Denon released new sets of Soundbars with HEOS compatibility. My immediate reaction to this was how is this different from HEOSBar?

UPDATE 12/27/2019 with official comment from Denon – See after conclusion section.

What’s HEOS?

HEOS is a multi-room wireless speaker platform used by Denon and Marantz.  It is an ecosystem to compete with well known SONOS or others such as s Bluesound, PlayFi etc.

What’s DHT-S716?

It is a flagship, HEOS compatible soundbar from DENON, released in August, 2019.

The press release on August 26, 2019 says following:

Building on the great features found in the HEOS Bar and HEOS HomeCinema HS2 soundbars, the latest Denon soundbars both share several sound quality and connectivity improvements.

So what specific features are they advertising on this press release?

• Both soundbars support major voice assistant platforms, including Google and Amazon. (Amazon Echo or Google Home speaker required)
• With the ability to support DSD (2.8, 5.6 MHz), FLAC, WAV, ALAC (192/24), MP3, WMA and AAC (USB/Network) on both soundbars, consumers can experience Hi-Res content quickly and easily.
• As an added benefit, the DHT-S716H can leverage HEOS speakers, including the HEOS 1, HEOS 3, HEOS 5 and HEOS 7 as rear channels for immersive surround sound in a 5.1 set-up.
• Advanced HDMI inputs allow for features like Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), which dramatically improves the gaming experience when in use.
• Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio: Users will experience immersive, room-filling, lossless home theatre sound with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound decoding
• Latest HD Compatibility: Four HDMI inputs with 4K Ultra HD pass through, HDCP 2.2, HDR, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Vision, plus ARC support ensure the DHT-S716H can support the latest content available

What’s HEOSBar?

It was released back in April, 2017. Currently, it sit as the most expansive HEOS device i.e. flagship HEOS sound bar.

I’ve owned HEOSBar for almost two years. The main complaints I have for it is the lack of Airplay 2 (or even Airplay) support despite it was considered as the flagship, the most expensive device in HEOS line.

DHT-S716H vs. HEOSBar

Visual comparison

Front

DHT-S716H

HEOSBar

Back

DHT-S716H

HEOSBar

Visually, two are identical. I cannot see any difference.

Comparison table

	HEOSBar	DHT-S716H
Release date	Apr-17	Aug-19
Retail Price	$899	$899
Speaker System	3	3 (9 drivers)
5.1 Configuration	Supported	Supported
Channel	6	6
Voice Control
Alexa	Yes	Yes
Google Assistant	Yes	Yes
Built in Microphone	No	No
Supported Output Format
Dolby TrueHD	Yes	Yes
DTS-HD Master	Yes	Yes
Dolby Digital	Yes	Yes
Dolby Digital Plus	Yes	Yes
Dolby Vision	Yes	Yes
HDR10	Yes	Yes
DTS Decoding	Yes	Yes
HiRes Audio	Yes	Yes
Input Options
Aux In	Yes	Yes
4K UHD HDMI with ARC	Yes	Yes
HDCP2.2	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
Optical/Coaxial	Yes	Yes
USB Port	1	1
HDMI	4in/1out	4in /1out
Roon Ready	No	No
Airplay Support	No	No
Physical Specs
Weight	10.58 lbs; 4.8 kg	10.58 lbs; 4.8 kg
Dimension	On the shelf: 2 7/8 x 43 3/8 x 5 7/8 inches; 72 x 1100 x 148 mm Wall mount: 5 7/8 x 43 3/8 x 2 7/8 inches; 148 x 1100 x 72 mm	On the shelf: 2 7/8 x 43 3/8 x 5 7/8 inches; 72 x 1100 x 148 mm Wall mount: 5 7/8 x 43 3/8 x 2 7/8 inches; 148 x 1100 x 72 mm

Even on spec wise there is no difference. In fact, even weight listed are identical.

What’s the difference?

There is no difference I can find between the two devices. The only thing I see is a statement on UK press-release, stating

On reddit, someone who says he/she is a heos/denon distributor states this is just a rebranding.

It is just a rebrand. I’m a heos/denon distributor and brand recognition just wasn’t there for heos the way they wanted it to be so they’re rebranding everything under the denon badge. They’re also ditching the heos 3 speaker and doing a redesign on the rest of the speaker line.

It’s online, just a forum, can we trust the person above? Well, it is interesting that he/she talked about HEOS speaker rebranding with a redesign on December 3rd, 2019. Denon indeed announced 3 HEOS compatible speakers under DENON’s name with redesign, but official press release was not until December 11th, 2019. So the person definitely knew it preceding to the official press release i.e. credible.

Myth

I would not trust many websites talk about two being totally new sound bar.

Some site states DHT-S716H support Airplay 2, this is NOT true. Official site Q&A says,

No, this soundbar does not support Airplay 2. I hope this helps if not you can always give us a call to have one of our expert technical support team members assist with this and any other concerns you may have.

Why are they doing this?

When compared to the leading wireless multi speaker system brand, SONOS, HEOS brand lacks name recognition. In fact, HEOS apps have poor rating, and often on reviews, it is usually seen as cons. In contrast, DENON is a brand name in audio industry. So it perhaps makes sense to use Denon’s name directly.

Conclusion

DHT-S716H is a rebranded HEOSBar. It still remains one of the most versatile multi-room ecosystem compatible, wireless sound bar. It still remains to lack Airplay 2 support. No Dolby Atmos, 7.1 channel etc.

UPDATE 12/27/2019

I have asked following question on Denon’s official forum and received an official response.

How is this different from Heosbar?