Audio Engineer Shares Thoughts After Spending an Hour with HomePod

An audio engineer who goes by the name of WinterCharm on Reddit, got an hour to play with the HomePod, following which he shared his initial thoughts on Apple’s first ever smart speaker (via The Loop). When he heard the HomePod side by side with the Sonos Play One and Google Home Max, he found it much better than both in terms of sound quality.

Homepod

He highlights how walking around in the room with HomePod playing never gives the feeling like you’re leaving the sweet spot. The speakers sound accurate, never introducing extra bass when the song didn’t call for it, he writes. “Volume is more than adequate. 40% was fine for me. Pushing them to 80% was really fun.”

Below are a few excerpts from his review:

“Fucking hell this thing is TINY. It’s really surprising to see it in person. Hefting it is odd, too. The fabric is soft but firm. It was also lighter than I was expecting. It’s also very pretty. Aside from the single cord coming out the back, there is no idication that it has a particular side/front. It’s built to blend into whatever space it’s in, rather than stand out.”

“The first impression was the neutrality of the speaker. The HomePods are tuned for an as-true-to-recording sound. When the song calls for it, there is bass. When the song turns to crystal clear highs, they are reproduced faithfully. What really was interesting is the instrument separation in the room.”

“At about 45% volume, the HomePod FILLED the room I was in with some great sound. When you walked away from it, the sound gets quieter, but not as quickly as you’d expect. All the details were still there, just softer. there was no feeling of walking out of the sweet spot that you get with a normal speaker. And that’s when it hit me… Apple really has done it.”

You can read the entire Reddit thread at this link.

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