Also curious about Apple Homepods... I don't think I have a current use case, but it seems a lot of smart engineering went into them, so woud love to hear what others' experiences are.
-
Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
Post photo of your desktop setup
- Thread starter _thelaughingman
- Start date
The HomePods are no replacement for Studio Monitors for certain but they are decent for YT videos and the like. I’ve positioned them above to experiment and to make some room on the desktop.
In the same room I have the active pro audio studio monitors and subwoofer setup in front of the TV fed by a mixer that has USB input so I feed that from the Apple/Mac.
I move the HomePods around a lot and find them to sound their best when in an open space such as on the coffee table in the middle of the living room.
Attachments
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2024
- Messages
- 3,026
- Likes
- 4,780
Also, why do you illiuminate your monitor with a lantern.
They are decent for general use not critical listening, somewhat bass heavy, but when listening to them side by side studio monitors such as my Yamaha HS series, there’s no competition; the Yamaha’s sound way better. HomePod’s in stereo are easy to enjoy in an open space for background music and the like. But for critical listening with soundstage and dynamics and depth I much prefer studio monitors.
LOL! My stand up desk is inside of the closet LOL!
Had to go to the summer cottage to fix some stuff. I'm taking the opportunity to arrange a desktop solution on the coffee table. Those KEF Coda 7 are nice speakers.
The amplifier is placed on a Yamaha sub. HP-LP filter 100 Hz. I took some pictures yesterday. It's not as structured as the rest of you have it. This is just temporary. Picture of a speaker on one side plus the amp that powers the speakers.
Sounds pretty good but as usual when I listen closely to speakers I wonder if I shouldn't have headphones instead. I now alternate between listening to the Coda 7 and my headphones.
Also, with speakers that close, I think a pair of good point source speakers would come into their own better than a pair of small two-way speakers,although as I said it sounds good now.
Which is almost a point source, or on the way there with 6 kHz crossover, this:
Sounds decent, unfortunately they drop around 140 Hz so I maxed out the crossover from sub to 140 Hz. Not the most optimal but it works, sort of. Can't expect miracles with small budget satellites (which are now, basically, given away for free). Decent power handling in the little buggers though.
The amplifier is placed on a Yamaha sub. HP-LP filter 100 Hz. I took some pictures yesterday. It's not as structured as the rest of you have it. This is just temporary. Picture of a speaker on one side plus the amp that powers the speakers.
Sounds pretty good but as usual when I listen closely to speakers I wonder if I shouldn't have headphones instead. I now alternate between listening to the Coda 7 and my headphones.
Also, with speakers that close, I think a pair of good point source speakers would come into their own better than a pair of small two-way speakers,although as I said it sounds good now.
Which is almost a point source, or on the way there with 6 kHz crossover, this:
Sounds decent, unfortunately they drop around 140 Hz so I maxed out the crossover from sub to 140 Hz. Not the most optimal but it works, sort of. Can't expect miracles with small budget satellites (which are now, basically, given away for free). Decent power handling in the little buggers though.
Last edited:
Crook
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2025
- Messages
- 197
- Likes
- 303
Neumann KH120 MKII
Neumann KH120 II Monitor Review
This is a review, detailed measurements and listening tests/EQ of Neumann KH120 MKII DSP active monitor (speaker). It is on kind loan from the company and costs US $999 each. I love the form factor for desktop use. It is not too deep or unwieldly as some larger configurations can be: Back...
www.audiosciencereview.com
olds1959special
Major Contributor
I put my subwoofers sideways and put my speaker stands on top of them, then use isopods to angle down my speakers. The result was very flat measurements without EQ except for a couple big dips in the lows and one extremely big peak at 120 Hz that was very easy to get out with EQ. There is basically no interaction with the desk this way. I set the crossover at 60 Hz because of how far apart the subs are from the speakers.
Shinano
Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2026
- Messages
- 15
- Likes
- 14
Here's my temporary desk/listening area.
The story with the Stax is that I bought them as broken with the adaptor, and after letting them bias overnight, they were perfect. Until somebody left a window in this room open after it rained 2 days after I got them, which when I went to use them the next day, the left driver was basically dead. A few days afterward I tried them again, and seemed to be back to how they were, but I decided not to risk it anymore with humidity, so I got some Hifiman HE6SE to substitute for them.
The story with the Stax is that I bought them as broken with the adaptor, and after letting them bias overnight, they were perfect. Until somebody left a window in this room open after it rained 2 days after I got them, which when I went to use them the next day, the left driver was basically dead. A few days afterward I tried them again, and seemed to be back to how they were, but I decided not to risk it anymore with humidity, so I got some Hifiman HE6SE to substitute for them.
Pretorious
Active Member
Let me explain. My fixed desk setup is in the basement. I work from home and with the weather getting nicer I just couldn't be stuck in that dungeon most days. I have a portable desk I use in the upstairs library and so needed something portable for there since I can't fit regular speakers/monitors.
So I landed on a pair of the Bose Flex 2 and am thoroughly surprised how good they sound. I was absolutely prepared to be completely disappointed and to return them, but that is far from the case. I have convenience, portability, and stereo sound wherever I want it. They are perfect for my listening level (60-70 db). It's truly shocking what's out there for the average consumer these days.
The sweep below was taken on my iPhone with HouseCurve. The green are the pair of Bose, and the grey is my regular desk setup with the JBL 305Ps and sub, as seen in my post above. Now that's not bad at all!
So I landed on a pair of the Bose Flex 2 and am thoroughly surprised how good they sound. I was absolutely prepared to be completely disappointed and to return them, but that is far from the case. I have convenience, portability, and stereo sound wherever I want it. They are perfect for my listening level (60-70 db). It's truly shocking what's out there for the average consumer these days.
The sweep below was taken on my iPhone with HouseCurve. The green are the pair of Bose, and the grey is my regular desk setup with the JBL 305Ps and sub, as seen in my post above. Now that's not bad at all!
Ralph_Cramden
Major Contributor
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2020
- Messages
- 4,158
- Likes
- 7,859
There’s a WiiM Mini hidden behind the “now playing” display.
Similar threads
