HomePod HomePod + Heavy Metal = :(

[Daremo]

Trust me when I tell you, this pains me. I'm no troll, and actually the opposite. Sometimes, a bit of an Apple fanatic, and defending them at times when deep down, I might even agree with my opponent in debate, so buying the HomePod, and being this disappointed really hurts.

I was quite excited to pick it up from my local Apple Store yesterday. Went in, and while I waited, I was even given a demo of the store unit. In that huge store, with a room full of people, it was very hard to tell anything other than the bass was deep.

I know I'm in a minority group of music fans. This device is clearly made for modern pop, or at the very least, music that isn't all fighting in a lower audio frequency. The biggest issue I have with it, the mid range is completely crushed, while the bass is rich, and the high end is thin. In the end, listening to most metal music, you lose the clean crunch of the guitars, which is usually built on the midrange, to punch through the bass. Sadly, all this does is flatten the metal sound, and make it disappointing. I guess I'm a good judge of how this is SUPPOSED to sound, as I listen to my own bands material through it, and knowing how this should be, it's a let down.

A simple fix, if Apple allowed us to EQ this ourselves. The lack of any sort of audio control makes this almost unusable for my taste in music. I don't want to control the computational sound, I JUST want to EQ in more midrange. Maybe dial back the bass... Something...

I'm trying to convince to keep this. I want to love this. I WANT to have more control of this, since audio is so subjective, and to be honest, it does sound amazing with other things, just not the ONE thing I bought this for.

I have 14 days, I'm hoping for a software update before then, or I find something, some sort of hope to convince me to keep it, or this will be the very first Apple product I ever return, and I don't want to do that.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Not thinking you will see an update in the first 14 days.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Which metal bands are you listening to? Try something brilliantly produced like Opeth’s Blackwater Park or Rammstein’s Reise Reise. The guitars will hit you like a wall.

I find that listening through MDR-7506s (fairly cheap if you want decent dynamic range headphones), a lot of metal these days has been mastered for radio or cheap speakers and sounds much weaker through better headphones as a result. It’s artificially heavy. Even older Metallica has been remastered and sounds much worse through a proper listening experience.

Try the two songs I mentioned above, let me know how you get on.

EDIT: Don’t do the remastered Blackwater Park

 

[Rayban]

Metallica sounds pretty good on it to me. I’ve also listened to Rammstein, Slayer, Megadeth & a bunch of random hard rock tunes. I’m perfectly happy with the way it sounds. To me, it has that old school “vinyl paired with old speakers” warmth to it.

EDIT: I’m not an audio snob so I don’t need a cork sniffer to tell me I’m wrong.

 

[mcdj]

Also, shotgun shells no good in a BB gun.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Return it - Apple won't change/update anything anytime soon (if at all), especially given how long they've been working on it up until now.

 

[Daremo]

Return it - Apple won't change/update anything anytime soon (if at all), especially given how long they've been working on it up until now.

That's the thing though... It's half baked. Still so many promised features are missing. I guess I'm hoping for an update sooner than later with something more.
[doublepost=1518495705][/doublepost]

Which metal bands are you listening to? Try something brilliantly produced like Opeth’s Blackwater Park or Rammstein’s Reise Reise. The guitars will hit you like a wall.

I find that listening through MDR-7506s (fairly cheap if you want decent dynamic range headphones), a lot of metal these days has been mastered for radio or cheap speakers and sounds much weaker through better headphones as a result. It’s artificially heavy. Even older Metallica has been remastered and sounds much worse through a proper listening experience.

Try the two songs I mentioned above, let me know how you get on.

EDIT: Don’t do the remastered Blackwater Park

Listened to these. Reise Reise does sound great, but only at like 80%. I've noticed MOST metal sounds best around 80% volume. Blackwater Park has the crushed mid tone guitar, but only in the lower resister "power chord" moments. The melodies punch through. I think this REALLY comes down to production, and sadly, most metal bands don't have the budget for top production. Even the new Metallica was rough... Like the kick drums have a trigger that almost clips the bass. ALL this needs is a simple EQ setting, so when something is missing, it can be manually added, and it would be amazing.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Still so many promised features are missing.

But nothing that's missing or coming, to my knowledge anyhow, involves any custom EQ or more control over the sound, which sounds like what you're hoping for.

Isn't really all that's missing/coming the Airplay 2 functionality?

In terms of the sound I think all signs indicate that Apple is very very pleased with that part of things right now.

 

[immigrantsong]

That's the thing though... It's half baked. Still so many promised features are missing. I guess I'm hoping for an update sooner than later with something more.
[doublepost=1518495705][/doublepost]

Listened to these. Reise Reise does sound great, but only at like 80%. I've noticed MOST metal sounds best around 80% volume. Blackwater Park has the crushed mid tone guitar, but only in the lower resister "power chord" moments. The melodies punch through. I think this REALLY comes down to production, and sadly, most metal bands don't have the budget for top production. Even the new Metallica was rough... Like the kick drums have a trigger that almost clips the bass. ALL this needs is a simple EQ setting, so when something is missing, it can be manually added, and it would be amazing.

Have you, do you listen to anything such as Nightwish, Delain, Kamelot, Xandria, Battle Beast, Sabaton, Sonata Arctica ??? I’m really wondering how those range of metal styles (mostly symphonic metal) will do on the HP.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Even the new Metallica was rough... Like the kick drums have a trigger that almost clips the bass. ALL this needs is a simple EQ setting, so when something is missing, it can be manually added, and it would be amazing.

Bleugh. The new Metallica sounds dreadful as it is. Everything sounds peaky. That hack drummer loves the EQ on the triggers scoped like a tsunami so it punches and peaks, then fades away instantaneously, leaving only wreckage and misery in its wake.

It’s like they’ve learned nothing from their disasterously produced Death Magnetic. It’s a rotten shame they gave that whiney cabbage-faced toilet-brush the time of day when he insisted on EQing his instrument. He knows as much about production as he does about drumming.

That said, one Metallica song you absolutely have to try though your speakers is Enter Sandman — give that a go. How does that sound? Their Black album is by far one of the defining moments in metal production; ironic as their newer stuff is how not to produce an album. Those quad-tracked guitars punch hard and the drums sound great, namely because the producer told Lars to pound sand when he said he wanted them EQd like he did in And Justice.

 

[maflynn]

The biggest issue I have with it, the mid range is completely crushed

Other reviews seem to support your complaint that the mid range is not as rich as they had hopped for. That being the case, and the price of the HP, I'd recommend returning it, and finding an alternative that better fits your needs

 

[Release]

That's too bad. Send it back and pick up 2 SONO's Play 1's. Metal sounds amazing on it. Full and rich.