Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Binarymix

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 1, 2007
1,134
382
Hey.

I just received my second HomePod mini, and now that what I suspected works, here's some info:

This power brick works great for both at the same time:

USB C Charger RAVPower GaN Tech 90W 2-Port PD Wall Charger 3.0


I got this brick #1 because its black, and looks a lot better than the white Apple ones (with the space grey minis), and #2 because it has two ports and can do them both. Seems it also comes in white, so that's another plus.

Works great, no orange screens.



Now, as for using them with your computer:

I suspected Airfoil might work, and indeed it does. BUT it will just output system audio to both speakers, not as a stereo pair, so no left and right channels. But I think this is the best we'll get until Apple officially supports them. At least you get system sound to both minis.
The apps that do support airplay still see the minis as a stereo pair, so Music is still Stereo (only caveat is you'll have to manually select the minis each time via music app/airfoil).

Maybe even the makers of Airfoil could allow channels to be sent to the correct mini L or R.

Airfoil: Wireless audio around your house - Rogue Amoebahttps://rogueamoeba.com › airfoil

Once you get the App it does have a feature in the settings to group the pair to make them easier to select at the same time.
Anyways once you select the two minis, and whatever other speakers you want to send sound to (airfoil is great for multiple speakers, and mixed airplay, and bluetooth speakers), you just select "Source" as system audio.

Hope this info helps some people!
 
Last edited:

mistergsf

macrumors newbie
Dec 13, 2006
29
2
Thanks for the heads-up on the RAVPower 2-Port. I'm considering ordering this too. Does the wall brick run very warm?
 

waw74

macrumors 601
May 27, 2008
4,770
1,004
Airfoil is using airplay1, the HomePods have to have airplay2 for stereo pairing.
Macs for system audio still use airplay1, as does airfoil.

The main thing to look for in power adapters is PD (power delivery), which that one has, It appears the HomePods actually need 9Volts, instead of the usual 5V that USB provides. the PD spec allows the device and charger to negotiate higher voltages. You also need a charger with more than 15watts, as 15w or lower chargers only have to provide 5v.

Also verify for each charger, someone posted a replacement wall outlet with USB-C and PD and a high enough wattage, but if you used both USB plugs it only offered 5V, meaning the HomePod cut off if something got plugged into the other USB port.
 

Binarymix

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 1, 2007
1,134
382
Airfoil is using airplay1, the HomePods have to have airplay2 for stereo pairing.
Macs for system audio still use airplay1, as does airfoil.

The main thing to look for in power adapters is PD (power delivery), which that one has, It appears the HomePods actually need 9Volts, instead of the usual 5V that USB provides. the PD spec allows the device and charger to negotiate higher voltages. You also need a charger with more than 15watts, as 15w or lower chargers only have to provide 5v.

Also verify for each charger, someone posted a replacement wall outlet with USB-C and PD and a high enough wattage, but if you used both USB plugs it only offered 5V, meaning the HomePod cut off if something got plugged into the other USB port.

Which is what I said in my post, no stereo pairing.

The power adapter I linked to works great. I made sure before I posted. 🙂

It seems the requirement is at least 20W on each usb outlet, and PD 3 spec.
 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.