HomePod's Sound Continues to Receive Top Marks After Listening Demos in New York and London

npmacuser5 said:
Actually my point, arguing sound quality like arguing video quality. At decision time, quality just one aspect in the decision making and for many, will sacrifice it for the other mentioned features.
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Go back and reread the discussion we were having. Neither of our points had anything to do with convenience, content, etc. What you're talking about, while true, is not germane to the discussion.
 
Wanting to introduce better home audio is dumb. No one cares. Music through a TV is good enough. Heck, everyone I know uses their iPhone or their superior Samsung Galaxy phones as speakers. Good enough. Apple tries too hard on stuff no one cares about.
 
prasand said:
It’s up to Spotify to allow its app to utilize Homepod’s SiriKit, which if I’m not mistaken they already do via iOS and WatchOS (I don’t know as I’m an Apple Music user). But if people want to complain about the lack of Spotify or you name it integration with HomePod, then complain to the app developers, Apple already gave them the tools and told them to be prepared.
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Have a look at the SiriKit Domains and Intents section of the Apple's SiriKit page. The full slate of applications supported:
  • Lists
  • Messaging
  • VOIP calling
  • Visual codes (e.g., QR)
  • Photo search
  • Workouts
  • Ride booking
  • Payments
  • Climate and radio ("Specifically designed for CarPlay automaker apps")
Conspicuously absent in this list are streaming services.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Not a review, that's "hands-on" at a demo. A review is when it's hands on in their own labs. At the demo, they got to see & hear what the demonstrator- Apple- chose to present & play. In a review, THEY will choose what they want to play and compare variables beyond the messaging provided by a seller. They won't have a predetermined objective but just let it prove itself on it's own merits. Potential marketing plays in a demo would be much less likely to be utilized in doing their own testing. Etc.

Consider this: just any time now, one of the other guys is going to roll out their head-to-head demo where their smart speaker is going to come out on top. This crowd will skewer that as blatant trickery, ripping the demo as a farce, obviously designed to make their own look the best. Imagine that playing out. Is this crowd going to be so quick to accept the outcome and spin it like it's factual evidence of echo or google or sonos superiority? Absolutely NOT!!! And we all know it. Don't be so easily fooled by any master of ceremonies with real skin in this game.
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Good grief man, you seem like you're getting manic, relax - it's just a $349 product, and as a speaker, it has attributes that are very subjective - score one, try it out at your home, using your own listening criteria, make your own decision, return it as needed.

Back to the race, exciting with the #5 DPI limping along :D
 
jasonklee said:
Wanting to introduce better home audio is dumb. No one cares. Music through a TV is good enough. Heck, everyone I know uses their iPhone or their superior Samsung Galaxy phones as speakers. Good enough. Apple tries too hard on stuff no one cares about.
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Clearly a great many people disagree with you, otherwise we'd not have the giant home and portable audio market that exists. But if garbage TV speakers are good enough for you, then more power to you, one less thing you have to worry about buying.

Gilligan's last elephant said:
Flat is exactly what a speaker should be. All frequencies played at the same amplitude when playing a swept sine wave.
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While definitely true in the technical sense of which you're speaking, I think in this case they meant flat as a simple adjective in which they could have also used the word lifeless.
 
gugy said:
I think its funny how people who has $10K + speakers are joking about the Homepods. Sure they will be better, they better be due the cost and size, that's a given. But for $350 if the HomePod can actually give a really good sound that's what it matters for people who don't want to spend thousands on speakers.
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__________________________________________
Given you have not heard these speakers....you don't know about them.
 
vipergts2207 said:
Back to the original point, do you think 2 HomePods are going to outperform a decent 2.1 setup for the same price? And as far your zeppelin goes, I'll take a dedicated 2.1 over it too, even the setup I mentioned earlier.

The frequency response range I quoted has nothing to do with your zeppelin, which for whatever reason you continue trying to shoehorn into every point. I put the hypothetical range out there because you said, "I’m not referring to how low frequencies the sub in the HomePod can go. I’m talking about overall sound quality," when frequency response and sound quality are very clearly related. It seems that perhaps you were unaware of that fact, so maybe you should "just stop."

You seem to be hyper defensive about B&W for some reason, as evidenced by your claim that I'm somehow trying to "dis them" simply because I don't think their wireless speaker can outperform a real 2.1 setup. In actuality, I have nothing against B&W and actually think their equipment is very nice stuff. Further, I can't think of a ~$700 wireless speaker from any company that I'd take over an equivalently priced 2.1 setup, and that includes B&W. The fact that you put the qualifier 'wireless music system' in there in the first place says something.
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I would wait for the software update on the HomePod that enables stereo playback to make a final judgement. But yes I do think the 2 HomePod setup would be able to compete with any 2.1 system in the same price range. I’m talking sound quality, not how loud or how low in bass the system can go.
While frequency response and sound quality are related you put some unrealistic number that’s is completely irrelevant to any product we are discussing, whether it be the zeppelin wireless or HomePod. The processor also plays a huge part in good the music sounds.

You seem to think a $700 wireless music system can’t sound better than a 2.1 system for the same price or less says it all about what you think about wireless music systems. I’m sure the setup you mentioned is solid, but I honestly don’t think it would sound better. I do think it sounds louder and has more bass, but not better clarity or truer sound.

I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.
 
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jasonklee said:
Wanting to introduce better home audio is dumb. No one cares. Music through a TV is good enough. Heck, everyone I know uses their iPhone or their superior Samsung Galaxy phones as speakers. Good enough. Apple tries too hard on stuff no one cares about.
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Better home audio is dumb, because most people you know uses their smartphone for as speakers?

Sorry, but that's probably one of the dumbest things I've ever read on the internet. Ever.
 
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prasand said:
btw, Google: homepod SiriKit, and the first article or near first should be Apple’s announcement to developers to get ready for SiriKit on HomePod.
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Why not actually read the page before jumping to conclusions? There's no mention whatsoever for third party streaming support, a limitation since SiriKit launched for iOS 10.

Of course, you can always AirPlay Spotify to the HomePod, but that's like Steve Jobs saying in 2007 that the iPhone supports apps through the web.

I personally fine with AirPlay for my own use case, but Siri is clearly the mainstream UI for this device. At some point SiriKit will have to add a streaming domain.
 
vipergts2207 said:
Pump the brakes a bit. You don't have to jump all the way to $850 B&W's to get great audio from a pair of bookshelves.
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It depends on what you want from a stereo. B&W CM1s are totally entry level speakers and obviously don't include an amp. By the time you've put together any complete system you're going to be well into $1000+ territory. Apple is offering an experience better than what most people have for $350 and if you want to go crazy $700.

Furthermore, getting an Apple TV quality AirPlay experience from HomePod would make replacing my current setup worth it.
 
truthertech said:
You have it backwards. His wife is like the vast majority of people, she doesn't want the hassle of dealing with a nice hi-fi system, or the limitations of having it just the one room it is set up in. She will, however, be like most people when she hears the fantastic sound of the Homepod and all it takes is her speaking with the specially enhanced Siri who now has six beam forming mics to hear her. She won't probably know it, but she will love the fact that it has an accelerometer so that she can simply pick it up and move it anywhere in the house and it will know it has been moved and reset to sound perfect in the new place she moved it.
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I would really like to agree with you, but my experience is that, most people don't care much. They want something that plays half-decent "full range". Afaik flat response isn't the requirement of the majority. Anyway... I doubt most people will be able to distinguish the HomePod from a Sonos in blind tests... (hopefully someone tests that)
Question is, if the HomePod passes atual HiFi tests. Because that's where Apple markets it.
If it does something like my Echo Plus I would rate it 0 stars on the HiFi scale (the Echo+ obviously changes DSP/equalizer settings per the track's genre -> pop has way too high mid highs while same song sounds fine when played on webradio).
 
Gameboy70 said:
Why not actually read the page before jumping to conclusions? There's no mention whatsoever for third party streaming support, a limitation since SiriKit launched for iOS 10.

Of course, you can always AirPlay Spotify to the HomePod, but that's like Steve Jobs saying in 2007 that the iPhone supports apps through the web.

I personally fine with AirPlay for my own use case, but Siri is clearly the mainstream UI for this device. At some point SiriKit will have to add a streaming domain.
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I agree. This is a large limitation in my opinion
 
jasonklee said:
Wanting to introduce better home audio is dumb. No one cares. Music through a TV is good enough. Heck, everyone I know uses their iPhone or their superior Samsung Galaxy phones as speakers. Good enough. Apple tries too hard on stuff no one cares about.
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What product do they sell that has sales suggesting “no one cares” about it! I swear, you people literally make stuff up to bash Apple and support false narratives constantly.
 
Why are people so caught up on $349? It’s a much higher quality speaker that does smarter things than just a good speaker.

The Google Home Max is $399 and people are saying it sounds worse.
 
palmerc said:
It depends on what you want from a stereo. B&W CM1s are totally entry level speakers and obviously don't include an amp. By the time you've put together any complete system you're going to be well into $1000+ territory. Apple is offering an experience better than what most people have for $350 and if you want to go crazy $700.

Furthermore, getting an Apple TV quality AirPlay experience from HomePod would make replacing my current setup worth it.
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Sorry, but the only way CM1's are even remotely "entry-level" is if you're talking the B&W lineup only. To imply otherwise is delusional. Decent entry-level bookshelves start between $200-$300 for a pair.

What you’re putting forth is like saying the C-class is an entry-level car, when that’s not even close, it’s an entry-level Mercedes.
 
[AUT] Thomas said:
I would really like to agree with you, but my experience is that, most people don't care much. They want something that plays half-decent "full range". Afaik flat response isn't the requirement of the majority. Anyway... I doubt most people will be able to distinguish the HomePod from a Sonos in blind tests... (hopefully someone tests that)
Question is, if the HomePod passes atual HiFi tests. Because that's where Apple markets it.
If it does something like my Echo Plus I would rate it 0 stars on the HiFi scale (the Echo+ obviously changes DSP/equalizer settings per the track's genre -> pop has way too high mid highs while same song sounds fine when played on webradio).
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You're missing the point, when do folks ever get a chance to listen to top quality sound? They don't. Moreover, hi fi is intimidating , expensive and a hassle, and hasn't been accessible. What Apple has done is make it accessible and simple. No more do you have to spend a lot of money, time and effort to set up a sound system that is limited to a room. You simply have to plug it in and then you have fantastic sound without any effort. To top it off, you have a specially enhanced Siri to make it super easy to just use your voice to experience the music if you want, and you have a smart speaker to do the other things. The icing on the cake is your privacy and security are protected, instead of a much easier hacked system from Amazon, or Google having everything stored about you under your universal identifier number that is accessible to Google, hackers, intel agencies, and law enforcement.
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OllyW said:
Isn’t that just the stuff you have purchased on iTunes.
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No, it should be able to include all of your music you've uploaded.
 
-BigMac- said:
I was under the impression it shows up as an airplay device.. so how exactly is it limited to Apple Music?

You can still stream Spotify etc through AirPlay.

Correct me if I'm wrong
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No amount of feigned ignorance can hide the fact that the HomePod's central UI, Siri, lacks API support streaming services. Targeting from another devices "works," but doesn't meet the Siri-enabled, consumer friendly threshold of "It Just Works".
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steve09090 said:
Can’t you stream Spotify onto the HomePod?
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You can't control Spotify from the HomePod.
 
viachicago22 said:
Look I’m sure it sounds good if not exactly amazing and better than it’s competitors. The question I’d like answered which I’m skeptical about is simply: overall, does the HomePod justify it’s price
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Time will tell. Remember Steve Balmer laughing at the iPhone because of the cost/price. People bought "overpriced" iPhones by the millions because the iPhone was more valuable than the some of its parts. An iPhone over a thousand dollars no way… and yet people buy it. The buying public will decide if it is worth it. Apple will find out by sales, we won't find out about the numbers as Apple doesn't share that info.
As with all products in the market place, time and the public will decide if a product is worth the price.
 
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