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Homepod: Great audio, crap delivery!


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Homepod: Great audio, crap delivery!
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2020-11-19, 16:30

I will say the one mini sounds great. It is not as good as the Sonos Ones, but close. I can totally image it being awesome. I am not going to pair these so I won't be able to test for you guys. I already have Sonos on my TVs.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2020-11-20, 10:50

Ok, this has been the worst Apple product set up ever for me.

I have a family and wanted to set up the various voice recognition options like it should. We've had to get devices updated that weren't on 14.2.

One daughter's iPad just won't allow intercom at all. The only option for notification is "Never". Still haven't worked through that.

Mrs T even had issues just getting Siri to recognize it is her.

On the surface it was simple; plug it in, put my phone near it. Answer a few set up things like what room it is in and then ask it questions or tell it to turn off/on lights. Play forest noises, rain etc...

Once we get into the deeper features it was just a pain. I'm still struggling to get intercom working as advertised for iPads and such.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2021-03-13, 20:59

All over the news today is a headline that I'm sure surprises no one: HomePod is dead, long live HomePod mini!

While the HomePod might have sounded great there was no way I was going to put cash into that. $99 ($89 with veteran discount) was easy to part with.

I know I'm not the only one who felt that way either.

Now, I won't say I'd be surprised if there is a new step up from the mini that also has Thread in it, but I'd be a little surprised. I'd also bet that the next Apple TV will have Thread in it given it can be a HomeKit hub too.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2021-03-13, 21:29

Never could find a use for the dumb thing. We got notified yesterday at 5:45 that they were discontinued and to take our signage down. Good riddance. I think we sold maybe 8 or 9 of them.

The price was not the issue. The sound was not the issue. Rather, the near total lack of usefulness was the issue, and by that I am not referring to the quality or musical delivery. They're just a pain in the ass to use. The Mini is no better, because it's still driven by the same subscription thoughtlessness. I have a large iTunes Library on the computer, and getting the dumb things to look at that library consistently is just short of mystical. I couldn't possibly care less about Apple Music. I just want to listen to the music I have in my library, and Apple seems to have carelessly ignored that in favor of a poorly designed interface bent on delivering subscriptions for one music service or the other.

And that you have to have an iThing to make it work is just plain dumb!

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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
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2021-03-14, 00:39

No surprise the Homepod is dead, smart speakers are just odd ball devices. Every time Apple launches one of these home speaker type things it's a flop, anyone remember that hifi speaker thing they release 10-15 years ago? Anyone even remember what it was called? iPodhifi or something along those lines? They should stick to what they are good at, not speakers.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2021-03-14, 01:17

Oh, they're good at speakers. They're just not good at "speakers".
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Frank777
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
 
2021-03-14, 01:51

Quote:
Originally Posted by kscherer View Post
The price was not the issue. The sound was not the issue. Rather, the near total lack of usefulness was the issue...
And then there are the paranoids like me, who don't want any more microphones embedded all over my house.

Trying to find a good speaker without a mic these days is like trying to find a non-smart TV. I don't think that's a coincidence.
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
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2021-03-14, 12:15

There are tons of passive speakers without mics, you just have to not buy crappy cheap plastic powered speaker junk from tech companies. Klipsch, Polk, ELAC, PBS, and other audio brands don't cater to that crowd for the most part, all you need is a good stereo amp and you're good to go.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2021-03-14, 22:14

There are tons of connected options that use an amp and passive speakers for sure. There are also options that don't have voice assistants or ones you just don't configure it and it doesn't work. I don't know of any that have a physical disconnect for the mic though. I know there is a Sonos One variant that has no mic in it. Able to be AirPlay'd to but no voice stuff at all.

Fo us we have gotten really used to the mini but generally end up using it to play content on our Sonos speakers. The mini isn't bad, but not great for that at all. All the voice assistant things are actually nice though.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2021-03-15, 06:36

Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank777 View Post
And then there are the paranoids like me, who don't want any more microphones embedded all over my house.

Trying to find a good speaker without a mic these days is like trying to find a non-smart TV. I don't think that's a coincidence.
You want the Sonos One SL. It's the same as their normal One but with no mics or smart speakers. $179. I have 3 One SL as well as other Sonos speakers around my house.

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
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Frank777
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
 
2021-03-15, 11:01

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey View Post
You want the Sonos One SL. It's the same as their normal One but with no mics or smart speakers. $179. I have 3 One SL as well as other Sonos speakers around my house.
Cool. Thanks!
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bassplayinMacFiend
Banging the Bottom End
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
 
2021-03-24, 11:08

I have 2 in a stereo pair and they sound great and fill the foyer, kitchen, and dining room with audio. Still less expensive than my Technics rack system I got at Lechmere’s in ‘94, which these speakers replaced (the Technics amp finally died). One of the speakers sits next to my Edison Home Phonograph, to remind me how far music playback has changed since 1903.
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Matsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2021-03-24, 11:33

Frank, also check out Ikea Symfonisk. It's basically a Sonos One/One SL repackaged by Ikea under licence from Sonos, with no mics. The bookshelf version has recently been dropped to $129 CAD. It has a couple of useful wall bracket and rod mount options that might be useful for some spaces. Supports all the same features. Sonos S2, stereo pairing. Nice cheap option.

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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2021-03-24, 19:29

If you're looking for something beefier, I have the Sonos 5 too. It doesn't have a mic. I don't think they've added one. I've had it for a few years. Sonos is what Apple tried to do.

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
  quote
Frank777
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
 
2021-03-24, 20:50

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matsu View Post
Frank, also check out Ikea Symfonisk. It's basically a Sonos One/One SL repackaged by Ikea under licence from Sonos, with no mics. The bookshelf version has recently been dropped to $129 CAD. It has a couple of useful wall bracket and rod mount options that might be useful for some spaces. Supports all the same features. Sonos S2, stereo pairing. Nice cheap option.
This looks cool. Especially the model that doubles as a lamp. Haven't been to IKEA in a long time (No cafeteria, no sale...)

Will have to check it out in person soon. Needed to pick up a couple of their automated blinds anyway.
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Matsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2021-03-25, 08:44

I didn't like the lamp in person the first time I saw it, but it's growing on me. I can't believe I hadn't thought of it until just this moment: the shade can be adapted/replaced with a little ingenuity. In fact, a lot of Ikea's standard shades will drop right in!

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Matsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2021-03-31, 12:59

oops

Last edited by Matsu : 2021-03-31 at 13:00. Reason: wrong thread
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2021-03-31, 13:18

I have the Ikea Symfonisk in my shop and gym. They do a great job filling the room with decent sound. The guts are made of slightly cheaper parts according to a teardown compared to the Ones with Sonos branding though. Given those parts aren't expected to fail much faster than the ones Sonos uses it is worth the savings.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
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