HomePod Are 2 homepods in stereo that amazing?

[Nimoy]

I'm conflicted about stereo pairing. Some tracks sound incredible—particularly newish, more mainstream, bass-heavy, beat-heavy tracks. And some other older, quieter songs (I just listened to The Smiths's "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" and it sounded fantastic as did Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees"). However, I find a lot of other songs just sound marginally better with stereo pairing. Not sure exactly what the determining factor is, but it's frustrating.

 

[Max_B]

Well, il might be the recording has less stereo, or is not as well engineered.
Or do you mean that those same songs sound better on traditional stereo or on a given reference setup ?
In that latter case maybe HP DSP is not able to separate music elements (background, vocals, lead instrument) in some songs.

 

[legacyb4]

I also think that in "true" stereo, it's much clearer which is stereo-left & stereo-right; I'm finding that while the HomePod is splitting up the music, there's still some overlap (for want of a better word) between the channels so it's less apparent.

Still sounds measurably better than single though for most music.

The other interesting effect I've noticed is that while the HomePod can get loud, it doesn't get deafening in an ear-hurting kind of way; not sure how to describe it but that's how I feel.

 

[BlankStar]

I also think that in "true" stereo, it's much clearer which is stereo-left & stereo-right; I'm finding that while the HomePod is splitting up the music, there's still some overlap (for want of a better word) between the channels so it's less apparent.

Still sounds measurably better than single though for most music.

The other interesting effect I've noticed is that while the HomePod can get loud, it doesn't get deafening in an ear-hurting kind of way; not sure how to describe it but that's how I feel.

That overlap is intended and what separates the HP's from regular stereo speakers. Try to put 3 meters (10 feet) in between the two HomePods and stand center front of them (so you from a triangle with them), play a recent song and close your eyes. You'll here the stereo, yet it will feel like the band is playing in your living room and the singer is in front of you. That's what's so cool. Real stereo sucks and doesn't sound realistic ;-)

 

[legacyb4]

That overlap is intended and what separates the HP's from regular stereo speakers. Try to put 3 meters (10 feet) in between the two HomePods and stand center front of them (so you from a triangle with them), play a recent song and close your eyes. You'll here the stereo, yet it will feel like the band is playing in your living room and the singer is in front of you. That's what's so cool. Real stereo sucks and doesn't sound realistic ;-)

Which goes back to what Nimoy was saying about some songs not sound quite as good as expected (the way it's mixed for "old school" stereo, etc.) which might cause some issues with "new world" stereo effects.

Jazz tracks positively come alive with HP stereo from what I've sampled though!

 

[Duncan-UK]

I bought a second HomePod over the weekend. Wasn’t 11.4 out of the box but after a painless download of the update the stereo pairing was incredibly easy and... WOW.

Such a difference it’s incredible. For me the system now truly sounds superb. I have them in my conservatory and am currently listening to Mike Oldfields Ommadawn. Sounds wonderful coming from the two HomePods.

I seriously cannot recommend this upgrade enough!

 

[atmuwben]

I could not pass up the USD$299 Best Buy sale so did get a second HP for stereo. Sounds great.

My bedroom furniture situation only has them placed 20 inches apart; still looking at a way to separate them more.

Edit: the song Runaway by Kanye West, beginning background vocals, sounds like he’s circling the HPs.

 

[Endorphine88]

I could not pass up the USD$299 Best Buy sale so did get a second HP for stereo. Sounds great.

My bedroom furniture situation only has them placed 20 inches apart; still looking at a way to separate them more.

Edit: the song Runaway by Kanye West, beginning background vocals, sounds like he’s circling the HPs.

Definitely try to place them far away from each other. If it's a small room go for opposite corners - it will make all the difference.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Am I understanding this right - Some of you are using HomePods as Apple TV audio speakers, one on each side of the TV?

If so - how's the vocal situation on dialogue?
How good does it do making you feel like the sound of voices is actually coming from the screen?

 

[Endorphine88]

Am I understanding this right - Some of you are using HomePods as Apple TV audio speakers, one on each side of the TV?

If so - how's the vocal situation on dialogue?
How good does it do making you feel like the sound of voices is actually coming from the screen?

I have that setup in my game room - TV in the middle and two HomePods in stereo pair (one in each corner of the room). They do a pretty fantastic job of building a soundstage and separating vocals or speech. I watch a lot of space and sci-fi movies that rely heavily on a good sounstage and while the HomePods can't beat a dedicated audio system with a subwoofer, they do a pretty amazing job at depth and clarity for how simple the setup is. Favorite part - no wires.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I have that setup in my game room - TV in the middle and two HomePods in stereo pair (one in each corner of the room). They do a pretty fantastic job of building a soundstage and separating vocals or speech. I watch a lot of space and sci-fi movies that rely heavily on a good sounstage and while the HomePods can't beat a dedicated audio system with a subwoofer, they do a pretty amazing job at depth and clarity for how simple the setup is. Favorite part - no wires.

Interesting - Thanks for sharing that..

Can you elaborate bit more on how you control it all?
Is this all done with just the Apple TV remote?

How does it work when you basically sit down and want to watch something?
What are the steps?

Thx

 

[BlankStar]

Interesting - Thanks for sharing that..

Can you elaborate bit more on how you control it all?
Is this all done with just the Apple TV remote?

How does it work when you basically sit down and want to watch something?
What are the steps?

Thx

Somewhat same setup here. Control it with the ATV remote.

All steps in detail
- Hit the menu button on the remote. This wakes the ATV and the ATV wakes my tv.
- navigate to the movie I want to watch (either bought on iTunes or via Computer > Shared)
- start the movie
- swipe down on the remote and select the HomePod-pair as speakers

Can also be done with the ATV remote app on your iPhone.

FYI: when the movie is playing, you can use "Hey Siri" on the HP's to control the movie. (Hey Siripause the living room apple tv; Hey Siri fast forward two minutes, etc)

 

[Endorphine88]

Interesting - Thanks for sharing that..

Can you elaborate bit more on how you control it all?
Is this all done with just the Apple TV remote?

How does it work when you basically sit down and want to watch something?
What are the steps?

Thx

Fire up the Apple TV, select whatever I wanna watch, swipe down on the remote and set audio output to HomePod pair. If I've already done this previously, I find that the Apple TV automatically uses the HomePods as the default audio output, unless I've Airplay-ed from another device before this. Everything is pretty much controlled via the remote or voice. It's a neat setup. It used to have a lot of reliability issues before the most recent updates, but I find that it works like a charm now.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I find that the Apple TV automatically uses the HomePods as the default audio output

Thank you for the details - that line right there is what I was curious about.

In the household here I can't be introducing any concepts that require too much "configuration" any time you just want to sit down and watch something - drives people nuts (understandably).

 

[Nimoy]

Thank you for the details - that line right there is what I was curious about.

In the household here I can't be introducing any concepts that require too much "configuration" any time you just want to sit down and watch something - drives people nuts (understandably).

Here's a catch that is a bit annoying though: Once you pair the Apple TV to your HomePod(s), it will remain paired even when the AppleTV is asleep. So suppose you shut off your TV and then later ask HomePod to play some music—your Apple TV will automatically boot up, turning on your TV, which is probably NOT what you want. The way to prevent this is to manually unpair your Apple TV from your HomePod(s) when you're finished watching.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Here's a catch that is a bit annoying though: Once you pair the Apple TV to your HomePod(s), it will remain paired even when the AppleTV is asleep. So suppose you shut off your TV and then later ask HomePod to play some music—your Apple TV will automatically boot up, turning on your TV, which is probably NOT what you want. The way to prevent this is to manually unpair your Apple TV from your HomePod(s) when you're finished watching.

Ugh
Ok - thank you for adding that.

I'm out. That takes it right into PITA territory for my usage and family house dynamics.

 

[billhinge]

How do dolby atmos films from apple tv play, was going with sony st5000 soundbar but if this is a good compromise then may think again

I've done with seperates, speakers, sub and cables so looking to avoid clutter so some compromise is OK plus apple tv will be my main film platform for immediate future as I'm only home weekends

 

[ersan191]

Ugh
Ok - thank you for adding that.

I'm out. That takes it right into PITA territory for my usage and family house dynamics.

It will also unpair from the ATV if you airplay anything to the Apple TV (including videos and screen mirroring) or to the HomePod itself which includes multi room commands (“play music everywhere” necessitates me going to every tv in the house and re-pairing them after I’m done because nobody else in the house will do it). It’s not very intuitive. Apple seems to be making them harder to unpair with each passing update though, I’m sure they will get it perfect eventually.

Also Apple TV will not output to HomePod for any app that isn’t music or videos (games, some third party video players, navigation sounds, etc). It sends those over HDMI instead. That will likely never change.

 

[mac.cali]

It won’t output for something like YouTube tv or directv now?

It will also unpair from the ATV if you airplay anything to the Apple TV (including videos and screen mirroring) or to the HomePod itself which includes multi room commands (“play music everywhere” necessitates me going to every tv in the house and re-pairing them after I’m done because nobody else in the house will do it). It’s not very intuitive. Apple seems to be making them harder to unpair with each passing update though, I’m sure they will get it perfect eventually.

Also Apple TV will not output to HomePod for any app that isn’t music or videos (games, some third party video players, navigation sounds, etc). It sends those over HDMI instead. That will likely never change.

 

[turbineseaplane]

@ersan191 Thanks for all those thoughts and more details.
I'm definitely passing on all of that for now.

This would be heading in the wrong direction in terms of simplicity for my main living room setup and not at all what I'm looking for.

 

[Nikhil72]

For those considering it for appletv us, I recently got a Sonos Beam for $399 with airplay 2 support and its been fantastic for the appletv and obviously a more reliable connection than the stereo HomePods. Took the HomePods and split them up throughout the house which has served their purpose better.

 

[ersan191]

It won’t output for something like YouTube tv or directv now?

YouTube TV and DirecTV Now both work with HomePod but Sling TV does not (I know because I had to get rid of them because of that fact, though I submitted feature requests to them a couple times - Philo doesn’t work either). Vue also does work.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Yes.

I’m not an audiophile and was quite skeptical about pairing. Didn’t really think I’d get any benefit. Anyway I bought a second. My intention was to pair them but to also use one in the kitchen. Well it sounds so good I want to always keep them together. So now I’m going to have to get a third.

 

[DoctorFedora]

We're not Super Audiophiles® or anything, but we figured it would be nice to have some pretty good speakers. There was that great sale at Best Buy (like $100 off), so we ultimately wound up with two. One is good, but two set up in stereo is really, really good. It's not, like, change-your-life-forever good, but it's definitely very nice, and the fact that they can be positioned wherever means you can have a dramatically wider sound stage than your usual TV soundbar-style speaker (the HomePods are at least 10 feet/3 meters apart).

And yeah, movies tend to be mastered much quieter than music, so there's a danger of music being turned up WAY TOO LOUD after you watch a movie, but if you bear that in mind, it's really good overall.

 

[Zxxv]

And how is sound imaging? Are vocals clear and coming from between the speakers as if they were standing there singing? How about bass? Can you tell different bass notes are they all the same note over and over again?

thump thump thump I bet. So many of these systems don't produce distinct bass notes. All mid bass.
I only listened to the HomePod in the apple store and walked away. You aint convincing me its hi fi.

I'm conflicted about stereo pairing. Some tracks sound incredible—particularly newish, more mainstream, bass-heavy, beat-heavy tracks. And some other older, quieter songs (I just listened to The Smiths's "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" and it sounded fantastic as did Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees"). However, I find a lot of other songs just sound marginally better with stereo pairing. Not sure exactly what the determining factor is, but it's frustrating.

If it all sounded the same that would be a sign the speakers and system are not very good. You should feel disappointed some times.

The other interesting effect I've noticed is that while the HomePod can get loud, it doesn't get deafening in an ear-hurting kind of way; not sure how to describe it but that's how I feel.

Only crap systems sound deafening and ear hurting. Its a sign of a good system when it doesn't hurt when you turn it up.

That overlap is intended and what separates the HP's from regular stereo speakers. Try to put 3 meters (10 feet) in between the two HomePods and stand center front of them (so you from a triangle with them), play a recent song and close your eyes. You'll here the stereo, yet it will feel like the band is playing in your living room and the singer is in front of you. That's what's so cool. Real stereo sucks and doesn't sound realistic ;-)

Poorly set up stereo sucks. You get what you pay for in the world of hifi.