Apple HomePod Review (Smart Speaker)

[Blaspheme]

Quoting a small section of a post is easy to laugh at & bend to your point. People don't have to like or agree with companies business decisions, some companies have better ethos than others in the way they operate.

Laughing came before quoting, I assure you.

Don't take it the wrong way though. I didn't think it would be possible to Klippel a HomePod. Amir persevered valiantly. Not unappreciated by me.

 

[warpdrive]

this thread has predictably gone the way 99.9% of Apple threads tend to go, off the rails. As an owner of the Homepod, I was looking forward to the measurements here and finally got them. So thanks for that, but I feel this thread could use a thorough cleansing now. (call in Harvey Keitel)

 

[Honken]

Indeed. I think that this is an interesting product, but rehashed arguments about Apple are not. This thread has about the same signal to noise ratio as the MQA thread.

It could also have to do with distortion. My Google Nest has similar issues(blur with rock music), and afaik it's not omni in any way.

I think "fake" low end extension, like many of these devices have, comes at a cost.

Indeed, which is why I asked amir a few pages back if he could take the time and regenerate the distortion plots.

I don't know if I'd call the low end on these things fake however, they definitely have enough oomph to produce chest thumping bass.

I think that for lossless audio you need a wired connection due to the limitations of Bluetooth protocol

No, they're not bluetooth speakers. And if you are worried about the quality about AirPlay , the speakers can stream directly from Apple Music.

AirPlay1 should be "lossless" as it uses ALAC at 16bit 44.1kHz. I think that AirPlay2 features several codecs, including lossy ones. Either way, in practical use both demand a fairly decent WiFi as they're realtime with a narrow buffer (2 seconds), so over time it is quite possible that data is lost which causes glitches and noise to be heard.

 

[mononoaware]

AirPlay1 should be "lossless" as it uses ALAC at 16bit 44.1kHz. I think that AirPlay2 features several codecs, including lossy ones.

Hmmm maybe I should invest in the Yamaha WXC-50 just-incase the Apple TV 3 with AirPlay 1 fails. . .

I have only ever used Airplay 1, but if what you say is correct then AirPlay 2 is inferior in terms of "lossless" transmission.

 

[Zensō]

Hmmm maybe I should invest in the Yamaha WXC-50 just-incase the Apple TV 3 with AirPlay 1 fails. . .

I have only ever used Airplay 1, but if what you say is correct then AirPlay 2 is inferior in terms of "lossless" transmission.

Airplay 2 is not inferior to Airplay 1 in “lossless transmission” or any other characteristic. The primary advantage of Airplay 2 is that it provides for synced multi-room playback as well as stereo pairing.

 

[Honken]

Hmmm maybe I should invest in the Yamaha WXC-50 just-incase the Apple TV 3 with AirPlay 1 fails. . .

I have only ever used Airplay 1, but if what you say is correct then AirPlay 2 is inferior in terms of "lossless" transmission.

Sorry, I worded that poorly. AirPlay2 shouldn't select anything but lossless codecs in normal use and honestly - I am not 100% that the lossy formats were introduced with AirPlay2. I just haven't seen any AirPlay1 devices support anything but lossless formats.

From the service discovery data at home:
The Homepods support PCM, ALAC, AAC and AAC ELD:
TXT Data: "cn=0,1,2,3"

My shairport-sync instance supports only PCM and ALAC:
TXT Data: "cn=0,1"

Edit: Mixed a number up.

 

[mononoaware]

The Homepods support PCM, ALAC, AAC and AAC ELD:
TXT Data: "cn=0,1,2,3"

Hmm maybe AirPlay 2 “extends wireless range” by reverting to AAC codec when transmitting device is a certain longer distance (far away) from the receiver?
In any case I would expect lossless transmission from WiFi connection since it has the bandwidth, but you never know. . .

 

[Jazz]

Amazon, and many other high to low consumer products, over do bass too.
It is not an Apple problem but an early 21st music production, speaker manufacturing, and marketing problem. I blame Bose and booming car audio for causing it at all.
My various Amazon Echos suck for all but the right kind of music. For voice, like NPR or whatever, it is painful and booming to listen to. I send my kitchen Echo Show 5 (an atrocity of audio) to a small BT speaker just to listen to anything on it. If the Show was not so damn convenient to watch TV on via FireTV Recast in my too small kitchen, I would have relegated it to the guest room long ago.
I am looking forward to the day when, speaker engineers design these smart speakers and the like, with all types of music in mind and give the user a way to adjust the horrible default barf noise setting.
Regardless, this Apple speaker is no longer made but, they are coming out with a replacement. The Mini is the current Siri speaker model and is probably a better bang for the buck anyway at $99 in USA. Even less at Costco.
If you are not an Apple home, just skip them. I am but, am in too deep with Alexa. For now.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

I wonder if the results would be less bassy if the pod was placed on a pedestal.

 

[mononoaware]

I wonder if the results would be less bassy if the pod was placed on a pedestal.

I remember reading a measurement thread here on ASR where they stated the HomePod did indeed sound better on a speaker stand, compared to being on a cabinet.

 

[ouimetnick]

I have 9 of them. Several were bought new and some were made from various broken units off of eBay. It obviously doesn't compare to traditional floor standing speakers, but it sounds larger than it is. It's very convenient to be able to ask it to play a song or playlist or AirPlay from my iPhone, iPad or Mac. They also serve as a home hub for my smart accessories (light bulbs, light switches, smart outlet plugs, garage door opener)

 

[Blaspheme]

I have 9 of them. Several were bought new and some were made from various broken units off of eBay. It obviously doesn't compare to traditional floor standing speakers, but it sounds larger than it is. It's very convenient to be able to ask it to play a song or playlist or AirPlay from my iPhone, iPad or Mac. They also serve as a home hub for my smart accessories (light bulbs, light switches, smart outlet plugs, garage door opener)

On the very off chance you've tried this, can you include HomePods in an Aggregate Device via Audio MIDI Setup and assign speaker locations to individual HomePods? I'm under the impression that it's not possible to use them beyond stereo pairs (just multi-room, or similar) because AirPlay.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

Once more there is no "IP." You get no technology from Apple with any value or functionality for your product. A DAC dongle has everything it needs to function as a DAC dongle. Apple simply says there is tax to attach it to an iPhone and you better pay up or else. And oh, the terms are secret, your business plan and product has to be approved by apple, and you can pound sand if you don't like it.

Really, this situation is super bad. Was having a conversation with a chip supplier on adding some functionality to the Apple ecosystem. In the middle of the conversation the senior guy stops us and says, "apple would never let you build this product. it would compete with their own." Indeed we killed the project because it was clearly Apple would not allow this class of product which had quite a usefulness for its customers to exist.

How people can sit here and defend such dictatorship over their ecosystem is just remarkable to me.

I'll defend it. It's not an open technology. People who use the technology when they buy it know this. Microsoft and Linux provide alternatives that users can buy.

The purpose of the ecosystem not to function as you think best, or even as it's users think it works best. The purpose of the ecosystem is ONLY to make money for Apple's shareholders.

I'll take cash.

 

[ouimetnick]

On the very off chance you've tried this, can you include HomePods in an Aggregate Device via Audio MIDI Setup and assign speaker locations to individual HomePods? I'm under the impression that it's not possible to use them beyond stereo pairs (just multi-room, or similar) because AirPlay.

Sorry for the late reply. Are you referring to creating a 5.1 setup or something? I was unable to do that with my HomePods. I can only stream to multiple units. When setting up the stereo pair in the Home app (on iOS/iPadOS) you assign one HomePod to the left/right channel.

 

[Blaspheme]

Sorry for the late reply. Are you referring to creating a 5.1 setup or something? I was unable to do that with my HomePods. I can only stream to multiple units. When setting up the stereo pair in the Home app (on iOS/iPadOS) you assign one HomePod to the left/right channel.

Yes I did mean some way of forcing them to do multi-channel. There are no reports of that working but there was a chance you cracked it. Thanks for remembering to reply.

 

[Jeromeof]

Sorry about digging up an old thread!!

But Quick question with HomePods - did anyone do measurements with the "Reduce Bass" option selected in the Home App? Seems like Apple realised that the bass was too much - but that a majority of people like 'heavier bass' sounding speakers but then they added a option to reduce the Bass to get a more neutral sound - To my ears in a stereo pair they sound pretty good with the "Reduce bass" selected - bass still there but much reduced.

 

[m8o]

Sorry about digging up an old thread!!

But Quick question with HomePods - did anyone do measurements with the "Reduce Bass" option selected in the Home App? Seems like Apple realised that the bass was too much - but that a majority of people like 'heavier bass' sounding speakers but then they added a option to reduce the Bass to get a more neutral sound - To my ears in a stereo pair they sound pretty good with the "Reduce bass" selected - bass still there but much reduced.

Same story with the Google Home Max ...

 

[Jeromeof]

Well I imagine Google would have configuration - but Apple usually "think they know" best with their devices and usually don't allow configuration. I just thought it was interesting that possible some of the Apple Team saw the initial review / comments by @amirm and add a very Apple 'reduce bass' option to try to provide a more 'audiophile' friendly response from the speaker and therefore maybe it would be interesting to retest these.

That said of course they are discontinued, but Apple do seem to be still releasing updates / features for these (especially as a stereo pair) e.g. Lossless + Spatial Audio support. And while I had a pair (though I sold them now) and thought within an 'Apple' ecosystem house they provided a nice compromise - small / nice looking (spouse friendly ) with reasonable 'bass' + Dolby Atmos for movies (as an alternative to an soundbar) while with this 'reduce bass' option (and lossless / spatial audio) a pretty good listening experience (for the price). This 'reduce bass' option is not obvious so I imagine it was missed originally when doing the testing.

 

[MayaTlab]

this 'reduce bass' option (and lossless / spatial audio) a pretty good listening experience (for the price). This 'reduce bass' option is not obvious so I imagine it was missed originally when doing the testing.

It's a very recent feature, I believe with OS 15.

 

[Honken]

I just dragged these things out of storage again to try the reduced bass option. I find that it reduces the bass a bit too much on some material, but in general it is a great improvement for their tonality. Makes music a lot clearer, they don't sound as muddled with rock 'n metal material as I remembered them sounding.

Then I remembered that Apple does Atmos now too and so I decided to try the OST of Dune in Atmos on these things and well... Wow! This sounds great! I compared to the rig in my signature and well... I think that at least this OST sounds better on the 'pods, which are still rocking the reduced bass-option.

It's getting late here so I this was only really a first impression, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to try out more Atmos material on them. But dang, I'm looking forward to it.

I'm flabbergasted.