Homepods (not coffee related)

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The Homepods work very well. 

(also in Stereo now:)
iOS 11.4 brings the highly anticipated features to Apple’s smart speakers

https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/29/17406664/homepod-apple-stereo-pair-multi-room-audio-music-airplay-2-ios-11-update-how-to

https://www.pocket-lint.com/speakers/news/apple/141261-apple-airplay-2-what-is-it-how-does-it-work-and-what-devices-are-supported

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Installation was simpler than I could imagine: connect power plug, keep iPhone near the Homepod and let the machines sort it out themselves, just "okay" what they propose to do.

Some early owners remark that the bass tones seem dominant but after moving the Homepod around a bit to test this, I noticed that a table or wooden box that the Homepod is placed on, is incorporated as part of the 'speaker system' thus amplifying the low frequency tones.

Solution: place the Homepod on the stand that's designed and built to have a speaker on top of it. Simple and perfect!

The reason why I decided to get a Homepod is the ability that Apple built in to play FLAC and other lossless files directly without need for a DAC device in between.

Of course iTunes can't yet handle FLAC and one needs another player, but it turns out that JRiver Media Player is perfectly able to send music from FLAC and other hi-res audio format collection to the Homepod (named 'woonkamer' -- living room in Dutch -- here).

Also see http://appleinsider.com/articles/18/02/14/watch-the-best-siri-commands-for-homepod

PS the Airfoil apps on Mac and iPhone makes it easy to redirect system audio to Homepods:




A 'memory foam' rubbery brick that's used in present day hip yoga helps to prevent bass tones to reverb on the table top.

PS 23 may 2018 I got a second Homepod, just to see if they would work together smoothly. I had noticed that the Homepod plays in perfect sync with my MacBook's internal speakers so if two homepods could do that too, it would be awesome.
Turns out that using Airfoil, it DOES work beautifully, creating a sound suggesting the music comes from a wide and deep space somewhere in between the two.

Homepod left and right active

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