Denon HEOS HomeCinema HS2
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According to our soundbar expert
With the HEOS HomeCinema HS2 soundbar, you can wirelessly enjoy movie and music experiences. You can connect this soundbar via WiFi to other Denon speakers in your multi-room set-up. That way, you can create a surround sound with sound effects coming from all corners of the room. You can control music via the app on your smartphone or tablet. You can stream a song to a speaker in the bedroom and continue listening to it in the living room via de soundbar. You can expand the multi-room system to a maximum of 32 speakers.
Connecting the HEOS HomeCinema HS2 Soundbar to your TV
Use the included optical or HDMI cable to connect your soundbar to your television. Keep in mind that your TV needs an optical connector to use the soundbar. We recommend HDMI arc cable.
Built-in WiFi | ||
Bluetooth | ||
Width | 101,8 cm | |
Height | 7,3 cm | |
HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) | ||
Sound reproduction | Stereo, Surround | |
Quality category | High-end |
5 stars
15
4 stars
8
3 stars
0
2 stars
1
1 star
0
First impression: What is immediately noticeable is the huge box in which the soundbar and subwoofer are packed very well. On the left side of the box is a separate box with all conceivable connection cables you could need. It is also nice that wall brackets are included with which the soundbar can be placed on the wall. To facilitate this, a template is also included. This prevents you from having to purchase additional accessories. A remote control is not included.
When unpacking the speakers, you feel that you have a quality product in your hands. Although almost everything is made of plastic, the weight and finish are above expectations. In retrospect not so strange if you know that it is a Denon product. On the right side are the pleasantly operable button for volume and switching on/off. At the rear are 2 small bass ports, the connections for the wall brackets and of course the various connections for sound and internet that are neatly incorporated in coves that ensure that the plugs also fit well when the sounbar is hanging on the wall.
The design is certainly striking with the five-sided sides. Furthermore, the soundbar has a slim finish and has a speaker cloth over the entire front so that you cannot see the speaker. This cloth cannot be removed. When I look at the buttons, I immediately think of a Sonos brand that uses the exact same buttons and has been on the market for a while and is clearly the trendsetter here. The subwoofer is a pretty small heavy cabinet with a bass reflex port at the back. Rubber feet are included that can be stuck to the bottom of the subwoofer. Especially recommended on a hard floor to acoustically decouple the speaker. This prevents nasty noises.
Installation: The installation is actually very easy. Especially with modern televisions that are equipped with an ARC (Audi Return channel) that ensures that all the sound that can be heard via the TV can be switched directly to the sounbar with 1 single HDMI cable. For most users, this will be the primary connection. Heos has developed a well-functioning app for your smartphone or tablet that helps you through the installation process (which is actually necessary). The app also provides complete control of the soundbar. Think of switching between different music sources, adjusting the sound, controlling the volume and much more. It is also possible to wirelessly connect multiple Heos speakers to the soundbar to create a surround system.
Ease of use: Once connected, the set is very easy to use. The soundbar also turns on when the TV is switched on. You can also control the sound of the sounbar via the remote control (AB) of the TV. You may have to change a setting in the menu of your TV for this. In addition to a fixed internet connection (LAN), the soundbar is also equipped with WiFi and Bluetooth. I used the soundbar with a fixed internet connection. This connection is less susceptible to interference and is therefore preferable to WiFi. You can also stream music from your mobile devices, or even a NAS server with WiFi or bluetooth. You can also listen to music services via a network server, such as Spotify, Deezer, Napster, Soundcloud, Tidal and all conceivable radio stations via Tunein.
Sound quality: The soundbar is a welcome addition to the often poor sound quality of modern flat screen televisions. Using the soundbar without a subwoofer is not an option because then you will not have a good bass reproduction. I placed the soundbar directly below the TV, about 20 cm from the wall. The subwoofer to the right of the TV more than 2 meters from a corner. I left the sound setting as default. The further the subwoofer is placed to the corner, the stronger the bass will be. If you want to experiment with the bass reproduction, this option may be a better solution than amplifying the bass reproduction via the equalizer on the app, because otherwise the basses will quickly become choppy and no longer sound natural. I really think this is a disadvantage of a small subwoofer.
The overall sound reproduction is surprisingly “grand” with a clear open sound, clear voice reproduction and a certain degree of spaciousness. Especially if you watch a recent movie or series via Netflix, it almost seems like you are in a cinema. However, the treble clarity is too high with some sound sources. This can sometimes lead to listening fatigue for some. If you watch TV, this will not be immediately noticeable because you are distracted by moving images. When listening to music alone, the set is very critical of the quality of the signal offered by the sound source. Music from Spotify, for example, sounds many times better than music from a radio station via Tunein. This has everything to do with the compression (making it digitally smaller) of the supplied music signal. The less the compression, the better the sound reproduction.
Where the Heos set also excels is the large amount of built-in decoders. For example, the set can handle audio signals such as DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD.
Conclusion: The manufacturers of such Home Cinema sets often present them as complete surround sets. These are of course not. It cannot be compared with a complete surround installation with separate amplifier(s) and speakers. Also not price wise. For those who are looking for a high-quality solution for the moderate sound of modern flat televisions and who do not place too high demands on the sound reproduction, this is an excellent solution. The set is graceful, solidly finished and minimalist in the (living) room. Furthermore, the set is very complete.
John Dennissen
8 April 2018
Automatically translated from Dutch
Meets my expectations
Bram Bruinsma
10 September 2019
Automatically translated from Dutch
Unfortunately, the installation process is not that easy. First of all, when unpacking the soundbar, I searched in vain for the remote control, only to find out that it is not included. In concrete terms, this means that you will have to operate everything via the app, luckily you can control the volume with the TV remote control.
After plugging in the cables in the right places, you have to connect to the soundbar via the app. For this you have to use the headphone output of your mobile, luckily I have a mobile that still has it on, otherwise it would be a difficult story... After this is successful, he will perform an update, this takes almost half an hour (!), so anything but plug and play :(
Finally, then sound, this sounds very good by default (I would give it a 7.5 as a rating). Fortunately, because there are few setting options via the app. The bass is nicely full and can be adjusted via the app if necessary. Furthermore, the app offers 'music' or 'movie' as an option and the option to control bass, treble and, as indicated, the subwoofer. On the one hand, it's nice that you can visually see what you're controlling via the app, I honestly expected more setting options (it would have been a little difficult to give more equalizer options than pure film or music). Then playing a BluRay. The sound goes from a 7.5 to a 9.5, the sound is much fuller and clearer, and although the rear speakers are missing I still get a 'surround feeling', perhaps the stereo image is so well adjusted that I get the feeling in the middle of the sit in the movie.
The biggest annoyance I experience with the soundbar is that if you switch on the TV from the TV signal to Netflix, for example, the sound signal is lost. You will then have to select (the same) input again, to which the sound returns. Strange, since you stay on the same entrance, seems to be some kind of bug. The switch to sound via a BluRay is automatic and works well, if you then switch back to the TV signal, the sound will unfortunately remain on the Bluray input and you will have to select it again. Of course it doesn't have to be a deal breaker, but realize that every time you have to select an entrance you need the app. In practice, this means for me that I have to manually select this input on average 2-5 times a day, which causes some annoyance.
Finally, worth noting is how easy it is to connect the device when playing music. The connection works quickly (for example, you select Spotify) and the signal is continued undisturbed, works perfectly. I find a small downside that you can no longer set anything in the app at that time (for example, the equalizer), you will have to do it with the current settings.
In summary, it is a nice soundbar with a somewhat cumbersome installation process, good sound during TV and Netflix playback and fantastic sound with digital sources such as Blu-ray, but finally there are some minor annoyances that prevent me from giving it 5 stars. It seems like software issues that might be fixed in a future update.
peter
1 June 2018
Automatically translated from Dutch
Product number | 809049 | |
Manufacturer code | HEOSHCHS2BKE2 | |
Brand | Denon | |
Warranty | 2 years | |
Processing of your defect | Carry-in warranty | |
Old product returned for free |
Height | 7,3 cm | |
Width | 101,8 cm | |
Depth | 10,4 cm | |
Weight | 9,4 kg | |
Color | Black | |
Quality category | High-end |
Separate subwoofer | ||
Wireless subwoofer | ||
Subwoofer height | 33,2 cm | |
Subwoofer width | 17,2 cm | |
Subwoofer depth | 33,1 cm |
Sound quality according to customers | Excellent | |
Number of audio channels | 2 | |
Number of subwoofer channels | 1 | |
Sound reproduction | Stereo, Surround | |
Surround sound | Virtual surround sound | |
Surround sound systems | DTS, Dolby Digital | |
Hi-Res audio | ||
Radio |
HDMI connector | ||
HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) | ||
Number of HDMI connectors | 2 | |
Digital optical connector | ||
Network connector | ||
USB port | ||
USB function | Play media |
Bluetooth | ||
Built-in WiFi | ||
Plays from network | ||
Multi-room audio | ||
Multi-room functions | Zones separately, Zones simultaneously | |
Number of zones (audio) | 32 | |
NFC | ||
DLNA | ||
Spotify Connect | ||
AirPlay | ||
Google Cast |
Compatible with smartphone / apps | ||
Controls via app | ||
Controlled via Android app | ||
Controlled via Apple app | ||
Controlled via Windows app |
Best tested |
