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HomePod Apple TV and 2 Homepods vs Sonos ARC / Playbase / Beam and 2 One - Which one is better?
- Thread starter Andiko
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I love my HomePods that I have, also have a lot of Sonos speakers. Sonos Arc without a sub isn't that great, but Sonos and 2 Ones is much better than 2 Homepods for tv experience to me.
Also depends on where you live, if you're in an apartment, neighbors might thank you for not having a sub with your Arc. I have Arc+sub+surrounds, I normally keep my sub turned down a bit.
I've said the following many times here
- the direct audio connection on sonos, vs streaming over the network is much less prone to failure or delay. Some apps are worse than others when dealing with airplay.
- on sonos, you can control music from ANY device on your network. Chose music on an android, skip a song on iOS, chance volume from your Mac, and stop playback from Windows. and that's all for the same playback "session"
with HomePod there is some control on the Mac using the music app, but currently only if you're playing Apple Music. (other services suppoesedly coming soon)
- Sonos can access many more streaming services, you can even make a mixed playlist with songs from multiple services.
I've tried channel check files with the arc, with each channel isolated including the atmos, and the height channels definitely sounds "higher" than the regular left and right channels.
I can try with my HomePod and see how it goes, although I'll have to play around to make sure it's actually playing the atmos test file directly and not converting. I usually use an app on the TV to play it.
I've said the following many times here
- the direct audio connection on sonos, vs streaming over the network is much less prone to failure or delay. Some apps are worse than others when dealing with airplay.
- on sonos, you can control music from ANY device on your network. Chose music on an android, skip a song on iOS, chance volume from your Mac, and stop playback from Windows. and that's all for the same playback "session"
with HomePod there is some control on the Mac using the music app, but currently only if you're playing Apple Music. (other services suppoesedly coming soon)
- Sonos can access many more streaming services, you can even make a mixed playlist with songs from multiple services.
I've tried channel check files with the arc, with each channel isolated including the atmos, and the height channels definitely sounds "higher" than the regular left and right channels.
I can try with my HomePod and see how it goes, although I'll have to play around to make sure it's actually playing the atmos test file directly and not converting. I usually use an app on the TV to play it.
I am also curious how 2 homepods stereo paired with ATV with Dolby Atmos compare against Sonor ARC soundbar only or Beam + 2 Symphonic rear speakers (no Dolby Atmos but real 5.1 surround).
I ordered second homepod for try for stereo music pairing and it sounds great. But won't get Apple TV 4K until near end of May.
My TV doesn't have eARC, so pairing it up with Sonoc ARC would be more complicated but could still take full advantage of Beam + 2 rear speakers.
If stereo paired homepods with Digital Atmos outperform Beam it sounds worth keeping this setup. But if I can get better sound watching movies with Beam + 2 rear Symphonic speakers this would preferable to me as this setup would support my Samsung UHD player. I currently have midrange Sony 2.1 soundbar with sub for TV in addition to homepods but Sony discontinued long time ago wireless rear speakers for my model.
I ordered second homepod for try for stereo music pairing and it sounds great. But won't get Apple TV 4K until near end of May.
My TV doesn't have eARC, so pairing it up with Sonoc ARC would be more complicated but could still take full advantage of Beam + 2 rear speakers.
If stereo paired homepods with Digital Atmos outperform Beam it sounds worth keeping this setup. But if I can get better sound watching movies with Beam + 2 rear Symphonic speakers this would preferable to me as this setup would support my Samsung UHD player. I currently have midrange Sony 2.1 soundbar with sub for TV in addition to homepods but Sony discontinued long time ago wireless rear speakers for my model.