Amazing price for one of the best smart speakers available
Apple HomePod Space Grey $299 @ Harvey Norman
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lovesabargain88 on 20/05/2020 - 16:31 harveynorman.com.au (934 clicks)
Last edited 20/05/2020 - 16:58 by 1 other user
Last edited 20/05/2020 - 16:58 by 1 other user
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Sound quality wise I think they're definitely one of the best speakers.
'Smart' wise, no chance. As a massive iOS fan, Siri is utter garbage.
Lack of basic connectivity is a major downfall though.
that about sums it up.
plus im so sick of fiddling with apple tv and homepod output, constantly have to fiddle with it, then when plex works and you switch to youtube back to toggling crap again
Key feature bullets
1 Breakthrough speaker with amazing sound
2 Spatial awareness that senses its location
3 Built to bring out the best in Apple Music
4 Learns what you like based on what you play
5 Intelligent assistant helps with everyday tasks
6 Controls your smart home accessoriesI guess 3-6 is just Siri and can be done with any speaker with a mic. I assume 1 is true. What about 2? What allows it "sense its location"?
edit: I did some research and with A8 chip and 1GB, I guess it just has its own ways…
It optimizes the output by what is around it, ie if youve got it in an open space or if youve got it in a corner or tucked into a bookshelf it will produce sound with more depth, or more sound out one side etc
It optimizes the output by what is around it
Yes I think this is the smartest thing about this speaker.
I thought it was quite interesting when it came out, so I did my research on it.
It uses its multiple microphones and on-board DSP to optimise the sound to its surroundings.Back then I was comparing HomePod to Sonos, and ended up with just typical bookshelf speakers
This is not a new deal, it’s been this price for many months (search previous threads).
I’d buy another one if it was cheaper ;)
Fantastic speaker
Just bought another one, these are so under rated
I have two already and wanna hey another but hoping cheaper hahaha
Is it Gen 1?
There is only one gen.
No its Gen 0
For those thinking about buying before listening.
This clip basically sums up how I remember the HomePod to sound.
I listened in-store and bass was good, mids were just ok, but missing the highs.
Typical of a beefy smart-speaker but lacking for anyone who was heard a proper speaker.Just so people know what to expect.
Its not a proper speaker
Yeah early on during the ‘hype’ I remember a reddit user posting a super long written review including measurements and comparing it favourably to a KEF bookshelf speaker if I remember correctly.
The post was very popular and I guess it went around the internet that it was a amazing sounding ‘proper speaker’. When in reality it is most likely just the best sounding smart-speaker.
Oops, looks like that cashback expired yesterday.
I bought this and returned 2 days later. The reason was—- Bass is too much stronger than other speakers. I have Sonos One. But Homepod is more than Sonos. This speaker is not suitable for a room or some calm music in the living room.
and also the locaton detector is very bad fuction, whenever you place it, the sounds is quite huge. You will struggle to find out better place, like centre of your room or corner of table. but still you won't know where its better , bc any app doesn't show how its changed as a visual.
'one of the best smart speakers available' ????
It's ugly, doesn't have Alexa or Google, and not as good as JBL, UE, Google options.
Maybe if it was sub $150, it would be worth a plus.Yep. Google Home Max is surely one of, if not the best actual smart speakers available.
Now THAT'S ugly
Looks are subjective, but Siri is objectively rubbish compared to Alexa and Google Assistant.
one of the best smart speakers minus the smart part.
Except the sound on the homepod is average. My 30yo denon HiFi and jbl speakers leave it for dead.
The marshall speaker just posted on ozb
* has a better warm sound, plus higher output.
* looks fantastic
* has the same intelligence as siri:)
It is excellent for what it is. I bought it in-store on launch day upon a good listen of a variety of songs from my Music app and there was nothing like it back then. But even now, I can only think of the Sonos Play:5 that is comparable in tonal quality; although I must say the Yamaha Musiccast 50 is also excellent. The HomePod is quite warmly tuned geared more toward pop and r&b. I was going to wait for the v2 but I heard it's got much less tweeters (2 instead of 7). Just waiting now for a better deal than this as it's been on this price-point for a while now. And maybe the excess bass that ppl are hearing is due to the woofer upward-firing. And honestly, the AI (all of them) is still a novelty and not essential.
When I listened to a stereo-pair of Homepods I actually thought the opposite, it was cold & digital sounding which was even more pronounced due to the muffled / rolling off of the highs.
I also listened to 2x Sonos Play:1’s which at the time was cheaper than 2x Homepods and thought the Play:1’s were lacking in sound quality as well.Ended up going with bookshelf type speakers and that’s when I really thought ‘this is it’ for the $ / sound quality.
I agree with you $600 for a pair of HomePods is still too expensive.
Debatable, but good price nonetheless. Officeworks has reduced to $298 seeing this