Designed specifically for installers and integrators, Denon HEOS Drive HS2 is a unique 4-zone audio distribution system powered by an 8-channel Class D amplifier; all in one 2RU high chassis that can decode Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital+ in stereo. The rated power of the Denon HEOS Drive HS2 multi-room amplifier is 60W x 8 channels (20Hz ~ 20kHz, 0.05% THD, 8 ohms), 1 or 2 pairs of stereo amplifiers can be reassigned to a single channel with an output power of 130W, and the HEOS Drive HS2 has the ability to connect low-impedance acoustics (up to 4 ohms).
Each zone has a pair of stereo preamp outputs, and each zone can be configured for stereo or mono output. The Denon HEOS Drive HS2 has a switching matrix with 2 optical digital inputs, 2 coaxial digital inputs and 4 analog stereo inputs, each of which can be assigned to any zone, and each zone has a dedicated USB port for connecting an external USB storage device.
Having the ability to virtually control any acoustic configuration, Denon HEOS Drive HS2 is equipped with built-in DSP with high-pass/low-pass filtering – with modes for floor-standing speakers, subwoofers or satellites, with a variable crossover frequency. The acoustic outputs feature screw terminals compatible with banana plugs, and there are also 4 x 12V trigger outputs. Heos Drive HS2 has a silent cooling fan for long-term, stable and reliable operation. Two RJ-45 Ethernet ports are provided for connecting to the Internet and sharing with other devices, and HEOS Drive HS2 also supports control (Crestron, Control4, AMX,…).
HEOS Drive HS2 comes with rack-mount brackets. The legs of the device can be detached with this placement. To connect to your home local network, you can only use a cable connection. Once the Denon HEOS Drive HS2 is installed and connected, setup is quick and easy using our Heos app (IOS and Android).
For online services that require accounts, all parameters can be conveniently stored in a single Heos account. To create it, you only need to provide an email address (it is not verified) and a password. After this, you can only use it on all smartphones to automatically connect to all services.
Conveniently, the solution is not closed and is capable of interacting with media servers via the DLNA protocol. So you can easily use the NAS with your home directory of any size without worrying about the power of the speaker platform.
When you connect a USB drive (note that the NTFS file system is supported), the music recorded on it becomes available to all Heos devices on the network. In addition, they are also distributed via the DLNA protocol, so they can be played on any other compatible equipment. The service supports the most common audio recording formats, including MP3, M4A, FLAC and ALAC, and can index content by tags. The manufacturer does not provide information about the maximum size of the media library in this scenario. But in our opinion, for tens of thousands of compositions, in any case, it is more convenient to use a separate media server.
The Heos app presents all available sources. Currently among them are:
Network services tunein, Deezer and SoundCloud (list for working in our market);
Local network sources (DLNA servers);
Music from USB drives connected to HEOS Drive HS2;
Broadcasting sound from audio inputs;
Music from the local library of the mobile device.
In addition, the list contains items for user playlists, history and favorites. It’s worth paying attention to the fact that most options, including broadcasts from online sources, media servers, local devices and inputs, do not require the utility to run on a smartphone. That is, it can be turned off and unloaded from the memory of the mobile device. True, in this case there is a risk of “losing control” and being left without the ability to quickly turn off the sound over the network.
Specifications Denon HEOS Drive HS2
Four zones of sound
Eight-channel class D amplifier
Output power 60 W (8 ohms) per channel (20 Hz – 20 kHz, THD 0.05%), bridged 130 W (4 ohms)
Pre-amp output for each zone (or programmable as a subwoofer)
4 trigger outputs (12 V)
Two optical and two coaxial digital audio inputs, four analog inputs
Four USB ports
Bridged amplifier configuration
Two Ethernet connectors
Active cooling
Rack mount included
Height 2U (3.5 inches)
Source multi-voltage power
supply Dolby Digital decoding
Dimensions (H x W x D)
88mm x 430mm x 402 mm (without rack ears)
88mm x 483mm x 402 mm (with rack ears)
Weight 7.2 kg
Equipment: HEOS Drive HS2, AC power cord x 4, Ethernet Cable, Quick Start Guide, 2 rack ears
