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HomePod HomePod first impressions

Probably should note that everyone’s reviews are based on one HomePod..... hard to imagine me reviewing any of the past speakers I have owned by just listening to one....I know this is a different animal but still, if I buy one then I will definitely buy another when airplay2 is released.....people should try to at least speculate on that when reviewing
 
skillwill said:
At the moment most of the very early Apple product reviews are extremely unreliable because Apple has started giving review units to independent bloggers, vloggers (etc.) who are actually Apple fans. Of course the coverage is going to be favourable, factoring in 1) their sites/channels etc. started as Apple fan pages, 2) Apple's just given them a free $xxx device, of course they're going to be in a good mood when reviewing it, 3) as independents they don't want to lose such a privilege as getting free units from Apple.

Of course serious journalists/reviewers are sent units as well but, increasingly worried about the attention b/vloggers are getting, I assume they don't want to go in too hard on Apple either at this point.

Or in other cases, they get about 10 minutes with the device - which isn't enough time to really put it through its paces and compare it too other devices.
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Oh please most of these reviews had no problems knocking Siri and this products smarts compared to other offerings. They’re not talking up the sound just to stay in Apple’s good graces.
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AustinIllini said:
I don't think there is anything wrong, I just think some people had their expectations too high. No matter what iMore says, there are going to be shortcomings in a speaker this small.
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Audiophiles are a picky bunch. 🙂
 
First impressions from me:

The microphones pick up my voice really well. It’s actually pretty incredible, and Siri has been mostly accurate.

The sound quality is decent. It has replaced the Play 1 in my kitchen, and it sounds the better of the two when comparing side by side. Not a massive difference, but it is noticeable.

It makes a decent little speaker for a kitchen or small room.
 
jabingla2810 said:
First impressions from me:

The microphones pick up my voice really well. It’s actually pretty incredible, and Siri has been mostly accurate.

The sound quality is decent. It has replaced the Play 1 in my kitchen, and it sounds the better of the two when comparing side by side. Not a massive difference, but it is noticeable.

It makes a decent little speaker for a kitchen or small room.
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If you had 2 in your living room do you think you would be happy with nothing else?
 
Instead of reading thought multiple pages; can anyone tell me how the HomePod sounds compared to a JBL Xtreme?
 
I think I need to find some old school peeps to figure this out lol..... if a pair of HomePods sounds as good as my antique nht superzeros with a little added bass then I would be perfectly happy..... this was not a expensive speaker, just designed well..... everyone seems to be comparing HomePod to other smart speakers which are easy to beat
 
the booming sound on this thing is nuts. think I would get blown away if I ever bought two ha

this does exactly what I have wanted to get for my lounge. Siri works good for my needs.
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AppleRobert said:
Someone please play Miles Davis "So What".

Thanks
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thats a nice and calming song 🙂

works good from my lounge sofa to the HomePod
 
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Rayban said:
Instead of reading thought multiple pages; can anyone tell me how the HomePod sounds compared to a JBL Xtreme?
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Well a Sonos Play:1 sounds better than a JBL Xtreme and it’s been said that HomePod sounds a little better than a Play:1 so we can infer that HomePod sounds better than a JBL Xtreme.
 
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The Game 161 said:
the booming sound on this thing is nuts. think I would get blown away if I ever bought two ha

this does exactly what I have wanted to get for my lounge. Siri works good for my needs.
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thats a nice and calming song 🙂

works good from my lounge sofa to the HomePod
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Ok, thanks
 
The Game 161 said:
the booming sound on this thing is nuts. think I would get blown away if I ever bought two ha

this does exactly what I have wanted to get for my lounge. Siri works good for my needs.
[doublepost=1518189958][/doublepost]
thats a nice and calming song 🙂

works good from my lounge sofa to the HomePod
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What have you listened to so far? So seem very pleased.
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sigftw said:
Holy crap. Now thats demo material! well thought!
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Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture should knock people's socks off and make their jaw drop.
 
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I just can't get over how good this sound is in terms of the distance from where i'am to where the HomePod is and the scary thing is the sound % that I think is loud isn't even 50%

music at 75% is very loud and I doubt I go above this
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AppleRobert said:
What have you listened to so far? So seem very pleased.
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Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture should knock people's socks off and make their jaw drop.
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tried a few different type of songs. some usual dance and pop music but some classical music sounds great on here.

My dads favourite frank Sinatra sounds great on here.
 
Anyone here who tested his HomePod against two Sonos One or Play 1? Price wise it is a good match.
 
The Game 161 said:
I just can't get over how good this sound is in terms of the distance from where i'am to where the HomePod is and the scary thing is the sound % that I think is loud isn't even 50%

music at 75% is very loud and I doubt I go above this
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tried a few different type of songs. some usual dance and pop music but some classical music sounds great on here.

My dads favourite frank Sinatra sounds great on here.
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I mostly listen to rock and some classical.... no dance music or heavy bass rap etc
 
Mercury7 said:
I mostly listen to rock and some classical.... no dance music or heavy bass rap etc
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I've got to be in the mood for dance or rap certainly at this time of day. I'm on nights so for me this is like early morning lol

my HomePod arrived at 1pm and somehow I just put it on the side and went back bed for a few hours lol

I like how you can say play some relaxing music and works well.
 
The Game 161 said:
I've got to be in the mood for dance or rap certainly at this time of day. I'm on nights so for me this is like early morning lol

my HomePod arrived at 1pm and somehow I just put it on the side and went back bed for a few hours lol

I like how you can say play some relaxing music and works well.
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You need to play some Black Sabbath for me lol
 
kmanmx said:
I take your points on board, but do you see how this reads a bit funny ? You hate Sonos, Bose, Soundbars, and Bluetooth wireless speakers. You also hate B&W. You also knew that the HomePod was designed by the guy that worked on the B&W speakers that you hate, and you know it's a small wireless speaker akin to all the ones you just stated that you also hate...

And despite all of that, you bought one anyway? 😵

I can only assume you were just hoping that Apple would be better than the rest and reset your thoughts on the category ? If so, okay, I get it - i'm a fan of Apple and each time they enter a new product category, I tend to just assume they will do a good job of it too.

I hope you can at least get a full refund.
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Well yes it's a new Apple gadget at least i'm going to try it out - I didn't know the B&W guy was on board until after I ordered it, I feared all along it was going to have that sound type but just hoped with all the noise about how they tried to make it sound good they'd have made it sound open and detailed - but alas, no, it's just like all the others - and size has no bearing on it - You can buy an Adam A3X that is smaller and sounds much better - it's this weird smeary consumer sound they go for in portable speakers and sound bars. I don't get it.

and of course you can get a refund that's why it's risk free to try and play around with.
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kmanmx said:
Fair enough - I don't like boomy bass so i'll see what I think of it later when I get home. Hopefully we'll find a way to EQ it somehow eventually.

Though, as a mass market consumer speaker, the lack of a flat and neutral sound signature is not surprising. Very much targeting the Beats audio crowd. I can't blame them for that, as it is what most people like. But it would have been nice to provide an EQ for those who don't like it.
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I moved rooms with it and it sounds better in another room - but I just can't see me enjoying listening to stuff on this in the background. The bass is over bearing - id be conscious with other people at home that you could hear it from four rooms away even at a low level.

But listen to speed on it - that's what grates me most - it sounds like you're listening to someone stuck in a box, or with something in front of their mouth...backed up with a subwoofer.

A massive boost from 6k and above would hugely help this thing out - I think the hardware is there to tweak to sound acceptable. I could accept the hefty bottom end if only I could balance the rest of it - at least the bass is punchy and surprisingly large for a small speaker. But play something at a low volume and instead of it sparkling away in the background there, you'll hear the bass reverberating around the room and the rest of it sounds like it's got a high pass filter on it 🙁
 
In the old days we would describe speaker characteristics as neutral or bright..... many good speakers did get a bright mention, the downside of bright is you get fatigued listening easily, especially with higher volumes, that’s why it’s important to me to get some audiophile opinions, it not that I expect it to surpass reference speakers.... it’s the general livability of the sound that’s important
[doublepost=1518191829][/doublepost]My super zeros are a little bright, had a pair of infinity atoms that were colored more toward neutral, they were not as clear as the super zeros but you could listen to them all day long without fatigue, that’s important
 
jabingla2810 said:
First impressions from me:

The microphones pick up my voice really well. It’s actually pretty incredible, and Siri has been mostly accurate.

The sound quality is decent. It has replaced the Play 1 in my kitchen, and it sounds the better of the two when comparing side by side. Not a massive difference, but it is noticeable.

It makes a decent little speaker for a kitchen or small room.
Click to expand...

Wow, I have a play 1 and the sonos one and I'm thinking of replacing them with the homepod. Great news. Thanks!
 
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