HomePod HomePod mini vs M3 iMac's Speakers

[swandy]

I had an M1 iMac and was very happy with the sound playing music through Apple Music that I got.
Just upgraded to an M3 iMac and initial reaction re: sound quality of music is the same (if not slightly better). But my wife is considering dumping her Amazon Echo (about 4 years old) and getting an Apple HomePod mini (because she heard we could use a second one upstairs as an intercom). But I assume that to get decent stereo/Spatial Audio separation from my M3 iMac I would need two of the HomePods.
What is the sound quality like comparing what I get from now the M3 iMac to the AirPod Mini? And would I need two for any decent sound separation? Thanks.

 

[japanime]

I don't own an M3 iMac, so I can't speak to the quality of the built-in speakers. But you'll get no sound separation at all from a single HomePod Mini, as the unit only contains a single speaker.

I use a HomePod Mini stereo pair with my M1 MacBook Air, and find the sound (and separation) to be pleasing, though not stellar.

 

[haralds]

I use the HomePod Minis in Stereo with my Studio Monitor. Definitely enhances the experience. Right now, I am listening to the Dolby Atmos playlist.
It does not compete with my old Cambridge Soundworks with subwoofer played through a FiiO DAC. But that has Dolby Atmos disabled.

 

[Macintosh1984]

I have the fantastic Apple Hi-Fi iPod speaker, now I've got the new iMac M3, unfortunately I have to stomach the fact that it has the 3.5 jack on the left side, and not at the back like my old Intel iMac.

The question is, what alternatives to Apple's iPod Hi-Fi do the sub-$150 market offer? I was also thinking of something wireless, or even USB, but also tell me solutions with a 3.5 jack because if in the end they are of superior quality to Apple's iPod Hi-Fi, I might think about it.

 

[B/D]

@swandy @haralds


The Minis do not support spatial audio/Atmos, whereas the iMac M3 internal speakers do.

https://www.apple.com/homepod-2nd-generation/ (scroll down to see the comparison).

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102357.


HomePod mini doesn't support Dolby Atmos, 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound.


But even if you had a couple of stereo paired big Homepods, you couldn´t use them to play surround sound or Atmos content from your iMac, since currently Airplay from Mac OS to the Homepods is limited to stereo sound.

As of today, Atmos with the big Homepods is only possible in these two scenarios:

A). Playing Apple Music Atmos content directly on the speakers (not using Airplay, since Airplay from IOS currently does not support Atmos either).

B). Making them the default audio output of an Apple TV 4K, where you can enjoy surround sound and Atmos from the Apple TV apps (Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Apple TV+, Itunes), in movies and tv shows, besides Apple Music.

 

[swandy]

@swandy @haralds


The Minis do not support spatial audio/Atmos, whereas the iMac M3 internal speakers do.

https://www.apple.com/homepod-2nd-generation/ (scroll down to see the comparison).

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102357.


HomePod mini doesn't support Dolby Atmos, 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound.


But even if you had a couple of stereo paired big Homepods, you couldn´t use them to play surround sound or Atmos content from your iMac, since currently Airplay from Mac OS to the Homepods is limited to stereo sound.

As of today, Atmos with the big Homepods is only possible in these two scenarios:

A). Playing Apple Music Atmos content directly on the speakers (not using Airplay, since Airplay from IOS currently does not support Atmos either).

B). Making them the default audio output of an Apple TV 4K, where you can enjoy surround sound and Atmos from the Apple TV apps (Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Apple TV+, Itunes), in movies and tv shows, besides Apple Music.

I wasn't sure about the Minis and Spatial Audio. I do think the sound from my M3 iMac is very impressive for not being large, dedicated speakers. I do feel that the use of Spatial Audio is more noticeable when using my AirPods Pro 2 (mainly because you notice the shift of the soundstage when you move your head which I don't really notice when moving my head in front of the iMac screen obviously). Thanks

 

[B/D]

I wasn't sure about the Minis and Spatial Audio. I do think the sound from my M3 iMac is very impressive for not being large, dedicated speakers. I do feel that the use of Spatial Audio is more noticeable when using my AirPods Pro 2 (mainly because you notice the shift of the soundstage when you move your head which I don't really notice when moving my head in front of the iMac screen obviously). Thanks

@swandy

That´s because the Airpods Pro support spatial audio/Atmos through bluetooth. Different animal. The Minis (and the big Homepods), use Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth. The implementation is completely different.

In sum, keep using your iMac internal speakers (very impressive for what they are, as you say) and your Airpods Pro.

Much, much better for Mac OS use than Homepods.

 

[Basic75]

What is the sound quality like comparing what I get from now the M3 iMac to the AirPod Mini?

I don't have an iMac, but a HomePod Mini stereo pair. They sound good for their size and price. The worst part about using them as audio output on a Mac is the absolutely terrible latency. Like, more than a second! When you watch a video on YouTube you'll have wait out the latency until the video starts playing. When you press stop the sound continues for that long.

 

[B/D]

I don't have an iMac, but a HomePod Mini stereo pair. They sound good for their size and price. The worst part about using them as audio output on a Mac is the absolutely terrible latency. Like, more than a second! When you watch a video on YouTube you'll have wait out the latency until the video starts playing. When you press stop the sound continues for that long.

Yeah. The need to develop a default (that is, permanent) audio output option trough an ad-hoc network that delivers audio in real time with no latency, like they did with the Apple TV 4K.