Denon's multi-room speakers get a game-changing update for free – plus a surprising price drop

Denon Home devices now have Qobuz Connect support, better performance and bigger playlists

Denon Home muiltiroom with Alexa
(Image credit: Denon)
Quick Summary

Denon Home speakers now support Qobuz Connect for easy Hi-Res Audio streaming, and the HEOS app is faster, supports larger playlists and introduces SMB 3.0.

The app is also Roon Ready at last.

The Denon Home range of multi-room wireless speakers and devices just got better, with an important, free upgrade.

The smart speakers, which were praised for their excellent sound quality and impressive multi-room capabilities, now enable you to stream Hi-Res Audio tracks much more easily.

The headline new feature is the addition of Qobuz Connect, the long-awaited, high quality rival to Spotify Connect. That joins Tidal and Deezer on Denon Home and it's an important addition for serious music fans.

Qobuz is the go-to service for many Hi-Res Audio listeners, thanks not just to its sound quality, but its editorial features that help you discover new music.

In addition to Qobuz Connect, Denon's Home Audio suite has some other important improvements.

Denon Home: what's new in the app?

Denon Home's musical conductor is the HEOS app, and that's just been enhanced.

The first thing you'll notice is a significantly faster launch time. The update shaves more than two seconds off the loading time for the home screen. And you can now add considerably more tracks to your play queue and playlists – 1,000, up from 300.

The app also introduces SMB 3.0 for network sharing, and is Roon Ready. Denon is also keen to point out that its app update has been tested thoroughly, unlike a certain rival's disastrous attempt last year.

The updates make the entire Denon Home range even more attractive, and there's more good news where that came from: as the range has been around for a while now, various models have dropped in price.

For example, UK retailer Richer Sounds is offering a pair of Denon Home 150 wireless speakers for £329, down from £438. And the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 is down to £399, from its initial £599.

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.