Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

HomePod Early Hands-On Reviews: 'Seamless' Siri Commands and Audio Quality 'Feels Like You're at a Live Performance'

chabig said:
It doesn't run apps, so how do you propose such support? As it is, it's pretty much the same as the Sonos system, which people seem to be happy with, since you can stream anything to the speaker from your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or AppleTV. With Sonos, you run an app on your device to stream to the speaker. With iOS, you run an app on your device to stream to the speaker.
Click to expand...
You can't stream everything to the Sonos speaker unless you go through the analog audio in. Everything through the WiFi has to go through the Sonos app. I can't stream DRM music purchases in iTunes to it without using an AirPlay AirPort Express (or Bluetooth bridge) that is connected via analog in. Supposedly Sonos was opening up the API so hopefully it will change.
 
Defthand said:
It is obsessive. My father was an audiophile. His investment in hardware was the cause of his divorce. He explained why he couldn't settle for lesser hardware or listen to certain genres. Some people's hearing is hyper sensitive to their detriment. There are people with a similar trait, called super tasters, whose tastebuds recognize or amplify flavors that escape an average person. To them, spicy foods can be overwhelming and unpleasant. In comparison, some audiophiles aren't seeking details in the sound, they are trying to minimize, or avoid, irritating sounds that average persons are immune to. For example, my father intentionally clipped the lowest bass frequencies, they literally gave him a headache.

You might ask, why would someone with such a sensitivity even listen to music? Filtered to his requirements, music could be a reprieve from the environmental noise at the end of a day.
Click to expand...

I suffer from misophonia, which has been made worse due to TBI that somehow has also cause every sound I hear to be in perfect loud clarity in my head.

Good quality audio, especially in music playback lets me block and filter out extraneous noises that could cause me distress.

Bad quality audio really exacerbates the issue since it’s easier to get distracted by sounds I don’t want to hear. Suck as people eating or breathing in other rooms, or other random ambient sounds.

So not quite the same as above, and I don’t expect audiophile, but I understand why they can be so damn picky and anal
 
hypertoast said:
But who in the right mind is going to come up and say, yes these radiations/ signals are bad so early on? Tobacco industry always said, smoking is cool. Sugar industry always blamed "fats".

I feel the lobbying groups are simply going to claim it safe until 10-50-100 years later, it will be reveled it was all a lie.

my 0.00000182 BTC
Click to expand...
Physics tells us they are safe. See Einstein photoelectric effect.
 
Defthand said:
It is obsessive. My father was an audiophile. His investment in hardware was the cause of his divorce. He explained why he couldn't settle for lesser hardware or listen to certain genres. Some people's hearing is hyper sensitive to their detriment. There are people with a similar trait, called super tasters, whose tastebuds recognize or amplify flavors that escape an average person. To them, spicy foods can be overwhelming and unpleasant. In comparison, some audiophiles aren't seeking details in the sound, they are trying to minimize, or avoid, irritating sounds that average persons are immune to. For example, my father intentionally clipped the lowest bass frequencies, they literally gave him a headache.

You might ask, why would someone with such a sensitivity even listen to music? Filtered to his requirements, music could be a reprieve from the environmental noise at the end of a day.
Click to expand...

Ahh that’s very interesting. I’ve never heard anything like that.

That makes sense though. I for example love spicy food and a lot of spice doesn’t bother me, but my friends will try the same thing and can’t handle it.

Everyone is different.
 
As nice as this product seems, unfortunately, I can't use it because it doesn't work with Spotify. I already have a Spotify subscription bundled with my mobile contract, and I'm absolutely NOT going to pay another £10/month for a second music subscription. If Apple opens this up to play Spotify, I'll snap it up. Hence, the walled fence is a deal breaker.

The second issue for me is that Siri is still pretty dumb. How on earth did Apple lose so much ground with its assistant. It was first to the party, now it's last amongst the big 3 assistants. This isn't a deal breaker for me though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: friedmud
obamtl said:
As nice as this product seems, unfortunately, I can't use it because it doesn't work with Spotify. I already have a Spotify subscription bundled with my mobile contract, and I'm absolutely NOT going to pay another £10/month for a second music subscription. If Apple opens this up to play Spotify, I'll snap it up. Hence, the walled fence is a deal breaker.

The second issue for me is that Siri is still pretty dumb. How on earth did Apple lose so much ground with its assistant. It was first to the party, now it's last amongst the big 3 assistants. This isn't a deal breaker for me though.
Click to expand...
Siri story is interesting


Apple bought the company that had originally created Siri. Brought it in house, and then somehow pissed off the original founders. They bailed on Apple and went on to create another private firm to create basically v2.0.

Which was then purchased by Samsung and turned into Bixby.
 
anson42 said:
Haha. ML can be great if set up and driven correctly. Therein lies the problem with good sound. Cost means nothing as there is way too much audiophile snake oil out there, but proper set up is the key at any price range. And a good sounding ML system to me might be crap to you, it's all personal taste. Psychology has a big play here.... many audiophiles succumb to "audiophile nervosa" and are never satisfied. Case in point the story earlier about a parent going overboard with his audio habit.
Click to expand...

Great points. It’s common in many areas. In photography they call it GAS. But the thing for me is, good sound just triggers my serotonin response like nothing else. It’s addictive. And every time you think “it can’t get better than this” several years down the track when you upgrade you’re blown away again. I can be disattisfied with my “not best” IEMs that still cost $200 when I see other people happily listening to Apple’s wired buds. It’s a sickness alright... and a curse!

I can safely say however that I’m satisfied with my current headphones - for now!
 
newyorksole said:
Honestly... Good sound is good sound. Like you said, the average consumer like me does think Bose and Beats sound good. I also know what BAD sound is. If the vocals are crisp and the bass is rich and I can hear the instruments clearly, that’s good for me.

I feel like some audiophiles don’t even enjoy the music because some are too busy trying to hear someone’s breathing on a song or a specific guitar pluck. Seems a little obsessive at times.

It’s possible to have great sound and not spend thousands of dollars.

Same thing with food and clothing. I love Red Lobster, but know there is much better out there.
Click to expand...
Not really though. Beats don't sound good. Bose is pretty much junk and so overpriced that you can get cheaper speakers that sound better.
 
I don’t want music that sounds like a live performance. I want music to sound like it was mixed at the studio.
 
zerind said:
"equating HomePod's sound quality to a live performance."

Put this guy in front of some Martin Logans and his head will probably explode. lol, such hyperbole.
Click to expand...

How do you know it’s hyperbole? Have you listened to the HomePod?

I’ve listened to true hi-fidelity audio systems and it does sound like you’re in the room with the performers.
[doublepost=1516994474][/doublepost]
H3LL5P4WN said:
I'm waiting to find out if the Apple TV can Airplay to it, without perceptible lag. That's really my only use case; I want better sound but just don't want a sound bar.
Click to expand...

The answer is yes. AppleTV currently streams audio to AirPlay devices without any lag. That’s an AppleTV responsibility, not the speaker itself. It delays the video for a short moment and then keeps the audio and video in sync.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: H3LL5P4WN
So my only prediction is Apple will add more Siri support through the years to “keep up” with Echo/Assistant. I could see something as soon as this years WWDC with iOS 12.

So the *real* question is, should consumers shell out cash for the 1st gen that will more than likely improve as OS’s are released or hold out until 2nd gen which (give this one’s timeline could be quite some time)??

Birthday is coming up so I know what I’m asking for ;)
 
ipedro said:
How do you know it’s hyperbole? Have you listened to the HomePod?

I’ve listened to true hi-fidelity audio systems and it does sound like you’re in the room with the performers.
[doublepost=1516994474][/doublepost]

The answer is yes. AppleTV currently streams audio to AirPlay devices without any lag. That’s an AppleTV responsibility, the speaker itself. It delays the video for a short moment and then keeps the audio and video in sync.
Click to expand...

A true hi-fi audio system consists of more than a little home assistant speaker.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Phonephreak and dampfnudel
ck2875 said:
I really hope my downstairs neighbours don't hate me come 9 February.
Click to expand...
I’m sure you’ll be respectful toward your downstairs neighbor like any good neighbor should be by keeping the volume at a reasonable level, especially during the “legal quiet period” (at night, early morning).
 
dampfnudel said:
I’m sure you’ll be respectful toward your downstairs neighbor like any good neighbor should be by keeping the volume at a reasonable level, especially during the “legal quiet period” (at night, early morning).
Click to expand...

Yeah. My only concern is the downward-facing woofer and the (likely) inability to lower that independently from the main volume.

Edit: Oops. It's upwards-facing. Ignore my concerns.
 
Last edited:
BarracksSi said:
And if you've got a good setup, turn it up and play these; lemme know what the neighbors say. ;)
(btw, this drum corps stuff is quite the rabbit hole to go down if you're wiling to take a drink)
Click to expand...

My neighbor's house is not attached to my house so I don't have to worry :) Granted, while these tunes are interesting I'm not much a horn music guy so I think I'd be bothered first when cranking up this stuff, sorry :)
 
izyreal said:
These reviews are enough to make the Apple base snap these up.
Based on this article, the following questions have been asked and answered:

Does the HomePod sound better than the competitors? Yes.
Is the Siri integration useful? Yes.
Is the design good? Yes.

The only question left unanswered is, will people buy this? Given Apple's track record, I think that the answer is an easy Yes.
Click to expand...

And at $349, it is NOT (relatively) overpriced for an Apple product. I mean, we all know that Apple could have priced it something stupidly outrageous like $750. But instead, $349 is really not an excessive asking price (for an Apple product).

I'm thinking of buying one…. but will wait for more reviews.
 
ersan191 said:
Truly shocking that a $2000 speaker sounds better than a $350 home assistant.
Click to expand...

So? They call it "ultra-high-quality speaker". I wonder what hey'd call those (or mine) just a second before their heads explode. It doesn't take much to top those tiny tincans.

I've no interest in this kind of toys. I prefer my music from quality speakers and Siri gets some simple commands right half the time. I've stopped using it completely.
 
ifarlow said:
You missed one:

- Will the HomePod support multiple user accounts? No.

This is enough to cause some of us to hold off and wait to see where this goes.
Click to expand...

Spot on there, sir. I've been banging my head against a brick wall these last few days regarding Apple not allowing multiple Apple Music accounts on the same device.

Both my wife and I have separate Apple Music accounts. Our tastes in music couldn't be any more different. We also have 2 separate user accounts on my Mac Pro. I am the Admin on the Mac and therefore managed to log into iCloud Music before my wife did. When she went into switch on her iCloud Music in iTunes preferences she was met with this message "This computer is linked to another ID. You must transfer this computer to your Apple ID to add a new computer." If she does this the message says she cannot then switch accounts for 90 days. That's fine for her, but that means my account is blocked!

Now come on! I'm paying for a service. My wife is paying for a service. Surely therefore we both should be allowed to log into our accounts together! I can understand the piracy aspect of this, but if you look at the piracy thing logically, by Apple doing this it really is not going to affect any pirate at all! It only affects the honest people who are paying for a service rather than going to the pirates!

Now, to get back on track, if the Homewood only allows the use of one account and you pay £150 more than a Sonos One, then I know where my money is going to remain.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ifarlow and friedmud
rmbpuser said:
I'll wait until it has been compared to other high quality "dumb" speakers. For me sound comes first.

Also live performance? I hope it doesn't sound anything like a live performance!
Click to expand...
Yeah, a live performance is not the sound I’m looking for. I’ll have to wait for some professional reviews.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back