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HomePod First Listen Impressions: 'Incredible' Audio With Bass-Heavy Sound That Easily Beats Echo
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What a difference a day makes. I was hugely underwhelmed by this yesterday, but as a big music listener and someone who uses Siri more than I probably realize, I can now see myself splurging for one of these. I don't need a true surround setup, but I'm always impressed when randomly, my tv's built-in speakers sometimes produce audio that sounds like it's coming from a completely different area than from the tv itself. Not sure if anyone knows what I'm talking about, but if you do, then you know how awesome it can be.
I for sure am going to research other options before spending this kind of dough, because spending more money online with Amazon or giving more data away isn't my goal, and perhaps that's why the price is higher with Apple... they want your money upfront for a premium product. I enjoy Amazon and Google products along with my Apple devices, but there does seem to be three different philosophies there and it kind of shows in the price, quality and purpose/function of their products, even though they may all seem similar in the surface.
I for sure am going to research other options before spending this kind of dough, because spending more money online with Amazon or giving more data away isn't my goal, and perhaps that's why the price is higher with Apple... they want your money upfront for a premium product. I enjoy Amazon and Google products along with my Apple devices, but there does seem to be three different philosophies there and it kind of shows in the price, quality and purpose/function of their products, even though they may all seem similar in the surface.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Yes, but since that's NOT an Apple product, it's automatically inferior to this without even a listen.
Don't you know how things work around here? Apple could stick their logo on a bag of dirt and that dirt would be immediately anointed as the finest dirt on the planet.
And challenging the dirt as being no better than any other dirt would get you tagged a troll.
Sorry. Just, BT is not there yet. Not worth it if you're spending that much on speakers.
'Incredible' sound brought to you by people that think Apple Air Pods sound good.
Glad to hear the sound is good. But let's be honest, the Echo is a digital assistant that can play music. Apple went the speaker first route so the focus would be less on Siri limitations.
The Play:5 is $500.
The Play:3 is $300. The HomePod is $50 more for smart features and a better speaker, that's a good deal.
99.9999999999 of the market does not have nor care to have a five channel Martin Logan Electro Static System plus a subwoofer.
You spend several thousand dollars for your speakers and the rest of the world will be quite happy with these Pods around the home.
Via What HiFi? -- "The Play:3 had been tuned for the room using Sonos' excellent Trueplay software."
Added info to article, thanks for pointing this out
I'm aware. Was just being sarcastic to the person I quoted who compared them in the first place.
Stupidest?
I am not sure how many people will agree with that.
Some may say the hockey puck mouse was pretty stupid.
Others might offer the idea that Apple allowed clones/third party Macs.
Still others would say the firing of Steve Jobs was Apple's stupidest move.
But sure, you can offer that notion it's the stupidest move by Apple ever.
Can you explain this to me? I have 3 Sonos speakers around the house and would consider getting the Homepod for the kitchen. I don't pay for Apple Music and normally listen to Sirius or Amazon Music through Sonos. Will i be able to do that easily with a Homepod?
Is has it's useful applications. I have 4 outdoor speakers hooked up to a receiver that's tucked away in a waterproof cabinet. I use a Echo Dot to connect to it via Bluetooth so I can leave the Echo near the patio area where we spend most of our time. In return, she hears the commands and streams music wireless to the 4 outdoors speakers, via Bluetooth.
Yes, but since that's NOT an Apple product, it's automatically inferior to this without even a listen.
Don't you know how things work around here? Apple could stick their logo on a bag of dirt and that dirt would be immediately anointed as the finest dirt on the planet.
And challenging the dirt as being no better than any other dirt would get you tagged a troll.
But the compact size is a plus. I'd prefer something compact over a full set-up with sub, etc.
While I'm glad Apple rolled out one of these (mostly on hope that it somewhat presses them to make significant investments in "catching up" Siri), I suspect we're only about 2 days MAX away from the usual crowd rallying hard around how quality of sound is paramount as part of being able to now spin all smart speaker competition as junk.
Of course, some of these same people were likely arguing how quality of sound is much less important than convenience when the iPhone 7 launch was being spun as pressing "the future" of bluetooth audio... which does require one to sacrifice quality of sound to go that way.
So here, quality of sound will be almost all important. There, quality of sound was not very important.
It reminds me of when having a front-facing camera on iPad 1 was spun as making no sense whatsoever... until iPad 2 was rolled out with FaceTime and then everyone HAD to upgrade for that terrific feature.
Or how big-screen phones were abominations, fragmentation, "one handed use" & "pants with bigger pockets" until Apple rolled out bigger-screen phones to record sales and "best iPhone ever."
Or how nobody needed a 1080pTV while Apple still clung to 720p MAX until Apple rolled one out and then all the anti-1080p arguments just evaporated... only to be recycled and used against the idea of a 4K
And on and on.
Does quality of sound matter most? And if so, why don't we care as much about it elsewhere in the ecosystem? IMO, for a product that is most notably a speaker, quality of sound should matter most, so that's a solid win for Apple if this speaker does turn out to produce better sound than the competition. So of course, quality of sound should matter elsewhere too, meaning "the future" is not a very good future until is can at least get toe-to-toe on quality of sound that it's trying to replace (by necessary force per some). Too bad "the future" couldn't have this same focus on quality of sound BEFORE "being forced" upon us. IMO, that pill would have been much easier to swallow if the quality of sound would have at least been as good as the "antiquated" it is trying to replace.
Nevertheless, rah-rah... quality of sound matters again (for this product).
You're mashing everyone's opinion together and then claiming it's the same people talking out both sides of their mouth. There are MANY differing opinions here. Lumping them together and stating they come from the same source is ludicrous and completely discredits your opinion. Just sayin'.
Siri is getting an overhaul, and the language support is a priority for them. I see them pushing expanded language support for Apple Music with the HomePod (which is primarily aimed for music consumption).
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Yikes. While there is some technical truth to your spin, you might want to explore the concept of stereo separation. One could jam 5 tweeters into a smallish subwoofer box but that won't make it a "5.1 surround sound system" (in practice)... unless perhaps you are Ant-Man and can shrink yourself into the middle of all of that. Yes, conceptually, one could spin it as a 5.1 system in a box (not so different than how some bars spin faux surround as if it is equivalent to real surround) but let's get real here: stereo as it's intended to be appreciated begs for more speaker separation than a few inches in a single container.
Same here. Those comparing the HomePod to Echo are missing the point. Sonos is the competition.
Where Sonos will likely keep the edge is the breadth of devices. I have Sonos standalone amp and pre-amp models. I can’t see Apple offering competitors to these. Connected home audio may just require a paradigm shift in thinking - multiple standalone speaker pods vs HiFi speakers or in wall/ceiling speakers.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
No argument if compact size trumps sound quality for anyone. The poster to which I was replying was- I suspect- making a point that they can get a BETTER sounding 2.1 system for the same money. He or she wasn't putting in a constraining variable of "thinner or lighter" too. He or she was basically expressing alternative value for the money... and I was agreeing with that point.
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