested $199 with the June launch of the Heos 1, which 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 $99 Heos 1 Go Pack, which also includes a Bluetooth USB adapter and a Splashguard. The Splashguard adds IPX4 splashproof protection so the speaker can be used by a poolside or during rainy weather. The 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 due in the summer.
The Heos 1 and the soundbar will join three other Heos speakers: the $599 Heos 7, $399 Heos 5, and $299 Heos 3. The company also offers $499 Heos Amp, which connects to any pair of passive speakers; the $349 Heos link preamp, which connects to existing sound systems; and the $99 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