HomePod HomePod in 2021? Or mini version? (home cinema / mainly just one room)

[Beliblis]

Hi,

We're going to upgrade our living room interior fairly soon. TV will be replaced by a short-throw video projector (most likely the Xiaomi 150), with attached Apple TV 4k. The old mid-90s "tower" speakers will be replaced by something smaller and more modern. (About time, with their rather ugly black veneer ?

Main use will be in just one room, and mainly for home cinema and music streaming at average volume levels.
Siri functionality isn't really important – I only use it once a day or so... although that might change as we'll also be adding a few HomeKit gadgets at some point.
All of my other devices are Apple anyway. According to a raving youtube review about a home cinema setup with two HomePods, I'm wondering: is a 2-HomePod-Setup really THAT good for spatial audio / Dolby Atmos?
Is it possible to achieve a similar sound with 4 HomePod Minis?

Are the discontinued HomePods worth buying in 2021? Or is the difference only minor when compared to 4 minis?
Sound aside: What would be the main reason to go for the minis? Siri I guess?
Anything I should watch out for when buying the older HomePods used?

Many thanks for your help / opinions!

 

[savagewatts]

The OG Homepods sound much better than the minis. I love the minis but there is no comparison. I don’t think the minis are good enough for a proper home theater sound but the OG HomePods in Stereo are

 

[Beliblis]

Can two HomePods be connected & synced with a third HomePod Mini?
And (for home cinema use) can I create a surround system with 4 HomePod Minis?

Is it true that there's no equlizers / sound adjustment options? One of the concerns about the original HomePods would be the bass. (We live in a city-appartment, and I know bass can travel even at fairly low volumes).

 

[BobRey77]

Yes, you can use one or more minis with the Home Theatre Stereo Pair. Home Theatre mode only supports two speakers though so any additional HomePods in the room will not be surround speakers. That said, with OG HomePods, Home Theatre mode sounds very good and I would recommend finding a pair as they do sound much better than the minis, good as they are. There is no equalization as the HomePods sense their environment and self-adjust but there is a toggle to reduce bass if you find it to be a problem in your apartment.

 

[Beliblis]

@BobRey77 Sounds like you own the OG HomePods. Anything I should watch out for when buying used? Or are they pretty much indestructible?
Guess there's not much that can go wrong, unless played at really high/noisy volumes, right?

 

[BobRey77]

The OG HomePod is discontinued but demand for them has driven up the price of used HomePods so shop around. You may still be lucky enough to find new ones. There are many reports of failures of OG HomePods including overheating and popping sounds on this and other forums but I have no idea how widespread these problems really are. Mine have been fine but there's no guarantee that used ones will be problem free. Of course, that's true of any used item that you purchase. Hope this helps.