New Apple HomePod

I got mine today too. Very clear with good detail like all the reviews said. My two Sonos One stereo paired are going on Craigslist :slight_smile:
I also grouped the HomePod in the bedroom and the Apple TV in the living room connected to my TV which is connected to Kef LS50W speakers. Works great and sounds great :slight_smile:
Iā€™ll use this to play in both rooms when getting ready for work in the morning.
It sounds like the ability to stereo pair HomePods is coming very soon so i will get another one and do stereo pairs in the bedroom.

Got mine at Best Buy first thing this morning.
Up and running. Roon sounds better than WiFi with Apple Music or my library.

Mono, good one Apple.

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And, as far as I know, no analog input. May be 3.5mm line in connector is too big, too open, for the design? Who knows.

so two hpā€™s compete with one Bluesound pulse2 (?)

Just unboxed my HomePod and it seems to be mostly working with Roon via AirPlay, though using the on-device volume controls seems to trip up Roon and cause playback to stop:

02/09 13:28:54 Trace: [Homepod] [HighQuality, 16/44 FLAC => 16/44] [100% buf] [PAUSED @ 2:08/4:33] Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John - Belle and Sebastian
02/09 13:28:54 Trace: [airplay/client] FLUSH was successful
02/09 13:28:55 Info: [stats] 3444mb Virtual, 1634mb Physical, 421mb Managed, 0 Handles, 49 Threads
02/09 13:28:56 Trace: [airplay/dacp] [airplay/dacp] got command 'setproperty' value=0
02/09 13:28:56 Trace: [airplay] unknown transport control: setproperty
02/09 13:28:56 Trace: [airplay/dacp] [airplay/dacp] got command 'setproperty' value=0
02/09 13:28:56 Trace: [airplay] unknown transport control: setproperty
02/09 13:28:57 Trace: [airplay/dacp] [airplay/dacp] got command 'setproperty' value=0
02/09 13:28:57 Trace: [airplay] unknown transport control: setproperty
02/09 13:28:59 Trace: [zone] no playback for 5s, suspending to release audio device
02/09 13:28:59 Trace: [airplay/client] Sending TEARDOWN
02/09 13:28:59 Trace: [zone Living Room] Suspend
02/09 13:28:59 Trace: [zone Living Room] Stop
02/09 13:28:59 Info: [zone Living Room] OnPlayFeedback Stopped
02/09 13:28:59 Trace: [airplay/client] Sending FLUSH
02/09 13:28:59 Info: [audio/env] [zoneplayer -> stream] All streams were disposed
02/09 13:28:59 Info: [audio/env] [zoneplayer] All streams were disposed
02/09 13:29:00 Trace: [airplay/client] TEARDOWN was successful
02/09 13:29:00 Info: [airplay] AirPlay device disconnected: AirPlayDevice[DeviceId=D4909CE7AAA0@Living Room._raop._tcp.local, Name=Living-Room.local, Model=AudioAccessory1,1, IPEndPoint=172.23.5.145:7000]
02/09 13:29:00 Trace: [airplay] disconnected
02/09 13:29:00 Trace: [zone] Homepod received transport control from endpoint integration: suspend
02/09 13:29:00 Warn: [airplay/client] FLUSH failed: 455 Method Not Valid In This State
02/09 13:29:00 Trace: [zone Living Room] Homepod received transport control from Living Room: suspend
02/09 13:29:00 Trace: [zone Living Room] Suspend
02/09 13:29:10 Info: [stats] 3442mb Virtual, 1633mb Physical, 421mb Managed, 0 Handles, 42 Threads

Hey wondering if you can give more of your impression with the Homepod? How does it compare with the LS50W? I know it is not in the same categoryā€¦

Thanks!!!

Yes Darwin, since I am also planning to buy LS50Wā€™s in the nest year(if the number of owner problems seems to stabilize) I would like to know your opinion

THanks

As an LS50W owner since the beginning with one set replaced I would finally say that it is stabilized.
The HomePod replaced a stereo paired set of Sonos Oneā€™s. I will be getting another HomePod and stereo pairing it as soon as that capability is available which seems pretty close.
I already sold the Sonos Oneā€™s on Craigslist :slight_smile: They were OK but the HomePod is quite a bit better and at least as good as my Play 5 which is also going on Craigslist.
I really like the 360 sound of the HomePod and it is clearer with more detail than the Sonos speakers.
The Sonos also fall apart in detail and bass gets really muddy at anything beyond 30 or 40 % volume and the HomePod stays the same. Really good sound quality.
Finally i am dumping Alexa for Homekit for privacy reasons. Siri has improved a lot more than shot people realize and its been working great for me for the HomePod but also lights etc.
I have not compared it directly to the Kefā€™s yet but will be doing that this weekend, maybe today and will post when I do.
The Kefā€™s are also attached to my TV and i will try the HomePod as an airplay speaker to my Apple TV and Apple TV is my only TV source as I donā€™t use cable or any other device to the TV.

I get that you are being snarky for some reason but you should read more about the HomePod. Better yet listen to one.
Itā€™s not Mono in the sense of a traditional speaker at all. What mono speaker has 7 tweeters all with their own amp directed by a powerful processor?
What mono speaker has 360 degree sound?
Or a woofer also with itā€™s own amplifier with a high degree of travel also directed by a processor.
Iā€™m pretty big on stereo seperation and a single HomePod does a pretty convincing job of it but as soon as stereo pairing is available I will buy another one.
Apple has shown it people in the past few weeks and itā€™s in the latest betaā€™s.
Or since a picture is worth a thousand wordsā€¦HomePod internals versus Sonos One internals.


sonos-one-inside-2

Roon does sound better.
I would synopsize Airplay 2 like this;

  1. Software only and no longer requires an Airplay chip. Most speakers should support an upgrade in place but some speaker companies will see Airplay 2 as a way to sell people new speakers.
  2. Stream faster than real time to minimize lag.
  3. Much larger cache than Airplay 1 also to minimize lag.
  4. The device can play from the source like Spotify connect does not requiring a direct connection from a device like an iPhone or iPad.
    I have used Airplay 1 extensively for years playing to multiple devices using Airfoil with no issues. This was mostly in a 5200 sq ft two story house and I never had lag issues.

Darwin thanks for your posts.

I also am surprised at the benefit of the 360 sound.
The Home Pod is in my office. I have Audioengine 5+ with sub attached to the computer, which if I am sitting in front of are certainly better. But I also sit on a couch in the room and if I am moving from place to place, the 360 sound is a more enriching experience.
Eager to see how Airplay 2 and software update to pair Home Pods improved experience.

Lots of reviews are highly critical of Siri and limitations of Siri in the Pod.

  1. Apple will improve
  2. Echos sound so shitty that the temporary reduction in function from Alexa is OK>
  3. I like Siriā€™s voice better

Iā€™ve read all about it , why would you assume I hadnā€™t? I called Apple to find out if it did stereo, nobody knew, I had to wait for weeks to find out. I get that youā€™ve bought one and a happy owner, neutral viewpointā€¦

360 degree sound? Iā€™m guessing it just works? Would that be a quote from Apple?

So stereo -buy another one and youā€™re talking about Ā£700. For that money you can buy a pair of Meridian DSP5000s, and a pretty great streamer. Two tweeters, one for each channel, doesnā€™t make tea thoughā€¦

Iā€™m not going to go back and forth with you.
You came here to dump on the HomePod even though you clearly donā€™t understand it or refuse to.

Iā€™ve been waiting ages for HomePod, excuse me for being disappointed itā€™s mono.

I just expressed my disappointment.

Donā€™t understand it? Iā€™ve had DSP speakers for 29 years, room correction for quite a while, I donā€™t understand sound reproduction or what mono is? This is about hifi, not insulting people.

This is how long Ive been waitingā€¦IMG_1252

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I edited some posts. Keep it civil, guys. :neutral_face:

So do you use your LS50W with optical out from your TV as well? If so, how is it with movies?

Yes I have a Samsung JS9000 which has an external one connect box for hdmi, optical, etc. itā€™s connected by a blue jeans optical cable. It works fine. I do everything by Apple TV, no cable or anything else. I replaced a high end Yamaha speaker and 5,1 speakers with the Kefs to minimize and because I care more about music quality than surround sound.
I havenā€™t done anything with the tv and HomePod or compared them to the Kefs yet. Probably tomorrow.
I would expect the Kefs to sound a lot better, They are $2200 after all. But Iā€™m still interested to compare.