Stereo HomePods for Mac setup.

[tywebb13]

I'll be curious if someone tests the HomePod hooked up to a computer with AirFoil on system audio.

Someone already set up the stereo homepods via Airfoil and got it working without having to use the iOS 11.3 betas:

The trick is basically to have 2 copies of Airfoil and setting one homepod with left balance and simultaneously setting the right balance for the other homepod.

 

[Vjosullivan]

Do you mean something like this?:

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Are you getting stereo separation with this set up? i.e. Are the sounds coming from the left and right speakers corresponding to their source in any games you are playing or films you are watching (or even just the music you are playing through iTunes)?

Several people are saying "it's not stereo it's something more/differest." as if you can extract something "more" or "different" from a stereo source.

 

[joecole_1]

As far as i know, using Airplay through HomePod can't avoid latency, On both Mac and iPhone

 

[Phil77354]

Are you getting stereo separation with this set up? i.e. Are the sounds coming from the left and right speakers corresponding to their source in any games you are playing or films you are watching (or even just the music you are playing through iTunes)?

Several people are saying "it's not stereo it's something more/differest." as if you can extract something "more" or "different" from a stereo source.

No, it's not stereo. But it does sound quite good.

 

[Buerkletucson]

Here's the thing... it's kind of wrong to think of one of these as mono and two as stereo. The purpose of stereo is to use two enclosures that when the sound is combined it creates a staging... with a sweet spot. But what if you can create this staging with one enclosure, many drivers, and managed by a computer chip - and instead of a rather small sweet spot, most of the room is the sweet spot? That's what Apple is going for. The only purpose of a second enclosure is to deal with much larger room for more volume, not for stereo. That's why Apple calls using a second HomePod as "Full Room."

So to sit in front of it and it's supposed to relate to a screen, this might be awkward, not sure yet. We have to try it. If you are close to it and it is off to one side it won't be "everywhere, it'll be to your left. We aren't supposed to use it the way we did traditionally with speakers. To put two of these that close together on a desk would be a waste, I think.

Experiment.

This is what Apple says on their website......

Create stereo sound with a second HomePod.
Put another HomePod in the same room and they automatically detect and balance each other. With advanced beamforming capabilities, a HomePod pair is able to create a wider, more immersive soundstage than a traditional stereo pair.

Coming later this year

 

[Buerkletucson]

So, If I get a second HomePod now before Apple has the firmware update available.....
What can I do with it without running some oddball software?

Can I play the same music source (non-stereo) from both speakers in anyway or is the second one a boat anchor until Apple releases the update?

 

[tywebb13]

So, If I get a second HomePod now before Apple has the firmware update available.....
What can I do with it without running some oddball software?

Can I play the same music source (non-stereo) from both speakers in anyway or is the second one a boat anchor until Apple releases the update?

As I said before you can use both homepods in stereo using Airfoil. You can also use both as non-stereo too if you want by not setting right and left balance.

Airfoil is hardly oddball. It's quite good actually.

More info about the software is at their website: https://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

And how to set up the homepods using Airfoil is in the video I posted earlier.

 

[Buerkletucson]

As I said before you can use both homepods in stereo using Airfoil. You can also use both as non-stereo too if you want by not setting right and left balance.

Airfoil is hardly oddball. It's quite good actually.

More info about the software is at their website: https://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

And how to set up the homepods using Airfoil is in the video I posted earlier.

OK....Thanks
I'll give it a try........guess I can afford $29 after getting two Homepods.

Hope Apple comes out with the update in a timely manner.

 

[Phil77354]

OK....Thanks
I'll give it a try........guess I can afford $29 after getting two Homepods.

Hope Apple comes out with the update in a timely manner.

Airfoil sounds interesting, but the two HomePods I have at either side of my iMac now sound quite good as it is. I can wait for AirPlay 2.

I took a look at the Airfoil website, and I do not see any claim that the product is going to deliver 'stereo' sound with two HomePods. It looks to me that it is simply giving various ways to stream music to multiple speakers, in sync. The pages describing Airfoil for Mac, or Airfoil Satellite for iPhone etc., for example, do not contain the word 'stereo' anywhere on the page.
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As I said before you can use both homepods in stereo using Airfoil. You can also use both as non-stereo too if you want by not setting right and left balance.

Airfoil is hardly oddball. It's quite good actually.

More info about the software is at their website: https://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

And how to set up the homepods using Airfoil is in the video I posted earlier.

I don't see stereo mentioned on the Airfoil website, perhaps you can give a specific link as to where it states that it has that capability?

 

[Buerkletucson]

Airfoil sounds interesting, but the two HomePods I have at either side of my iMac now sound quite good as it is. I can wait for AirPlay 2.

I took a look at the Airfoil website, and I do not see any claim that the product is going to deliver 'stereo' sound with two HomePods. It looks to me that it is simply giving various ways to stream music to multiple speakers, in sync. The pages describing Airfoil for Mac, or Airfoil Satellite for iPhone etc., for example, do not contain the word 'stereo' anywhere on the page.
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I don't see stereo mentioned on the Airfoil website, perhaps you can give a specific link as to where it states that it has that capability?

So, how are you streaming to (2) Homepods at once?
You mention you can select both in iTunes......it allows you to do that and stream to both simultaneously?

Thanks.....

 

[Phil77354]

So, how are you streaming to (2) Homepods at once?
You mention you can select both in iTunes......it allows you to do that and stream to both simultaneously?

Thanks.....

Yes, I have both HomePods on my desk playing, as well as one in the living room and one in the bedroom.

 

[tywebb13]

perhaps you can give a specific link as to where it states that it has that capability?

I posted the link before. Obviously you didn’t watch the video.

Here it is again then.

 

[essential]

Someone already set up the stereo homepods via Airfoil and got it working without having to use the iOS 11.3 betas:

The trick is basically to have 2 copies of Airfoil and setting one homepod with left balance and simultaneously setting the right balance for the other homepod.

I wasn't so much curious if it could stream to two HomePods, but if it could do it without latency issues, which it can't, so HomePods as computer speakers won't work well. Maybe AirPlay 2 improves that.

So, how are you streaming to (2) Homepods at once?
You mention you can select both in iTunes......it allows you to do that and stream to both simultaneously?

Thanks.....

You've been able to stream to multiple AirPlay speakers at once from iTunes for a while. I've streamed to three different AirPlay speakers at the same time in the past from iTunes ... no stereo, but they were all in sync. HomePod should be no different, from iTunes multiple HomePods should be able to be selected, they will just be playing identical music streams, no stereo differentiation.

 

[Phil77354]

I posted the link before. Obviously you didn’t watch the video.

Here it is again then.

I see, thanks. Well, that is apparently one way to do it, maybe the only way at the present time.

My point was that the Airfoil site itself doesn't claim stereo capability, but as you point out the guy in the video has figured out how to use two copies of Airfoil to separately stream the left and right tracks and create stereo sound that way.

I doubt very many people will want to go to that much trouble, but for those who do have the interest, it seems that this is one way to do it.

Thanks.

 

[tywebb13]

I doubt very many people will want to go to that much trouble

It is not much trouble.

But the problem is that it is only available for mac or windows pc - not an ios device.

I actually prefer playing music via my iphone, not my computer.

I guess if I want stereo homepods now I will have to change my way of doing things temporarily until apple update the homepods and also release ios 11.3.

Nevertheless I think the Airfoil method is in fact an answer to the original question posed in this thread.

 

[Phil77354]

It is not much trouble.

But the problem is that it is only available for mac or windows pc - not an ios device.

I actually prefer playing music via my iphone, not my computer.

I guess if I want stereo homepods now I will have to change my way of doing things temporarily until apple update the homepods and also release ios 11.3.

Nevertheless I think the Airfoil method is in fact an answer to the original question posed in this thread.

Actually the discussion regarding the Airfoil method goes beyond the original question posed in this thread which simply asked if two HomePods would work, it acknowledged that stereo was not yet available (from Apple).

That's not saying it is not useful, I'm sure many others will have interest in Airfoil and the information provided was surely helpful to them.

 

[tywebb13]

Actually the discussion regarding the Airfoil method goes beyond the original question posed in this thread which simply asked if two HomePods would work, it acknowledged that stereo was not yet available (from Apple).

That's not saying it is not useful, I'm sure many others will have interest in Airfoil and the information provided was surely helpful to them.

Perhaps I should have made it clearer that I was referring to the actual title of this thread: “Stereo HomePods for Mac setup.”

 

[tywebb13]

I doubt very many people will want to go to that much trouble

I just gave this Airfoil version of stereo a go with 2 homepods and it works really well.

I've been using a single homepod for a week. I had one at home and one at work. Now I finally took the one at work home and got this Airfoil thing going.

I have to say homepods in stereo is MUCH better than a single homepod (as good as a single homepod may be). So I won't be going back to just the single homepod again. From now on it is stereo for me - with or without apple's update. Thanks Airfoil!!!

(And if you want to really be blown away by stereo try Verdi's Requiem: III Tuba Mirum. I used this to test it out and Airfoil passed with flying colors!)

Instructions on how to use Airfoil for stereo homepods.

If you don't want to take 10 minutes watching the video I posted earlier and want to quickly set stereo up with Airfoil here are some instructions.

Disclaimer: I'm not here to advertise for Airfoil. Furthermore this use may be temporary since an update from apple is coming which will enable stereo. (On the other hand these guys seriously deserve money. I had no hesitation in paying them. And if you want stereo now and don't want to wait for apple to get their act together with their updates then you shouldn't either).

1. Download AirFoil from Rogue Amoeba’s website. AirFoil is a paid application at $29 per user.

2. Once you have AirFoil downloaded, copy it to your Application folder.

3. Open it and ensure that all of your AirPlay-enabled devices appear.

4. Choose your audio source. Easiest way is to choose System Audio. Then all sounds from the mac will play. But if you are a bit fussy about mouse clicks not coming through for example you can select specific apps instead which will exclude such noises.

5. Go to your Applications folder on macOS and find the AirFoil app. Right click on that file and choose “Duplicate.” This makes another copy of Airfoil called Airfoil copy.

6. Open Airfoil copy. It will open right over the Airfoil window. Move it away from it.

7. In AirFoil, choose the HomePod that’s on the right side of your configuration. Click the equalizer icon along the top and drag the “Balance” slider all the way to the right side. This will play only the right channel through that HomePod.

8. In AirFoil copy, choose the HomePod that’s on the left side of your configuration. Click the equalizer icon along the top and drag the “Balance” slider all the way to the left side. This will play only the left channel through that HomePod.

So here is my setup: (Bedroom is the right homepod and Bedroom (2) is the left homepod)

Main windows: (unfortunately the apps both call themselves Airfoil, not Airfoil and Airfoil copy so it can be a bit tricky to see which one is which - not hard though once you get used to it.)

Left and Right Balances:

 

[AppleRobert]

Yes you can. In fact you don't even need to wait till Airplay 2 multi room is ready, you can use the older Airplay 1 and play to multiple speakers with iTunes.

Just ignore, what I wanted to inquire about cannot be done yet without airplay2.