A few years after entering the wireless whole-house audio market with HEOS, Denon has announced that its HEOS Drive multiroom audio solution will now support high-resolution audio.
The eight-channel, four-zone Drive is a 2U-high product that integrates into control systems like Control4, Crestron, RTI, URC and Elan. It incorporates Class D amplification and streaming all from a single chassis.
“The HEOS Drive is designed with a laser focus aiming the custom-install market with the tools they need for the modern consumer. Through simple installation using included rack-mount ears, integrating USB for easy drive access and high-res audio support across an array of file formats, installer demand for increased flexibility has been met,” says Brendon Stead, senior vice president of product development for Sound United, parent company of Denon.
“Additionally, by working directly with several of the industry's top third-party control manufacturers like Control4, Crestron, RTI and others to develop custom drivers, we've made the HEOS Drive an obvious choice for installers looking for the latest in networked multiroom amplifier technology.”
Features of Denon's HEOS Drive
Beyond high-res audio, HEOS Drive includes WAV and FLAC files up to 24-bit/96kHz and 24-bit/192kHz, respectively, and DSD files that include 2.8MHz and 5.6MHz.
The Drive's amplifier section is rated to produce 60-watts per channel, and it incorporates installer-friendly features such as four 12-volt triggers, two Ethernet ports, selectable stereo/mixed mono output, and selectable high-pass/low-pass filters.
Some of the Drive's other audio capabilities include a choice of streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, Amazon Music, TIDAL, SiriusXM, MOOD:Mix, iHeartRadio and others. The Drive is also capable of playing locally stored digital audio files from a network or content stored on USB drives.
In addition to its ability to integrate into a variety of control systems, Denon says that it provides a choice of control apps that are available for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire products.
Other options available include Dolby Digital decoding with downmixing down to 2.0, four USB inputs, two fiber optic inputs, two digital coax inputs, and four analog inputs.
Next: CE Pro 100 Names Top Wireless Audio Brands, Denon Comes in 2nd
If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!
