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Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

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Re: Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

#241

Post by kybernetyk »

garblegarble wrote: post #128
kybernetyk wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Siri complain time? Well, my newest problem with Siri is: Let's say I want to play some classic song (like Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd). So I say "hey siri, play sweet home alabama" - and what I get is not the original one but some newish remake/remix/reinterpretation. Why on earth would you play some unknown version over the popular original? Oh also ... what's the "next song pls" command in German? With Al…

Does "Hey Siri überspringen" work? Voice assistants really need to get away from their pretense that they're magical at understanding languages and just provide a long documentation page showing what you can say... and also take feedback on that page so people can provide more idiomatic ways to express that same command. Apple do actually have such documentation[1 English][2 German] but it's far from comprehensive, a…

>überspringen

Even if it works - it's still way too long. "weiter" is a very short word. "überspringen" is like having a deep conversation with my mp3 player :)

Re: Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

#242

Post by kybernetyk »

nytesky wrote: post #136
kybernetyk wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Siri complain time? Well, my newest problem with Siri is: Let's say I want to play some classic song (like Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd). So I say "hey siri, play sweet home alabama" - and what I get is not the original one but some newish remake/remix/reinterpretation. Why on earth would you play some unknown version over the popular original? Oh also ... what's the "next song pls" command in German? With Al…

Are you using Spotify or Apple Music as your streaming service. We had endless problems with cover bands and tribute songs rather than the mainstream song when we used Alexa with Spotify (which baffled us as I expect that would be the most common configuration). We currently use Apple Music and Google Nest devices since our mesh network has them built in. Music works fine. Podcasts are a curse on humanity — if you sa…

Apple Music. Don't know if you can use Spotify with the Homepod's Siri

Re: Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

#243

Post by astrange »

perardi wrote: post #87
jsjohnst wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Buy $299 or something that has artificial stupidity like Siri? Well, in fairness, it’s designed first as a music device, the Siri seems like almost an afterthought. That said, Spend $299 on a wireless speaker where the stereo pairing often fails, has random Wi-Fi connection issues (that no other Apple device has), and is otherwise hindered by issues? Nah, fooled me on the first gen, fooled me again on the HomePod m…

That what confuses me about the market fit here. It’s not an amazing voice assistant. It’s OK as a wireless speaker, but Sonos is almost assuredly better, and similar aesthetics and ease of use. So this is targeting…uh?

HomePods sound better than Sonos One. (But also cost more.)

https://www.rtings.com/speaker/tools/compare/apple-homepod-v...

Re: Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

#244

Post by astrange »

agloeregrets wrote: post #90
blowski wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m very much an anecdote here, but want to give a different perspective. I’m an Apple “fan” (at least, I have more of Apple’s devices than other brands), and I don’t want voice activation. I don’t feel comfortable something listening to all my intimate family conversations. Maybe Apple fans are more likely to be privacy conscious. All that being said, it doesn’t need to be either or. They could have a great Siri pro…

You want a Sonos SL or Ikea Symfonisk (Sonos sw/hw in Ikea design). Great products, no mic, Airplay 2 support, massive group pairing and the same room detection tuning Apple bragged about in the Homepod via the App on a phone instead of mics. (Sonos holds the patent on it and famously made no claims about Apple stealing it while asking Google and Amazon to pay licenses, aka: Apple Ponied up.)

Room detection isn't exclusive to Sonos, unless you're claiming YPAO/Dirac/Audyssey also licensed it. The HomePod is different because it does detection at the source, where everything else needs you to sample with a mic or phone app.

Re: Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

#245

Post by astrange »

AriaMinaei wrote: post #96

Speaking of smart speakers, I'm moving to a new flat and I'm looking for some good old dumb speaker setup. The smartest that I'd let it get would be a Bleutooth dongle. As a recovering Audiophile, I'm gonna stay away from r/audiophile lest they temp me to sell my kidney to afford that extra 5% in "acoustic fidelity." Seriously, I'm happy with the 95%. Now, how do I go about putting together that sound system? Or in A…

Used KEF Q150 if you mean full sized speakers. Or these: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-surround-sou...

> Or in Audiophile terms, what is the DT 770 Pro of home stereo setups?

You want speakers with a weird treble hump and sibilance?

Re: Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

#247

Post by gnicholas »

criddell wrote: post #198
yowzadave wrote: post #130

HomePod is the most annoying piece of technology that I still frequently use. I was an early buyer of the first version, but this update doesn't address any of the complaints that I have about it: 1. No audio line-in! It's a $300 speaker, it sounds great...sometimes I'd like to be able to just plug something into it. If you have a record player, you have to have a separate set of speakers for it, because this thing w…

Audio line-in would be nice even if it's just to get rid of wireless latency. If they had that, I'd buy a pair today just to test with my home office receiver.

Is it possible to pipe sound into a Mac or iOS device, which then sends it to the HomePods? Macs can now use HomePods as the sound-out, so presumably this would be possible (but kludgy).

Re: Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

#248

Post by 1123581321 »

Hippocrates wrote: post #137

I F'in LOVE the OG HomePods. The sound quality absolutely slaps for the money/size/convenience. I've got one for music in the kitchen and it fills the room like a setup 3x as large. The bass response even at low volumes is remarkable, and clarity through the whole volume range is near perfection. Many of my guests have sourced their own OGs after hearing it. I've got another hooked up to my Apple TV (mono) that repla…

I keep Siri disabled on them because of small children, and I felt I got full value just from the audio quality and being a nice Airplay target.

But, I recognize that other people have little need for its audio quality, but really wanted a non-Alexa smart voice device, and it was dismaying for them to pay $350 for a household Siri device that was unreliable.

Like you said, since the OG HomePod came out, a lot more people know what Siri is and isn't good for, so expectations should be closer to HomePod 2nd gen's real-world performance. At least I hope so.

Re: Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

#249

Post by robotresearcher »

danbee wrote: post #240
AriaMinaei wrote: post #96

Speaking of smart speakers, I'm moving to a new flat and I'm looking for some good old dumb speaker setup. The smartest that I'd let it get would be a Bleutooth dongle. As a recovering Audiophile, I'm gonna stay away from r/audiophile lest they temp me to sell my kidney to afford that extra 5% in "acoustic fidelity." Seriously, I'm happy with the 95%. Now, how do I go about putting together that sound system? Or in A…

I love my AudioEngine A5's

I like my HD6s too. Onboard amp, two analog inputs plus optical and BT. Sound good to me.

Re: Apple HomePod 2nd Generation

#250

Post by agloeregrets »

astrange wrote: post #244
agloeregrets wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You want a Sonos SL or Ikea Symfonisk (Sonos sw/hw in Ikea design). Great products, no mic, Airplay 2 support, massive group pairing and the same room detection tuning Apple bragged about in the Homepod via the App on a phone instead of mics. (Sonos holds the patent on it and famously made no claims about Apple stealing it while asking Google and Amazon to pay licenses, aka: Apple Ponied up.)

Room detection isn't exclusive to Sonos, unless you're claiming YPAO/Dirac/Audyssey also licensed it. The HomePod is different because it does detection at the source, where everything else needs you to sample with a mic or phone app.

That room detection onboard belongs to Sonos. Auto Trueplay is what they call it.
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