Why would you need that?
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Apple HomePod (2nd Gen) (2023)
- Thread starter TK750
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That reviewer attended an Apple demo. The finale was Hotel California—obviously an audiophile in-joke: corporations are people with a sense of humour (when it suits them).
There have been a number of these early previews. All positive.
Apple HomePod 2nd Generation - First Impressions
Today I took a trip to Manhattan to hear the new HomePod Generation 2 from Apple. First impressions of how it handled music playback made me emotional because I realized Apple has achieved that blend of performance plus stylish minimalism it is so well known for.www.soundandvision.com
That reviewer attended an Apple demo. The finale was Hotel California—obviously an audiophile in-joke: corporations are people with a sense of humour (when it suits them).
Anyone else who's planning to replace their mid tier hifi system with one (maybe two) of these?
I have a pair of Mission 753, a mid nad amp and a b&w subwoofer in my living room. While the system is pretty great, i feel like the highs are a bit wild and theres too much room interaction and uneven bass blending between the sub and floorstanders... Also my new phone and stuff no longer have jack ports and somehow it feels like the time is running out for these classic systems (unless you need super hifi i guess but then theres d&d, kii 3 etc.)
I was considering buying a bluetooth amp (Argon SA1), however with these i could stream directly from apple music and maybe they would interact better with my room. Judging from the homepod 1 it seems they have like their -6db at 35hz or something! Definitely enough for me. And even the new JBL bluetooth small speakers sounds quite impressive to me.
Anyone in the same boat? Perhaps a bit of easiness and modern speaker technology instead of 4 big black heavy hifi pieces.
I have a pair of Mission 753, a mid nad amp and a b&w subwoofer in my living room. While the system is pretty great, i feel like the highs are a bit wild and theres too much room interaction and uneven bass blending between the sub and floorstanders... Also my new phone and stuff no longer have jack ports and somehow it feels like the time is running out for these classic systems (unless you need super hifi i guess but then theres d&d, kii 3 etc.)
I was considering buying a bluetooth amp (Argon SA1), however with these i could stream directly from apple music and maybe they would interact better with my room. Judging from the homepod 1 it seems they have like their -6db at 35hz or something! Definitely enough for me. And even the new JBL bluetooth small speakers sounds quite impressive to me.
Anyone in the same boat? Perhaps a bit of easiness and modern speaker technology instead of 4 big black heavy hifi pieces.
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NHL99
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Listened today in store to Homepod Mini, and it didn't impress. However, Homepod 23 will have new silicon, new drivers, new driver configuration. A duo setup with Homepod 23 and Dolby Atmos support for the telly isn't more expensive than vanilla soundbars. New listen when released 3rd of February required.
The original HomePod and the Mini are quite different affairs sound-wise (albeit both with a warm-ish, non-fatiguing bent), so I wouldn't consider your experience with the Mini as representative of the HomePod 2 indeed (and neither would I presume that just because the OG HomePod and the HomePod 2 share some design aspects that they'll be tuned the same).
jbattman1016
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I have an older echo dot 3-rd generation and for the kitchen it sounds great really, but also my kitchen is really small. Something to note, the boot time is pretty short, so I just unplug mine when not in use.
These have a unique feature when used with apple TV: Wireless audio over airplay 2 without delay. Hence they can be used for video without lipsync problems.
I'm not sure how it's implemented, presumably by delaying video on the apple TV.
I'm not sure how it's implemented, presumably by delaying video on the apple TV.
Liya
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HomePod was a frustrating thing to measure on the Klippel iirc but @amirm persevered. Not sure he'd be up for it a second time, but I hope so. Measured performance (especially directivity) was quite good, as you'd expect. Bass tuning to taste of course. On the spin it had elevated bass but here it could use a boost (room interaction of course) but the extension is ok. The peak in the midrange here looks odd but may be an artefact of the somewhat rough-and-ready measurement technique (the reviewer made no grandiose claims in that respect in any case). Actually it makes an appearance in the ASR spin for OG HomePod (but not here for that device so go figure).
The side-by-side x-ray images of OG and new at ~5:30 was interesting, more different inside than I imagined (mostly the tweeter arrangement but also some other things. Good to see the power cord has a better termination also.
I don't think that critique of Spotify's business model has much relevance for Apple Music, say.
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Liya
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the same applies to all streaming services.
I've noticed a version of this using a Mac as source. Sometimes I toggle between the laptop speakers and the external to get video from Safari (Netflix for example) or another app (Prime) to sync up. I haven't seen anything exposed in the UI settings (for macOS or the apps) so it's a bit cryptic. I haven't used AppleTV for a while (gave mine to my baby sister and haven't bought a new one yet) but not surprised it deals with latency also.
Depends what you are referring to (you really could be more specific than a lazy link-and-run). Apple pays artists a bit more for example, Spotify is one of the worst. Of course personally I also use Bandcamp and Soundcloud (and purchase stuff from artists I like). If you are simply saying that Apple should pay artists substantially more, then I agree.
So did you mean "rely on" as an artist/producer (like Benn Jordan) or as a listener? While Spotify going under in the long run wouldn't entirely surprise me, Apple would need a much longer run before that becomes a risk. They don't rely on venture capital dollars for example. As silicon valley business models go, they could hardly be more different. More broadly, streaming may well be replaced by another infrastructure in my lifetime but probably not in the service lifetime of this hardware item.
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techsamurai
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The more I see products like this and the Sony HT-A9, I'm thinking that the industry needs to rethink Surround Sound for movies. In a home theater, you'll always opt for a huge number of channels so it's irrelevant.
But in living spaces, the surround and height channels are complex to just run cables for and incorporate as are subwoofers which chew up a lot of space and degrade your living room.
Soundbars for the most part are also undesirable.
This is where these products come in but they are not full solutions. Well, the HT-A9 almost is but it's not audiophile and you're missing the important center channel.
I don't know the solution but for me I would need a left and right channel for stereo and those speakers would need to look beautiful and sound great - the Triangle BR03 and BR09 check the box here. The problem then are the spatial effects and that's where I'd like the center channel to do a bit more since it's never really used for 2 channel and can be a bit more intelligent than just playing 1 channel sound.
I'd love to see audiophile/spatial Atmos solutions that reduce the need to put speakers overhead or behind a sofa.
Something that combined the Triangle BR09 and Naim Mu-so2 would be the dream situation.
But in living spaces, the surround and height channels are complex to just run cables for and incorporate as are subwoofers which chew up a lot of space and degrade your living room.
Soundbars for the most part are also undesirable.
This is where these products come in but they are not full solutions. Well, the HT-A9 almost is but it's not audiophile and you're missing the important center channel.
I don't know the solution but for me I would need a left and right channel for stereo and those speakers would need to look beautiful and sound great - the Triangle BR03 and BR09 check the box here. The problem then are the spatial effects and that's where I'd like the center channel to do a bit more since it's never really used for 2 channel and can be a bit more intelligent than just playing 1 channel sound.
I'd love to see audiophile/spatial Atmos solutions that reduce the need to put speakers overhead or behind a sofa.
Something that combined the Triangle BR09 and Naim Mu-so2 would be the dream situation.
AluminiumEar
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-6db@30hz? Is that even possible?
The originals were incredibly bassy and boomy without EQ. They made even my Genelec 8341s and Kef Reference 1s seem bass shy lmao.
Yes, and when the "Reduce bass" option was enabled I thought they sounded pretty good, not too bassy. Given that they have lots of DSP internally is a pity that Apple haven't provided more control that this one option.
Eric.D
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Homepod 2 actually has smaller drive units in it so idk if it will outperform the 1st gen, maybe in tuning and DSP but it definitely will not outperform in terms of output capability.
Edit: to be precise, 2nd gen has fewer tweeter units and a smaller bass driver.
Home pod 2: 5 tweeter array tilting upwards
Home pod 1: 7 tweeter array but in a more conventional arrangement
My takeaway from this: Overall, HP2 is a purer ‘Smart Speaker', traditional stereo use may be less ideal than HP1.
Edit: to be precise, 2nd gen has fewer tweeter units and a smaller bass driver.
Home pod 2: 5 tweeter array tilting upwards
Home pod 1: 7 tweeter array but in a more conventional arrangement
My takeaway from this: Overall, HP2 is a purer ‘Smart Speaker', traditional stereo use may be less ideal than HP1.
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Its insane. I am actually buying it with hopes of it removing my 2.1 system with a 10" sub (no dsp)...
A 4" woofer doing -6db@30hz... I mean its just the future and technology improvement... I guess the lower SPL and no stereo will be a downside but for the simplicity its a risk i'm willing to take. I don't listen to super loud music anyway. So if its sounds good and the dsp is somewhat working i'm sticking with it.
Also just bought the airpods pro 2. I'm so fucking impressed by apple. What a product!
