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First HomePod Pre-Order Customers Get Charged as Speakers Prepare for Shipment

ErikGrim said:
LOL no. Not a single review said that. However:

(That doesn't mean HomePod is currently limited to "mono" audio. One HomePod can still project a full 3D soundstage throughout a room. It simply means you can't pair HomePods to create a richer, bigger 3D soundstage — not until AirPlay 2 ships.) - iMore​
[doublepost=1517961977][/doublepost]Wait. You quoted TechCrunch and Macrumours to refute his audio theory? You know appeal to authority only works if you appeal to ACTUAL authority. Of which TC and MR most definitely are not.

Stereo does not mean what you, or TC or MR, think it means.

Stereophonic sound or, more commonly, stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that creates an illusion of multi-directional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two or more independent audio channels through a configuration of two or more loudspeakers (or stereo headphones) in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing.[1] Thus the term "stereophonic" applies to so-called "quadraphonic" and "surround-sound" systems as well as the more common two-channel, two-speaker systems. It is often contrasted with monophonic, or "mono" sound, where audio is heard as coming from one position, often ahead in the sound field (analogous to a visual field). In the 2000s, stereo sound is common in entertainment systems such as broadcast radio, TV, recorded music, and cinema.​
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The appeal to authority is simply due to the presumption (perhaps incorrectly) that those pieces of information would have come from Apple directly (particularly in the case of TechCrunch’s hands-on review), which means it came from THE authority with regard to how the HomePod works.
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ErikGrim said:
This is an interesting point and I certainly hope Apple sets its sights on precise positioning with visual medium. I imagine two of these could be used in tandem with say, an ATMOS signal, to create a very believable surround simulation.

It will most likely be far too imprecise to achieve with a single unit.

Right now however it seems that they’ve focused on creating a pleasing multi-dimensional soundstage for music only.
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Atmos only works with either in-ceiling speakers or speakers angled to reflect audio off the ceiling toward the seating area. The HomePod would use the latter method and runs into two problems. First, only the woofer faces upward which means only lower frequencies would be able to participate in atmos and lower frequencies don’t reflect as well in the first place. Second the woofer isn’t angled so any reflections from the ceiling would be directed right back down on top of the HomePod.
 
vipergts2207 said:
Atmos only works with either in-ceiling speakers or speakers angled to reflect audio off the ceiling toward the seating area. The HomePod would use the latter method and runs into two problems. First, only the woofer faces upward which means only lower frequencies would be able to participate in atmos and lower frequencies don’t reflect as well in the first place. Second the woofer isn’t angled so any reflections from the ceiling would be directed right back down on top of the HomePod.
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Indeed that will be a problem recreating ATMOS the way it is intended to be reproduced. I was just theorising that the signal could be interpreted and recreated using the smarts the Homepod use to already produce a three dimensional soundstage to simulate surround space.

The woofer, as you rightly point out, will probably be the limiting factor here.
 
Has anyone got their tracking number using tracking by reference on UPS? It pulled up a shipment, but says it weighs 8 pounds. I'm not expecting anything else from UPS so I'm wondering if that's it.
 
Wxchaser said:
UPS shows 8.80 pounds in transit to my residence :)

Scheduled delivery date is still Friday, February 9th.

The past couple weeks I have been researching smart switches & lights so I can use HomeKit enabled accessories. Discovered I have some weird wiring to my home switches but just about ready to order either Leviton or Lutron equipment.
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I wish mine was showing anything other than Preparing for Shipment. I feel left out! :)
 
The Martian said:
I wish mine was showing anything other than Preparing for Shipment. I feel left out! :)
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Mine is in transit as of 530pm. Departed Harrisburg PA.
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iLoveMyApple said:
Has anyone got their tracking number using tracking by reference on UPS? It pulled up a shipment, but says it weighs 8 pounds. I'm not expecting anything else from UPS so I'm wondering if that's it.
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Mine said 9lbs. Departed Harrisburg PA at 530pm
 
Picked up at UPS sorting center and installed it easily. Impressions are that HomePod is extremely easy to set up, but not very good as an automatic assistant. I primarily plan to use mine to interface with HomeKit and use smart switches and lights that will respond to voice commands easily. I won't be able to test much till the middle of next week when all my Lutron stuff arrives.
 
I picked mine up too. Took an hour to connect it because it kept throwing errors. Reset router didn’t work. Installed home and that took forever to set up so re started phone and finally connects. I compared it to a wonderboom Bluetooth speaker and am shipping mine back as we speak. It’s not even close to being worth $400 I am an apple freak. The killer for me was I have to talk to the damn thing to do anything. I hoped I could stream the music from my phone pick my songs out and play. Nope. You have to talk to is. So saying hey Siri makes the phone iPad and everything else that answers go off. Sorry. Not sorry. Disappointed big time.
 
redroseapps12 said:
I picked mine up too. Took an hour to connect it because it kept throwing errors. Reset router didn’t work. Installed home and that took forever to set up so re started phone and finally connects. I compared it to a wonderboom Bluetooth speaker and am shipping mine back as we speak. It’s not even close to being worth $400 I am an apple freak. The killer for me was I have to talk to the damn thing to do anything. I hoped I could stream the music from my phone pick my songs out and play. Nope. You have to talk to is. So saying hey Siri makes the phone iPad and everything else that answers go off. Sorry. Not sorry. Disappointed big time.
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Mine was really easy to connect but as a home assistant it is still lacking. I figure future software updates will improve the product, just like it has on the Apple TV 4K.

You can have it DJ for you but haven't experimented much with that yet.
 
redroseapps12 said:
I picked mine up too. Took an hour to connect it because it kept throwing errors. Reset router didn’t work. Installed home and that took forever to set up so re started phone and finally connects. I compared it to a wonderboom Bluetooth speaker and am shipping mine back as we speak. It’s not even close to being worth $400 I am an apple freak. The killer for me was I have to talk to the damn thing to do anything. I hoped I could stream the music from my phone pick my songs out and play. Nope. You have to talk to is. So saying hey Siri makes the phone iPad and everything else that answers go off. Sorry. Not sorry. Disappointed big time.
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You can’t use Music on your phone and redirect its output to the HomePod? I’ve been doing that all day to play my library. I only talk to it to play from Apple Music. Or adjust the volume from across the room.
 
I redirected music from my Library without issue to the HomePod - also used Apple Music extensively.

For some odd reason Siri did not know who The Who was when I asked it to play them! Eventually she caught on.
 
redroseapps12 said:
I picked mine up too. Took an hour to connect it because it kept throwing errors. Reset router didn’t work. Installed home and that took forever to set up so re started phone and finally connects. I compared it to a wonderboom Bluetooth speaker and am shipping mine back as we speak. It’s not even close to being worth $400 I am an apple freak. The killer for me was I have to talk to the damn thing to do anything. I hoped I could stream the music from my phone pick my songs out and play. Nope. You have to talk to is. So saying hey Siri makes the phone iPad and everything else that answers go off. Sorry. Not sorry. Disappointed big time.
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Actually, you never have to speak to it if you don’t want. Just airplay from your phone. Queue any songs you want. It even works airplaying from my iOS 9 iPad.
 
ersan191 said:
It matters when there is visual content attached (watching movies and TV with a HomePod as the speaker). That’s been my only point since the beginning - it isn’t an adequate Apple TV speaker.

It will play music fantastically, I have no doubt. Just wanted people to temper their expectations when it comes to home cinema.

The shocking part is that 2 of them will still be an awful home theater setup because it still won’t be able to distinguish left and right.
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I just discovered this tweet from October. It looks like you can select left or right for a pair of HomePods.
https://twitter.com/_inside/status/925477247984783365
 
ersan191 said:
Right, I knew about that but MacRumors posted an article last week saying you couldn’t pick left and right so I assumed it had changed. Looks like MacRumors was wrong since L/R is still in the newest iOS beta.
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I’ve tried it an though you can “pair” them as left and right I have been unable to get them to play together.
 
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