Hands-On Experience of New HomePod Reveals 'Exquisite' Audio Quality

[mjs916]

Hmm..I move the Homepod with the power cord plugged out. How does it detect the movement then?

It wouldn’t but if you play audio it will learn the shape of the room again and adjust.

I tested this with the OG HomePod and a different objects (plank of wood, flat piece of hard plastic, a bucket, etc. within a few seconds of placing the object, the sound profile was adjusted.

 

[DamoTheBrave]

is it all highs and lows and no mids at all like the original? I listened a couple of times and when I heard the lack of mids couldn’t get over it. Listen to one in a store before you buy and you’ll notice it too.
I don’t trust any review that doesn’t mention this.

 

[BogiTheTomtom]

Can someone tell me if we can use these homepods as a normal speaker system for a mac? i.e. just get it to produce sound for whatever it receives from a mac? I would like it to act like a normal speaker. Is this possible? Thanks

 

[adamtj11]

Can someone tell me if we can use these homepods as a normal speaker system for a mac? i.e. just get it to produce sound for whatever it receives from a mac? I would like it to act like a normal speaker. Is this possible? Thanks

yes is the answer, at least with the OG's and Mini's. you select it like any other audio source.

 

[Nibo]

The sound quality of the HomePod was never the issue. The price has always been though.

 

[Poindexter333]

It’s early, and I just realized this, but it’s been two years since they discontinued the first one, which absolutely, positively, without a doubt, means that they were designing the 2 when they discontinued the OG and never said a word about it. This is how they decided to play this?

So was this whole delay, like Chevy and the Camaro thing how it disappears and comes back, all just to make us want it more?

 

[neuropsychguy]

It’s just the word they used. Exquisite. My $2,000 Denon speakers sound great. Exquisite? Nah.

If they don't sound exquisite, you overpaid for them. That's a word I could gladly use for my KEFs, which were only $300.

 

[Ray2]

I’m in the market for one of these. What’s the deal with “Apple Music”? I’ve read other reviews that mention, like the first, it’s limited to playing Apple Music. Is this true? I need to stream my content, resident in my audio devices, no matter what it is, to my speakers.

 

[steve09090]

It’s just the word they used. Exquisite. My $2,000 Denon speakers sound great. Exquisite? Nah.

I guess when you can hear the Tamborine playing and being distinctly separate from other instruments and vocals which are all heard individually, it really could be exquisite, especially for a studio pair. The term is purely subjective, so I can’t dispute it.

 

[Poindexter333]

I had the pleasure to listen to a lot of different speakers in my life. The hype around the Hompod gives me the impression, that the people do not have a lot exposure to good sounding speakers. They are not bad but far away from exquisite. When Airplay was a new thing, Philips brought some expensive Fidelio speakers to the market. The small ones sounded better than the Hompepod Mini and the large ones sounded better than the original Homepod. And the Infinity Speakers from the nineties sounded better than all of them. So yes, there is a lot of hype and lack of experience.

Old HomePod: WiFI 802.11ac (WiFi 5) introduced in 2014
New HomePod: WiFI 802.11n (WiFI 4) introduced in 2008

This might be a real problem in modern network environments, because it might no longer be supported.

I don’t want to be a Richard, but in my last home, seven bedrooms, I had over $1 million worth of gear, 3/4 of it set up, and the rest of it in storage because I’ve been collecting vintage gear probably about a third tubes, since about 1964. So I could’ve bought a Ferrari with what my main reference system cost. So what? I have heard great speakers, much better than anything I could afford, and the point I would make by saying the HomePod OG sounded amazing, as for a toilet paper roll or a pair of them for five or $600 to produce such amazing spatial sound in a room with no other gear necessary, is incomparable! I’m not saying they violate the laws of physics, but full extension maybe down a couple DB, and bright open airiness on the top, beautiful location when they want to, depending on the mix, and no tiredness, no ear fatigue at all. I think it sounds fantastic for what it is. I’m not comparing Martin Logan Prodigys or some Wilson’s I liked, or a room full of D’ags stuff. But against a toilet paper roll? So they sound great in a nice enough sized room. In a 12 x 20 room, not too bright and not too dark? They sound fan freaking tastic. Just Great.

 

[mebehere]

I guess when you can hear the Tamborine playing and being distinctly separate from other instruments and vocals which are all heard individually, it really could be exquisite, especially for a studio pair. The term is purely subjective, so I can’t dispute it.

These things will finally make me be able to understand this song.

 

[skitidetdu]

But you still have to buy 2 for stereo playback. Still I am curious how "exquisite" it does sound

 

[Sarafay]

How long should this product last? Ten years! What’s inside? NoA15 like cheaper Apple TV.

 

[MJaP]

The problem with a lot of these preview "reviews" is that the reviewers are scared that if they say anything negative about the products then they won't be invited to pre-release events or provided with early review units any more which would mean massive lost revenue to their competitors so it becomes an exercise in sycophancy to see who can brown nose the most keep themselves in the manufacturers good books... and leads to words like "exquisite" in "reviews".

 

[Shifts]

The boomy over-exaggerated bass of the original made it impossible to enjoy. Tried it in many rooms, with extremely different placemens far away from corners or walls, but always the same extremely boomy sound. It didn't sound shrill, I can give it that, but the other way around can also be tiring.

Maybe it has been fixed here, but I doubt it.

 

[stuartfuk]

I'm still utterly baffled that they discontinued it, then brought a changed model out with some improvements (Matter, more sensors, possibly removable audio cord) and some… possible deteriorations (fewer tweeters) two years later. Like, if they think the product is good, why not leave the old one around until the new one is ready? Bizarre.

The original HomePod was possibly discontinued due to a lack of availability of the A8 chip it uses. That chip was almost 5 years old by 2019 when the HomePod actually went on sale. I can imagine that Apple did not want to spin up extra chip production for an old model and may have diverted inventory to the AppleTV HD model

 

[philstubbington]

It’s just the word they used. Exquisite. My $2,000 Denon speakers sound great. Exquisite? Nah.

Likewise, I’ll stick with my Dali speakers.

 

[Scott6666]

I thought the original HomePods were a muddy mess. The Sonos Play 1’s next to them always sounded clearer and better. The HPs went into the garage sale bin this past fall. After all that hype I’m very skeptical of this review.

 

[honglong1976]

I thought the original HomePods were a muddy mess. The Sonos Play 1’s next to them always sounded clearer and better. The HPs went into the garage sale bin this past fall. After all that hype I’m very skeptical of this review.

I agree! For a single speaker, it sounded ok. Not amazing, certainly not as all the reviews claimed.

Based on the reviews, the bass is incredible, spacial audio is mind-blowing.

Reality: Bass is ok, but not very deep.
Reality: Spacial audio is non-existent, and stereo is barely there

Conclusion: It's an OK-sounding single speaker made by Apple.

I could see two working well with spacial audio, similar to spacial audio on headphones, but only if you in the centre (sweetspot).

 

[aberdeenmeadows]

Appreciate the article, but we really need to read articles by true audiophiles - you know, the ones that spend upwards of $5,000 for the perfect sound system through their house to get the correct depth, acoustic quality, and richness of music and we need to have songs that we all have listened to, that has the range needed or the bass.

Pink Floyd music would be a good choice and I am sure others could advise too.

The writer seems to compare this to a 2018 HomePod rather than the Bose speakers, for example. Or Yamaha. Shoot, let's even compare with Sonos but even with Sonos I wasn't too impressed. Friend of mine had Sonos and it didn't sound all that great, but maybe it was the music they were playing on it. Even Altec, JBL. Something!

And that's the thing, I am not an audiophile, but I get irked when the quality isn't that good.

I have the HomePod Mini and I love listening to music from it, and I connected it to the TV last night and the sound was great, but there is no equalizer other than turn bass on or off.

So I take it that Apple Speakers uses <gasp> computational audio AI or some other bs to separate the voice from the instruments and then recompile them and spatially throw it back at us.

 

[steve09090]

It’s just the word they used. Exquisite. My $2,000 Denon speakers sound great. Exquisite? Nah.

Maybe you should get the $300 HomePod then, and upgrade 😂

 

[ipedro]

Hmm..I move the Homepod with the power cord plugged out. How does it detect the movement then?

The HomePod does a spatial awareness check when it turns on after being plugged in. The accelerometer is meant to detect whether you moved it even slightly in its current place. Say it's in the middle of a table and you moved it closer to the wall, it needs to recalibrate. If you turned it so the tweeter that was pointed at the wall is now pointed down a hallway, it needs to recalibrate. This recalibration isn't manual or intentional on the part of the user. It just happens when it needs to happen and takes under 10 seconds. It doesn't go into a noticeable recalibration mode, it doesn't say so, nor does it sound a tone. You may not even notice it's recalibrating other than improved sound after those 10 seconds.

 

[ipedro]

But you still have to buy 2 for stereo playback. Still I am curious how "exquisite" it does sound

No, you don't. A single one in a room sounds incredible. You'll have a hard time discerning where the sound is coming from. "Stereo" here is a bit of a misnomer. The real benefit of the pair is for using them with a TV. I had just one next to my TV and it never felt like I was just getting one side. However, when I added a second, it did give a truer sense of immersion. But I wouldn't say it was necessary.

 

[marty1980]

In the price range, most people are better off with something else

 

[Neil Harrison]

Sell 2 for £120 and buy 2 for £600 is really tempting!