Home Pods for TV speakers

[ScanPro]

Ok, so here is the situation. The Sony 3.1 sound bar Sub died. I was not all that happy with the set up any way. So my question is, does anyone use the Home Pods for the TV speakers? I had given thought to the Senhieser Ambeo series, also the new Sony systems. Then it occurred to me I might be able to use 2 Home Pods. I would appreciate any thoughts. The TV is a 65 Sony Bravia series.

 

[estabya]

We have two 2nd gen HomePods on the TV in our bedroom, and they perform better than I had expected. I would definitely recommend the setup for most people. E-ARC has worked flawlessly to play audio from other devices, and bass response has been especially surprising. Your experience may vary there depending on how much bass you like and how big your room is.

 

[shakopeemn]

One of the benefits of using the HomePods with the ATV is that you immediately get “touchless” voice control for pausing, skipping, and volume control. That can be handy when you’re not sitting down or away from the remote.

 

[ScanPro]

Thank you both, Let me see if I have this set up correctly, ATV thru the eARC HDMI on the TV, BT from ATV to Home Pods sound control thru the TVs remote? I hope! Thanks.

 

[shakopeemn]

You’ve got the gist! To choose the HomePods for speakers, you’ll select that under Audio Output on the ATV.

One caveat, if you want the TV sound passed through eARC to HomePods you will need the latest 3rd? Gen ATV. I believe all of the ATV4k units will work for ATV audio through HomePods.

 

[waw74]

Thank you both, Let me see if I have this set up correctly, ATV thru the eARC HDMI on the TV, BT from ATV to Home Pods sound control thru the TVs remote? I hope! Thanks.

the sound from the aTV to the homepods goes over wifi, not bluetooth.

eARC is only needed if you want to send sound to the homepods from a source that ISN'T your aTV. Most common examples of this would be things like a cable box or an app on the television. If you're only watching things from apps on the aTV, then eARC isn't needed.

if you have HDMI-CEC, (sends control commands over the HDMI cable) your TV remote will control the aTV. Things like basic navigation, and volume control. also allows the aTV remote to power the TV on and off. Sony calls HDMI-CEC "Bravia sync" but it's the same thing.

HDMI-CEC should work on any HDMI port on the TV, eARC is usually only on one port.

 

[ScanPro]

the sound from the aTV to the homepods goes over wifi, not bluetooth.

eARC is only needed if you want to send sound to the homepods from a source that ISN'T your aTV. Most common examples of this would be things like a cable box or an app on the television. If you're only watching things from apps on the aTV, then eARC isn't needed.

if you have HDMI-CEC, (sends control commands over the HDMI cable) your TV remote will control the aTV. Things like basic navigation, and volume control. also allows the aTV remote to power the TV on and off. Sony calls HDMI-CEC "Bravia sync" but it's the same thing.

HDMI-CEC should work on any HDMI port on the TV, eARC is usually only on one port.

Thank you for the clarification, I should have realized it WiFi not BT. I can shift some cable around and have the aTV on the eARC input. Now if I can talk the wife into it.

 

[Premium1]

Ok, so here is the situation. The Sony 3.1 sound bar Sub died. I was not all that happy with the set up any way. So my question is, does anyone use the Home Pods for the TV speakers? I had given thought to the Senhieser Ambeo series, also the new Sony systems. Then it occurred to me I might be able to use 2 Home Pods. I would appreciate any thoughts. The TV is a 65 Sony Bravia series.

I have a stereo pair of the OG homepods still chugging along. They work great as tv speakers in the bedroom.

 

[subjonas]

I have a stereo pair of first generation HomePods set up with my TV and they sound awesome. I prefer them to a sound bar because they have better stereo separation, great bass without a sub, and they optimize audio for your space computationally.
And having Siri is very useful to control the TV (on/off, open apps, playback navigation) and for other general queries as well as playing Apple music.
They can also AirPlay audio from other devices, although I believe some sound bars and TVs can do that too.

 

[Kenny99]

Lots of posts on here about this subject Pro and Con. I would (have) my Home Pods on my Bedroom TV, they work great but lack Bass, A good Surround System with a Sub will give you a better experience on your Main TV.

 

[ScanPro]

Lots of posts on here about this subject Pro and Con. I would (have) my Home Pods on my Bedroom TV, they work great but lack Bass, A good Surround System with a Sub will give you a better experience on your Main TV.

 

[Dc2006ster]

I have a pair of 1st gen HomePods with an Apple TV 4K latest version connected to a 65 " Sony Bravia 8 on the HDMI 3 EArc port. This gives me the capability to use the HomePods with any TV input be it the AppleTV, my cable box or Google TV. In fact the HomePods are the audio for anything that plays on the TV.

Sound quality is subjective but for me the Homepods are perfectly good. I have no desire to switch to a proper home theatre system with multiple speakers which will definitely be better.

One caveat. When I use the Apple TV 4K as the TV input, sometimes there is an audio sync problem with some videos. I have not established which have the issue and which do not, it seems random. This is a known problem and one things that helps is Apple TV Settings> Video and Audio>Match Content>Dynamic Range ON but Frame Rate Off. When this does not help, I switch to Google TV ( horrible interface) and play the content there with no sync issues. Infuse also has the option to adjust the audio sync.

 

[JeffPerrin]

HomePod is an awesome smart speaker... but I'm not convinced it is the best option for a home theater. For the same money (or even less) as the price of two HomePods, you can get an AVR or soundbar with a sub. Some budget packages will even provide actual surround speakers too.

 

[ScanPro]

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. I would indeed love to have the AVR option, (but alas, not enoght apt. power LOL). I don't really need a lot of bass, just enough for the sound to be rounded out, I really like the looks of the Home Pods too. So I can do without a seperate sub woofer. If can find a set of midium height speaker stands I will go with Pods. (I've done quite a bit of searching, but haven't found a set that we can agree on). If not, then I will have to search out an AOI soundbar. Thanks again for all the comments!

 

[cjbryce]

Ok, so here is the situation. The Sony 3.1 sound bar Sub died. I was not all that happy with the set up any way. So my question is, does anyone use the Home Pods for the TV speakers? I had given thought to the Senhieser Ambeo series, also the new Sony systems. Then it occurred to me I might be able to use 2 Home Pods. I would appreciate any thoughts. The TV is a 65 Sony Bravia series.

So - I had a full Denon based surround sound system (5.1) and the receiver blew, so as a temporary measure I used my two OG HomePods stereo-paired/ATV/eARC combo as described above. That temporary measure has lasted three years so far😂

Occasionally, to get a bit of a boost for action movies, I supplement the default "front" output HomePod pair with another stereo-paired OG HomePods as "rear" speakers via the ATV (obviously not really surround sound at all, but it adds a fillip to the audio).

 

[phrehdd]

You seem to want to somewhat talk yourself into getting the Home Pods for this purpose. My guess is they would sound very nice and be 'sufficient.' However, you didn't provide enough info as to the type of room (size), whether you like to play at low, normal, or loud volumes, and if a center channel is important to you. As you mentioned Sennheiser, you seem to have looked into soundbars. I have no idea what your budget is but there are other options such as Sonos Arc Ultra. It is not cheap but I had a chance to hear it in action as was surprised how good it sounded for a medium sized room. My take is that a good sound bar that offers the center channel (3.x or better) is a superior option to the Home Pods. As for me, I have "hobby" tastes which tend to cost more than the typical person wants to spend on audio for a TV but always appreciate when great sound comes from lesser costing offerings.

 

[pdmpolishing]

You seem to want to somewhat talk yourself into getting the Home Pods for this purpose. My guess is they would sound very nice and be 'sufficient.' However, you didn't provide enough info as to the type of room (size), whether you like to play at low, normal, or loud volumes, and if a center channel is important to you. As you mentioned Sennheiser, you seem to have looked into soundbars. I have no idea what your budget is but there are other options such as Sonos Arc Ultra. It is not cheap but I had a chance to hear it in action as was surprised how good it sounded for a medium sized room. My take is that a good sound bar that offers the center channel (3.x or better) is a superior option to the Home Pods. As for me, I have "hobby" tastes which tend to cost more than the typical person wants to spend on audio for a TV but always appreciate when great sound comes from lesser costing offerings.

Had the HomePods for speakers, not bad at all, then went with the Sonos Arc Ultra. The Sonos system is better.

 

[ScanPro]

You seem to want to somewhat talk yourself into getting the Home Pods for this purpose. My guess is they would sound very nice and be 'sufficient.' However, you didn't provide enough info as to the type of room (size), whether you like to play at low, normal, or loud volumes, and if a center channel is important to you. As you mentioned Sennheiser, you seem to have looked into soundbars. I have no idea what your budget is but there are other options such as Sonos Arc Ultra. It is not cheap but I had a chance to hear it in action as was surprised how good it sounded for a medium sized room. My take is that a good sound bar that offers the center channel (3.x or better) is a superior option to the Home Pods. As for me, I have "hobby" tastes which tend to cost more than the typical person wants to spend on audio for a TV but always appreciate when great sound comes from lesser costing offerings.

Well, We are in average sized apartment, low to medium sound levels. I do like the looks of the Home Pods, but that is not a deciding factor., I will also need 2 speaker stands, we haven't been able to select a set that we both like I have a budget of up to 750-900$. That was one reason I looked into the Pods, 650$ or so for the pair. The TV stand has a shelf under the top, and I think That I won't be able to put a high end sound bar on that shelf, any sound bar that has upfiring speakers will have to go on the same level as the TV. So still investigating the possible solutions. Thanks.

 

[ScanPro]

So - I had a full Denon based surround sound system (5.1) and the receiver blew, so as a temporary measure I used my two OG HomePods stereo-paired/ATV/eARC combo as described above. That temporary measure has lasted three years so far😂

Occasionally, to get a bit of a boost for action movies, I supplement the default "front" output HomePod pair with another stereo-paired OG HomePods as "rear" speakers via the ATV (obviously not really surround sound at all, but it adds a fillip to the audio).

I would be Very happy to have any 5.1 surround system, but not enough power on that side of the apartment. LOL

 

[phrehdd]

Well, We are in average sized apartment, low to medium sound levels. I do like the looks of the Home Pods, but that is not a deciding factor., I will also need 2 speaker stands, we haven't been able to select a set that we both like I have a budget of up to 750-900$. That was one reason I looked into the Pods, 650$ or so for the pair. The TV stand has a shelf under the top, and I think That I won't be able to put a high end sound bar on that shelf, any sound bar that has upfiring speakers will have to go on the same level as the TV. So still investigating the possible solutions. Thanks.

If a soundbar makes sense to you, you can always raise your TV either by putting something under the TV stand itself or check out some of the 3rd party stands. Some are handling 65" TVs with no issue.

 

[macpro2000]

I have a few Sonos Arc Ultras with a Sonos Sub in 4 of our bedrooms and they sound amazing.

 

[phrehdd]

I have a few Sonos Arc Ultras with a Sonos Sub in 4 of our bedrooms and they sound amazing.

You are a lucky one. Good choice. I am not always in the past a fan of soundbars but some are more than impressive these days including of course that one. I have a GoldenEar passive soundbar that has excellent sound where fidelity is concerned but requires an AVR or amp to drive the three channels. I think the Sonos Arc Ultra which costs about the same is a better bang for the buck and as good if not better for movies (though the GoldenEar is great for music).

 

[Salazes123]

Same situation here.
Got a Samsung S95D TV in medium size living room and currently using a small soundbar Samsung S66D.
We are watching movies + occasionally playing games.
I do not have an Apple TV but already have a HomePod mini as Voice Assistant / HomeKit Hub.

I am looking to replace the Samsung soundbar either by Sonos Arc Ultra (soundbar only, no sub or rear speaker) or Apple TV + 2 HomePods.

I was waiting for a HomePod refresh to make a decision but currently, I am leaning towards Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar.

 

[OverTheHill]

Well, We are in average sized apartment, low to medium sound levels. I do like the looks of the Home Pods, but that is not a deciding factor., I will also need 2 speaker stands, we haven't been able to select a set that we both like I have a budget of up to 750-900$. That was one reason I looked into the Pods, 650$ or so for the pair. The TV stand has a shelf under the top, and I think That I won't be able to put a high end sound bar on that shelf, any sound bar that has upfiring speakers will have to go on the same level as the TV. So still investigating the possible solutions. Thanks.

If you’re in an apartment, the HomePods will be fine. Your neighbors will also appreciate it.

I’m still holding out hope for an Apple Soundbar, but I’m not holding my breath.

 

[chadamorrill]

The design of the room should factor into the decision as well.

When we first remodeled our kitchen to open up our floorplan, I factored a Sonos Beam and two Sonos rears (IKEA Bookshelf ones) into the project. I found that because the entire left side of the room was now completely open, sound from the Sonos Beam just kinda drifted into dead-space. This produced a super wonky/lopsided listening experience. That plus the app troubles, and I found myself selling the entire setup and moving to Homepods. The sound is much more direct, and plenty for what I wanted in a sound system (mostly music and live sports, with the occasional movie).