These are simply not reliable as tv speakers. A soundbar of comparable cost will sound just as good, if not better, and won’t be crippled every other software update.
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HomePod AudioOS 17/tvOS 17 bugs compilation (so far).
- Thread starter B/D
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Yes, and it’s highly annoying. And Siri becoming suddenly unresponsive is the worst.
I disagree. I’ve been using them as TV speakers before it was even supported. Back then I wouldn’t have recommended them for that use case. But now? They work great. I’ve used them with 4 different TVs at this point. Now I will agree that a sound bar will be better. But if you already have the HomePods or you were already planing to get HomePods I would don’t see the point in also buying a soundbar. That’s especially the case if the person has zero plans to buy a sub. My Mom has an 1st Gen Sonos Beam and she refused to get the sub. HomePods sound better. In fact the fam does movie nights in my room because they like the sound in here better.
Since support has been official they’ve been reliable. Siri is always a mess but the sound has been awesome. They stay connected and just work for me. I’m impressed by how well Audio Return Channel works.
@TonyC28
Agreed. Once paired with the Apple TV, they are stable and work very well. No dropouts, lip sync issues or disconnections (in my case). In that sense, they are rock solid.
And a soundbar will always be better?. Are we sure? If we compare the high end ones without any rears speakers or sub (which in my opinion is the correct and fair comparison to do), the quality of the sound of the Homepods is fantastic.
Detailed, full, rich. Soundbars tend to sound a little boxy on their own, even the Sonos Arc. Not the Homepods. And of course, for music they blow the soundbars out of the water, if only by virtue of the real stereo separation.
Yes, high end soundbars have a much louder maximum volume than the Homepods, but loudness does not mean sound quality. And the upcoming -for the Minis and the OG Homepods with 17.1, already present in the second gen homepod with 17.0- Enhanced Dialogue feature is a game changer.
Not only gives you more clarity and detail in the midrange area -the traditional weak point of the pods- but also a maximum louder volume without distortion in general.
So improvements are being made. Slowly, but they are being made.
At this point, if you are into the Apple ecosystem and have an Apple TV 4K, I would say the big Homepods are a fantastic and compact solution for both music and movies/tv shows. They are elegant, hassle free, a minor miracle sonically (taking into account their form factor), and not wildly expensive (the high end soundbars cost quite a bit more).
Do Apple need to work on their software stability?. Absolutely. Something in particular must be done with Siri as soon as possible. But hardware wise, sound wise, they are a GREAT product, no doubt about it.
When they work, they work great. But if they’re unreliable they aren’t of much use to me. I’m happy to hear they are still working well for you as I know the sound is pretty impressive.
I have no issue with the hardware. They do sound fantastic. My issue is the unreliability. If something as simple as volume control is going to be crippled with OS updates then what is the point? I’ll take a soundbar that rates 90 and works 100% of the time over HomePods that rate 95 and get broken with needless updates.
The buggy behavior for me present itself the most when they are on their own. With the Apple TV they tend to be rock solid. Perhaps its because I have the Apple TV hardwired to the router and they use its ethernet connection to channel requests, I dont know.
As for volume control, I tend to adjust it either using the Apple TV remote or using Siri directly on the speakers. No issues.
But that´s just Siri on the Homepods in general. Apple should be embarrassed.
Ok guys, I will say for music the HomePods play a much “bigger” sound than my Sony HT-A7000. Maybe I need to tinker with some settings. For movies the soundbar is probably a bit better. But, I can control the soundbar volume without issue so there’s that.
Siri on my HomePods stopped responding to simple requests like pausing music, changing volume. Ya know the most basic functions.
It hears me, lowers the sound then happily ignores me. Useless.
It hears me, lowers the sound then happily ignores me. Useless.
My sister has the HomePod minis and used them as speakers and I was blown away. I and she was impressed but changed the set up back to her soundbar.
Eh, I don't know what you consider high end but if the soundbar has rear speakers and can deliver Atmos, 5.1 and more that's what I would begin to call high end.
As stereo speakers HomePods fit the bill.
You were blown away by the Minis?. The Minis, not the big ones?. Interesting.
