I'm going to hold on to my two OG HomePods for as long as possible because they sound amazing and required 0 setup. But the writing is on the wall and eventually I'll need to a look for a long-term alternative. I know nothing about audio / home theater and am fine paying any amount of $$ to get an equivalent setup that sounds just as good and ideally requires very little setup. Please offer suggestions/advice!
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HomePod What other audio system sounds as good for music as 2 stereo OG HomePods?
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Both Mark Gurman and Ming Chi Kuo are reporting that one is on the way but they’re not in agreement on the time frame. I’m cautiously optimistic as they’re not 100% right but they are mostly right… and this is MacRUMORS lol.
This article is from three days ago…
https://www.whathifi.com/us/advice/apple-homepod-2-price-release-date-features-and-latest-news
To answer your headline question in a literal sense: "What other audio system sounds as good for music as 2 stereo OG HomePods?", there are about 10-million different permutations of real-hifi separates from the last 60 years to present day that will utterly waste the homepods on sound-quality alone.
But that's probably not the answer you were looking for.
EDIT: just for clarity, I accept the homepods have their uses and i'm not dissing them, but if we're talking sound-quality above all other factors, it's really not hard to spend probably less money on gear, especially 2nd hand gear, that will absolutely bury them in the ground.
But that's probably not the answer you were looking for.
EDIT: just for clarity, I accept the homepods have their uses and i'm not dissing them, but if we're talking sound-quality above all other factors, it's really not hard to spend probably less money on gear, especially 2nd hand gear, that will absolutely bury them in the ground.
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To expand on @MajorFubar's statement, no all-in-one speaker system like a HomePod will ever come close to a system with a good receiver and speakers that are separated far enough apart to actually sound great. The HomePods were sold for $300, so $600 will buy you a better sound system than two HomePods. But if the two homePods make you happy, then I hope they last a long time. BTW, I wouldn't put any validity in anything Gurman and Kuo say as those guys mostly guess, and they are wrong at least as often as they are right.
There is a website that actually tracks their accuracy and they are both well over 50%
Source Leaderboard - AppleTrack
Top Apple Sources in 2022 # Name Accuracy 1 🐟 Ross Young 92.9% 2 🏀 Mark Gurman 86.5% 3 📉 Trendforce 84.5% 4 🎧 52audio 83.3% 5 🕘 9to5Mac 82.8% 6 ❓ MacRumors 72.7% 7 🇨🇳 China Times 72.7% 8 👨💻 Ming-Chi Kuo 72.5% 9 🧻 Jon Prosser 69.1% 10 🍍 Max Weinbach 69% 11 ...
appletrack.com
Understanding how component audio works and not relying on all-in-one solutions is, IMO, well worth the time and effort. As others have said, a carefully considered stereo or multichannel audio setup will completely destroy a HomePod for audio quality and flexibility. But building that system, like doing anything the "right" way, takes time, research, and likely a greater investment than $600, and only you can decide what is most important—absolute quality, or your time spent achieving it?
If you're really committed to buy, plug-in, and run away, Sonos is your best bet. Are there ways in which the HomePod is better than most Sonos gear? Yes. But in terms of ease of setup and use, there's not much else on the market that's plug-and-play but with a focus on audio quality. And Sonos has a good range of options that allow you to tailor your setup without a ton of fuss.
If you're really committed to buy, plug-in, and run away, Sonos is your best bet. Are there ways in which the HomePod is better than most Sonos gear? Yes. But in terms of ease of setup and use, there's not much else on the market that's plug-and-play but with a focus on audio quality. And Sonos has a good range of options that allow you to tailor your setup without a ton of fuss.
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I have Sonos and while they are good for what they are, they are not in the same league as a real home theater audio system, even a very moderately priced one.
In my opinion, audio quality is far more important than video quality for the home theater experience. I would spend twice as much on audio as on the video (monitor), and spend far more time positioning and planning for the audio. Most people get it completely the wrong way round, and add a few speakers as an afterthought.
You also cannot defeat physics. You cannot put big (wide frequency) sound in small plastic boxes using small drivers, despite what the marketing says (and your interior decorator wants).
In my opinion, audio quality is far more important than video quality for the home theater experience. I would spend twice as much on audio as on the video (monitor), and spend far more time positioning and planning for the audio. Most people get it completely the wrong way round, and add a few speakers as an afterthought.
You also cannot defeat physics. You cannot put big (wide frequency) sound in small plastic boxes using small drivers, despite what the marketing says (and your interior decorator wants).
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I don't have a HomePod. I have a couple of Kali Audio nearfield monitors. I'm sure HomePods wouldn't come close to those when I'm sitting at my computer but I can imagine that a HomePod or something similar might sound better from across the room.
I would never have anything less than a real home theater setup in my living room. I have HomePods in every room of the house though for airplay 2 music all around
I also have two OG Homepods in a pair in our family room, and to be honest they are all that I need 98% of the time. The only time they aren't quite up to speed for me, is if we are watching a big movie and want even bigger sound, but this is so infrequent that further investment (our other room has a fairly good Bose system also) is not warranted at this point in time.
One day the OG Homepods will struggle I'm sure, Sonos would be the likely replacement, if it happened today the Arc + Subwoofer would be on the short list. Not sure what else.
One day the OG Homepods will struggle I'm sure, Sonos would be the likely replacement, if it happened today the Arc + Subwoofer would be on the short list. Not sure what else.