good to know, but for this product I do think it's all about adaptive mode, it definitely looks to me as a product to try achieve best real life performance in almost any conditions and deal with it in digital domain, somehow it seems like using Genelec SAM monitors and disable all GLM and measure in room.
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Apple HomePod Review (Smart Speaker)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
I think the use of this unit, i.e. Apple users having something to move around that sounds better than just the phone, is rather ok. A bit bass-heavy in-room but ok. (Eneby 30 below includes real room reflections.)
SimpleTheater
Addicted to Fun and Learning
I’m thoroughly confused by Apple’s security system. As an Echo owner, whenever you buy something you have to voice verify your PIN number. Is Apple really so stupid that if someone sells their HomePod at a garage sale and doesn’t reset it, that some random person can purchase things off your account? I only own an Apple TV and an iPad, so I have limited experience with the company.
I have a coupe of them (had to get them in Germany as they are not sold in Italy) and, aside localization issues and Siri, I think that they are the best sounding devices in the category (I'm referring to the old HomePod which is the one reviewed here - now discontinued - not the new HomePod mini).
No, you can't. As every Apple device it is linked to your Apple ID. Btw turning on two-factor authentication is mandatory on Apple devices to use certain IOS features and to add/remove devices to your Apple ID.
No, you can't. As every Apple device it is linked to your Apple ID. Btw turning on two-factor authentication is mandatory on Apple devices to use certain IOS features and to add/remove devices to your Apple ID.
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absolutely not. these devices only work like that when they're connected to your home network and the voice commands are done with their voice.
IME Apple's security is annoyingly thorough. I actually cancelled a free Apple TV+ account because of the number of times I had to re-enter passwords and codes and I currently have a free Apple music account which has conditions in it which means I almost certainly won't bother to stay with it.
OTOH generally the security and the App store controls plus I don't mind paying a bit more to stop somebody harvesting my data means that outside their subscriber accounts I prefer the Apple ecosystem to anything Google has its claws in.
That defeats the object of a Homepod though.
I can't imagine how to do a valid test of its intended function with the Klippel, so your frustration was probably wasted IMHO.
Bob-23
Senior Member
...ifixit provides some more facts from inside the golden cage 'apple ecosystem':
Repairability score 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)
Repairability score 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)
- Very strong adhesives secure the touch input cover, microphone array, rubber foot, and (most annoyingly) the main point of entry on the top of the device—which otherwise looks designed to twist off without much fuss.
- Even though it looks like there ought to be a nondestructive way inside, we failed to decode it. Without a repair manual, your odds of success are slim.
- https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/HomePod+Teardown/103133
In general I am all about the right to repair and have done some DIY audio stuff as well, but what is the point of a "repairability score" for a product like this? Feels like giving a "soup eating score" to a fork.
A "repairability score" makes sense for a lot of products. If I buy a desktop PC I would be able to swap industry standard parts in and out. If I buy a car I would generally expect to at least do some standard maintenance on it like replacing the air filter, and I think it's reasonable to expect to install replacement blades on my lawn mower.
I'm not sure it makes sense to apply that to a tightly integrated non-portable bespoke product like this. What am I going to do, open up a HomePod and throw some bigger tweeters in there? My cordless electric razor isn't particularly hackable or repairable either, but that's okay. I don't really expect to be able to throw a third-party foil cutter thingy into there.
Part of the "price" we pay for small and tightly integrated products like this is that everything is custom. The onboard DSP is tailored to these specific drivers in this specific arrangement and so on. If I wanted something to hack I'd design my own boombox kit or buy one from PartsExpress as a starting point. (For the record that's precisely what I did)
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WickedInsignia
Active Member
That’s….not how it works, no. Purchasing goes through Apple Music on your phone. If someone else “takes” your Homepod they don’t have access to your account or the ability to purchase.
Anyway, if anyone knows of a far better-sounding $400 all-in-one speaker system with this form factor and wireless let me know, because it’s probably alien hardware at that point.
These reviews could take price segmenting and size more seriously. Otherwise any speaker under $1k that isn’t the size of a mini-fridge will never get a recommendation. I will be floored if any portable/small form-factor consumer speaker gets a pass here considering the criteria.
Totally agree.
HiFi IME rarely if ever needs repairing and items like this are more likely to become obsolete than need repair.
I keep my 'phone for 3 generations and have never needed a repair and the last update was pointless as far as utility is concerned, the new one can do nothing I want that the old one couldn't, I'm going to keep this one forever!
Yeah, amen. I'll describe a great use case for speakers in this line.
My brother lives in a very narrow urban rowhome. You really could not cram a set of traditional hifi speakers into his living room. There would be one viable seating position and everybody else would be severely off axis -- and the speakers would be blocking foot traffic.
He got himself two $99 Homepod Minis, paired in stereo. With multiple units you can have them work independently or in stereo pairs.
I was doubtful but was very impressed by their performance. Vocals were clear, there was a bass hump but nothing too obnoxious, and the "omnidirectional-ish" sound meant they sounded just about constant anywhere in the room. It was difficult to tell where the sound was coming from. Ultimately they were sort of like nice in-ceiling speakers, which is perhaps faint praise, but it's the best comparison I can make. Impressive for something the size of a tennis ball.
Comparing these Homepods to traditional hifi speakers is fun but ultimately sort of like reviewing the offroad capabilities of a 1983 Honda Civic. The Homepods will lose that comparison every time, but aside from the unfortunate tie-in to the Apple ecosystem I think this product line is worth a look for situations where traditional hifi setups are impractical.
(Edit: To be clear I would absolutely love to see an account of offroading in a 1983 Honda Civic)
thefsb
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I still have the 512KE I got when it was new. Switched to Windows around 95 and back to Mac with a PowerBook G4 Ti because at that time OS X was a lot like FreeBSD, and I'd been a SunOS user since 85. I thought it was the best because it was the first unix computer with good portable hardware that also runs MS Office. (Indeed it was the first unix with a tolerable window system. (X still sucks in 2021!))
Then when I needed more beefy hardware I switched to Hackintosh because Apple makes daft desktop computers.
But I switched back to Windows a few years ago when it was no longer practical to use my Nvidia Quadro cards. It was in any case clear that time was running out for Hacks so I switched back to Windows, which by this time had WSL. I had long since transitioned our software from FreeBSD to Linux so Windows with Debian in WSL and in Hyper-V makes better sense than MacOS.
Various news over the last year and a half keeps reminding me how much I despise Gates but I gotta admit, Windows is overall a better fit for me now. There are a few things I miss: the Dictionary app and the character entry Unicode gadget. But I don't miss the Finder at all, or The Dock, or Lauchpad or AFS. And I suspect Apple hates MacOS.
thefsb
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Fair point. But Amir is generally pretty good at separating the measurements and his opinion. And I don't mind the opinion being his. It's like Robert Parker with wine or OpticalLimits with lenses, you get to know the reviewers, their language, and if they are fairly consistent then you can learn a lot even if you don't share their taste/opinion. Parker has bad taste and disses wine I like but that doesn't mean he's not informative.
Ralph_Cramden
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I've read many times that a pair of Sonos One's at the same price kick this thing to the curb. Add a Sonos Sub, game over. Besides, Sonos supports pretty much every music service under the sun, and can be LMS and Roon renderers, so no lock-in to Apple Music.
I don't think this is relevant with this product though. It is designed to be plonked down somewhere and it learns its environment and equalises itself appropriately.
There is no way for this to be done properly on the Klippel so everything about the test is invalid IMO.
Switching off the raison d'etre and expecting either appropriate measurements or the sound a typical owner will get seems more than optimistic to me.
Sure but that's precisely their line of business, repairing smartphones (also tightly integrated) What they are telling us is that if it breaks, dispose of it, we are not touching it. It's not about pimping it or modifying it but all products even this one also use off the shelves parts, but in this case they can't even open it.
I'm surprised all of the Harman fans here aren't gushing over the perfect directivity and running out to buy a pair.
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