Will HomePod 'kill' BeoPlay?

NickPG:

I haven't heard the HomePod but have the expectation that it will be better than the M3, and the M5 is £200 more expensive. Would two HomePods in stereo outperform an M5 - maybe..

My expectations will be that one HomePod will be about the same as the M5, and two HomePod's in stereo should out perform the A6.  The DSP on the HomePod seems to do some interesting things.  We will have to see if this extends beyond Apple Music, and what it does when stereo paired.  I will order 2 on Friday, but I will have to wait a while to hear it in stereo.  I can compare it to the A6 but not the M5.  I can report back if anyone is interested.

 

Mark-N:

NickPG:

I haven't heard the HomePod but have the expectation that it will be better than the M3, and the M5 is £200 more expensive. Would two HomePods in stereo outperform an M5 - maybe..

My expectations will be that one HomePod will be about the same as the M5, and two HomePod's in stereo should out perform the A6.  The DSP on the HomePod seems to do some interesting things.  We will have to see if this extends beyond Apple Music, and what it does when stereo paired.  I will order 2 on Friday, but I will have to wait a while to hear it in stereo.  I can compare it to the A6 but not the M5.  I can report back if anyone is interested.

 

Surely two decent speakers will always outperform a single at stereo given the fact that they can actually be separated and thus have at least half a chance of reproducing a "real" stereo image! Single speakers are OK for background listening but are no good for creating that (maybe 70's) experience of (possibly darkened rooms with) "closed eyed pretend you're there" listening!

On the other hand lets all walk around in public  and get the tube listening to sh1t MP3's!

moxxey:

A lot of people will buy the HomePod simply as it's from Apple. People are like sheep in this respect, sadly.

A lot of people won't buy the HomePod simply because it's from Apple. To each their own.

People who find value in it will buy it, and those who don't won't.

Sal:

People who find value in it will buy it, and those who don't won't.

Well,  for record, I will be buying HomePod. Just looking at the tech speck , I think it will be a great little speakers and it may be best sounding in that price range.

For real music listening, I only listen to real speakers (BL 5, BL 50) and the little speakers are just for fun and Siri integration. At $ 350 , HomePoD is cheap enough to be lots of fun and not expensive enough for a serious Apple vs. B&O shoot out...

 

svinaik:

Well,  for record, I will be buying HomePod. Just looking at the tech speck , I think it will be a great little speakers and it may be best sounding in that price range.

As will I, but later this year. My aim is to compare HomePod with comparable Sonos offerings. I'll buy only after Apple implements stereo pairing and multi-room, and only after Sonos implements Airplay 2. My comparison will help me decide which I'll go with for casual listening. That being said, the sound from HomePod would have to really wow me in order to overcome the amazing Sonos software. 

I just re-read what I wrote, and realized a BeoPlay product is/wasn't even in the running. I've been so underwhelmed with the B&O software as the gateway to my music that BeoPlay isn't worth the price of admission.

Software is what's ailing B&O / BeoPlay. But we all know that. 

Sal:

moxxey:

A lot of people will buy the HomePod simply as it's from Apple. People are like sheep in this respect, sadly.

A lot of people won't buy the HomePod simply because it's from Apple. To each their own.

People who find value in it will buy it, and those who don't won't.

Interesting reply, when you view the reviews of BeoPlay products here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/beoplay/reviews/

Of course, not saying that "some" people won't buy a HomePod as it's from Apple, but sadly the number of those people still outweigh ALL the people who will buy a product from B&O. Not being pessimistic, but realistic.

I’m sure the HomePod will sell. People trust products that come from Apple in terms of design, materials, software and general ease of use.

I think an issue with the HomePod is that it is late to the market and people that love the “smart” features have already purchased google home / home mini. I have 3 of them. They work with my BS1, 6, 9 etc.

When i bought the BS1 i thought this would have made an ideal “smart” speaker.

They have their limitations and as much as i say to my phone hey Siri, it never returns the results as i expect whereas the google home mini does. So whether that limitation will lessen peoples trust with the brand time will tell.

BeoPlay like many of its competitors have changed their products to be “dumb” BT devices, albeit sophisticated ones. I dont think it will kill BeoPlay but the level of trust will dictate whether there is an attrition.

It looks like you can turn off the always listening microphone on the HomePod.

At least according to 9to5mac, which found some of the possible options (relating to the HomePod) in the Home app.

There are plenty of reasons to be more trustful fo Apple's approach to your own data than Google, down to the way devices like the iPhone handle machine learning (its done much more locally to your device than by sending all your data, patterns and activity up to their servers for processing).

It may mean they're less able in than respect, but i'll take that as a compromise over me willingly handing everything i do / own over to Google.

But anyway, the HomePod looks like it will have the option to toggle off the always on speaker.

Completely agree.

I am somewhat staggered, disappointed and yet ultimately unsurprised how the language around audio and speaker has changed.

Reviews of these single unit speakers, whether they are cheap or more expensive, often refer to room filling sound. Its utter garbage - out of the many hundreds of these single-point speakers on the market, there may be perhaps no more than 5 that even get close to room filling sound (the A9, Naim Muso the better of the bunch).

The rest range from outright rubbish to OK at best, fine for a kitchen / bathroom, but not much beyond that.

Rant over.

 

Nice rant :-). It’s always needed

Interestingly the google home you can turn off the microphone but then it wont know when you say “hey google” which i wish you could program to be something else.

Weirdly though when i went in to the app, and it actually saves your actual voice and what you have asked the speaker - i found that a bit distressing, i thought it would just perhaps save your words (it does both). So i was like... oh I’m being tracked lol.

Then i got over it (to an extent)

I wonder if BeoPlay will adapt to a smart speaker themselves or do a collaboration? Beo X ??

I think perhaps their product line may become simpler perhaps.

I still see a market for BeoPlay as there are already smart speakers on the market and although i have them, i would NEVER use them for music. Just the time, the commute to work, the weather, sleep sounds (thunderstorm while I’m sleeping)

They (B&O) apparently have already chosen Voice Integration as a principal control interface for many / as many as possible of their products, using one or more of the existing voice assistants.

Personally i loathe them, but guess i'll have to use them one day. Just putting that day off until they actually work much much better than they actually do at the moment. Just because Amazon and Google have sold 10 million of the cheap 50 dollar versions doesn't necessarily suggest to me that voice control has taken off in a big way. But a good way of getting people habituated to using voice, by giving away dirt cheap hockey puck sized devices as a downpayment on the future.

Well, if some of what is stated in the article linked below is true, I'm not purchasing the HomePod however nice it sounds:

https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/23/homepod-can-play-purchased-itunes-music-podcasts-and-stream-beats-1-without-apple-music-subscription/

If it can't access music in my iTunes library that I've ripped from CDs, then that's a dud device in my book. No Home Sharing? Come on, Apple. For once, B&O's Twonky integration to make your iTunes library available via DLNA beats what 9to5 Mac are reporting as limitations to HomePod. Unbelievable.

Sandyb:

They (B&O) apparently have already chosen Voice Integration as a principal control interface for many / as many as possible of their products, using one or more of the existing voice assistants.

Personally i loathe them, but guess i'll have to use them one day. Just putting that day off until they actually work much much better than they actually do at the moment. Just because Amazon and Google have sold 10 million of the cheap 50 dollar versions doesn't necessarily suggest to me that voice control has taken off in a big way. But a good way of getting people habituated to using voice, by giving away dirt cheap hockey puck sized devices as a downpayment on the future.

I really struggle with voice control.

My New Year’s resolution was to start using voice command on my devices at least once a day to prepare for the new world of talking to plastic rather than people. I hate it. I swear so much.

But, I’m also a person who would rather use a keyboard than a mouse; if I must use a computer, so I’m probably not the best marketing target.

moxxey:

A lot of people will buy the HomePod simply as it's from Apple. People are like sheep in this respect, sadly.

 

you're 100% right!
People don't care about the quality or other brands. As soon as there's an Apple logo on something they're blind and ignorant. So the Homepod can sound as awful as it looks: Many people will buy it!