HomePod HomePod (1st generation) + Apple TV music streaming stalls

[martens]

I have a pair of 1st gen HomePods that function as audio for latest generation Apple TV 4K. Audio settings are 'Auto'. The wireless access point is very

When I play music from the Apple TV's Apple Music app, mostly it works but it will occasionally (every hour or two) stall for some seconds before resuming playback.

I have another Apple TV 4K (previous generation), connected on WiFi, but it plays through a soundbar, and does not have this issue at all. If I AirPlay from there to the other Apple TV, the latter's playback will again stall out.

The Apple TV is connected to Ethernet.

I think this is unrelated to the latest updates, though there seems to be a new issue, in that when initiating a new music or video stream, it often takes a couple of seconds before audio begins.

I have a single 2nd Generation HomePod and am trying to justify purchasing a second one to pair with it and use instead of the 1st generation ones, and distribute the 2 1st generation ones to another location.

Is there any reason to think the issues I'm seeing would go away with 2nd generation HomePods?

 

[martens]

I went into Settings and changed Music Quality setting to High Quality (it had been Lossless), and now playback does not stall out. But I never had it stalling out until a few weeks ago, so it seems like some sort of regression. I will try setting it back to Lossless after the next update to see if it is fixed. I am one of those people who claims they can tell the difference, but I could be imagining it.

And yes, I now have 2nd generation pair for the TV (and another room with a HomePod in it), but that did not fix the problem.