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Yawn...
This isn't news. This happens with a lot of things you place on oiled furniture. Lean your elbow on it long enough and it'll leave a mark.
I just tried it with my elbow, and it didn't make a mark.

This is in fact news if you own wood surfaces, because then you will know that the HomePod is a bad decision.
 
Instead of apologizing lets understand what the Google Home Max is doing differently since there has been no report and it's 2x heavier than the HomePod. The fact that the HomePod leaves a ring probably means it's using lesser materials and poorer weight distribution.
 
Instead of apologizing lets understand what the Google Home Max is doing differently since there has been no report and it's 2x heavier than the HomePod. The fact that the HomePod leaves a ring probably means it's using lesser materials and poorer weight distribution.

I can explain what I think is happening. HomePod shoots audio in all directions and needs the silicon bottom. Max shoots sound forward, like a boom box, and likely doesn’t need the silicon. That’s how I’m reading it.
 
That’s right be all doom and gloom over this... “Apple should have done this, should have done that” and ignore the post about 4 above that says “my Sonos play:1 does the exact same thing to my wooden desk.”

It simply amazes me how some people on this forum only see what they want to and ignore everything else.

Well, time has changed though. In the past we could expect apple to be better than the others. But I guess "bad" is "good enough" for apple nowadays.
People just expect less from them as they used to and are okay with it, just so that they still can justify their purchase :rolleyes:

It's like: but some android phones also have faulty batteries, so it's okay the iPhone has to. NO, just no. If an android phone does that, if switch manufacturer, simple as that.

But but but the sonos does it...
So? The Google home does not. Maybe they put more thought into it?!
 
It takes a $2 cork trivet from Ikea to fix it. I have all marble counter tops, so I already use these things all the time for just about anything I set down.

s-l300.jpg
Maybe you don't realise it, but (I would think) that will affect the acoustic coupling between the base of the HomePod and the surface upon which it is placed.

The same applies to the (amazing) Nokia MD-12 Bluetooth speaker - it has a very thick silicone rubber layer on the underside, and an INCREDIBLY powerful bass driver which is acoustically and mechanically coupled DIRECTLY to the underside of the plastic of the housing, which is far thinner in that specific area, which then transfers the bass through the silicone, which is providing a very good coupling between the bass driver and the surface upon which you put it - the centre of a resonant table (reasonably thin glass and metal seem to resonate best.)

How do I know? I own around 6 of the Nokia speakers, and have taken a few apart, engineer as I am:


I could talk about how things work for hours, I love it.
 
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I’ve had a lot of drops when watching movies on my iPad Pro and the audio becomes de-synced if you put the iPad to sleep and then wake it up later. It also just drops completely if you leave it paused too long in the middle of a movie.

And this relates to the HomePod topic because?

1.3 billion devices are in service. Does Apple turn a blind to your issue when calling tech support? No.
Hence you posting here seems odd.
 
Maybe you don't realise it, but that will affect the acoustic coupling between the base of the HomePod and the surface upon which it is placed.

The same applies to the (amazing) Nokia MD-12 Bluetooth speaker - it has a very thick silicone rubber layer on the underside, and an INCREDIBLY powerful bass driver which is acoustically and mechanically coupled DIRECTLY to the underside of the plastic of the housing, which is far thinner in that specific area, which then transfers the bass through the silicone, which is providing a very good coupling between the bass driver and the surface upon which you put it - the centre of a resonant table (reasonably thin glass and metal seem to resonate best.)

I could talk about how things work for hours, I love it.

I actually think it may sound better. The audiophile review, and some others, also said that elevating the HomePod on something like a few books helps, because there’s too much reflectance on a hard surface. FWIW, some of Apple’s press photos of the HomePod being tested in their facility show it on a stand.
 
I actually think it may sound better. The audiophile review, and some others, also said that elevating the HomePod on something like a few books helps, because there’s too much reflectance on a hard surface. FWIW, some of Apple’s press photos of the HomePod being tested in their facility show it on a stand.

Ah. I've no idea, that was just an engineer speculating :) There's always a chance that the ✌"AudioPhiles" ✌ do know a great deal, but not everything... considering this is a new product, and they can't possibly know everything about everything.
 
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Ah. I've no idea, that was just an engineer speculating :) There's always a chance that the ✌"AudioPhiles" ✌ do know a great deal, but not everything... considering this is a new product, and you can't possibly know everything about everything.

I’d guess an entirely cork table would sound better than a hard surface table, anyways, and that’s essentially what my trivet simulates. It’s still grounded to the table and floor. In audio, hard reflective surfaces are usually the enemy.
 
"The Verge" said this, in their review:

`Nothing about the HomePod when you see it in person is what you’d expect. It’s been both smaller and larger than people I’ve shown it to have thought, as it’s so minimally designed that it’s hard to get a sense of scale from photographs. It’s also heavier than it looks, and it doesn’t feel at all like other speakers: the outside is wrapped in a custom spongy mesh fabric Apple proudly told me was developed by its “soft materials team.” I do not know if that team has any cats, but I suspect cats are going to love the HomePod.

The HomePod’s power cord is built in and wrapped in fabric, and on top, there are LED-backlit volume buttons and a “display” that isn’t really a display at all — it’s LEDs under a cloudy glass panel that diffuses them into a single blob of swirling colors. There’s no obvious way to make this area show anything with precise lines, like an interface; Apple told me it was designed to be a touch surface, not to display text. On the bottom is a hard, rubbery material. You need to place the HomePod on a hard, flat surface: most of its speakers fire down, and it sounds pretty bad if you set it on something uneven or soft. But most of the time, it sounds excellent.`

I'm not sure how much they know about audio, but that sounds rational.
 
And this relates to the HomePod topic because?

1.3 billion devices are in service. Does Apple turn a blind to your issue when calling tech support? No.
Hence you posting here seems odd.

HomePod dropping audio has no place in a topic about the HomePod? Are you kidding me? Also, yeah, support didn’t have an answer when I asked them. Turns out it’s just an AirPlay issue.
 
"The Verge" said this, in their review:

`Nothing about the HomePod when you see it in person is what you’d expect. It’s been both smaller and larger than people I’ve shown it to have thought, as it’s so minimally designed that it’s hard to get a sense of scale from photographs. It’s also heavier than it looks, and it doesn’t feel at all like other speakers: the outside is wrapped in a custom spongy mesh fabric Apple proudly told me was developed by its “soft materials team.” I do not know if that team has any cats, but I suspect cats are going to love the HomePod.

The HomePod’s power cord is built in and wrapped in fabric, and on top, there are LED-backlit volume buttons and a “display” that isn’t really a display at all — it’s LEDs under a cloudy glass panel that diffuses them into a single blob of swirling colors. There’s no obvious way to make this area show anything with precise lines, like an interface; Apple told me it was designed to be a touch surface, not to display text. On the bottom is a hard, rubbery material. You need to place the HomePod on a hard, flat surface: most of its speakers fire down, and it sounds pretty bad if you set it on something uneven or soft. But most of the time, it sounds excellent.`

I'm not sure how much they know about audio, but that sounds rational.

Hard is different than reflective. My cork still provides a hard surface, as would a book or a yoga block or whatever.

I'm not sure what they're talking about in regards to the speakers firing down, unless they mean the sounds is supposed to bounce off the bottom of the unit and shoot up out the top. The exit for the audio is at the top of the unit, not the bottom or sides, and the woofer points up.
 
Hard is different than reflective. My cork still provides a hard surface, as would a book or a yoga block or whatever.

I'm not sure what they're talking about in regards to the speakers firing down, unless they mean the sounds is supposed to bounce off the bottom of the unit and shoot up out the top. The exit for the audio is at the top of the unit, not the bottom or sides, and the woofer points up.

Cork is not hard - there may be hardER variants, but it is a soft material used in dartboards, bottle stoppers etc. When they say hard they MEAN HARD, aka glass, wood.
 
Cork is not hard - there may be hardER variants, but it is a soft material used in dartboards, bottle stoppers etc. When they say hard they MEAN HARD, aka glass, wood.

It's only 1/8" of cork on top of a hard wood surface. It's still effectively hard. You should spend $2 on a cork trivet and try it. Again, either way, sound isn't coming from the bottom of this thing.
 
It’s a feature, duh.
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It's not "damaging wood furniture." It's reacting to oil or wax on the wood that isn't naturally there.

You know what’s naturally there on a random piece of dead wood? Damp, moss, mould, shrooms and termites.

It damages wood furniture.
 
Soooo......uh guys, about those cool new tables in the testing lab.......

pl16736710-h_frame_suspended_system_dental_laboratory_bench_dental_lab_working_table.jpg
 
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HomePod dropping audio has no place in a topic about the HomePod? Are you kidding me? Also, yeah, support didn’t have an answer when I asked them. Turns out it’s just an AirPlay issue.

Mines working fine from my Mac’s, iPad Pro, Mac mini, Apple TV’s, iPhone X, etc. I use only Apples routers. I had numerous OTA issues with AT&T routers - funny that people’s own networks are never at fault for connectivity issues. Btw just having “WiFi calling” enabled on my iPhones - pushed by AT&T and NOT Apple caused our home network loads of dropping issues
 
Stop questioning the Chief Designer that can do no wrong and should be heralded. Rather than a trace of neglect, his Lord of the Rings chose to leave us his Visible Anthem.
Rejoice, stop your rants and start reproducing yourselves, you nerdy sheep.
The Cult is to grow. Those that do determine have decided so.
Be grateful to receive the circling earmarks of the Cookdom that defines you.
There is no time for criticism or desillusion - it's galore that should prevail
Amen
 
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As a woodworker of some decades of experience, I think this issues is a tempest in a teapot.

Many finishes that are used on good/fine furniture (there are hundreds of combinations) are problematic in one way or another. Objects of many materials will leave marks on various finishes, the age of the finish, the finish, the wood, environmental conditions, and the kind care the piece has had in the past are all variables. If one owns good furniture one knows what leaves marks or one learns it pretty quickly. To accuse Apple of poor engineering because they did not test every possible combination of wood/finish/silicone is silly.

If you choose to put your HomePod on your Chippendale side board without thinking you are going to get what you deserve.
 
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Mines working fine from my Mac’s, iPad Pro, Mac mini, Apple TV’s, iPhone X, etc. I use only Apples routers. I had numerous OTA issues with AT&T routers - funny that people’s own networks are never at fault for connectivity issues. Btw just having “WiFi calling” enabled on my iPhones - pushed by AT&T and NOT Apple caused our home network loads of dropping issues

Funny how I don't have connectivity issues with anything else.
 
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