By the way, one of the criticisms of the HomePod is that it’s not as good of a ‘home assistant’ as the Google and Amazon offerings. That may be related to the fact that it’s not uploading your conversations to a central server (at least as I understand it). It’s more of a smart audio device and apparently functions well in that capacity. Though I don’t own any of the above devices, so I’m going entirely on what I’ve read.
The way to handle it is to have it play the easier to understand stuff or the stuff you know by the exact name by voice and use Airplay for the more complicated stuff. While I do use the voice controls quite a bit, like most people, I often lay on the couch (or stand around in the kitchen waiting for the toaster) with the iPhone or iPad in hand and just use Airplay or use the direct control of the HomePod from the phone. In my experience, the HomePod's version of Siri is better for music than the iPhone's version. Just the example you gave me with the "Nos" in the title worked on the HomePod and I could never get it to work on the iPhone. As you mentioned, there is something strange in the way these servers work on individual devices. If anything, you would think the iPhone would have the best version, but for music, the HomePod is much better. I have also tested using commands with my Echo Dot and when it comes to finding exact albums, I think HomePod is better. I tried to get the Dot to pick the Beatles for Sale Mono (which is in my Amazon library) and it had no idea what I was asking for. The long classical title you had me test on the HomePod got nothing but a "bonk" sound from the Dot. I am not even sure it knew I was asking it to play music. Where the Dot is better is that it has TuneIn and Pandora available, so if you just want to listen to one of those channels, it can do it. The HomePod has access to your Podcasts and Apple Music, which to me, are more important with the way I listen to audio, so I mainly use the HomePod for music nowadays. I do still keep the Dot in the kitchen for timers and random trivia, but it gets a lot less use now that I have the HomePod.
Since I own all of them, you can make the HomePod give up much faster than the competitors when it comes to random trivia. If you want an assistant for trivia and third party skills, the Dot is the best overall, though Google can probably answer more far-out questions that the Dot can't because of their deep search engine and all of the information they have been gathered. So, if you don't care about third party skills, the Google Home may be ideal. Personally, I rarely use my Google Home Mini. I have it my office and use it occasionally to play music (I also subscribe to Youtube Red and own Casting devices). I could get rid of it tomorrow and never miss it. I much prefer the Dots/Spot. The HomePod's version of Siri is better for the way I listen to music and I consider it a speaker more than an assistant. As I have mentioned, the value of a good assistant is negligible. It comes in free apps and sub-$40 devices. Those can be easily and cheaply be added to a house with a HomePod and you get the best of both worlds. In other words, dumb speakers can cost tens of thousands of dollars and assistants are around $30 if you want to buy one. There is more value in a good speaker. I think Apple concentrated on the speaker because they can't change hardware down the road. They can add software updates to make it better after the fact. As I said, get the HomePod if you have an Apple Music sub, want Airplay, and/or want decent sound in small convenient package. Get something else if you want to know the average length of a hippo.
Just got one. Can't say much to the sound quality at the moment, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the Homepod is able to be controlled through the iOs Music app. So you can pick albums with odd titles through there without using Airplay or Siri. Using Siri to play songs has been fun, though. I tossed out a bunch of song names while I was making lunch and was happy with the results.
As a wet finger in the air, would you say that there is anything immediately noticeable/bad about the sound as a first impression? Obvious lack of midrange, overly pronounced bass etc?
I found that ‘out of the box’ it is a bit bass heavy for my tastes. I am using it to stream my personal library(s) over AirPlay and have not tried it with Apple Music. I am using the iTunes equalizer to set output with the “bass reducer” profile on iPad and a custom EQ setting from a Mac Mini and it sounds fine. Having said that, I will say that it does produce a nice full bass for such a small device. So far I am enjoying the sound I’m hearing. The obvious negative for me is the lack of Home Sharing support so you can use Siri for local library control. My hope is that they’ll feature this in future software updates.
The way I plan to use it -- when it comes to Canada -- is have my music selection be through my Apple Tv in the same room, and Airplay it to the HomePod. I think it's going to be brilliant. I love the AppleTV for music.
I love my HomePod. Glad I didn’t update, because the new HomePod update decreased the bass for some reason
You’d take my Apple TV from my cold dead hand. I have a stereo system I have to pack up for at least 3-4 years as a baby is in the house; the HomePod can deliver pretty good sound, take up very little room and channel an immense library, and looks good to boot. It has its applications. Not everyone has a dedicated room for a massive hi fi rig and the attendant 10k strong record collection eh?
When I listened to one in the Apple Store, I thought the bass was a little overblown (like some Beats headphones). The update is suppose to correct that and boost the midrange. Haven't heard it, but if I were voicing it, that's what I'd do.
Would the HomePod be appropriate to put in a middle shelf of a bookshelf? Does it vibrate considerably or move on the surface?
I wonder if they will add any type of EQ for it in the long run? People have different tastes when it comes to bass, so being able to tweak that one level, would result in a lot more happy users. I was under the impression that they change some of the EQ on the fly based on the genre, but I am not sure about that. I think they used that silicon bottom to kill most of the vibration. However, you need to put something between the bottom and the bookshelf if you don't want to risk leaving a circle on the wood.
iOS 11.4 was released today. According to Apple, it "includes AirPlay 2 multi-room audio, support for HomePod stereo pairs" AirPlay 2 Control your home audio system and AirPlay 2-enabled speakers throughout your house Play music at the same time on multiple AirPlay 2-enabled speakers in your house, all in sync Control AirPlay 2-enabled speakers from Control Center, the Lock screen, or AirPlay controls within apps on your iPhone or iPad Use your voice to control AirPlay 2-enabled speakers with Siri from your iPhone or iPad, HomePod, or Apple TV Take a call or play a game on your iPhone or iPad without interrupting playback on your AirPlay 2-enabled speakers HomePod stereo pair This update supports setting up your HomePod stereo pair using your iPhone or iPad HomePod pair automatically senses its location in the room and balances the sound based on the speakers' locations Advanced beamforming provides wider soundstage than traditional stereo pair HomePod will automatically update to support stereo pairs, unless auto updates are disabled in the Home app
No, it can be more like "Al Green or Marvin Gaye"? With both artists LPs already clean enough to eat off of. Slap on Green's hits and the all-analog mastered slab of wax should do its magic if the lights are already low.
So I now have a wonderful new use for the HomePod, thanks to iOS 11.4/tvOS 11.4 (brings AirPlay 2), and a repurposed Apple TV 4 + $20 HDMI embedder from Amazon. I use the AppleTV as a source for my second zone audio, which is my backyard/patio area. I have my HomePod in the kitchen. With the 11.4 update, I can simply say "Hey Siri, play Jimi Hendrix in the backyard", and music starts out there immediately. I can make this request via HomePod, or via iPhone/iPad. If I want to play something specific where I think voice request may not return a desired result, I can use AirPlay from my iPhone/iPad to send it to that specific "backyard" AppleTV and/or HomePod and they're both in sync. Next step: setting up Alexa to control my AVR that feeds the backyard. I have all the equipment, just need a couple of hours to configure. End result: "Alexa, turn on music in the backyard", "Hey Siri, play Jimi Hendrix in the backyard". Slightly clunky using both Amazon/Apple, but since I have an Echo Dot(s) next to the HomePod, it's really only a matter of everyone in my family keeping Alexa/Siri straight on who-does-what. Why go through all this effort? Well using a remote and/or apps to accomplish the same thing definitely works, but it can be a steep learning curve for the rest of my family. Since they didn't design how everything interconnects, if you get one step out of order, you're likely to end up with no sound at all. With voice control, it should definitely be more intuitive and even fun to use.
I am a big fan of the new Airplay 2 features, as well. I have my HomePod sitting in a spot where I can use it in the kitchen, dining area, and living room. I have my AppleTV hooked up the main system in the living room, so I can use either or both for music. I love being able to just tell the HomePod to play music in the Den and have it play automatically. It is nice for when I am lounging on the couch. I have an Airport Express in the backyard setup, but I would love for Apple to come out with an audio only device that works with Airplay 2 and the HomePod.
I am about to pull the trigger on the HomePod on Monday when it’s released in Canada. Please elaborate for me on the sound and if Airplay works well to the Homepod from an Apple TV — also, can one disable Siri on it? Does it sound good?
Yes, it sounds good. I assume you're asking about disabling Siri on the Apple TV? You can't disable Siri on the HomePod, that's 90%+ of the way most people interact with it
Yes, my AirPort Express was my main "destination" for streaming music to the living room, and it also fed the backyard. Since it was/is obvious it's not getting AirPlay 2 support, I replaced it with a spare Apple TV 4 I had. To get decent sound into my AVR for both main room + Zone 2/backyard, I had to get an HDMI de-embedder (optical) + this DAC. The resulting sound is quite good, and it is working as expected. "Hey Siri, play Van Halen in the backyard". Rock on!!
I’ve been using Airport Express as well, but it seems it’s day has passed. Would love to take advantage of AirPlay 2, but with an AppleTV 4 I’d also need to use the HDMI de-embedder to use optical out to my DAC/preamp. Which one did you buy?
I bought this de-embedder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BIQER0E/ The sound is crap via analog, but otherwise it does the job quite well. Yeah, I'm bummed about the AE too. But I only paid $50 for mine (refurb), so I guess I got my money's worth. I could always use it in the garage hooked up to some PC speakers I have with optical input. So it's not totally useless. I do miss the smaller form factor!
For me it isn't a huge problem to stick with the AE in my sunroom since I often like to change up music, so I use my iPhone to control it anyway. If they came out with a audio only Airplay 2 device I would get it, but I am not overly concerned just yet. I have three supported AppleTVs, so I could run audio out to the backyard, but I prefer just having a stand alone system out there. I will just see how it goes. I have some options if it gets annoying.
I bought a HomePod which was delivered yesterday. I have to say I think it sounds really great as a casual listening device and streamer. It looks great too. The most impressive listen of the day for me was Radiohead’s a moon shaped pool — although it’s a “mono” speaker, there were some really impressively “3D” sounds coming from it, especially Daydreaming. I suspect it is going to handle “new” music quite well. Vocals really stand out on it, too, if one likes that.
