I would not put it there, the woofer shoots straight up and you’ll severely limit the soundstage it puts out.Not sure to keep my HomePod here or not
Does this look a weird place to put it?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
HomePod HomePod first impressions
- Thread starter ApeBot
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Do you have listener preference data on treated rooms or something?
I know almost nothing about room treatment, but it seems to me a key feature of these particular speakers is their claimed ability to adapt to the room they’re in (rather than have you adapt to it), so I’m not sure I follow on how you made that conclusion.
They could for example try testing them in a random sample of common room types.
Apple, when they invited HomePod reviewers to a briefing, demoed it in “a fairly representative residential room,” according to John Gruber, but perhaps we should all be living in treated rooms instead.
Last edited:
Opened one of my HomePods just now and was very surprised that the inner box (white) did not have the clear wrapping normally present. Otherwise seemed just fine and new as the others, but it is still a bit disconcerting.
What do listener preferences have to do with room treatments? I didn’t say anything about a connection. It seems that maybe you’re confused about what a treated room is. All it is is using materials to make it so that audio in the room has the potential sound its best; stuff like making sure you’re not going to get harsh reflections off of wood floors and other hard surfaces like glass tables. You seem to want to construe it as a somehow unfair way to test the HomePod.
Well I wanted it on top with my TV but doing that takes away some of the screen of my TV. Putting it on the side is where I had it but thought a more central area of the room would be a better fit.
You could always leave it on top with the TV and get a version of the iPhone X experience.
Interesting thread on twitter from someone who says they are an audiophile and engineer.
“I'm doing some measurements of the HomePod right now... and it's black magic. I swear it's black magic.”
“My initial assessment was spot on. The way this thing measures, traditional speakers are dead. Now that I’ve played with it in my apartment head to head against my KEFs... Apple is using witchcraft. This shouldn’t be possible.”
https://twitter.com/FouzanWasTaken/status/962425811356790784
I really love listening to my HomePod. As is often the case, Apple are bringing an enhanced user experience to an existing problem domain which can only be a good thing.
“I'm doing some measurements of the HomePod right now... and it's black magic. I swear it's black magic.”
“My initial assessment was spot on. The way this thing measures, traditional speakers are dead. Now that I’ve played with it in my apartment head to head against my KEFs... Apple is using witchcraft. This shouldn’t be possible.”
https://twitter.com/FouzanWasTaken/status/962425811356790784
I really love listening to my HomePod. As is often the case, Apple are bringing an enhanced user experience to an existing problem domain which can only be a good thing.
Wow!
This was the guy who did the initial post on the Reddit audiophile thread.
Awesome.
Things Arve* and I have already figured out:
This was the guy who did the initial post on the Reddit audiophile thread.
Awesome.
Things Arve* and I have already figured out:
- Apple is applying Fletcher Munson compensation automatically.
- Apple’s “tweeters” are actually Balanced Mode Radiators
- If you move the HomePod at all, it uses the sounds you’re playing through it to calibrate, so make sure you play music for 2 minutes before making measurements once you move it, otherwise it’ll use the measurement sweeps to self calibrate and your measurements won’t be accurate.
- Crossover is somewhere between 200 and 500Hz
* /r/audiophile admin
Might not be stereo yet, but the sound is dang good . . .
Have it on my bedside table at the moment. I think it sounds amazing. So far I have listened to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and both sounded incredible - especially Kind of Blue. It felt like Davis and Coltrane were in the room with me. This thing is also surprisingly loud for being so tiny, I don't ever see using it past 80 percent volume level.
Some placement tips (gels with what I’ve understood from placement as well):
But the short answer is: If you can live with not being able to use it with a TV, it's something you should seriously audition, because I'm not entirely sure that there is a bookshelf speaker with a driver less than 6.5" that sounds better on the bottom end.
And:
The response below 400 Hz is flat without room modes actually flat without a single null. /u/WinterCharm also shared a different measurement with me - from a different distance, and 45 degrees off-axis. Only a single null showed up at ~110 Hz, and the speaker appears to be a constant-directivity design with very wide dispersion. How the hell Apple managed that is well beyond me, and could just as well be considered black magic, especially since they don't rely on externalized mic placements for the measurements.
- Throw it near a wall or in a corner.
- raise it up off the table, onto something sturdy. It'll still sound good on a table, but if you've got a heavy block of some sort (like a box or a tiny speaker stand) it's highly suggested that you use that.
- almost all the other rules have changed. Enjoy your sound
- I've looked at ~100 dB-in-room measurements. The bass distortion is beyond spectacular, and I honestly don't think there is any bookshelf-sized speaker that doesn't employ computational audio that will come close
- They are for all intents and purposes constant-directivity, after they've had time to "settle" - the response takes a few minutes of playing music to settle before measurements are stable - indicative of machine learning being employed
- They use Fletcher-Munson-like loudness compensation, meaning that they measure differently at 75 and 95 dB. Whether you like this or not is an entirely subjective matter, but it cannot be turned off.
- Their response is to ~40 Hz, even at extremely high (~95-100 dB) volumes, and the bottom-end cutoff doesn't seem to be a moving target.
- I had a look at distortion measurements, and while I can't be completely definite, they appear to be better than those of the Kii Three. I'll have to get a pair of both to actually verify, but that one has me flabbergasted.
But the short answer is: If you can live with not being able to use it with a TV, it's something you should seriously audition, because I'm not entirely sure that there is a bookshelf speaker with a driver less than 6.5" that sounds better on the bottom end.
And:
The response below 400 Hz is flat without room modes actually flat without a single null. /u/WinterCharm also shared a different measurement with me - from a different distance, and 45 degrees off-axis. Only a single null showed up at ~110 Hz, and the speaker appears to be a constant-directivity design with very wide dispersion. How the hell Apple managed that is well beyond me, and could just as well be considered black magic, especially since they don't rely on externalized mic placements for the measurements.
I had an issue like this with a song that was recorded by my Dad (he was a good singer) and I tried asking for the song by song name and then told it to play by my dad's name and it didn't work. If I told her to play song name by my dad's name it worked fine.
You might want to try something like that for those she refuses to acknowledge
I am looking for a speaker for my nightstand or small bedroom desk, any recommendations could be Airplay speakers or something i need to connect to my Airport Express
Some placement tips (gels with what I’ve understood from placement as well):
[doublepost=1518314571][/doublepost]Arve weighing in:
- Throw it near a wall or in a corner.
- raise it up off the table, onto something sturdy. It'll still sound good on a table, but if you've got a heavy block of some sort (like a box or a tiny speaker stand) it's highly suggested that you use that.
- almost all the other rules have changed. Enjoy your sound
Not saying everything is rosy: At extremely high volumes (measured 95-100 dB), there is a distortion peak at 500 Hz, which is likely where the "tweeters" have their maximum excursion, about 0.5-2 octaves above their -3 dB point.
- I've looked at ~100 dB-in-room measurements. The bass distortion is beyond spectacular, and I honestly don't think there is any bookshelf-sized speaker that doesn't employ computational audio that will come close
- They are for all intents and purposes constant-directivity, after they've had time to "settle" - the response takes a few minutes of playing music to settle before measurements are stable - indicative of machine learning being employed
- They use Fletcher-Munson-like loudness compensation, meaning that they measure differently at 75 and 95 dB. Whether you like this or not is an entirely subjective matter, but it cannot be turned off.
- Their response is to ~40 Hz, even at extremely high (~95-100 dB) volumes, and the bottom-end cutoff doesn't seem to be a moving target.
- I had a look at distortion measurements, and while I can't be completely definite, they appear to be better than those of the Kii Three. I'll have to get a pair of both to actually verify, but that one has me flabbergasted.
But the short answer is: If you can live with not being able to use it with a TV, it's something you should seriously audition, because I'm not entirely sure that there is a bookshelf speaker with a driver less than 6.5" that sounds better on the bottom end.
And:
The response below 400 Hz is flat without room modes actually flat without a single null. /u/WinterCharm also shared a different measurement with me - from a different distance, and 45 degrees off-axis. Only a single null showed up at ~110 Hz, and the speaker appears to be a constant-directivity design with very wide dispersion. How the hell Apple managed that is well beyond me, and could just as well be considered black magic, especially since they don't rely on externalized mic placements for the measurements.
So guess you think I should place mine here
And not under my TV?
So guess you think I should place mine here
And not under my TV?
Are you going to be AirPlaying audio paired to video from an ATV? If so, then that would be an objectively terrible place to put the speaker. For audio only, if it sounds good there then go for it.
Yes, what he said. You want your ATV sound to look like it’s coming from the TV it needs to be near the TV.
It really depends what your primary listening scenario is going to be.
Yeah my plan would be to use it via my Apple TV as well which is why I moved it here
But if the sound is going to be affected putting it here I will have to rethink it
I wanted it on top where my TV is but I lose part of the screen doing this
That’ll probably do for now then. I’d probably get a couple of shelves to place them left and right if you are planning to get two eventually and you have the space for them.
we have
[doublepost=1518318065][/doublepost]
2 sonos 5's and a sub in the bedroom I would not compare the two they are really different beasts. I mean for the cost of that setup I could find something better. but they sonos works great in the bedroom. the home pod is great for my wife to listen to her videos and podcasts and such. I think it has great bass for it's size. but I don't know how it will work as a stereo pair.
[doublepost=1518318065][/doublepost]
I think it would be silly to think they would replace the sonos 5's they are far different beasts.I’ve tried two. I optimistically ordered four hoping to replace my Play 5s, I could open a third? No, I don’t think that’s a good idea either...
It's been more than a day now that I have been testing my Homepod and I am loving it. I don't understand the diss and negativity given by reviewers and also false information they are emphasizing on their reviews. I keep hearing about the W1 chip built-in where in fact it is an A8 chip. I keep hearing from reviews that it doesn't have Bluetooth but in fact it has Bluetooth 5.0. Most of the frustrations the reviewers make are fixable with software updates. The important thing is the hardware is there and it can produce not only wonderful but adaptive sound. It may not be "smarter" than the other similar products but it doesn't mean it will stay that way ... it's one day old, give it a chance to mature for crying out loud.
Anyway as for the sound quality, I tried playing different genres and tested songs I know that have multiple layers like Orinoco Flow by Enya, nice Bass and tempo like I'm too Sexy by Right Said Fred and Me Too by Meghan Trainor, acoustic versions of songs like Hotel California and Desperado .. all of them sound amazing on the Homepod.
I'm a happy camper and I highly recommend the Homepod.
Anyway as for the sound quality, I tried playing different genres and tested songs I know that have multiple layers like Orinoco Flow by Enya, nice Bass and tempo like I'm too Sexy by Right Said Fred and Me Too by Meghan Trainor, acoustic versions of songs like Hotel California and Desperado .. all of them sound amazing on the Homepod.
I'm a happy camper and I highly recommend the Homepod.
After spending a few hours testing the HomePod I love the thing as does my wife. Siri works surprisingly good even during loud music. I do have Apple Music and really like the tie-in plus the ability to play podcasts.
Sounds quality is very good for such a small speaker. Guessing I will end up with a few more and start to replace my Sonos equipment.
Sounds quality is very good for such a small speaker. Guessing I will end up with a few more and start to replace my Sonos equipment.
well siri sucks as much as on anything else. she hears well but she sure does not get it if you try to send a message. my wife is getting frustrated tells her to play and she plays but no sound. could not get it to play nbc nightly news. says you have no unplayed podcasts. not sure where it is going for the podcasts out was on my wife's phone. but so far she is not impressed with siri doing what she wants. not sure what is happening when she asks to play music siri says here is your playlist and she does not play.
Siri was perfect on everything my wife and I asked it on the HomePod. There are limitations such as the HomePod will not make calls. We used it to play news, play podcasts, play a wide variety of music titles, check the weather, and check some sports scores.
I'm sure people will use it for more than that and it probably will struggle. Siri on my iPhone is pretty brutal. But for what I need it to do on the HomePod it worked great.
I'm sure people will use it for more than that and it probably will struggle. Siri on my iPhone is pretty brutal. But for what I need it to do on the HomePod it worked great.
I bought 2 HomePod's, however competition is extremely tough in my house.
In my bedroom I have Dali Zensor 3's coupled with a BK Monolith Subwoofer.
Downstairs I have Dali Zensor 7's, with Dali Zensor 3's as surround and a Dali E12-F Subwoofer.
Now comparing the HomePod to these 2 setups is not fair at all, but my standard are set fairly high. However, after spending time with the HomePod, letting music play throughout the house for a few hours between 20-50% volume (not touching or moving them), the sound seemed to get better (I know speakers can need a little run in period). I started by just using once, getting use to it, how it works, things Siri could do. I thought the vocals and clarity was very good, with bass being very nicely balanced and not overpowering (of course you need a good source, I was playing .AIFF files from iTunes).
It changed when I put the other one on. Wow. These 2 little speakers playing together, roughly 8ft apart, sounded incredible, albeit not true stereo (yet!). Siri worked perfect for me still, only resulting in 1 speaker dimming the sound, it had no trouble hearing my voice. In short, if you like your audio, I would try and get 2 instead of 1 as I don't think someone who likes their audio a fair bit will be too impressed. The ease of use, ability to move it to another room is very handy. I will probably end up buying more in future.
Siri is nothing special either, its just like an iPhone or iPad, yes its not great compared to others, it gets things wrong often, it's worked ok for me so far, but this is all Apple's side that can be improved and updated.
In my bedroom I have Dali Zensor 3's coupled with a BK Monolith Subwoofer.
Downstairs I have Dali Zensor 7's, with Dali Zensor 3's as surround and a Dali E12-F Subwoofer.
Now comparing the HomePod to these 2 setups is not fair at all, but my standard are set fairly high. However, after spending time with the HomePod, letting music play throughout the house for a few hours between 20-50% volume (not touching or moving them), the sound seemed to get better (I know speakers can need a little run in period). I started by just using once, getting use to it, how it works, things Siri could do. I thought the vocals and clarity was very good, with bass being very nicely balanced and not overpowering (of course you need a good source, I was playing .AIFF files from iTunes).
It changed when I put the other one on. Wow. These 2 little speakers playing together, roughly 8ft apart, sounded incredible, albeit not true stereo (yet!). Siri worked perfect for me still, only resulting in 1 speaker dimming the sound, it had no trouble hearing my voice. In short, if you like your audio, I would try and get 2 instead of 1 as I don't think someone who likes their audio a fair bit will be too impressed. The ease of use, ability to move it to another room is very handy. I will probably end up buying more in future.
Siri is nothing special either, its just like an iPhone or iPad, yes its not great compared to others, it gets things wrong often, it's worked ok for me so far, but this is all Apple's side that can be improved and updated.
Yeah my plan would be to use it via my Apple TV as well which is why I moved it here
But if the sound is going to be affected putting it here I will have to rethink it
I wanted it on top where my TV is but I lose part of the screen doing this
I’m in the same boat as you. It is below the TV on a shelf...and that shelf also has a lip. I did put it in front of the TV to test it for a bit and it sounded so much better. Tried it across the room and whilst it sounded amazing, it want natural for the Apple TV - that is my 90% use case. I’m now thinking behind the TV, though that may cause Siri issues.
First world problems.....