Apple’s new 2023 HomePod sounds way better when stereo paired with another one,
But why is that exactly?
And when is it worth it to get an additional HomePod versus just saving your money or going
with an entirely different set of speakers altogether?
If you listen to a lot of music and appreciate high quality speakers, if you’re already
heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem and can benefit from things like the great iPhone
transfer feature, and don’t blink at spending $600 on two speakers, then i think it's worth
it to at least consider getting two HomePods
When you stereo pair speakers together, the stereo tracks give more flexibility to sound
engineers to place different types of instruments and what's called the stereo field.
And because the new HomePod sounds very good with crisp base, clear highs, and comes with
an omni directional speaker design.
With two of Apple’s new HomePods, it does sound noticeably better but is it 300 better?
That's the real question.
$300 is a ton of money for just a single speaker, though the HomePod isn't just a speaker, but
one with an assistant and can act as a smart home matter controller.
So you are purchasing more than just a speaker.
Now my advice right now would be if you already bought one of the new Apple HomePods and you're
considering getting another one because you already have one.
And you can't stereo parent to another kind of speaker.
I would go for it.
And if you want to utilize them even more, you can also use these speakers as the default
speakers for your TV setup with the new Apple TV 4K eArc feature.
Audio from your TV, cable box, even a Playstation or Xbox can play over the HomePods wirelessly.
Now, if you don't already have a new HomePod and you're thinking of spending 600 US dollars
for a pair of them, I would actually think twice before doing that.
While they sound great, they are pretty limited in terms of compatibility and default music
streaming services that are supported.
For TV sound, $400 can actually get you a pretty solid sound bar like the Sonos Beam
which supports Dolby Atmos, has voice assistant support built-in, supports AirPlay 2, like
the HomePod, and most importantly, can be wired into your TV or receiver.
You can also add the new Sonos sub mini with it, but then the total cost for that system
would be more than the two HomePods.
I still prefer my 5.1 sound system because of the center speaker that you can see below
my TV.
This system just does a better job with dialogue than the HomePods do.
Though it is pretty close, I still wouldn't personally buy two HomePods just for TV sound
alone, I still think they sound better for just music listening.
But again, $600 is still a lot for two speakers and right now you can get a set of two Sonos
Ones which are not omni directional speakers like the HomePods but they still sound incredibly
good with bright clear sound and type bass you can get two for
$358 us dollars.
I'd look at Sonos's stuff first before you look at Apple’s.
Sonos’ ecosystem is a bit more open in terms of music support, their speakers sound incredibly
good, and give you an EQ setting, which the HomePods do not.
They're also reportedly coming out with the new omni-directional speakers that should
compete even better against the HomePod acoustic design.
So if you know you want omni directional speakers like the HomePod, I'd wait and see what Sonos
is going to do with their new speakers that are rumored to come out in the next few months.
See how much they're going to cost, how well they're reviewed.
And of course we're going to be doing reviews on them.
If you want to make a decision now, you need new speakers, you want to check the current
prices as well as see other videos we've done on some of the speakers I mentioned, all of
that information description below, and the video I think you should watch next is the
review we did of the Sonos Move.
Out of all of the speakers I have tested and owned here in my home, The Sonos Move comes
closest to being able to reproduce sound that comes out of the HomePod with the added benefit
of course, that you could just pick up the Sonos Move and move it to another room because
it has an integrated battery, and you can get to that review by clicking on the video,
thumbnail here.
And of course, if you like this video, give us a thumbs up.
Thanks for watching.