HEOS Plugin

The HEOS plugin provides integration with Denon and Marantz audio equipment that supports the HEOS ecosystem. HEOS (Home Entertainment Operating System) is Denon’s multi-room audio platform built into their AV receivers, network players, and wireless speakers.

Supported Devices

• Denon: AV receivers, network players, and wireless speakers with HEOS
• Marantz: Integrated amplifiers, AV receivers, and network players with HEOS

Capabilities

Capability	Supported	Details
Volume Control	✅	HEOS player volume on speakers/players; authoritative AVR master volume over port 23 on compatible Denon/Marantz receivers
Power Control	✅*	AV receivers only: power on / standby via the Denon/Marantz AVR IP control protocol (telnet port 23: PWON/PWSTANDBY). Not available on standalone HEOS speakers, which have no remote power-off
Input Selection	✅	Switch between available input sources
Now Playing	✅	Real-time track information updates
Playback Control	✅	Play, pause, stop, next track, previous track
Playback Position	❌	Not supported
Presets	✅	Device presets for both amplifier and music player modes
Device Linking	✅	HEOS multi-room groups: visualised and managed on the System Overview canvas

Device Linking (HEOS Groups)

HEOS players can be grouped for synchronised multi-room playback. The plugin exposes this through the device-linking capability, so groups are:

• Visualised on the System Overview canvas as a distinct, animated link line between the grouped device nodes (brighter than regular signal-wire connections, with a subtle marching-ants animation and glow pulse).
• Managed from the System Overview selection panel: select exactly two grouped-capable HEOS devices to reveal a Link devices / Unlink devices action.

Network Communication

• Command Timeout: 5 seconds end-to-end, including time waiting behind another HEOS command
• Heartbeat Interval: 60 seconds for connection health monitoring

Power Control (AV Receivers)

The HEOS CLI protocol (port 1255) has no power/standby command. For HEOS-branded Denon/Marantz AV receivers, power control is therefore provided over the separate Denon/Marantz AVR IP control protocol (raw telnet on port 23):

• PWON: power on / wake from standby
• PWSTANDBY: enter standby
• PW?: query the current power state

On connection the plugin probes port 23. If the device responds, the Power Control capability is exposed (and appears in the System Overview selection panel); standalone HEOS speakers do not implement this protocol, so they never show a power control.

Real-Time Events

The HEOS plugin receives real-time device events:

• Player state changes (play/pause/stop)
• Volume changes
• Now playing changes
• Play mode changes
• Group changes (multi-room)

Device Discovery

Devices are discovered automatically on the local network. Individual zones in multi-zone systems appear as separate controllable devices.

Utilities

• Open Device Web Page: Opens the device’s web configuration interface

HEOS Account Sign-In

Why sign-in is required

The HEOS protocol requires an active HEOS account session (system/sign_in) to access content from paid streaming services and certain built-in features:

• Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, Napster, SoundCloud: browsing and playback require an active HEOS account with the service linked
• HEOS Favorites: saving and retrieving favorites requires sign-in
• HEOS Playlists: user-created playlists require sign-in

Without sign-in, only local media servers (DLNA/UPnP), AUX inputs, and free radio sources (TuneIn) are available for browsing.

Automatic sign-in

When credentials are present, the plugin signs in automatically each time a HEOS device connects or reconnects. The credentials used are the same as the user’s HEOS account in the official HEOS app.

• Credentials are stored securely via Windows’ per-user data protection APIs.
• Sign-in failure is non-fatal: the device connection succeeds and local/free sources remain available; only paid streaming services and HEOS Favorites/Playlists are unavailable.
• No prompt or dialog is shown to the user when automatic sign-in fails.

How the user provides credentials

There are two ways to enter HEOS account credentials:

1. From the Settings panel (any time)

1. Open Settings → HEOS tab.
2. Enter your HEOS account email and password.
3. Click Sign In.
4. The status switches to “Signed in to HEOS” and shows the email used. Sign-in is applied immediately to all currently-connected HEOS devices and to any device that connects later.
5. Sign Out clears the stored credentials and signs out on connected devices.

2. As part of the Add Device flow (first time)

When the user adds a HEOS favorite device and no HEOS account credentials are stored yet, a modal prompt appears as part of the add flow:

• The prompt explains why credentials are useful (Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, HEOS Favorites, HEOS Playlists).
• The user can either enter email + password and click Save & sign in, or click Skip.
• Skip still adds the device; only the streaming-service browsing remains unavailable until the user signs in later from Settings.
• If credentials are already stored, the prompt is not shown.

When is sign-in required?

• First use: The user must enter credentials at least once (either via the Add Device prompt or via Settings) before streaming service content becomes available.
• After credential changes: If the user changes their HEOS account password, they must update it in Settings.
• After sign-out: If the user explicitly signs out, streaming service browsing is unavailable until they sign in again.

If streaming content fails to load, the HEOS settings card shows the current status and allows the user to (re-)authenticate.