HomePod vs Airport Extreme delay

[kleetsjen]

I use an iPad in a teaching environment and currently stream audio via an Airport Extreme to a speaker plugged in with a 3.5mm jacks in a couple of rooms. For music, any Airplay delay is not a problem, but I’d like to stop the audio between sentences and restart from exactly the same place. When I do that now, the audio picks up a few words into the next sentence.

If I ditch the Extremes and buy a couple of HomePods, will I be able to stop and start Airplay directly with no lag? I.e. so that I can stop the audio between sentences and start from exactly the same place?

 

[cynics]

Do you mean the AirPort Express?

How are your speakers connected? Through an amp or direct to the 3.5mm port?

 

[kleetsjen]

I always assumed it was an Extreme (it's flat and square) and the one that plugs directly into the wall was the Express, but looks like I'e been wrong all these years and it is indeed an Express.

I have some JBL Creature 2 speakers plugged directly into the 3.5mm port.

 

[waw74]

you'd probably be better off with a bluetooth device.
they do make ones with headphone jacks, so you could plug into your old speakers.
and it would save you a ton of cash, as the ones I've seen are under $30 each.

I just did a quick test, HomePod, iPhone and Spotify. When hitting pause, music continued to play for a couple seconds, then stopped. when I hit play again, it picked up from where it stopped.

I'm not sure if others will be able to alter settings on the HomePod if they are on the same wifi.

Depending on what age your students are having a device they can talk to might not be the best plan.
Also depending on who has access to the room, there's no way to secure it unless you have a cabinet or something to lock it in.

 

[pup]

My AirPort Extreme takes much longer to connect, start, and stop than any other airplay device, including the HomePod. However, all of the airplay devices I've owned have lagged to a certain extent - HomePod, AppleTV, AirPort Express and Sonos.

How many speakers are you playing to at once? I've found that Airplay responsiveness decreases as you add more speakers. With one, there is no delay when stopping, but a little when starting. With two, you start to see a little delay in one speaker when stopping. With three, the delay is obvious, and of course it gets worst from there. If it works for your situation, the best solution would be to have all your speakers wired to a single device; i.e., run an airport express output into an amp with multiple outputs, or to a headphone splitter if you're using powered speakers.