Consumer Reports: Google Home Max and Sonos One Sound Better Than HomePod

[Ramchi]

I have listened to the Consumer Report video outputting it to my Bose SL III in a crystal clear fashion!

I think this report going to hurt a few!

 

[maxfromdenmark]

Not sure if it is true but I can already say it looks best IMHO

 

[daniesy]

No they didn’t

They said it clearly sounded the best. Their criticism was not built for anything but Apple users and issues with smartness of Siri. Their negative comments weren’t related to sound

From what i remember, they sad that it's ok for heavy bass music, but quite awful for other types of music. They criticised it a lot also on the software side and the lack of i/o.

 

[chatin]

Sounds like Apple has another mediocre, slow seller on its hands. I considered buying one myself until I saw under the cone that it has lots of tiny speakers. If I wanted a tiny speaker, I would use the ones built into the TV.

 

[TheoCaptain]

Just as the EarPods and AirPods are worse than any pair of >$40 noise cancelling headphones, the HomePod is going to sound worse than any mid-range stereo hi-fi since the 1980s. It's a cool product, but sound quality is compromised by design which is sadly a compromise Apple have been happy to make across the board in recent years. The HomePod has its merits, but please don't whine that it's not the best sounding speakers on the market.

Except the Airpods sound great.

I have yet to meet a person who doesn’t love his or her airpods.

 

[chatin]

Capturing the entire market is not Elon Musk level engineering. Steve Jobs would have bought Sonos two years ago and just put an Apple touch on their existing product.

 

[The Game 161]

Sounds like Apple has another mediocre, slow seller on its hands. I considered buying one myself until I saw under the cone that it has lots of tiny speakers. If I wanted a tiny speaker, I would use the ones built into the TV.

Slow seller? Since when do Apple have a habit of being slow at selling products? This isn’t google.

There is nothing mediocre about this product. From a sound point of view it sounds great for most people’s needs that fits in the Apple ecosystem.

There are plenty of other great options on the market as well. However not many that produces good sound while working with Apple Music

 

[OllyW]

The Verge had a similar negative review.
This is how you can see who's paid by apple and who's not.

This blind review finds the HomePod, Sonos One and Google Home Max to be very evenly matched but is still positive about the HomePod. I don't think David Pogue has got an axe to grind, he has a long association with Apple and was one of the four tech journalists trusted by Steve Jobs to test the iPhone before it was released.

It's still possible to be critical without being negative and I'm sure Apple hasn't paid any of the reviewers, though some may feel slightly intimidated by Apple's reputation.

 

[Rogifan]

The Verge had a similar negative review.
This is how you can see who's paid by apple and who's not.

How was the Verge review negative about the sound? Nilay Patel said HomePod sounded as good as Sonos Play 5. And if you’re going to accuse Apple of paying off reviewers then provide some evidence.

 

[Macyourdayy]

They've probably stuck them in a bath or under concrete. They like to try new things but don't bother mentioning it because it could compromise their review. About an Apple product.

 

[Applebot1]

I have a pair on Play 1’s in the living room and they sound great. Had to retire my separate system because of bulk and wires and not being Wife friendly lol. However the 1’s form my back speakers for the home cinema Sonos setup when I can afford it. The simplicity and design is great and you can’t go wrong.

However I will be buying a HomePod for another room as they do sound fantastic with a nice design.

All these wireless speakers are lifestyle products and don’t come close in terms of a good separate system. But that’s the point people tend to stream music from the likes of Apple Music etc so the quality in absolute terms is not CD quality unless you rip your own music and Airplay/stream from a server.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

I don't understand the extremes of either end of the "Is the Homepod good?" argument. OK it not the best speaker ever produced by Man but so what? It's not the worst piece of garbage incomparable to Amazon's cheapest speaker; again so what? It is what it is and apparently good for it's size. If you find something better in a competitor, fair play and good for you.

No speaker/home assistant is going to kill all the others; pick what works best for you and stop gloating/whining about the others; jeez...

 

[Nick05]

I was in Best Buy earlier and that thing sounded terrible. It was up at a high volume and the distortions were obvious. I’m guessing the store environment is what caused the problem. It wasn’t like it was crowded. Just me, the Apple rep, and a BB blue shirt guy in the area. Guess it needs a much more closed environment.

Either way, it’s not “smart”, so it’s not for me. I have dumb (non-speaking) speakers already that sound great. If it ever gets smart, I’ll give it a closer look.

I went to Best Buy to check it out on Saturday and it sounded fantastic there, probably a little better than it does in my apartment. To be fair, My apartment has really bad acoustics. I wouldn’t say it is the best sounding speaker, but it does sound really good for it’s size. I tried the airplay from the apply tv but wasn’t overly impressed by the sound. For music The thing that is impressive is how well Siri hears and understands. In my house, Alexa can hear and understand you from a decent distance, as long as she isn’t playing music too loud. In my apartment Alexa doesn’t even hear me standing less than 10 feet most of the time. The HomePod has not had any issue with hearing and understanding me from anywhere in the apartment. This is probably not an issue for most, but in this apartment it is.

I’m sure it will get smarter with time. When the Echo came out, it wasnt very smart either. The echo has become really good now.

 

[guitarman777]

I haven't trusted Consumer Reports for years. Most of their "reviews" end up being closer to paid advertisements couched in a comparison of one product to another. Meh. I'll trust my own ears first.

 

[AdonisSMU]

This is not surprising. Overemphasized Bass has always been the hallmark of Beats Music, and it would be surprising if Apple didn't leverage the Beats folks while developing the HomePod.

I don't think the bass is overemphasized. Its the only reason I even use Beats at all. I think the bass is forcibly turned down on other products and I like to hear the bass in the songs.

I have to go with my own ears.

 

[robjulo]

David Pogue’s review pretty much says it all. It wasn’t done in the highly controlled Apple demo room. There were no lights lighting up so the “reviewers” (and I use that term very loosely) could tell which speaker was playing. The songs weren’t hand picked by Apple. It was completely blind.

I realize you are emphatically trying to justify your purchase to others, but the bottom line is, you paid double what a Sonos One would cost you, for far less features and services and, at best, equal sound.

No they didn’t

They said it clearly sounded the best. Their criticism was not built for anything but Apple users and issues with smartness of Siri. Their negative comments weren’t related to sound

 

[The Game 161]

David Pogue’s review pretty much says it all. It wasn’t done in the highly controlled Apple demo room. There were no lights lighting up so the “reviewers” (and I use that term very loosely) could tell which speaker was playing. The songs weren’t hand picked by Apple. It was completely blind.

I realize you are emphatically trying to justify your purchase to others, but the bottom line is, you paid double what a Sonos One would cost you, for far less features and services and, at best, equal sound.

I’m not justifying anything. Could care less what others here buy. I’m giving my honest opinion on why these tests don’t seem accurate based on my testing with the google home max

If I wanted this purely for sound? I would buy a Sonos but I bought the HomePod to control my lights and use Siri for basic tasks

I wanted a basic home assistant that integrates with my ecosystem which is what Siri is while having a very good sound speaker

Which is something a Sonos can not do

Btw two Sonos only costs the same As HomePod for now. I certainly don’t think that offer will remain at that price

 

[robjulo]

Sonos has Alexa built in. It controls lights (it controls my security system as well, among other tasks). If you made the mistake of overpaying and buying Apple only HomeKit products, I guess the doubly priced HomePod is your only option.

And virtually every post you have in this thread is praising the sound.

I’m not justifying anything

If I wanted this purely for sound? I would buy a Sonos but I bought the HomePod to control my lights and use Siri for basic tasks

I wanted a basic home assistant that integrates with my ecosystem which is what Siri is while having a very good sound speaker

Which is something a Sonos can not do

 

[The Game 161]

Sonos has Alexa built in. It controls lights (it controls my security system as well, among other tasks). If you made the mistake of overpaying and buying Apple only HomeKit products, I guess the doubly priced HomePod is your only option.

I don’t use Alexa and never likely will.

I have all apple products so why would I not stick with that eco system for my speaker? Siri syncs with my reminders and notes that I use so why would I go with Alexa for my sound system?

Why is it a mistake exactly? It’s hardly any difference price wise from buying the HomePod to a Sonos which they get rid of the offer and the Sonos doesn’t support Siri

rather no brainer what to go for

 

[robjulo]

Did you even read Pogue’s review? I suspect you haven’t. He used one Sonos One. He didn’t use two. One Sonos One sounded better than the HomePod in his blind tests.

Btw two Sonos only costs the same As HomePod for now. I certainly don’t think that offer will remain at that price

 

[0947347]

Typical MR forum responses here:

Anytime they see a good review of any Apple product: Great job! It was a fair and unbiased review.

Bad review of any Apple product: They're wrong and obviously anti-Apple. #FakeNews

Contrary to popular belief around here, it's quite possible for someone to make a fair and unbiased review of an Apple product while concluding it's not the best option out there.

I wonder how often do you read comments in here. This page should be called WeHateApple.com more than anything.
Whomever says a good thing about an Apple product here, is called a cool aid drinker, apple fanboy, not-a- professional, not-an-audiophile, ... insert a the cutting down to your likings

Anyway
Everything is just a matter of a personal opinion (like/ dislike)
Many people seem very happy and surprised by the quality of sound, some people are not.
Big deal. Only my personal opinion but CR lost all the credibility long ago.

 

[Heineken]

I can only compare to Sonos Play:1 and all I can say is that there is no way Sonos sounds better. HomePod provides much clearer sound, of course there are songs that don't sound as good, but it's the case with all speakers based on their specs and tunning.

 

[The Game 161]

Did you even read Pogue’s review? I suspect you haven’t. He used one Sonos One. He didn’t use two. One Sonos One sounded better than the HomePod in his blind tests.

Sure I read it

I’ve also read other reviews where the HomePod was better than one Sonos

In fact I’ve seen more people say HomePod sounds better than those who didn’t

But what sounds better is always different as depends on the individual

If one is better than the other there’s hardly much difference

 

[Nuvi]

Except the Airpods sound great.

I have yet to meet a person who doesn’t love his or her airpods.

I’m here. They are very convenient due to small form factor but that’s the one and only selling point. The BT connection when established is awesome but when it’s not the troubleshooting is PITA. I prefer my Bose QC 35’s over my Apple AirPods. The QC35’s are far more reliable and the sound quality is in different league when compared to AirPod’s.

 

[robjulo]

So you think Pogue (a known Apple proponent) is just making it up?

I can only compare to Sonos Play:1 and all I can say is that there is no way Sonos sounds better. HomePod provides much clearer sound, of course there are songs that don't sound as good, but it's the case with all speakers based on their specs and tunning.