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Are the homepods a good deal?
- Thread starter cleareyes
- Start date
They are very restricted in max SPL - I owned both them and the Sonos One and found they sounded better than the Sonos One by quite a bit. The Sonos One + a sub though was in a different league.
I use the HomePod mini's as a stereo pair in the bedroom and bathroom, not as good sounding as my previous audio engine A2 which are now in the kitchen but they are handy for controlling my HomeKit stuff so convenience and ease of use/connectivity trumps sound for me in that situation.
Zensō
Major Contributor
The HomePod sounds pretty good for what it is, but I’d suggest a pair of Sonos One SL’s over a single HomePod at that price point.
quantum_wave
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2 Homepods in stereo config are much much better than a single (surprise, surprise, stereo sounds better...)
I thought they were crap , not loud enough and just not something I'd want to listen to music through .
As someone else said sonos offers better enjoyment imo , I actually have really enjoyed music through a Sonos system at a friend's house , I was sceptical ( internally, I have some manners lol ) but the various jazz records sounded great . My mum now has one !
As someone else said sonos offers better enjoyment imo , I actually have really enjoyed music through a Sonos system at a friend's house , I was sceptical ( internally, I have some manners lol ) but the various jazz records sounded great . My mum now has one !
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Frequency response is not that flat but directivity is outstanding. I have never listen to them so no comment.
Didn’t realise this but my brother has recently bought a pair of them to use as a stereo pair for his tv, dunno how they sound in this regard but hope that means I can get my audioengine a2 and audioengine s8 sub back 
, I lent them to him way back in around 2010 as a trial and he kept them
, I lent them to him way back in around 2010 as a trial and he kept themA little too much upper bass I think. Every time I listen to them on display they sound overly boomy and bloomy and it bleeds into the mids. Probably need to download an EQ app and tune down the entire 100-400hz area.
quantum_wave
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Apple changes the frequency response of Homepods with volume to address the fletcher munson curve - at lower volumes they (appreciatingly) boost the bass.
josephlau
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Here is my point of view from musician (classical guitarist) perspective.
I used to have only one HomePod which I hated, but brought another one on the day after the news that it would be discontinued. I am now having a stereo paired HonePod which I love.
I initially brought only one on last year for causal listenin, after my Musical Fidelity amplifier was burnt. But to my ear, it sound really terrible or I even felt sad! Because the sound of classical guitar sound so bad, it’s mid was suck! The weakest link of the HomePod is the mid range, not to mention it‘s over emphasized bass. However it’s room filling 360 degtee sound is good and interesting.
A few days after my sadness, I then brought a pair of Studio Monitors (Mackie MR524) which is driven my old Airport Express to resolve my sadness. It is indeed very GOOD! Way better than the single HomePod and even my old Hi-Fi system! The guitar sound so much better - everything sound so CLEAR! I then realized that a Hi-Fi system really NOT what I need.
Few months ago, I been shocked from a news that the original HomePod would be disconnected. I then decided to buy another one to form a stereo pair as purpose of collection and Dolby Atoms sound system for my Apple TV.
The stereo paired HomePod sound so much BETTER than one indeed. You know, not 1+1=2 better, but WAY more!
The mid range no longer suck, although the bass is still a bit too much, but it has very WIDE sound stage (really room filling), comparing with my Mackie which gives more accurate and focus sound.
I am now using stereo HomePods for my main speaker system for casual music listening and video. I use Mackie for serious listening, such as musical analysis or monitoring for my own recording (Motu M4). More like a speaker for work while the HomePod for entertainment.
The verdict.
Go for it if you going to buy two of them but don’t consider it if only one, which in my opinion, two HomePod Mini sound better than one HomePod and cheaper. Yes, i addicted, I also brought two Mini for other rooms.
I used to have only one HomePod which I hated, but brought another one on the day after the news that it would be discontinued. I am now having a stereo paired HonePod which I love.
I initially brought only one on last year for causal listenin, after my Musical Fidelity amplifier was burnt. But to my ear, it sound really terrible or I even felt sad! Because the sound of classical guitar sound so bad, it’s mid was suck! The weakest link of the HomePod is the mid range, not to mention it‘s over emphasized bass. However it’s room filling 360 degtee sound is good and interesting.
A few days after my sadness, I then brought a pair of Studio Monitors (Mackie MR524) which is driven my old Airport Express to resolve my sadness. It is indeed very GOOD! Way better than the single HomePod and even my old Hi-Fi system! The guitar sound so much better - everything sound so CLEAR! I then realized that a Hi-Fi system really NOT what I need.
Few months ago, I been shocked from a news that the original HomePod would be disconnected. I then decided to buy another one to form a stereo pair as purpose of collection and Dolby Atoms sound system for my Apple TV.
The stereo paired HomePod sound so much BETTER than one indeed. You know, not 1+1=2 better, but WAY more!
The mid range no longer suck, although the bass is still a bit too much, but it has very WIDE sound stage (really room filling), comparing with my Mackie which gives more accurate and focus sound.
I am now using stereo HomePods for my main speaker system for casual music listening and video. I use Mackie for serious listening, such as musical analysis or monitoring for my own recording (Motu M4). More like a speaker for work while the HomePod for entertainment.
The verdict.
Go for it if you going to buy two of them but don’t consider it if only one, which in my opinion, two HomePod Mini sound better than one HomePod and cheaper. Yes, i addicted, I also brought two Mini for other rooms.
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I think people were worried about that with Sonos, but it all continues and according to the company will continue to operate. If it routes everything through Apple's servers maybe I'd worry, but if not, then support is irrelevant. If they are out of support by 6 months or a trillion years, it makes no practical difference.
Sounds like you would be better off with a Sonos product. Yes, Homepod has a huge null in the midrange. But the directivity is such that you can easily EQ this range without affecting the power response in weird way. But not everyone wants to deal with tinkering with a speaker, especially with the proprietary nature of the design. Out of the box Sonos speakers have less tonality problems.
I tried a pair in stereo - they sounded pretty good in my living room for the form factor. I thought the bass sounded a bit muddy at higher SPL's, although for the price I'm not sure if there are any rivals to them in terms of functionality/style. I had them paired with an Apple TV.
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