First Impressions From New HomePod Owners: Siri's Voice Detection is 'Phenomenal,' Audio Quality is 'Immediately Evident'

[kaz911]

I got my HomePod and I have done a Spectral test on it with my NTI XL-2 and compared it to MunroSonic Egg 100 Studio Monitors

Here is the curve from the HomePod

It tracks absolutely almost perfect for such a small speaker. It will not replace my Studio Monitors but it sounds excellent.

Shameless plug - you can see the comparisons here on my blog - Marine Review - HomePod Audio Test

 

[MDF314159265]

Even for simple stuff Siri is beyond dumb.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sirifail

This is insufficient.

Aside from one occasion when I didn’t understand Siri’s “quirkiness,” that stuff just doesn’t happen to me.
So again I ask, what makes Siri “less” than other “digital assistants?”

 

[kennyab]

Picked mine up at lunch and brought it back to the office. In an office with a few desks in an open plan, the room's probably 15x30 or so. Set it up on my desk, near the center of the room, but next to a divider that comes up about a foot by the desktop.

It started with a playlist with some Emmylou Harris. My first impression was that I'd not heard vocals this clear from a consumer device (I have some Play:1's haven't listened to the 3's or 5's). Walked around the room, and as others have mentioned the sound was distributed pretty well around the room. The biggest exception was on the other side of the divider by which it was placed, which isn't surprising. It didn't sound bad there, but was different. But other than that one spot, it sounded much better from around the room than I would ever expect from a single speaker.

Impressed and can't wait to get it home.

 

[Gav Mack]

I wish someone with Sonos 3, Sonos 5, Naim Mu so and Zeppelin give a comparison. In my private option Sonos1 sounds really bad and 3 is not much better. Sonos 5 is good, Zeppelin very good and Mu so Excellent. Where is HomePod on that list?

I havent heard the Zepplin for a long time but as a Mu so and Mu so qb owner I'd say its behind the Naim's but definitely much better than any Sonos box.

 

[cjboffoli97]

My new HomePod just arrived this morning and after just a couple of hours of use I have to say I'm delighted with it. I'm so happy to be replacing my over-priced, underwhelming Bang & Olufsen A6 with something that not only sounds better but that's significantly more compact and is a third of the price.

In comparison, B&O's set-up was frustrating, the software and firmware were buggy, and customer service always left a lot to be desired. I think all of the journalists who have covered the HomePod launch have been too obsessed with the notion that Apple is at a time and price disadvantage to similar products from Google and Amazon when they've not considered carefully enough that there is a segment of the marketplace out there in which HomePod is an excellent option, such as in my case. Of course, they also miss the privacy aspects of Siri which is one of the prime reasons that I'm very happy to live within Apple's walled garden.​

 

[MistrSynistr]

I take back what I said about this. It looks amazing from the reviews I watched. Price is...ehhhh....maybe $50 too much. But since I know I can pair this with my Apple TV I believe it's a buy.

 

[dannys1]

That's what I would expect, this individual EQ settings for every single song sounds a bit far fetched don't you think.

Actually Olly - I can confirm it's not doing Airplay (for iOS devices anyway) if you select a track from your iCloud music library the Homepod streams it direct rather than via iOS device (if you put iOS device in Airplane more, or quit the Music app it keeps on playing) so it's the same either way - not sure about Mac, probably the same though - makes it a lot faster than Airplay (which Spotify uses for instance)
[doublepost=1518203748][/doublepost]

I am not surprised at all as I was not expecting a tiny speaker to perform well (not my experience). It looks like people might have been misled by the early reviewers (perhaps inadvertently) about the sound quality. All the praise (if genuine) was not put in the context properly. It appears that they all were just comparing the sound quality to the one for Home Assistants (Echo, Google Home) which is a very low standard. Many first customers seems to be happy though. This probably has to do with the fact that by now we have a couple of generations of people who grew up on "mobile" music and have not been exposed to a good quality audio.

The size isn't it's problem though - it's plenty loud enough and the sub bass on it is ridiculous - too much in fact. I'd just rather EQ it so it's more neutral and doesn't create standing waves everywhere trying to do the Beats audio bass thing - and give it some top end it's sorely lacking. I mean it's got multiple tweeters and you'd never know it as it's all sub bass.
[doublepost=1518203987][/doublepost]

I wish someone with Sonos 3, Sonos 5, Naim Mu so and Zeppelin give a comparison. In my private option Sonos1 sounds really bad and 3 is not much better. Sonos 5 is good, Zeppelin very good and Mu so Excellent. Where is HomePod on that list?

God that B&W Zeppelin thing is awful.

But yeah I think you'll like Homepod then, it's very much in the realm of all those and better than the budget Sonos.

 

[HQuest]

In case you are wondering how to control the music from your phone:

Method 1: Swipe to bring Control center down and tap the cast selector button to bring the list of AirPlay devices. The HomePod will be listed underneath the iPhone. Tap it and you can control the volume, seek to a different portion of the music or change track.

Method 2: Open the Music app, tap the “Now playing” section - even if nothing is playing. Then tap the cast selector button to bring the list of AirPlay devices. The HomePod will be listed underneath the iPhone. Tap it and you can control it with the music app.

 

[ersan191]

Does it sound significantly worse when you play music using AirPlay?

Just got mine and I can confirm at least that Spotify over AirPlay sounds much worse when playing the same songs as playing directly with AM (or over AirPlay with AM which is, as I suspected, not streaming from the iPhone). It sounds completely flat on Spotify - they are absolutely doing some kind of EQ only with songs from Apple Music.

 

[nemaslov]

Picked up a space grey one today.

Very impressed so far. Setup was very quick and easy and the sound is surprisingly good. The ability for Siri to hear you through the loud music is also impressive.

I made a choice a while back to embrace the ecosystem (including Apple Music) and the HomePod really is designed to complement that.

Thought it only came in black and white? Space grey???????

 

[dbe]

Found someone that feels the sound quality is on par and slightly better than Sonos Play 5

https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/09/homepod-review-diary/

I was planning to buy a Play 5 when this came out and I decided on the HomePod. It's great to hear that someone thinks its better but honestly I feel that might be pushing it. Once the update comes that allows stereo with two paired than I'm sure it will sound better granted it will then cost more.

 

[ersan191]

Thought it only came in black and white? Space grey???????

It comes in White and Space Grey. The space grey one is basically black.

Interestingly I haven't actually seen anyone who posted pictures of their orders with a white one, grey seems much more popular.

 

[nemaslov]

It comes in White and Space Grey. The space grey one is basically black.

Interestingly I haven't actually seen anyone who posted pictures of their orders with a white one, grey seems much more popular.

Thanks. I missed that. Just looked at the photos.. If I was to get one I'd go white....

 

[Trey M]

Wanted to add this here since I saw some conflicting info in reviews. Some reviews stated there's no way to get any audio other than Music from an Apple TV to broadcast to the HomePod....that is simply not true. I was using my HomePod earlier and was able to broadcast audio from DirecTV Now app on Apple TV to the HomePod with no issues.

To accomplish this, hold down the 'Play' button on your AppleTV remote until it gives you audio options (you will need to be on the home screen). Once you select the HomePod, you should be able to broadcast any sound coming from the AppleTV (in any app) to the HomePod.

It does seem a bit finicky but I was able to get it to work. If you're having issues, try selecting the HomePod using the Play button as mentioned above, then begin playing music with the app on AppleTV. Then, switch to a different audio source (such as DirecTV Now or whatever) and you should be able to hear your TV sound coming through your HomePod.

 

[falainber]

Practically nobody is saying the Sonos 5 is better, I'm not sure where you are looking.

We have a thread about it here on MR. Quote:

Initial impressions compared to my play 5 are mostly negative. Particularly if you are into bassy electronic music, homepod just sounds tinny in the mids and lows (at any volume). It just does not give you that club-like thumping of the 5. Also, when it comes to matching the volume output of the play 5, homepod needs to be at above 80% to somewhat match the 5’s 50% (still can’t match the lows though).

When it comes to the sound stage, I was also quite underwhelmed (especially after reading all the praise it got from reviewers). It just does not feel that much wider for some reason.

My original plan was to replace the 5 with one homepod and later add another one for a stereo pair. Now I do not feel it is going to be worth it losing the mids and lows for wider sound stage.

 

[Cesar Battistini]

I just returned from the Apple store, ready to buy one of these bad boys. I'm very glad I went and listened to it first. The sound is good, no doubt; but it isn't great. I'm no audiophile, by the way. While the bass sounded very clear and not muddy at all, it was the most prominent thing coming out of this speaker. I listened through a few tracks. Mids and highs also very clear, along with vocals, but they get lost very, very easily behind that bass. Considering where Siri is, the sound of this thing, and the cost, I'm a solid 'no' for the HomePod. Obviously, everyone's ears and use case is different, but if you can listen before you buy, it might be worth it. If bass is your thing, you will like it. It is impressive how much they are pumping out from such a small package.

You really are no audiophile.

 

[ersan191]

Got my HomePod and I was very interested in using it with an Apple TV, here are some notes to anyone considering it:

When the Apple TV is connected, you can issue play/pause/skip forward/skip back commands to the HomePod handsfree and it will work on the Apple TV. I haven't figured out all of these commands yet - I just discovered you can say "Hey siri, skip forward 45 seconds" and it works. I'm sure there are a bunch.

For anything other than Music and Videos (Games for example) the sound will get GRATUITOUSLY out of sync. By up to 5 seconds for me. Videos are delayed by the software so that they are in sync with the audio - this can't be done for games.

The volume when playing videos on the Apple TV is not particularly loud, even when completely maxed out. Music is much much louder than videos. I have to turn the volume down significantly if I start playing a song after I've been watching video.

Forwarding sound from the Apple TV sounds a bit strange as there's no stereo separation. Going from the crappy built in TV speakers to the HomePod is almost a downgrade, but there's obviously a lot more bass. It sounds truly mono this way. This doesn't apply when playing music through the Apple TV, only video content.

Also in iTunes when you're playing something on the Apple TV through the HomePod it will group the two devices together, and anything you play via iTunes will play on the Apple TV, which is fantastic.

HOWEVER, if you issue a voice command to play music through the HomePod (NOT for any other request, it won't disconnect if you ask it the weather for example) it will disconnect from the Apple TV and become its own device again which means you'll have to reconnect it to use it with the ATV again. I think maybe Apple could forward HomePod requests to Siri on the Apple TV in the future which would fix this problem and keep them merged as one device at all times, but I don't know for certain. This would have the added benefit of being able to use the Apple TV remote to control playback on the HomePod, even if the TV isn't necessarily turned on, as well as issuing Apple TV-specific commands with onscreen visual feedback handsfree.

 

[iPhonefan200]

Does it sound significantly worse when you play music using AirPlay?

not really tbh, you can see it in bass but other than that nope. You can just tell songs that should have heart thumbing bass doesn't as much and songs that should have soft has a little to much but it doesn't ruin the experience at all. I believe the analytics don't effect the HomePods ability to do its main features like spatial awareness etc

 

[falainber]

Cherry picking quotes now?

"blows the [Sonos] Play 3 out of the water"
"I can definititvely say that the #HomePod sounds substantially better than my $1000 #Sonos system. "
"I am an audiophile and the HomePod is an austounding leap forward in audio for price - the separation and soundstage from a "single" speaker is amaze balls"

From this actual article.

9to5Mac has tested the HomePod and state it's better than a Play:5. I'm really curious where you're getting that the Play:5 "kills" the HomePod.

Your link points to a Twitter feed. That's not the place for getting any facts, just unsubstantiated emotions. And BTW, not all twits there are positive too. Here one that I found reasonable:

My Apple #HomePod has arrived… and the audio quality is nowhere near as impressive as some early reports claimed. It sounds far better than other voice assistant speakers (Echo, Google Home), but it doesn’t obviously outclass similarly sized Bose or Sonos speaker sound quality.

And then there is this:
Two people returning their #homepod at Best Buy just now. One guy said it didn't sound appreciably better than his Sonos, the other because he doesn't use Apple Music as his primary service. But hey, open box discounts at Best Buy?

 

[tubular]

Mine’s delivered and waiting for me. Too bad I’ve gotta work my job to pay for it.

 

[falainber]

Found someone that feels the sound quality is on par and slightly better than Sonos Play 5

https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/09/homepod-review-diary/

I was planning to buy a Play 5 when this came out and I decided on the HomePod. It's great to hear that someone thinks its better but honestly I feel that might be pushing it. Once the update comes that allows stereo with two paired than I'm sure it will sound better granted it will then cost more.

This dude is "EU Editor for 9to5Mac". One has to expect some bias there.

 

[mattopotamus]

Practically nobody is saying the Sonos 5 is better, I'm not sure where you are looking.
[doublepost=1518199714][/doublepost]
https://github.com/nfarina/homebridge
Has over 1000 plugins - Alexa has 400-something, Google is somewhere around 200

HomeKit has been around a lot longer, though.

That link you are posting doesn’t really make sense. I’m talking Ring, harmony, etc. products lots of people own. 3rd party products.

 

[EvilEvil]

Do you own one? Oh no... you're just talking out of your ass.

LOL. It's widely known Siri and home integration is terrible on it right now. It's too bad that Apple won't allow third-party apps to run and control the Homepod. Third-party apps always seem to outshine stock Apple software.

 

[ersan191]

That link you are posting doesn’t really make sense. I’m talking Ring, harmony, etc. products lots of people own. 3rd party products.

homebridge has plugins for harmony and ring and any other product you can think of.

 

[dbe]

LOL. It's widely known Siri and home integration is terrible on it right now. It's sad that Apple won't allow third-party apps to run and control the Homepod. Third-party apps always seem to outshine stock Apple software.

What exactly do you mean by "Siri and home integration is terrible" ?