HomePod Homepod an Upgrade over Soundsticks?

[rhyzome]

I currently have some Harman Kardon Soundsticks and am looking for an upgrade. Is the audio quality of the Homepod good enough to be an upgrade from the Soundsticks? (Strictly from the perspective of sound quality?)

If its not, I’m thinking of also getting 2 Homepod Minis to act as stereo speakers for the big Homepod, which will be like the HK subwoofer and stereo speaker setup. Would that make the audio quality better? Or do you even need the additional speakers? What’s your experience with Homepod sound quality, esp compared to Soundsticks?

 

[BarrettF77]

No

 

[James_C]

I have owned a pair of soundsticks and Soundsticks II. In their time they both looked and sounded great. I then invested in Sonos ( Play 1's and Play 5's) these sounded better than the soundsticks. I then replaced all my Sonos units with Homepods (I have 4 of them around the house). These have a better sound than Sonos. So yes Homepods do sound much better than soundsticks (which are really just very good computer speakers). For the best sound at the price nothing beats two Homepods as a stereo pair, but one HomePod is a good start.

 

[BarrettF77]

I have owned a pair of soundsticks and Soundsticks II. In their time they both looked and sounded great. I then invested in Sonos ( Play 1's and Play 5's) these sounded better than the soundsticks. I then replaced all my Sonos units with Homepods (I have 4 of them around the house). These have a better sound than Sonos. So yes Homepods do sound much better than soundsticks (which are really just very good computer speakers). For the best sound at the price nothing beats two Homepods as a stereo pair, but one HomePod is a good start.

You got the original homepod not the mini. So of course it’s going to sound good but it does not sound better than a Sonos move or some of the other center systems. In the mini will sound the worst of them all and incredibly tiny. I sent mine back

 

[James_C]

So of course it’s going to sound good but it does not sound better than a Sonos move or some of the other center systems

Of course you are entitled to your own opinion and different people will prefer different speakers.

'What HiFi' one of the most respected audio review magazines in the UK agrees that the Sonos Move sounds good but not as good as the HomePod.

"The Move can carry a tune as well as the next Sonos speaker, although when placed against the class-leading rival, the Apple HomePod shows them both how it’s done. We play Frightened Rabbit’s The Oil Slick, and the HomePod is the better mover, driving the song from its rhythmic foundations to its hearty vocal with greater impetus and cohesiveness.

Despite sounding naturally more claustrophobic compared to the bigger Move, as is the case with the One too of course, the HomePod is unmistakably the more convincing entertainer – and it’s £120 cheaper too, though mains powered and therefore not as portable."

As I said in my post I had a house full of Sonos units and I replaced them all after testing them against the HomePod.

The only valid compliant against HomePod is Siri is not as good as other voice assistants and does not work as well with other music services other than Apple Music. but I bought my HomePod to listen to music.

 

[BarrettF77]

OP is. It asking about the weak homepod mihi. If. You want a smaet speaker ok. But if you wants good sounding speaker it’s mediocre. People have gotten used to things like echo devices and how “great” they sound. Which they do not sound that great. Yes the regular homepod sounds much better. But also 3x the price.

 

[James_C]

OP is asking about the regular HomePod in the first paragraph and in the second he is also asking about the mini.

I have no experience of the Mini as I have not bought one.