I always wonder about the qualifications of these “specialists” especially those who add phrases like “fucking hell” into their “professional” reviews. If you compare a HomePod to a Sonos Play 1 you are comparing a $199 item (the Sonos Play 1) to a $349 item (the HomePod). Not quite double in price, but now with the Sonos 1 smartspeaker which is basically the same as a Play 1 as far as sound goes, you can often find deals on Play 1 speakers where you probably can buy 2 Play 1 for the price of 1 HomePod and I would certainly hope the HomePod sounds better given it’s much higher price. I wonder how the HomePod stacks up against the Play 5 from Sonos, it’s the same comparison the other way, $349 for the HomePod and $499 for the Play 5. If the HomePod in fact sounds better than the Play 5 then I would say Apple has really done it.
Regards, Sieghard From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Maria Reyes Sent: Monday, January 29, 2018 7:04 PM To: macvisionar...@googlegroups.com; viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: Trained audio engineer gives his opinion on the HomePod Hi all, Got this article from another list. Audio Engineer Shares Thoughts After Spending an Hour with HomePod Usman Qureshi<http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/author/usman/>7 hours ago An audio engineer who goes by the name of WinterCharm on Reddit<https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/7t51a2/nda_is_up_what_can_i_tell_you_guys_about_the/>, 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<http://www.loopinsight.com/2018/01/29/homepod-an-hour-in-the-hands-of-an-audio-engineer/>). 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<https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/7t51a2/nda_is_up_what_can_i_tell_you_guys_about_the/>. Maria Reyes Owner of the Apple 411 list: apple411+subscr...@groups.io<mailto:apple411+subscr...@groups.io> Click this link to join the Apple 411 WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/0bMtIrmqoyzJwnbRjqjPsO -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: mk...@ucla.edu<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu>. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com<mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com> The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>. To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: mk...@ucla.edu. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
