HomePod HomePod Sound Quality: Shipped versus Current OS

[CJ Dorschel]

I have a couple of HomePods in my homes but haven't updated some to the latest HomePod OS as some have stated the firmware changed the bass and other sound outputs with no way to rollback the update. I updated two in order to make use of the latest Siri/iCloud features and played them against the HomePod's I never updated out of the box to determine the difference(s). I did notice the bass was much lower as well as other subtle differences. I'm keeping a few on the original OS hoping Apple will release a future update that either brings back the sound from the original firmware or allow users to directly tweak the sound output with equalizers outside of the Music app. I've made due AirPlaying music with apps such as Boom but it's not the same.

Wondering what others have experienced with the sound quality differences between the shipped HomePod OS vs HomePod OS 13.

 

[boltjames]

Mine get much louder compared to the way they were right out of the box on earlier iOS versions. They also used to be very bass heavy and now sound more balanced to me.

A helpful hint I picked up in this forum: to get the microphones in the HomePod to properly sense objects around it pick up the HomePod in your hands and tilt left and right, rotate it around. It has a built in gyroscope that senses that movement and resets the microphones forcing them to re-calibrate to the objects around it.

 

[perezr10]

I never noticed any difference in the sound from the original.