I've been waiting for this one. 
The HEOS Link HS2 is very much a product of its time, but to be honest I have a hard time finding a suitable upgrade/replacement. I was tempted to replace it with the Eversolo DMP-A6 but lack of analog inputs made me opt out of that idea. Now there finally seems to be a contender with the Wiim Ultra - we'll see how it pans out after the first batch of units is out long enough in the wild.
I've been using this device for 5 years now (it cost me 199 euro back then, which adjusted for inflation is in the same ballpark as what they go for now in retail). I chose the Link mainly because it has a lot of connections to be used as a preamp in my living room and it allowed me to get a true multi room setup considering I already owned two HEOS 1 speakers - which I selected because they are waterproof and I found they sounded better than the Sonos One in a back to back comparison. The HEOS Link is able to distribute, for example, the TV or CD player outputs to my kitchen and bathroom speakers. I can even stream Roon to them (via an endpoint connected to the Link).
What troubles me sometimes is how certain people jump to the conclusion that some product must be terrible based solely on the measurement/price vector. This is not quite the reality, a very intangible thing in these reviews is reliability in use. I've tried a Topping DX3 Pro+ which cost approx. the same (179 euro) but that thing is only better on paper. However transparent it may sound as a DAC, it is just garbage from a usability standpoint. Metronomic pops and clicks when connected to the optical output of my TV, rendering it useless for that, and fed via USB it randomly decides to send -0dB of white noise and distorted music through the RCA outputs - a behavior that started after about 6 months of use. It now collects dust in a closet.
The HEOS Link however has been flawless over the past 5 years and sounds good enough, even for critical listening, through my ears and setup (XTZ Edge A2-300 power amp, Behringer CX-2310 crossover, Dynaudio Excite X-18 speakers and a Canton Sub 8.2 - corrected via room acoustic measurements and the Roon EQ).
Some additions to the discussion:
* The Link also appears in my Roon devices but I can't activate it... maybe certification is in the works?
* The HEOS app UI used to be much better until last year, not much different from Sonos. But as I understand it, D+M lost a lawsuit from Sonos and have had to change the UI with the current illogical layout as a result. Luckily they added the option for the UI to be customised by the end user but it will never be ideal.
Edit: I am surprised but happy that the digital output is bit perfect, I was hoping a digital throughput would not be processed because of the whole multiroom casting implementation but you never know until measuring it. Also, I forgot to add that there is little to no input lag for TV dialog but there is a couple of milliseconds lag in the simultanous multiroom streaming.
The HEOS Link HS2 is very much a product of its time, but to be honest I have a hard time finding a suitable upgrade/replacement. I was tempted to replace it with the Eversolo DMP-A6 but lack of analog inputs made me opt out of that idea. Now there finally seems to be a contender with the Wiim Ultra - we'll see how it pans out after the first batch of units is out long enough in the wild.I've been using this device for 5 years now (it cost me 199 euro back then, which adjusted for inflation is in the same ballpark as what they go for now in retail). I chose the Link mainly because it has a lot of connections to be used as a preamp in my living room and it allowed me to get a true multi room setup considering I already owned two HEOS 1 speakers - which I selected because they are waterproof and I found they sounded better than the Sonos One in a back to back comparison. The HEOS Link is able to distribute, for example, the TV or CD player outputs to my kitchen and bathroom speakers. I can even stream Roon to them (via an endpoint connected to the Link).
What troubles me sometimes is how certain people jump to the conclusion that some product must be terrible based solely on the measurement/price vector. This is not quite the reality, a very intangible thing in these reviews is reliability in use. I've tried a Topping DX3 Pro+ which cost approx. the same (179 euro) but that thing is only better on paper. However transparent it may sound as a DAC, it is just garbage from a usability standpoint. Metronomic pops and clicks when connected to the optical output of my TV, rendering it useless for that, and fed via USB it randomly decides to send -0dB of white noise and distorted music through the RCA outputs - a behavior that started after about 6 months of use. It now collects dust in a closet.
The HEOS Link however has been flawless over the past 5 years and sounds good enough, even for critical listening, through my ears and setup (XTZ Edge A2-300 power amp, Behringer CX-2310 crossover, Dynaudio Excite X-18 speakers and a Canton Sub 8.2 - corrected via room acoustic measurements and the Roon EQ).
Some additions to the discussion:
* The Link also appears in my Roon devices but I can't activate it... maybe certification is in the works?
* The HEOS app UI used to be much better until last year, not much different from Sonos. But as I understand it, D+M lost a lawsuit from Sonos and have had to change the UI with the current illogical layout as a result. Luckily they added the option for the UI to be customised by the end user but it will never be ideal.
Edit: I am surprised but happy that the digital output is bit perfect, I was hoping a digital throughput would not be processed because of the whole multiroom casting implementation but you never know until measuring it. Also, I forgot to add that there is little to no input lag for TV dialog but there is a couple of milliseconds lag in the simultanous multiroom streaming.
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