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RIP HomePod
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Thorzdad
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Mar 13, 2021, 09:08 AM
 
Apple is discontinuing the original HomePod. Will focus on the HomePod Mini.
     
OAW
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Mar 14, 2021, 01:11 AM
 
Well that sucks.

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P
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Mar 14, 2021, 12:59 PM
 
They never even sold it here. The HomePod mini is still not available.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
OreoCookie
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Mar 14, 2021, 08:07 PM
 
I bought a HomePod for Christmas (a family present), and I like it for what it is. It doesn’t get anywhere near the Wharfedale speakers with a NAD amp, which I gifted to my brother upon moving abroad, but it is omnidirectional, which was an important factor. I’m glad I didn’t go for a pair of the minis, I’m quite certain the sound wouldn’t compare to them.
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Paco500
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Mar 16, 2021, 08:05 AM
 
I've had one for a year so- as soon as I saw this news, I immediately ordered another. Looking forward to hearing them as a pair. Planning on using them as low budget Dolby Atmos for AppleTV as well. Has to be better than the tinny sound coming out of my 5 year old TV. Which is very not 4K.
     
ort888
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Mar 16, 2021, 03:21 PM
 
I bought a HomePod mini and really wasn't impressed by it. I wanted it primarily as a desk speaker for playing music, but it sounded very "small". I ended up returning it...

I like the idea of the big HomePod, but it was always a little more than I wanted to spend and for what they charge, the fact that it's literally impossible for a non-Apple device to connect to it is a big turnoff for me... even though we're pretty much an all apple family... it's still dumb.

I have zero interested in the "smart" aspect of these and just want them as music players.

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OAW
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Mar 16, 2021, 04:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
I bought a HomePod mini and really wasn't impressed by it. I wanted it primarily as a desk speaker for playing music, but it sounded very "small". I ended up returning it...

I like the idea of the big HomePod, but it was always a little more than I wanted to spend and for what they charge, the fact that it's literally impossible for a non-Apple device to connect to it is a big turnoff for me... even though we're pretty much an all apple family... it's still dumb.

I have zero interested in the "smart" aspect of these and just want them as music players.
HomePods … the OG and the Mini … are best as stereo pairs. They really are greater than the sum of the parts. I too thought a single Mini sounded good but “small”. But after hearing them in a stereo pair I replaced an OG in my bedroom with them because at low to moderate volume (which is more than plenty in such a space) it is about 90-95% the sound quality of a single OG at the same volume in the same space. The former bedroom OG joined its counterpart as a stereo pair in the living room. A much bigger space with very high ceilings. And the two of them together can fill that space with excellent sound quality with ease whereas a single one was very good but not great at that task.

OAW
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Mar 16, 2021, 04:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by Paco500 View Post
I've had one for a year so- as soon as I saw this news, I immediately ordered another. Looking forward to hearing them as a pair. Planning on using them as low budget Dolby Atmos for AppleTV as well. Has to be better than the tinny sound coming out of my 5 year old TV. Which is very not 4K.
How can Homepods be “Dolby Atmos”? I don’t think that makes any sense. I assume you just mean speakers.
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ort888
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Mar 16, 2021, 06:58 PM
 
Yeah, I thought about buying a second and making them a pair, but I was so unimpressed with how one sounded, that I figured I would wait.

I've been working from home with AirPods Pro drowning out the sound of my kids being virtual schooled... and when they went back to school I figured I could drop the headphones and just play music... but everything sounds so much better with the headphones, I decided to just stick with my AirPods for now.
( Last edited by ort888; Mar 17, 2021 at 11:07 AM. )

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Laminar
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Mar 17, 2021, 08:41 AM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
How can Homepods be “Dolby Atmos”? I don’t think that makes any sense. I assume you just mean speakers.
Apparently the big Homepod has "spacial awareness" and can take an Atmos input and adjust to the room they're in to create virtual surround sound.

Atmos doesn't work with straight channels like something coded for 5.1 or 7.1, it gives a location in the room. And I guess the Homepod can work with that data to some degree.
     
Paco500
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Mar 17, 2021, 11:11 AM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
How can Homepods be “Dolby Atmos”? I don’t think that makes any sense. I assume you just mean speakers.
I don't really understand it, but apparently if the video coming out of the Apple TV is encoded for Atmos, which apparently a good bit is, the HomePod can interpret it and provide some degree of virtual surround, kind go like some soundbars.

I'm so far from an AV expert, but a guy I work with has this setup and raves about it, so I thought I would give it a go.

Will report back when I get it set up.
     
EmilyCanham
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Mar 18, 2021, 05:16 AM
 
Some people might say it is a flop product. But in my point of view, HomePod isn't a flop. In fact, the HomePod is selling really well and almost more than 3 million Hompod sell in a year 2019
     
Paco500
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Mar 18, 2021, 06:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by Paco500 View Post
Will report back when I get it set up.
So I got it all set up, and this is what I can say. With music, the sound of a stereo pair is, in my opinion, better than 2x as good as a single unit. I am in no way an audiophile, but it sounds pretty amazing.

As for home theatre? Huge step up from the built in speakers on my TV, and in the limited testing I've done, there is an small illusion of surround sound. Nothing like a real multi-speaker setup, but I'm happy with the upgrade and feel it was money well spent.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Mar 18, 2021, 08:13 PM
 
Ahhhh ok, got it. Kind of like the home theatre virtualization some new sound bars are doing nowadays—basically scanning the room to beam sounds where possible.

I’m in the middle of adding in-wall rear speakers to my current 3.1.2 Atmos home theatre setup and was suddenly wondering if all this work running wires was just made obsolete by technology. Guess I’m still on the clock....
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Laminar
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Mar 22, 2021, 09:42 AM
 
We just rewatched Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse and I think it's one of my favorite movies to watch in the theater room. The visuals are incredible and the sound is amazing - lots of big lows, killer soundtrack, great use of surround sound.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Mar 23, 2021, 11:51 PM
 
Yes, great Atmos audio track. And killer 4K too.

Another much more adult choice is A Quiet Place. Absolutely phenomenal use of Atmos.
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