bye bye Homepod

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Jason Davies

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Mar 17, 2021, 6:17:23 AM3/17/21
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I gather the original Homepods are being withdrawn (they're marked as 'while available') so I thought I'd share my experience of them.

I got a stereo pair last summer (one at a time) and I think they're absolutely superb sound. One is good but two is much better. If you've thought about getting them for a stereo pair, I would say you won't regret it.

We have a mini for the tv and I think the sound is disappointing. I wouldn't buy a mini again (maybe they're better in stereo...) but I would buy a pair of the full, and expensive, Homepods again.

However: they're not good for computer sound. You can only output to one of them as a speaker from the Mac (unless it's iTunes/Quicktime) and the wifi lag means they're no good for eg meetings.

They're not brilliant for playing specific music via Siri. I frequently get told it can't find something that I know I have. I've even said 'hey siri what's playing now?' and it says Song X by Band Y from the album Z. If I stop it then say 'hey siri play Song X by Band Y from the album Z' Siri then reports it can't find it. This is apparently a bug if you don't subscribe to Apple Music (grr..I have iTunes Match but not Apple Music). If you want to just play a band, it's great, just don't expect to get a particular song reliably!

It's absurd how well it picks up your voice even with music playing loudly. I arrange all my calendar stuff via Siri on Homepod now as it's much less fiddly than doing it manually.

Ok, hasty review over. If you've been tempted, and want it for use with AppleTV/Music, go for it while you can;)

Cheers,

Jason

andrew lancaster

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Mar 17, 2021, 6:27:17 AM3/17/21
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I also have a pair of them and agree - the sound is quite amazing. Also agree about Siri and the lack of cooperation! Sometimes it will play things when I ask for them but more often it will play something totally different. And asking for classical music by, say, a French composer, or Sibelius -is a no. 

But I love being able to find things via my phone and playing those then adding them to my library. I haven’t thought to arrange calendar or anything like that - thanks for the idea! And presumably I could “dictate” emails or messages?

Brilliant sound and if you are after a pair - grab them the minute there is a price drop!

Andrew
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Virginia Routh

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Mar 17, 2021, 6:56:24 AM3/17/21
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I have a LG sound bar attached to HDMI on TV which produces excellent sound.  Classical music is my thing and I can listen to concerts on YouTube with pleasure.  

On 17 Mar 2021, at 10:17, 'Jason Davies' via Sussex Mac User Group <sm...@googlegroups.com> wrote:


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Gillian Snoxall

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Mar 17, 2021, 6:59:40 AM3/17/21
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Virginia, may I ask if your TV is a large-screen one? We have a very small TV (24”) and the sound, even with a sound bar, is lousy.

Gilly



Virginia Routh

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Mar 17, 2021, 7:16:56 AM3/17/21
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It’s a Panasonic Viera 106 cm wide. The sound without sound bar is OK for speech but music sounds tinny. 


From my iPhone

On 17 Mar 2021, at 10:59, Gillian Snoxall <gillian...@gmail.com> wrote:

Virginia, may I ask if your TV is a large-screen one? We have a very small TV (24”) and the sound, even with a sound bar, is lousy.

Jason Davies

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Mar 17, 2021, 7:25:17 AM3/17/21
to 'andrew lancaster' via Sussex Mac User Group

One or two other things: making a phone call (not video) is great. My mobile signal is poor unless the phone is right by the window. You have to face the Homepod to get good mic but people say it's fine at their end. So I just put the phone there and say 'hey siri, ring Jane Bloggs'

I also dictate messages occasionally eg 'tell Joe Bloggs I'm running five minutes late' (note it passes on the words literally) and might get it to read one out ('hey siri, what was my last sms?) and it offers to reply.

I do think they should have added a physical line in. That would have driven sales much higher and cut out the lag. They overdid the sleek clean thing!

Cheers,
J



Cheers,

Jason

Martin

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Mar 17, 2021, 7:26:35 AM3/17/21
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I have 2 homepods and agree with everything said so far about how good the sound is as a pair and the issues with Siri. 

For my Samsung TV I've bought a Sonos Arc, plus Sub 3 base speaker and 2 small SL rear speakers. Sound is superb

Martin

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/smug/6D2A3A8C-3DED-4314-AC86-A73F199A54D5%40gmail.com.

mac98aop

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Mar 17, 2021, 8:11:08 AM3/17/21
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Yes, we're the same!

Bought one HomePod and just loved the sound, but as ever, couldn't resist the reviews of the stereo pair and yes, the difference is better than just two HomePods. Wow! I'm a newbie audiophile and about to enter the world of vinyl, but the HomePods have been a treat. Couldn't recommend them more highly, whilst yes, Siri can sometimes go off in a huff. But, for us she's certainly happy we're on Apple Music.

We also have a mini in the bedroom, and nope, of course it's not as good. But, we were really pleasantly surprised at the sound. It's clear, rich and in somewhere like a bedroom, ideal for room filling gentle sound, clear crisp notes and nice use of handoff for the Today programme to accompany the morning ablutions!

If you can afford a pair reduced, or as I did, very cheap on Gumtree, you likely won't regret, especially if 'sound' outweighs 'smart'.

AP

mac98aop

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Mar 17, 2021, 8:12:09 AM3/17/21
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Oh, and having several with the new intercom makes it much easier to get the children down for dinner without hollering up the stairs!

Stephen Watson

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Mar 17, 2021, 9:49:38 AM3/17/21
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We have a stereo pair and they do sound great ... but I often find the bass is excessive, their only real audio failing in my eyes. The bass extension is amazing for the size though. If Apple never change the firmware it would be nice if they would provide an app or something to allow the frequencies to be tweaked as you can on the Mac but one that would “stick” with the HomePod.

We use them with an Apple TV and the sound, for films and the rest is excellent.

As suggested earlier, an input socket would have been very handy and increased their utility no end.

Stephen

You meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it. ~ Carl Jung

On 17 Mar 2021, at 10:17, 'Jason Davies' via Sussex Mac User Group <sm...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



I gather the original Homepods are being withdrawn (they're marked as 'while available') so I thought I'd share my experience of them.

I got a stereo pair last summer (one at a time) and I think they're absolutely superb sound. One is good but two is much better. If you've thought about getting them for a stereo pair, I would say you won't regret it.

We have a mini for the tv and I think the sound is disappointing. I wouldn't buy a mini again (maybe they're better in stereo...) but I would buy a pair of the full, and expensive, Homepods again.

However: they're not good for computer sound. You can only output to one of them as a speaker from the Mac (unless it's iTunes/Quicktime) and the wifi lagng means they're no good for eg meetings.

They're not brilliant for playing specific music via Siri. I frequently get told it can't find something that I know I have. I've even said 'hey siri what's playing now?' and it says Song X by Band Y from the album Z. If I stop it then say 'hey siri play Song X by Band Y from the album Z' Siri then reports it can't find it. This is apparently a bug if you don't subscribe to Apple Music (grr..I have iTunes Match but not Apple Music). If you want to just play a band, it's great, just don't expect to get a particular song reliably!

It's absurd how well it picks up your voice even with music playing loudly. I arrange all my calendar stuff via Siri on Homepod now as it's much less fiddly than doing it manually.

Ok, hasty review over. If you've been tempted, and want it for use with AppleTV/Music, go for it while you can;)

Cheers,

Jason

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Virginia Routh

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Mar 17, 2021, 9:53:34 AM3/17/21
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Hi Martin. Interesting what you say about the Sonos Arc.  I have been pondering whether to upgrade to it.  I like the idea of surround sound.  Can you tell me - how do you connect the SL speakers to the sound bar?  Virginia

On 17 Mar 2021, at 11:26, Martin <martin...@gmail.com> wrote:



Jason Davies

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Mar 17, 2021, 10:17:52 AM3/17/21
to 'Stephen Watson' via Sussex Mac User Group
On 17 Mar 2021, at 13:49, 'Stephen Watson' via Sussex Mac User Group
wrote:

> ... but I often find the bass is excessive, their only real audio
> failing in my eyes

I'll grant you that– it seems to be very specific frequencies that get
exaggerated (in practice, particular songs) but I thought it was the
shelves I have them on!

Cheers,

Jason

Stephen Watson

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Mar 17, 2021, 2:58:20 PM3/17/21
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No, it’s the definitely HomePods! I have a pair of larger speakers and a sub woofer in my HiFi and they didn’t chuck out the quantity of bass that the HomePods do. I’ve given feedback to Apple about it (though that is probably a total waste now) and specified one particular song where the bass is so much I can’t listen to it. It’s mysterious as it’s often just fine, but now and then it goes totally overboard.

Always sounds great on TV/film via Apple TV though ...

Stephen

You meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it. ~ Carl Jung

> On 17 Mar 2021, at 14:17, 'Jason Davies' via Sussex Mac User Group <sm...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
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Martin

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Apr 5, 2021, 11:26:41 AM4/5/21
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Virginia, 

You connect other Sonos speakers to the Arc i.e the Sub or SL's via the Sonos app on your mobile device over wi-fi. Lots of videos on YouTube. 

Martin

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