You don't know what stereo is, do you?
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HomePod Launches February 9, Available to Order Starting Friday in United States, UK, and Australia
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How odd! Pre-order for a product we know very little about. Fanboys, here's your chance... And it only took Phil Schiller, what three / four words in to use the word 'magical'.
I'm not either. I don't wander around the house in need of music nor do I need another smart speaker. I barely use the one I have. The only sound "upgrade" I have is a 5.1 soundbar kit for the TV, and that's because the speakers were inadequate for the room, so you couldn't hear it.
It's north of the US. It hasn't moved in years.
I was expecting £349 so thats ok
it says on article on EE selling it...interesting
it says on article on EE selling it...interesting
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I suspect you are MORE than set as is. Sonos makes grrrrrreat speakers, well done and well integrated with the Apple ecosystem too. Sonos is FOCUSED on music hardware, not doing it as yet another sideline.
Here- for this product- a crowd that rationalized the headphone jack removal with bluetooth "the future" because inferior audio via Bluetooth is "good enough" is now trying to become audio quality hounds because this product needs us to rally around quality of sound as a key piece of the price justification. Go figure!
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Also while I am waiting to see. My concern is the 3rd party integration will come nowhere nearing matching google home or the amazon echo.
Let me help you,
“Stereophonic sound or, more commonly, stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that creates an illusion of multi-directional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two or more independent audio channels through a configuration of two or more loudspeakers (or stereo headphones) in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing.”
Source, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound
HomePod has seven directional speakers. Colocation doesn’t disqualify it as a stereo source.
No, but with a stereo setup you get a sound stage where, for example, the piano is on the left, the guitars on the right and the drums in the middle
I was expecting the same, I’m thinking about getting a couple for the house (one for the bedroom and one for my home office) but I may wait and see what reviews say I just hope reviews don’t take to long to come out.
Apple did. It says so on the product page:
"Create stereo sound with a second HomePod."
I don't have a dedicated home audio set up, so there's no worry about it being replaced.
Come to think of it, I don't see that many people with dedicated home audio setups lately. It used to be a big thing. My dad was very proud of his in the 1970s and 80s. Home-built Klipschorns the size of refrigerators and all.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
If you happen to have Pym Particles such that you can seat yourself ON the Apple logo or underneath the device, you might be able to notice the separation of up to all 7 of those tweeters. But those Pym Particles are very hard to find.
Exactly. The lack of real info is disappointing for a new type of product from Apple, one that is starting in the shadows of existing devices from competitors.
guessing a few days before launch we will see reviews.
I would like one for my lounge/kitchen for when I'm cooking for example or just browsing on the web I can listen to podcasts with decent sound.
If it's caught up in b'cratic red tape or licensing issues he can't. I'm sure Apple would love to announce dates worldwide like they do with more mature products.
I bought my echo because I wanted a Bluetooth speaker in the kitchen and it was around the same price as a decent non-assistant Bluetooth speaker. I like it because it can pause and play my music/podcast when I’m cooking or my hands are dirty or I’m washing dishes. It’s also cool for asking about weather and snow accumulation. Is it necessary? No. But I love the convienence. Personally, I’d be surprised if Apple’s was better than Amazon’s. I think it’ll take 5 years for them to catch up.
in a household with multiple people is where products like this do best. You do not have to tie up anyone's phone. It also will be able to control some smart home products. Having multiple seems like what most people who are on board plan on doing. Personally, I would rather outfit my entire house with Echo Dots for the cost of a single home.
I wouldn't be sure about that. It would be trivial to separate out the L & R signals and send them to tweeters pointed out to either side, while the lower frequencies would come out of the single bass driver.
There's a reason why you can get by with a single mono subwoofer in a home stereo system - low frequencies tend to be omnidirectional and don't really require a separate stereo pair.
Start watching this video at 5:50. Notice how the animation shows two distinct sounds bouncing off the rear walls and then heading off towards the front as L & R? Along with a single sound coming from the front of the speaker? To me this is simulating LCR (left, centre and right). I think the tweeters facing the rear will each emit a distinct L & R channel while the direct front tweeter will be mono. Together they will create a stereo soundstage.
The HomePod wouldn't have the separation of a pair of speakers, but that doesn't mean it can't create a wider soundstage and have distinct L & R audio.