I tend to ignore comments sections, especially this early when hardly any of them will actually have the product.

I do think there is a consensus though amongst reviewers that it sounds excellent for a one box speaker, and that gives some cause for optimism when the pairing becomes available.  But at the same time, reviewers of a more audiophile bent i think do lean towards it being just an excellent one box speaker, and nothing that transformational. If it was, even the tech (not audio) press would have gone further than to say that sound wise its better, but not that much, that the Sonos offering. 

Even the YT review i posted earlier observed that there are other sound bars that achieve better separation than the HomePod. And for all the flatness of the curve, as the reviewer says, of you like to be enveloped by music, than the HomePod will disappoint. And i suspect 2 paired still wont achieve that. (for the record, i am an Apple devotee, and have heard a HomePod in an Apple Store). And re the flatness of the curve, it cant be that impressive if the reviewer thought it was very bass heavy (no surprise i guess), and that the bass seemed overly separated from the rest fo the instrumentation.

Sure it will have its place though, especially when over time Apple opens up the architecture a bit - no TuneIn or similar radio service is a major downer to me. Hopefully that'll get addressed in a year or so. And it does look plenty good enough.

Sandyb wrote:

And i suspect 2 paired still wont achieve that.

You hope!??? 😕

Ha! And no, not at all, would love to be pleasantly surprised.

2 HomePods should sound very good i would have thought - but at 700 USD, i doubt that combo will sound any better (and probably worse) than a pair of decent stereo bookshelves with a capable amp. 

But of course, its a different product category, so comparisons only mean so much - for those who value the "smarts" of these speakers, the HomePod and its ilk definitely have their appeal, and Apple seem to have made an excellent sounding one. 

Sandyb wrote:

for those who value the "smarts" of these speakers

And for people like me who only use Siri to hear her mangle Japanese names and words.  "Hey Siri what's playing?"  Actually she doesn''t do too bad, but to hear her say "Kyary Pamyu Pamyu"...

jimcaj wrote:

Sandyb:

a proper test from an audio sensitive guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzbTRMIFL-4

Thanks. Very interesting clip. Warms my old hi-fi heart.

Sandyb wrote:

Even the YT review i posted earlier observed that there are other sound bars that achieve better separation than the HomePod.

I have read online that the Homepod will be very expensive to repair as it is glued and welded together. For e.g. if the power cable needs replacing it costs $279 to have it fixed. Apparently the salesperson is supposed to inform customers about the repair costs when they buy the Homepod.

I just wonder how exactly people imagine they could get a stereo separation from a single HomePod and its speaker placement? Amazing how Apple is scrutinized to insanity for "not delivering" the impossible. :)

BenSA wrote:

I have read online that the Homepod will be very expensive to repair as it is glued and welded together. For e.g. if the power cable needs replacing it costs $279 to have it fixed. Apparently the salesperson is supposed to inform customers about the repair costs when they buy the Homepod.

 

 

$279 to replace the power cord? To remove it is a straight pull: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjxILSOfJmQ

Roger

The speaker placements within the HomePod remind of the BL90, the automatic room adaption looks like the one found on the BL5 - and it sounds as good as the BL2? Hm. Now I'm keen on testing this unit out myself. 

Roger