The HEOS AVR is not a soundbar, but the TV-topped picture there has already kicked off the story that, because it’s placed where a cursed soundbar isn’t, it’s something to do with sound.
Next clue is “HEOS’, which is Denon’s wireless audio product portfolio. Which leads you merrily on to ‘AVR’ which is a model name prefix to strike joy into the heart of gnarled old techsters such as us, for it pertains to the world of AV receivers!
Round the back you’ll find a brace of 4K-ready HDMI inputs, and an audio-return enabled HDMI output to connect to your TV. Plus, a proper set of of speaker connections, with which you could wire up five delicious home cinema speakers and a subwoofer. But did you see us wink there, when we said ‘could’?
You ‘could’ plug in some speakers or, because this box is imbued with Denon’s HEOS network trickery, you could use the app to link up five HEOS speakers, of which there are several different sizes. And the HEOS subwoofer, shortly to become available separately from its hateful soundbar team-mate. Adn thus – wireless surround sound!
And if you had some passive speakers about that you wanted to use instead, you could make them wireless using a couple of Denon HEOS Amp extender box thingies!
This is fabulous actually, because it looks like the best way to hook up the $US999 HEOS AVR is to use some old-school speakers without going shopping for some tasty speaker cables. But, you still get to incorporate your now-boombastic and child-impressing lounge system into a wider HEOS multi-room set-up, and to stream stuff to it from your Bluetooth or Wi-Fi phone or whatever. Win!
This article originally appeared at Stuff.tv