HomePod Hands-On: Unboxing and Overview

[Lotusman]

24 hours in and I'm loving Homepod. I got it to play my matched music collection well in my kitchen and it does that supremely well. I have Naim and Quad taking care of the living room... so I know what good sounds like. For the price and size, Homepod delivers.

As an aside, I feel like a moron talking to Siri on my phone and she's flakey as hell. MUCH easier talking to Homepod and not a single 'miss' so far.

It does what it does very, very well... and we have PLENTY more to look forward to.

 

[Bswails]

The bigger annoyance to me is that you have to say “Hey, Siri” then wait for it to wake up, THEN issue a command. With my echo, I can just say “Alexa, play music” with no pause. Far better solution.

I concur with your statement! I love my Apple products but using Siri has been one of the most unenjoyable Apple experience I have. I really do hope Apple can figure out a way to drop the “hey” so customers can talk more naturally. If it’s secure I wouldn’t mind an always listening assistant. I’m really on the fence about using Amazon for my home because of this very reason

 

[vipergts2207]

Which is fine because you can't hear where lower frequencies come from anyway. A 30Hz sound has 10 meter wave length. Your ears cannot locate where it comes from better than 10 meters.

What you said about very low bass is true. However, the woofer will be playing into the ~2000 Hz range, and sound becomes increasingly localizable at ~100 Hz.

So "stereo-like" things is actually fake stereo then? I read somewhere that it plays the center channel audio in the tweeter facing straight out so I thought it would play left channel on the left side tweeters and the right for the right channel.

Yeah, best I can tell, that is completely made up hogwash.

 

[dennyc69]

I am definitely getting another one when Apple fixes the stereo software issue. Love my HomePod!

 

[the future]

It's not mono. It's not stereo (and won't ever be even with two of them). It's not mono plus. It's not Stereo plus. It's Apples idea of how music should be played back, no mater how it was recorded, no mater how the people who made it or recorded it felt it should be played back. No mater what they wanted you to hear.

The Verge has it right. The HomePod is the point of no return. Apple has fully drunk their own Kool Aid. Now they get to decide how music should be heard, even though we have had industry standards about that for decades?
Not in my house.

First of all, I read the Verge review (from Patel). Where does it state what you claimed it states? I certainly didn‘t read that. Was there another review?

Second of all, Apple is all about making complex technology simple and approachable. This means Apple is not afraid to make decisions so that the user is not overwhelmed. If this is a concept that offends you, you were never meant to be an Apple user and are free to use Windows/Linux/ Android and fiddle around with a myriad of settings as much and as often as you please.

And lasty, Stereo as a concept is neither an industry „standard“ nor the be-all of audio reproduction, but a crutch. The ultimate goal of audio reproduction is to give the impression to be in the room with the musicians while they play. Stereo mixing is a rather crude approximation of the all-encompassing feeling and soundstage of the original experience, and only at a very narrow „sweet spot“. Surround sound with many more than two speakers gets a little closer, but is a hassle as very few people are ready to stuff, say 7 or 10 speakers in their living room. HomePod uses cutting edge technology to fill a whole room, not just a sweet spot, with immersive sound, all from a single enclosure (containing several „speakers“), and by all (well, most) accounts does an admirable job at that. I bet two HomePods combined will sound way more immersive and closer to that „in the room with the musicians“ experience than any pure stereo system.

 

[Fozzee]

I concur with your statement! I love my Apple products but using Siri has been one of the most unenjoyable Apple experience I have. I really do hope Apple can figure out a way to drop the “hey” so customers can talk more naturally. If it’s secure I wouldn’t mind an always listening assistant. I’m really on the fence about using Amazon for my home because of this very reason

I can say “hey Siri play xxxx by xxx” with no waiting for it to wake up??? Have you not tried this?

 

[Cartaphilus]

Is there a way to connect HomePod to a MacBook Pro (mid 2015)?
Not just iTunes. I want all of the sound from my MacBook go through the HomePod.

I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but just in case: 1) make certain that both the HomePod and the Mac are on the same wifi network; 2) From the iTunes screen, click on the concentric circles icon (AirPlay) on the left-hand side of the menu bar, choose the location name you baptized your HomePod with at setup. 3) Using iTunes, choose a composer, singer, song, album, playlist, or genre to play.

 

[falainber]

I am definitely getting another one when Apple fixes the stereo software issue. Love my HomePod!

Many people expressed the same attitude that I find a little bit puzzling. We already know that most bookshelf systems in the same price range ($350) have better sound. This comparison can only get worse for HP in $700 price range. That's because it clearly was not designed for stereo. In stereo configuration, both of its woofers will still be firing upwards. Out of 14 combined tweeters , only 6 will probably be used productively. Those who want stereo (which, I suspect should be most of those who is interested in music) should definitely look at the alternatives. I understand the enthusiasm of people coming from the horrible blue-tooth speaker experience (most of those were awful and with Apple sources they were even more handicapped because Apple did not support AptX and AptX HD codecs) but it's a pity that too many may get stuck with subpar experience because of the usual hype accompanying Apple product release. As Consumer Reports just reported HP is a decent speaker for a price but it's nothing special. Reportedly it has worse sound quality even than some of the other smart speakers (Google Max and Sonos Play 1) let alone real music speakers.

 

[meanieblue]

To other's reading this, the commenter is presumably making a joke. Aka, it's removeable in the sense that you can remove a tail from a cat but have fun reattaching it.

There seem to be conflicting reports on this. Some suggest a disconnected cable can be repaired by Apple. Others suggest it can be readily removed and reconnected to accommodate confined cable management systems. I’ll assume it’s best left alone and that Tugging cat tails is ill advised.

 

[artfossil]

Many people expressed the same attitude that I find a little bit puzzling. We already know that most bookshelf systems in the same price range ($350) have better sound. This comparison can only get worse for HP in $700 price range. That's because it clearly was not designed for stereo. In stereo configuration, both of its woofers will still be firing upwards. Out of 14 combined tweeters , only 6 will probably be used productively. Those who want stereo (which, I suspect should be most of those who is interested in music) should definitely look at the alternatives. I understand the enthusiasm of people coming from the horrible blue-tooth speaker experience (most of those were awful and with Apple sources they were even more handicapped because Apple did not support AptX and AptX HD codecs) but it's a pity that too many may get stuck with subpar experience because of the usual hype accompanying Apple product release. As Consumer Reports just reported HP is a decent speaker for a price but it's nothing special. Reportedly it has worse sound quality even than some of the other smart speakers (Google Max and Sonos Play 1) let alone real music speakers.

Changing my tag line to: “Ignoring Consumer Reports Since 1947.”

 

[shakes.holt]

Has anyone successfully used HomePod on a mesh Wifi network? I have a mesh network with Luma routers, and HomePod won't even let me set up the device, claiming the network is incompatible. There's no reason for that, and I have several iOS devices, several Macs, and two Apple TVs happily using that network. Apple engineers are trying to investigate, and have reported received other complaints from mesh network users, so I'm trying to figure out if this is some kind of general problem with HomePod and mesh networks or if it works on some and not others.

I have a 3 router mesh network (Netgear Orbi) and the HomePod works well.

 

[cknibbs]

The Echo is three times less than the Home Pod and has better smart features. Home Pod may sound great but it should for $349. However I can buy a much better speaker without smart features that is better than Home Pod and less money. Homepod Fails . It needs cheaper price and better functionality outside of the apple ecosystem. Also need to be able to lose the phone for airplay to work. First Apple Product I am not impressed with.

Hmmm the echo can’t do location based reminders or time based reminders inside the iOS reminders app. That’s enough for it to be useless in my books. Also doesn’t natively support Apple Music. Seems like our requirements may be different!?

 

[falainber]

Changing my tag line to: “Ignoring Consumer Reports Since 1947.”

Well, theirs is really the first testing of HP done properly (proper room, qualified testers etc.) I am sure other reviewers might come to different conclusions but even reading first user impressions on MR the consensus seems to be that HP is close in sound quality to Sonos Play 1 (most HP owners say it's better), not as good as Sonos Play 5 and worse than comparably priced bookshelf speakers/monitors. We do not have any reports here comparing HP to Google Max but that's expected since very few people probably have the latter one.

 

[Rogifan]

Many people expressed the same attitude that I find a little bit puzzling. We already know that most bookshelf systems in the same price range ($350) have better sound. This comparison can only get worse for HP in $700 price range. That's because it clearly was not designed for stereo. In stereo configuration, both of its woofers will still be firing upwards. Out of 14 combined tweeters , only 6 will probably be used productively. Those who want stereo (which, I suspect should be most of those who is interested in music) should definitely look at the alternatives. I understand the enthusiasm of people coming from the horrible blue-tooth speaker experience (most of those were awful and with Apple sources they were even more handicapped because Apple did not support AptX and AptX HD codecs) but it's a pity that too many may get stuck with subpar experience because of the usual hype accompanying Apple product release. As Consumer Reports just reported HP is a decent speaker for a price but it's nothing special. Reportedly it has worse sound quality even than some of the other smart speakers (Google Max and Sonos Play 1) let alone real music speakers.

Who is we?

 

[artfossil]

Well, theirs is really the first testing of HP done properly (proper room, qualified testers etc.) I am sure other reviewers might come to different conclusions but even reading first user impressions on MR the consensus seems to be that HP is close in sound quality to Sonos Play 1 (most HP owners say it's better), not as good as Sonos Play 5 and worse than comparably priced bookshelf speakers/monitors. We do not have any reports here comparing HP to Google Max but that's expected since very few people probably have the latter one.

The “proper room” is my room and I’m the most qualified tester.

 

[Rogifan]

Well, theirs is really the first testing of HP done properly (proper room, qualified testers etc.) I am sure other reviewers might come to different conclusions but even reading first user impressions on MR the consensus seems to be that HP is close in sound quality to Sonos Play 1 (most HP owners say it's better), not as good as Sonos Play 5 and worse than comparably priced bookshelf speakers/monitors. We do not have any reports here comparing HP to Google Max but that's expected since very few people probably have the latter one.

There is no consensus. Not enough people own this product yet.

 

[falainber]

Who is we?

Those who are not biased and follow HP related coverage/posts on MR. So far the only reports about HP being superior were about speakers like:
* cheap soundbars (which are also not intended for music)
* cheap desktop 2.1 speakars ($40)
* cheap home assistants
* Sonos Play 1

I have yet to see any report of HP sounding better than similarly priced bookshelf speakers. I did see several posts saying that HP is not a match for bookshelf speakers. I am sure you saw those too so I am not going to produce any links.

 

[pat500000]

I think i might pick one up.

 

[Givn2Fly13]

I have a 3 router mesh network (Netgear Orbi) and the HomePod works well.

I have the Orbi with 1 satellite and the HomePod set up quick and easy

 

[falainber]

The “proper room” is my room and I’m the most qualified tester.

We all are. It is a human nature to always be able to find a rationale for why our stuff is the best. That's a fundamental self preservation mechanism. The problem is, you can't always find a product review that was done in your own room and for your tastes so some common standards are required to be able to compare the products.

 

[Givn2Fly13]

I love the HomePod so far. Apple blew it on the packaging. With the top of the box not being connected to anything p, my 17 year old son opened it, grabbed it to carry from the car, top came off...HP into the snow.horrible package design

 

[artfossil]

We all are. It is a human nature to always be able to find a rationale for why our stuff is the best. That's a fundamental self preservation mechanism. The problem is, you can't always find a product review that was done in your own room and for your tastes so some common standards are required to be able to compare the products.

You’re missing the point completely. I buy a HomePod. I test it out. I keep it or return it.

 

[vipergts2207]

New info on the HomePod coming to light. Much of this info comes from this reddit thread.

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile...orning_raudiophile_measurements_are_underway/

Apple is using an equal-loudness compensating curve called Fletcher-Munson.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher–Munson_curves

The "tweeters" are actually balanced mode radiators. I didn't know what these were so I looked them up.

https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en/blog/what-is-bmr

The crossover between the woofer and the BMRs is somewhere between 200 Hz and 500 Hz. This makes sense when you read up on BMRs. That low of a crossover would probably destroy most tweeters in short order.

HomePod takes 2 minutes to recalibrate once it's been moved.

 

[James.K.Polk]

Is it true 360 sound? That is, because of where I have some tables, if the back of the speaker is the primary side facing listeners, will there be any degradation?

 

[KeithJenner]

It is a human nature to always be able to find a rationale for why our stuff is the best.

That certainly seems to be important for some people.

But how do you decide what is “best”. For some of you it seems to be a bizarre competition which involves mindless arguing on Internet forum in discussions that are basically “mines bigger than yours”, it’s magnificantly funny to read.

Meanwhile, what really matters is what is best for the individual. No reviewer can answer that. It is a decision for the individual.