If you’ve used a Denon or Marantz product in the past ten years, there’s a good chance you’ve come across something called HEOS. Maybe you saw “HEOS Built-in” on the spec sheet of your AVR or wireless speaker and didn’t think twice. Now, in 2025, that same system has a new name, a cleaner app, and a sharper identity: it’s called Powered by HEOS.

So, what changed—besides the name? And if you already use HEOS, is this something you’ll notice? Let’s break it down.

Let’s start with the basics. “HEOS Built-in” always sounded like a checkbox feature, buried halfway down a product page. It was easy to overlook, even though it was doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to streaming music around your home.

Now, Denon, Marantz, and Classé are reintroducing it as Powered by HEOS. It’s the same multi-room audio platform, just with a name and branding that better reflect what it actually does—acting as the backbone for wireless music playback across your gear.

And it’s not just a rename. There’s a new logo inspired by radio waves, representing how HEOS sends your music flowing through the house. Think of it as a quiet but steady engine that makes everything work together—whether that’s your Spotify playlists, Qobuz hi-res tracks, or a podcast from your phone.

One of the biggest improvements came at the end of 2023, when Denon and Marantz rolled out HEOS 3.0—a complete rebuild of the app. Before that, the app had a bit of a reputation: clunky, slow, and not exactly intuitive.

HEOS 3.0 changed that. The interface got a full refresh, with faster response times, cleaner navigation, and smarter controls. You can now customize your home screen, create presets for different rooms or speaker groups, and search across all your music services from one place.

Since then, they’ve kept adding features: support for Qobuz Connect, longer playback queues, and even Roon Ready certification, which will please more serious music listeners. You can even add your own internet radio URLs if you’re into niche stations or global broadcasts.

A lot of people are waiting for Spotify Connect with Lossless audio, and HEOS is on that list too. The feature isn’t live just yet, but Denon and Marantz say support is lined up as soon as Spotify rolls it out to more markets—likely sometime in fall 2025.

If you’re already using Spotify, this could be a welcome upgrade. And if you’re building a HEOS system now, it’s good to know that support for better streaming quality is already in the pipeline.

One of the nice things about HEOS is that you don’t need to go all-in right away. You can start with just one speaker or AVR and expand from there. But if you do want to get ambitious, the system supports up to 64 devices across 32 zones.

That flexibility makes HEOS a solid option whether you’re setting up a small apartment, a multi-room home, or even a more complex setup that blends music, movies, and personal libraries all under one roof.

And because HEOS runs across Denon, Marantz, and Classé products, you’re not locked into just one brand or forced into proprietary accessories. Everything just works together—wirelessly.

Let’s say you’ve got a Denon receiver in the living room, a wireless speaker in the kitchen, and maybe a Marantz amp in the office. With Powered by HEOS, you can send different audio to each space or sync everything for whole-home playback.

Need a playlist in the kitchen while someone else watches a movie in the theater room? No problem. Want to group rooms together for a party and save that setup as a preset? That’s easy too. You don’t need to be a networking expert or dig through setup menus—it’s meant to feel casual and seamless.

There are a couple of things worth noting. If you have early-generation HEOS devices, you may not get all the latest features. And while the new app is much better than before, it still doesn’t have the sleek design or deep discovery tools that some competitors offer. But for most people, it gets the job done—and does it well.

In a world full of flashy audio ecosystems and voice assistant gimmicks, HEOS has taken a more subtle approach. It’s not trying to reinvent how you listen to music—it’s just trying to make it simpler and more consistent, without a lot of fuss.

Now, with a refreshed identity, an improved app, and more product integration than ever before, Powered by HEOS is finally getting the kind of visibility it deserves.