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HomePod HomePod or 2 x Minis?

heavysoul

heavysoul

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 30, 2020
46
17
Shoreham-by-Sea
We are an Apple household in terms of iPhones, AW, iPads, MacBook Air ... but music is played throughout our house via various Sonos speakers.

I‘m keen to try out HomePod in the bedroom though ... where I currently have a Sonos One (Alexa) ... and can’t decide whether to go for a HomePod (which would sit in the corner of the room on my side of the bed) or two Sonos Minis (one either side of the bed).

I’ve read on here that the HomePod is being discontinued (not an issue for me) ... so the main consideration is overall quality of sound. Leaving aside the fact that you can set the Minis up as a stereo pair - would the overall sound quality still be better from a single HomePod?

I’m looking to head into my local Apple store tomorrow - so any quick thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks ... HS
 
If you like bass, don’t even consider the minis, even as a stereo pair. One HomePod destroys a stereo pair of minis in the bass department.
 
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Itinj24 said:
If you like bass, don’t even consider the minis, even as a stereo pair. One HomePod destroys a stereo pair of minis in the bass department.
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Thanks ... I’m not actually keen on too much bass. Just been doing a bit more reading and one aspect I would find useful is the hand off which only seems to be on the Minis.

Back to my reading ..
 
heavysoul said:
Thanks ... I’m not actually keen on too much bass. Just been doing a bit more reading and one aspect I would find useful is the hand off which only seems to be on the Minis.

Back to my reading ..
Click to expand...
The original HomePod has handoff too, just not with the U1 chip, which many have found too sensitive and annoying. But if bass isn’t your thing, I believe you’d be fine with a stereo pair of minis.
 
I was considering the same. Keep my old Homepod or sell it and buy 2 Homepod Mini's.

From what I've heard the sound quality of the original Homepod is way better.
 
rsnhakan said:
I was considering the same. Keep my old Homepod or sell it and buy 2 Homepod Mini's.

From what I've heard the sound quality of the original Homepod is way better.
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That’s what I have read too. I have a Sonos Arc and two Play 3’s in my lounge - which sounds amazing for TV and music. But as this HomePod purchase is for my bedroom and therefore only occasional listening ... I’m thinking the Minis might work out ok. But again that’s the beauty of the no questions asked 14 day return with Apple! If I get the Minis and decide the quality ain’t quite right ... I can take them back and get the HomePod!
 
For background listening either will suffice. I would probably go the full HomePod route as it has more range - ie. it will sound better if you want to crank it.

Only place I'd go for 2 minis instead is if I was nearly always sitting in a position relative to the speakers that the stereo image the two produce was obvious. So for example, at my desk, I think 2 minis placed left and right of my monitor sounds better than one HomePod placed to one side. At close distances the bass response of the Minis is a lot more reasonable as well.
 
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zhenya said:
For background listening either will suffice. I would probably go the full HomePod route as it has more range - ie. it will sound better if you want to crank it.

Only place I'd go for 2 minis instead is if I was nearly always sitting in a position relative to the speakers that the stereo image the two produce was obvious. So for example, at my desk, I think 2 minis placed left and right of my monitor sounds better than one HomePod placed to one side. At close distances the bass response of the Minis is a lot more reasonable as well.
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Thanks ... that’s useful and makes perfect sense re the stereo aspect. I’m therefore wondering if I should just go for one Mini - sat in the corner of the room - which again I could change to the HomePod if it doesn’t quite hit the spot.

I‘m never sat down listening in the bedroom ... I just want to be able to quickly and easily ask Siri to play a playlist etc while I’m getting up and changed or while in the shower. The other consideration for getting a HomePod/Mini is to use as a Home Hub.
 
I think a single Mini is fine for bedroom use. That's what we have - only reason I would consider upgrading it would be so we could set the HomePod as the permanent output for the bedroom AppleTV.
 
I would not buy a smart speaker with no additional inputs for the main purpose of playing music. Especially one that is discontinued.

I have three homepod minis (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom). They are fine for podcasts, news and such and they are better than nothing for music. But that's about it.
 
GSWForever8 said:
Well, since it’s discontinued, it won’t get any updates soon. It might get a few, then stop.
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The discontinued iPhone 6S came out in 2015 and just got iOS 14. We may have different opinions on what “soon” means but six years to me is not soon. Until Apple says they will stop supporting it with software updates, then it’s all just speculation. Also, isn’t the HomePod running a modified TVOS? Anyways, I’m satisfied with all the features it has up to this point so if they stop supporting it tomorrow, it won’t matter much to me.
 
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I considered 2 mini's but went with the OG HomePod last month. And i'm going to get a second soon as well for a stereo pair. The sound is incredible and will sound great as a pair. I'm not worried about lack of updates, I reckon they'll continue to support it as it's literally just a modified tvOS. The Apple TV 4th Gen from 2015 just got an update so.
 
I just got a homepod yesterday, it's very impressive. I ended up buying a 2nd one last night to do the stereo pair and match it with the apple tv for atmos sound. I live in a condo and have a huge stereo with tower speakers, centre, rears, etc and its cluttered up my space way to much (i've had enough!). I couldn't believe the bass was on par, maybe a bit less than my 4.5ft speakers.

While not as "smart" as google home or alexa, it does all the basic stuff I had google doing for me.
 
I ended up ordering just one Mini ... should arrive Sunday so I will see how I go with it.

As I mentioned in previous posts ... this will not be my main source for listening to music. It's more for quick and easy listening while I'm getting showered/dressed. I will compare put it in the opposite corner to my Sonos One for a comparison. I'm not expecting it to be 'as good' ... but will be how it fairs over 7/10 days.

It will also act as a Home Hub ...

AND ... I had a £20 Apple voucher to use up so it only cost me £79!

Finally ... thanks for everyones input and views which was very useful 🙏
 
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Apple's strategy for Music and TV hardware one trick pony approach baffling. Or the one shoe fits everyone’s needs. My HomePod works great in a large open family room. The mini works great in office bedroom. How about my large living room. No more HomePod. Now I need two speakers and one more power outlet. No guarantee the same quality results. Same with Apple TV. Home theater Apple TV great. Office workout room not so much. A nice Apple stick would do nicely. Especially with the new Apple Fitness+. Apple TV overkill, big, where to put it, ridiculous. Seems like Apple has zero idea what their customers actually do with these devices. The one use they seem to forget, like to stay completely in the Apple environment. Sure I can get a stick from everyone but Apple. Defeats the Apple ecosystem, and possible compromise of my privacy and security. Baffling!
 
I went from 3 Sonos Play 1’s to 3 mini’s - more because I got so fed up with the Sonos software over the years I finally had enough. The 3 mini’s sound almost the same as the Play 1’s, except in the bass department where they severly lack any sound.

I also set 2 mini’s up as a pair with my Apple TV to just see how it sounds. Holy crap do they sound terrible used with a TV/Apple TV, my TV speakers sound better that 2 mini’s do. I’m guessing any sound bar under $100 will sound better than 2 mini’s do too.

The mini’s are really just an adequate product for the price, not good but not bad. I’ll say they are the same as the original Air pods, sound is sh*t like the original white ear buds and no bass whatsoever but they are small and convenient.
 
npmacuser5 said:
Apple's strategy for Music and TV hardware one trick pony approach baffling. Or the one shoe fits everyone’s needs. My HomePod works great in a large open family room. The mini works great in office bedroom. How about my large living room. No more HomePod. Now I need two speakers and one more power outlet. No guarantee the same quality results. Same with Apple TV. Home theater Apple TV great. Office workout room not so much. A nice Apple stick would do nicely. Especially with the new Apple Fitness+. Apple TV overkill, big, where to put it, ridiculous. Seems like Apple has zero idea what their customers actually do with these devices. The one use they seem to forget, like to stay completely in the Apple environment. Sure I can get a stick from everyone but Apple. Defeats the Apple ecosystem, and possible compromise of my privacy and security. Baffling!
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Why do you require a stick? Just get a case or some double sided tape and stick the Apple TV to the back of your TV.
 
almostinsane said:
Why do you require a stick? Just get a case or some double sided tape and stick the Apple TV to the back of your TV.
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Yes it can be done. Would be nice for the following reasons if Apple built a stick. One, another wire (power) to manage up the wall. Two, the costs. Three, the sticks today more then meet the required features of the office, bedroom, workout rooms. Minus the security and Apples ecosystem.
 
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An update from me ... as the OP.

Mini arrived Saturday - so I've had a couple of days with it. The sound is 'OK' for how I use it in the bedroom ... generally moving around as opposed to sitting listening to music for any length of time. Sound certainly inferior overall compared to the Sonos One it replaced - but then the Mini is almost half the price of the Sonos. And I'm making better use of the Sonos having move it to our dining room.

This morning I woke early and put the Mini on - playing a Gregory Porter album at a fair low volume and it sounded fine ... but then the music itself is fairly simple and unchallenging at low volume.

So I'm happy with the decision I made to go for the Mini in this location. In fact the full size HomePod at £279 would have been overkill and a waste.
 
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Was using an original HomePod in the bedroom for about 16 months but at times the bass was overpowering so I decided to give the Mini a go. Set up a stereo pair on the Tall Boy about 10 feet away from my listening position in bed and I must say am very happy with the results. Although they are only about 90cm's apart you still get the stereo effect and much better suited for a smaller room, a bedroom for example. The original HomePod is now being used with another connected to my iMac for watching films etc.
 
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