HomePod Airplay 2 Multiroom Latency

[MrTennessean]

Great to see Airplay 2 finally launched today!

Anyone else getting some pretty noticeable latency between airplay speakers? I'm using a Homepod and Apple TV? Any thoughts on a workaround or fix?

 

[chrismac2]

How is your Apple TV audio hooked up? Is it going thru a receiver? or directly to the TV? If a receiver, it's possible your receiver audio processing is introducing a delay that Apple cannot account for. You might need to select a mode on your receiver something like "Direct Stereo" where it does not process the audio at all, and see if the delay goes away.

 

[dan9700]

Lag on airplay is shocking makes me not wanna use it my pioneer amp is instant but homepod isnt

 

[KrispE00]

I have about 1/2 sec delay between HomePod and Apple TV 4K hooked directly to the TV. It’s just as I suspected would happen. There needs to be a manual individual delay setting for each speaker.

 

[enigmatut]

I was actually surprised that my HomePod and AppleTV via Samsung home-theatre-in-a-box system played perfectly in sync, and obviously so given that they are just on opposite sides of the same large room.
Now I just need to win the lottery to get HomePods for every other room in my house...

 

[RogerWilco]

What? Apple shills were out in force claiming this latency issue would be solved, automagically, and HPs playing in widely separated locations would be synced. Perhaps it only works for a 100% HP setup?

 

[KrispE00]

What? Apple shills were out in force claiming this latency issue would be solved, automagically, and HPs playing in widely separated locations would be synced. Perhaps it only works for a 100% HP setup?

Yes, unfortunately, I think this only works for a HomePod-only setup. I don’t know a lot about AV setups, but I believe there are too many variables after the Apple TV outputs the audio via HDMI. I would assume the length of the HDMI cable to the TV/receiver, and the speed at which the TV/receiver can process and output the signal can cause small delays. I was hoping for a setup like Airfoil.

 

[enigmatut]

Yes, unfortunately, I think this only works for a HomePod-only setup. I don’t know a lot about AV setups, but I believe there are too many variables after the Apple TV outputs the audio via HDMI. I would assume the length of the HDMI cable to the TV/receiver, and the speed at which the TV/receiver can process and output the signal can cause small delays. I was hoping for a setup like Airfoil.

To be clear, I expected latency (because of the variables of a receiver/speaker-system) but I personally had no latency between my HomePod and my Apple TV setup (into receiver surround sound system).
This gives me some hope, but the reports from people experiencing latency worries me as I had hoped to add non-HomePod speakers to other rooms and would like to believe that the AirPlay 2 protocol can (somehow magically) account for differences from speaker/system to speaker/system. I guess we'll see how this shapes up as speakers are released/updated. I try to keep expectations realistic; reminding myself that this is all new and (hopefully) has room for improvement.

 

[Alhagar]

I have a bit of latency between HomePod in kitchen and ATV 4K (hardwired to powered AE5+ speakers) in living room. If I stand in a certain spot betweeen the kitchen and living room there is a slight difference (most noticeable when there are lyrics) and a bit of an echo. This is a bit disappointing and I’m hoping a future update can fix.

 

[Bdub12]

I have two apple TVs 4th gens with speakers:

One feeds the patio speakers, and I can hear NO latency between those speakers and the kitchen HomePods when I open the window to the patio.

My other Apple TV is connected to a Sonos Playbar. I expected latency there because Sonos apparently introduces latency with the line-in. Surprisingly, when I stand in the doorway between the kitchen and the den, there is almost no latency - no echo with vocals, no differences in the beat at all. Your brain tells you it's not 100%, but it's way better than I expected. If I leave this at a reasonable volume, you'd never know there was a difference walking room to room.

No latency between the stereo pair of HomePods in the kitchen and the one in the bedroom.

 

[cavemonkey50]

Is anyone getting latency on multiple speakers when AirPlaying from non-Music sources? If I AirPlay something in my music library, everything syncs perfectly, but if I AirPlay a podcast from an app like Overcast the latency can be as bad as a couple of seconds. Restarting my phone fixes it briefly, but the issue resumes a few hours later.

 

[zea]

To be clear, I expected latency (because of the variables of a receiver/speaker-system) but I personally had no latency between my HomePod and my Apple TV setup (into receiver surround sound system).
This gives me some hope, but the reports from people experiencing latency worries me as I had hoped to add non-HomePod speakers to other rooms and would like to believe that the AirPlay 2 protocol can (somehow magically) account for differences from speaker/system to speaker/system. I guess we'll see how this shapes up as speakers are released/updated. I try to keep expectations realistic; reminding myself that this is all new and (hopefully) has room for improvement.

Yeah, same here. I have the same music playing through my home surround sound system with the Apple TV, and the same audio playing through two separate HomePods and they are all in sync perfectly. Sounds amazing. This is testing with an open concept living and dining room, one HomePod in each, and the home theater setup technically in the living room area. I’m too am curious as to how non-HomPod/Apple TV systems would work.

 

[Marshall73]

HomePod and my Apple TV 4K (plumbed into my Sony soundbar and wireless surrounds) play 100% in sync.

Maybe it’s latency to the speakers through the ARC channel if you have it setup like that?

 

[MrTennessean]

Ok so little update. Multi room function with Airplay 2 still suffers with terrible latency, however, using airfoil on my Mac is playing perfectly synced. Suggest it’s not a hardware or setup issue?

 

[iLog.Genius]

So AirPlay 2 is the same as AirPlay in terms of delay when streaming? That's disappointing. I thought one of the key changes with AirPlay 2 over AirPlay, other than enabling multi-room streaming, was that it would stream/play instantly to the source without having a .5 second delay. You would figure since Sonos has been doing it for so long that Apple would be able to tweak AirPlay 2 so that it would play instantly regardless of source/output hardware.

 

[cavemonkey50]

Is anyone getting latency on multiple speakers when AirPlaying from non-Music sources? If I AirPlay something in my music library, everything syncs perfectly, but if I AirPlay a podcast from an app like Overcast the latency can be as bad as a couple of seconds. Restarting my phone fixes it briefly, but the issue resumes a few hours later.

I can answer my own question, haha.

I’ve done more reading on the issue, and apps need to be updated for AirPlay 2. They will work with multiple speakers without an update, but they may experience latency. Updating the app to use the new AirPlay 2 frameworks gives the speakers a bigger audio buffer to prevent latency and also allows for faster start times when selecting speakers.

The frameworks are in 11.4, so no third-party apps are most likely using them yet unless they released an update this week. I confirmed Overcast is working on an update with no ETA.

 

[MrTennessean]

Having experimented a bit more, the problem only exists when using Apple Music on the iPhone or through Siri on the Homepod. So for instance, if I send music from the iOS Spotify app everything is perfectly in sync. Does this sound like an issue with how both the HP and ATV are set up in the Home App?

 

[bgro]

Is it possible to hook up an Apple TV 4/4K to non-powered speakers? I’d like to wire my outdoor speakers directly to the Apple TV to Aiplay 2 outdoors..is this possible?

 

[darrenf1]

Is it possible to hook up an Apple TV 4/4K to non-powered speakers? I’d like to wire my outdoor speakers directly to the Apple TV to Aiplay 2 outdoors..is this possible?

It is completely possible, but won’t give you any appreciable volume.

 

[actcyclist]

This is occurring with me as well. I can play from my Apple TV + soundbar and home pod but the dialogue is out of sync.
Fortunately I don't watch TV on the TV much anymore.

 

[bgro]

It is completely possible, but won’t give you any appreciable volume.

Can you expand on that? How would I wire the speaker wire into thte apple tv? I'm assuming I would need some sort of bridge device. Not looking to use a full fledged a/v receiver for this tho. Do they make a device that would sit between the ATV4 and my passive speakers where I could plug the hdmi of the ATV4 into and hook up the passive speakers to thus delivering powered sound?

 

[LiveM]

Is it possible to hook up an Apple TV 4/4K to non-powered speakers? I’d like to wire my outdoor speakers directly to the Apple TV to Aiplay 2 outdoors..is this possible?

You simply can’t get any more power than you would expect to get to headphones doing this. Personally, I would use an AirPort Express and connect to the 3.5mm line out.

 

[bgro]

You simply can’t get any more power than you would expect to get to headphones doing this. Personally, I would use an AirPort Express and connect to the 3.5mm line out.

Thanks unforntunately that wouldn’t enable Airplay 2 (I think) which is what I’m looking for

 

[pup]

Airplay 2 is definitely the culprit here. I can play to multiple speakers via iTunes and everything syncs perfectly. Play to the same speakers via airplay and nothing is synced up. Same network, same equipment; only the source is different.
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Is it possible to hook up an Apple TV 4/4K to non-powered speakers? I’d like to wire my outdoor speakers directly to the Apple TV to Aiplay 2 outdoors..is this possible?

Well, the 4k doesn't have any audio out, so unless you've got an HDMI port on your speakers, you aren't connecting them directly. Non-powered speakers require an amplifier, so you'll have to go through that. If you have an older amplifier without HDMI, then you'll have to go AppleTV HDMI Out > TV > TV Audio Out > Amplifier > Speakers

 

[ignatius345]

I've been using multi-room AirPlay for a few years now, going from iTunes on my Mac to an AirPort Express in one room and an ATV 4th Gen in another. Sound has always been in sync among all three sets of speakers (including my Mac itself).

Until now. With Airplay 2, I'm now hearing a disturbing bit of latency on the one device that is showing as an AirPlay 2 enabled target: the Apple TV.

Wish I could roll back to AirPlay 1, because it was working perfectly.