obviously you are right, but if Apple insists on just one EQ setting I think it is nothing but bait and switch to change that EQ setting after the launch of the speaker with no warning. my speaker now SOUNDS DIFFERENT. doesn't matter that some like it better, some who paid the same $349 each think it sounds WORSE and well we are past our return period. I hope Apple does the right thing and gives us options.
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HomePod WARNING: HomePod 11.3 significantly changes EQ, please read before updating
- Thread starter canyonblue737
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obviously you are right, but if Apple insists on just one EQ setting I think it is nothing but bait and switch to change that EQ setting after the launch of the speaker with no warning. my speaker now SOUNDS DIFFERENT. doesn't matter that some like it better, some who paid the same $349 each think it sounds WORSE and well we are past our return period. I hope Apple does the right thing and gives us options.
But, but, but....according to many on here, the sound was purportedly amazing before and all the negative blind tests were wrong...blaming curtains and placement for the reason the HomePod didn’t come out in front. Why in the world would they change the sound?
I am by no means an audiophile, but I updated mine as soon as it came out, and nobody in my household has commented on the sound being ANY different. My wife and son are in the living room right now listening to Sowing the Seeds of Love by Tears for Fears (yes, I am old) and it still sounds fantastic... This is a very subjective issue....
I agree. The bass is still there it just removed the exaggerated boominess. I kinda miss it on certain tracks but I much prefer this more tame version. there were a few particular songs that were just muddled and unlistenable when compared to headphones but it sounds great now.
It’s improved to me. The bass is still there and the midranges come through cleaner. If you want a thumping bass, increase the volume. It’ll still knock your socks off, unbelievable for such a small speaker. Previously, even at low volumes your house would shake. It’s more balanced now.
This was my impression when I got home to listen.
I notice the sound more now than when I first received it which then I thought the speaker wasn't really that wow inspiring. The wow factor for me was how wel and far away Siri could hear me and the music quality just left me at a middle point. I didn't dislike it and I didn't like it.
Now, for me where my homepod is sitting and has been since day 1, it sounds noticeable better.
I do, but it seems like a waste for me currently. I really only want it for HomeKit stuff because I have my high end stereo system in the same room hooked to my Apple TV. Everything sounds great about it, but I just feel like it's a waste of money for me.
I’m surprised this isn’t presented as a bigger deal in the media or through discussions, but there really has been changes made to HomePod’s EQ. It’s odd that Apple didn’t address this themselves.
The bass has been reduced. I’ve noticed it with a lot of my songs, and it’s very validating when you are able to crank up the volume over 50% and it isn’t as overbearing as before (and by overbearing, I mean enough to annoy my neighbors... but the bass was amazing and clear).
It sounds really flat now. The bass sounded very amazing at a lower volume, now it isn’t as pronounced. I did like it very much previously, but I guess my neighbors won’t complain as much anymore...
Too bad the rest of the world won’t be able to experience the HomePod’s initial sound signature. I wish it was how it used to be.
And you can tell they tweaked the mids and highs too.
The bass has been reduced. I’ve noticed it with a lot of my songs, and it’s very validating when you are able to crank up the volume over 50% and it isn’t as overbearing as before (and by overbearing, I mean enough to annoy my neighbors... but the bass was amazing and clear).
It sounds really flat now. The bass sounded very amazing at a lower volume, now it isn’t as pronounced. I did like it very much previously, but I guess my neighbors won’t complain as much anymore...
Too bad the rest of the world won’t be able to experience the HomePod’s initial sound signature. I wish it was how it used to be.
And you can tell they tweaked the mids and highs too.
Personally I’d only get it if you expect to listen to music daily. $350 is a lot to lay for a HomeKit microphone.
I didn't realise mine was on auto-update. At least I assume it is (still cannot find the option), but I was listening to it thinking it sounded a bit flat, like it had lost the punch it had and came here to see if anyone had experienced the same problem as me.
Turns out it's an update that has caused this, not a defect in the speaker.
For the position it is in, and the type of music I listen to, this has turned considerably worse. Anyone else listen to R&B, drum & bass or any Rap music and feel it now just founds flat with no bass at all? It really does just sound dull.
Turns out it's an update that has caused this, not a defect in the speaker.
For the position it is in, and the type of music I listen to, this has turned considerably worse. Anyone else listen to R&B, drum & bass or any Rap music and feel it now just founds flat with no bass at all? It really does just sound dull.
The only thing that makes me laugh about this is Apple decided the HomePod would set up the sound perfectly FOR YOU and do it all FOR YOU and then they go and change the sound in it's first update.
So are they really saying that have absolutely no clue what sounds good?
So are they really saying that have absolutely no clue what sounds good?
Apple is trying to set the balance for the perfect sound, tuned for a collective ear that we all have.
Maybe Apple should just admit and surrender to the fact that their customers are individuals, who all have different ears for music.
Maybe Apple should just admit and surrender to the fact that their customers are individuals, who all have different ears for music.
I wish they would, all we need are a few presets to choose from and we can all be happy.
Same problem. Its horrible now, totally different.
For the folks who like the new EQ better... I'm happy for you, but that doesn't change the fact without warning, notification, or even acknowledgement Apple has changed my speakers, which I have already paid for, to something different. That's wrong.
For the folks who think it sounds the same... I'm also happy for you, but certain genres of music didn't display the deep rumbling bass before, so they still don't now. That doesn't mean the EQ hasn't profoundly changed.
For Apple... I'm so disappointed. My first computer was the very first Macintosh 128k in 1984. I have Apple everything: iMacs, MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, AppleTVs, Apple Music etc. and I feel like I went out on a limb buying two HomePods for $700 when I knew they didn't support features my old Sonos speakers did (pairing, whole house audio) and had a terrible AI bundled inside (Siri) but I trusted Apple would make improvements with time. For my confidence I'm rewarded with $700 worth of speakers I used to love that now sound to me like cheaper Jawbone / Amazon Echo speakers I could buy for $99. Ugh.
It has less to do with sound than the room measuring algorithm which THEN adjusts the sound. I wish everyone would stop with APPLE CHANGED THE SOUND. No, they changed the room measuring algorithm. How do I know this? Let me explain...
I tested the HomePod in about 5 different locations in a couple of rooms. In the typical spots that had really boomy bass when I first got the HomePod, it is now indeed toned down. But in spots where it used to sound thinner and less bassy is now a bit more full and bass is a bit more boomy.
Getting my HomePod shipped next week from a 3rd-party retailer so I presume it‘s still on the old OS... any advise if I should or should not update it for the time being? Or are there any songs that I could listen to where the old, supposedly better bass is really noticeable before I could make that choice?
I mean, when AirPlay 2 drops then I‘ll update either way so it‘s kind of delaying the inevitable, but for me this is the first dedicated high-end speaker I‘m buying and if Apple really nerfed the sound then I‘d like to know what the full/best sound experience with it can be like.
I mean, when AirPlay 2 drops then I‘ll update either way so it‘s kind of delaying the inevitable, but for me this is the first dedicated high-end speaker I‘m buying and if Apple really nerfed the sound then I‘d like to know what the full/best sound experience with it can be like.
I have just set up my second HP, sent the first one back two weeks after launch because there was just too much bass for my liking.
The new one is till on 11.2.5. I am just listening to a few tracks and it still has that annoying overbearing false bass. A little later on after listening to a few more songs i will update to 11.3 and see if i can tell the difference, i certainly hope i do hear a difference, less bass and a bit more treble would be nice.
I will be doing this without moving the HP to a different location, i will just reset it once i have updated to 11.3 so it can adjust itself with its spacial awareness thingy.
think about what you are saying. what does it matter? the algorithm helps the HomePod set its internal EQ. if the algorithm has been changed and now it tells the HomePod to use less bass than before in an identical placement it makes no difference to the end user, the sound changes! i get it, you think the new algorithm is "better" and that the bass previously was overemphasized... maybe so, but the bottom line is many, many folks including myself bought the HomePod and kept it because we enjoyed the sound, a sound which to many of us has now changed and for the worse but now we can't return our speakers and we had no warning!
Exactly what you said. I don't hate the HomePod, but it does sound different. I had no issue with its initial sound and kept it because I liked how it sounded much fuller than any comparable speaker. It still sounds better than any other smart speaker out there, but the change was unnecessary.
I have had my second HP for 2 days now, returned the first one shortly after launch because there was too much bass for my liking.
When i set the new one up it was still on 11.2.5, so i listened to it for a while and it still sounded the same as my original one with too much bass, couldn't stand listening to it. Then i updated it to 11.3 and tried it again leaving it in the same location. There is definitely a reduction in bass, it sounds much better now, i used to hate listening to it but now but now i like listening to it.
Now i don't know whether Apple has changed the EQ settings or whether they have changed the detection algorithm, but no matter where i put it in the room now there is definitely less bass for sure. It used to be so sensitive to placement it was unreal, it really used to make a big difference as to where you placed it, but now itdoesn't matter where you put it the change isn't that dramatic.
I still think Apple could improve the sound further by giving it a bit more treble as it still sounds a little bit muffled, but just a little bit, whereas on 11.2.5 it was very muffled.
I also still think Apple should give us some presets to choose from so it can then suit all peoples tastes, then we can all be happy. They give us presets and EQ settings on our other devices so they must think they are needed.
When i set the new one up it was still on 11.2.5, so i listened to it for a while and it still sounded the same as my original one with too much bass, couldn't stand listening to it. Then i updated it to 11.3 and tried it again leaving it in the same location. There is definitely a reduction in bass, it sounds much better now, i used to hate listening to it but now but now i like listening to it.
Now i don't know whether Apple has changed the EQ settings or whether they have changed the detection algorithm, but no matter where i put it in the room now there is definitely less bass for sure. It used to be so sensitive to placement it was unreal, it really used to make a big difference as to where you placed it, but now itdoesn't matter where you put it the change isn't that dramatic.
I still think Apple could improve the sound further by giving it a bit more treble as it still sounds a little bit muffled, but just a little bit, whereas on 11.2.5 it was very muffled.
I also still think Apple should give us some presets to choose from so it can then suit all peoples tastes, then we can all be happy. They give us presets and EQ settings on our other devices so they must think they are needed.
