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HomePod Thinking about getting a 2nd HomePod for Stereo setup

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212rikanmofo

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 31, 2003
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I finally made the jump and got the HomePod. At 1st I was skeptical, but omg has this thing really blew me away when I first got it setup and started listening to music on it. I read and watched numerous reviews online and didn't really believe when people compared it to their home theater system and said it was on par or even better. Now I know what they mean. I didn't expect it to sound this amazing and it's well worth its price. It's soooo good that I'm now deciding on getting a 2nd one to use as a stereo setup for my music listening enjoyment. Does anyone here have 2 in a stereo setup and can tell me if it makes a noticeable difference?

One thing I really love is how the bass is so crisp, punchy, you can actually feel it. Even at low volumes such as 10% you can really hear the low frequency tones. With all other speakers I have to turn it up in order to hear bass. That was shocking to me and I love it because when listening at night, I can have the volume low and still be able to hear the wonderful bass in my music.

Man, I can't get over how awesome it sounds. Please share your experiences running these in stereo mode.
 
212rikanmofo said:
One thing I really love is how the bass is so crisp, punchy, you can actually feel it. Even at low volumes such as 10% you can really hear the low frequency tones.
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Yes, they really excel at bass. Not as great at higher frequencies. I love mine.

212rikanmofo said:
Please share your experiences running these in stereo mode.
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If you have an Apple Music subscription stereo isn't a problem. There are issues with stereo from other sources. Last time I checked you couldn't stream stereo from your Mac to your HomePods. Just tried streaming from Tidal on my iPhone and don't think it streamed in stereo, although both speakers were being used. I assume that this is something that will be fixed.

Supposedly Best Buy will have HomePods at $249 for Black Friday, so I'd definitely go for it.
 
" Last time I checked you couldn't stream stereo from your Mac to your HomePods."

Stereo just fine on my Mac (10.14.1) with iTunes (12.9.0.164) from my Library and Apple Music (streaming). I highly recommend the stereo function, so a sale this weekend is perfect. As with any stereo setup, placement is important, so you may have to experiment with that.
 
Stereo with iTunes, yes, but not through MacOS in general - but I suspect that will be fixed at some point in the future.

While it's been a bit of a bumpy ride for stereo pairs, the last few updates in iOS and MacOS have smoothed things out nicely. It's not 100% solid yet, but the sound quality is so good it's worth putting up with a few glitches here and there.

Sound quality and soundstage are very good - but as with anything, entirely dependent on the source material.
 
I have the 3 month trial Apple Music subscription plan. But I won't be using it after that. I stream mostly music from my iPhone, and iPad using the music.app. Will this stream in true stereo if I do it this way?

I also stream from my Mac but using iTunes. I'm sort of confused from the above comments above. Some have mentioned that you will only receive stereo if you are subscribed to Apple Music? I don't get it. What difference does it make if I stream from Apple music vs me streaming that same song that I purchased from the iTunes music store which is stored locally on my iPhone, iPad? It should be in stereo either way because I got the song from the same source.

How's the bass with 2 HomePod's paired up? Even with just 1, the sound quality is incredible. I can't imagine what 2 would be like.

And yes I plan on getting it from Best Buy on Black Friday for $249. I hope it'll be available online and not a door buster, I hate waiting in line in cold weather, and it may be sold out by the time I'm in the store. I don't know when it'll be available for $249. Thursday at 5pm, Friday or Saturday?
 
iTunes (Mac) doesn't care where the music comes from. Right now, I'm pushing out stereo to my HomePods from an internet radio station.

The comment about stereo only coming if you have a sub to Apple Music is wrong - but the rollout of stereo was confusing so that's understandable, I think.

Streaming from your iOS devices should be perfect; I'd say that's where Apple put their effort. Clearly the Mac is trailing there.

Bass is very nice but again not only source dependent but placement is key. In. general, closer to a wall will get you more bass - sometimes too much.
 
I plan on doing a stereo pair in my bedroom. I can’t decide whether i should place them on either side of my bed on my nightstands or put them on the tv stand in front of me. What do you guys think would be a good placement. I will use it mainly for music but occasionally with my Apple TV as well.
 
To the OP, yes! 2 set up in duo Stereo is a large leap over just one, esp if you like the sound of just one. Like the reviews I read, these speakers are amazing. If they were cheaper they may have sold more. I hate using Siri on it, I only play music stored om my Mac or iPhone, no streaming. I do Beats 1, news, and podcasts. no Apple subscription.

To the other post, I think there is too much bass still after Apple's supposed tweak(s). but also modern music, at least, is bass boosted anyway. I want an EQ..

I find the further apart the better for fuller 'stereo' sound, just depends on your position from the speakers too. TV position is best. I found next to headboard was too much from the side, no head- on sound.
 
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gigaguy said:
To the OP, yes! 2 set up in duo Stereo is a large leap over just one, esp if you like the sound of just one. Like the reviews I read, these speakers are amazing. If they were cheaper they may have sold more. I hate using Siri on it, I only play music stored om my Mac or iPhone, no streaming. I do Beats 1, news, and podcasts. no Apple subscription.

To the other post, I think there is too much bass still after Apple's supposed tweak(s). but also modern music, at least, is bass boosted anyway. I want an EQ..

I find the further apart the better for fuller 'stereo' sound, just depends on your position from the speakers too. TV position is best. I found next to headboard was too much from the side, no head- on sound.
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True, you're right, I need the sound coming from in front of me. I ordered a 2nd one and can't wait to use them paired up in stereo mode. And I also agree that we need an EQ to tune this to our liking. I hope Apple will add this feature in a future update for the HomePod. 12.1 update was great in that it added the ability to make/receive calls, multiple timers, etc. I really hope they will improve on this awesome speaker because it has a rock solid foundation. The sound is phenomenal and I can't get over it. Listening to music feels like heaven.
 
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There is an EQ on my Mac's iTunes but it is not active for Homepods.
I was using my iPhone to hear stereo but I finally got STEREO from my Mac iTunes music yesterday. It needed the latest iTunes and Sierra updates. Only other major con to HPod is the unusable lag from Mac sources like Final cut or Youtube, and no stereo output except from iTunes. Some say the wifi connection introduces the lag. ugh.
 
gigaguy said:
There is an EQ on my Mac's iTunes but it is not active for Homepods.
I was using my iPhone to hear stereo but I finally got STEREO from my Mac iTunes music yesterday. It needed the latest iTunes and Sierra updates. Only other major con to HPod is the unusable lag from Mac sources like Final cut or Youtube, and no stereo output except from iTunes. Some say the wifi connection introduces the lag. ugh.
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The lag is a side effect of the buffering Airplay uses to sync audio across different wireless devices.

That's why if you connect HomePods to the Apple TV, the interface sounds (that happen in realtime) come out of the TV speakers, but the program audio plays through HomePod.
 
Mac stereo output is a little confusing,. The ONLY Mac stereo output to 2 Homepods is Mac iTunes and you need the latest iTunes and MacOS updates.

iTunes radio stations require a subscription, except for the free Beats 1 radio with a Homepod only? Any other audio from your Mac, (internet radio, Youtube etc,) is 1 speaker only. Mac OS does not do Homepod stereo except via iTunes at this time.

iOS devise STEREO output to Homepod is more prevalent and seems to work with most all audio airplayed from iOS as mentioned. I'm still learning but this is what I experience.
 
gigaguy said:
Mac stereo output is a little confusing,. The ONLY Mac stereo output to 2 Homepods is Mac iTunes and you need the latest iTunes and MacOS updates.
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It works with High Sierra on iTunes in stereo, but I don’t have an older version of MacOS to test.

I actually like sending audio from iTunes to my stereo HomePod in the living room and my Apple TV in the bedroom while playing on my computer in the office. Being able to adjust the volume separately for each is also nice.
 
Those thinking of getting stereo for bedrooms or other small spaces, just remember to measure.... 7ft minimum separation or it will not sound any better than one, at best you will have more volume and a little larger sound stage, 7 Feet is the magic number
 
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Stereo HomePods are amazing. I have them at the back of my living room for a surround sound effect about 9 feet apart and it fills the room and feels like the sound is hovering over you in your head. Is awesome for Apple TV with Movies/TV/Shows as well.
 
Mercury7 said:
Those thinking of getting stereo for bedrooms or other small spaces, just remember to measure.... 7ft minimum separation or it will not sound any better than one, at best you will have more volume and a little larger sound stage, 7 Feet is the magic number
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This is mostly incorrect. I have two Homepods on my desk in stereo, maybe 3 feet apart and it's a huge difference vs. one. A single homepod cannot accurately present a stereo soundstage.
 
MathewM said:
This is mostly incorrect. I have two Homepods on my desk in stereo, maybe 3 feet apart and it's a huge difference vs. one. A single homepod cannot accurately present a stereo soundstage.
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Your not getting the experience at 3ft, it’s a waste, not saying your sound stage does not improve with two, just without proper separation they merge too much
 
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Mercury7 said:
Your not getting the experience at 3ft, it’s a waste, not saying your sound stage does not improve with two, just without proper separation they merge too much
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Again incorrect. There is no stereo sound stage with one HomePod. You’re getting omnidirectional sound that creates an illusion of stereo. I tried it. Going back to one HomePod after listening to two in stereo sucks. Do you even own two Homepods that you can base this experience with?
 
Yes I do, and again not saying two does not sound better than one, just saying if you don’t have room to separate them properly your missing out on the separation , night and day difference between 4 ft and 7ft due to the way these speakers image, from a stereophile perspective
 
Mercury7 said:
Yes I do, and again not saying two does not sound better than one, just saying if you don’t have room to separate them properly your missing out on the separation , night and day difference between 4 ft and 7ft due to the way these speakers image, from a stereophile perspective
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Right but you can say the same for any speaker. And it’s not just the distance from speaker to speaker but how far they are from a wall. I previously had a stereo desktop setup and one HomePod just didn’t cut it. But I wouldn’t advise someone against a stereo pair just because they can’t separate them seven feet or more.
 
MathewM said:
Right but you can say the same for any speaker. And it’s not just the distance from speaker to speaker but how far they are from a wall. I previously had a stereo desktop setup and one HomePod just didn’t cut it. But I wouldn’t advise someone against a stereo pair just because they can’t separate them seven feet or more.
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I suppose it’s more of information sharing, there is a wider soundstage and more volume and bass, that might be enough for some, just thought it important for people to know how much separation was required to acquire what an audiophile would expect. they really do image beautifully when set up properly
 
Got a second HomePod and experiencing stereo sound from them for the first time. Watched a few movies and air played YouTube to it as do not have an Apple TV. It sounds very good as have an Apple Music subscription and adds more to watching movies now as had to put up with rubbish TV speakers. It is though expensive, but whatever system you decide to go with, it will cost if you want agood sound. Be interested to see how using an Apple TV Along with a Sonos beam and stereo HomePods improves the experience. Cannot play it too loud though as do not want to annoy the neighbours but glad to have an upgrade to my sound. Not an expert by any means or an audiophile so excuse mY ignorance. For the general user like me stereo homepods are great, especially as I am baked into the apple ecosystem.
 
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