ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Hi,
With HomePod coming February 9th, will BeoPlay be that successful? Will they still manage to sell the non battery powered BeoPlay audio speakers (except A9) ? I think that even BeoSound 1 and 2 could highly suffer... I guess that soon we will learn if HomePod is far superior than BeoPlay (audio quality speaking) and maybe not far from BeoSounds for a much much lower price. And I don't speak about the wireless connectivity dropouts that happen...
What do you think?
Personally I am not keen on the look of the home pod, I have a BS1 in brass and it is beautiful to look at and sounds amazing in the bedroom. Some People will always want something that is more of a statement piece rather than a run of the mill looking speaker
I was contemplating buying an M5 for another room, but the HomePod is very tempting. Given the cost of the HomePod I think I will have to give it a try. At the worse, if the [mono] HomePod does not pass the Kanna Hashimoto "Arigato" song test I can buy another one and have true stereo for just a little more than one M5, and I'll bet it will sound amazing. I will find out. Pre-ordering this Friday.
Since I mostly use AirPlay it will be fine for me.
@benoit
If you ask an Android user, the answer will probably be a loud NO!
If you ask someone, who is used to the possibilities/versatility of the B&O/Beoplay devices
in a NL-network (= including the tv’s), it probably will be a no, too.
However, someone, who just wants AirPlay, will have a strong alternative, I guess...at least if he likes the design of the Hpods.
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
jimcaj:I did read that the Homepod is bass heavy - we’ll see when it’s released. Exciting times for sure.
Most of the reviews I've read for the M5 said that it was also bass heavy!
Millemissen:However, someone, who just wants AirPlay, will have a strong alternative, I guess...at least if he likes the design of the Hpods.
More competition will come when Airplay 2 comes to Sonos. They already have Alexa integration. If you don't have a whole house integrated with B&O, Sonos is a compelling and more inexpensive alternative. No way Sonos has the design finesse of the B&O offerings, however their SW is head and shoulders in a different league than what B&O has today. And Sonos' sound isn't too shabby (no, I'm not saying Sonos competes in the audio quality dept. with B&O, but for what the speakers are designed to do, they do it well for their price).
Will BeoPlay managed to "kill" BeoPlay?
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Speakers have never been a core expertise at Apple, although a vast amount of engineers were musicians. For instance iPod HiFi speaker didn't last long as it wasn't the best product on the market, HomePod will clearly win a space in a personal assistant market, plus its wireless and software integration will be far more superior than BO currently offers. Design wise HomePod is rather awkward and resembles a Harman Kardon sub or a previous generation Mac Pro. If customers will be willing to choose better design and likely better sounding systems, BO will have a space. Otherwise corporate Steamroller "Apple" will run on its brand equity fuel and smash all relatively small players like it did with a smart watch market.
The aesthetic, sound and build quality of the HomePod will never match the A6, A9, BeoSound 1 and 2. What will be interesting is how this impacts the M3 and M5 B&O range. I haven't heard the HomePod but have the expectation that it will be better than the M3, and the M5 is £200 more expensive. Would two HomePods in stereo outperform an M5 - maybe...
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Very true about the microphone element!
Think I feel more comfortable with it in an Apple product rather than Amazon or Google though...
NickPG: The aesthetic, sound and build quality of the HomePod will never match the A6, A9, BeoSound 1 and 2.
The aesthetic, sound and build quality of the HomePod will never match the A6, A9, BeoSound 1 and 2.
Well see. I own the A9 (best speaker I've owned), the A6 (mediocre compared to the A9) and BeoSound 1 (sold it!), I wasn't overly impressed with the latter two. The BeoSound 2 is another step up though, but it's £1500.
A lot of people will buy the HomePod simply as it's from Apple. People are like sheep in this respect, sadly.
NickPG: Very true about the microphone element! Think I feel more comfortable with it in an Apple product rather than Amazon or Google though...
Im amused that you thunk they're different, let alone better!
Ban boring signatures!
NickPG:I haven't heard the HomePod but have the expectation that it will be better than the M3, and the M5 is £200 more expensive. Would two HomePods in stereo outperform an M5 - maybe..
My expectations will be that one HomePod will be about the same as the M5, and two HomePod's in stereo should out perform the A6. The DSP on the HomePod seems to do some interesting things. We will have to see if this extends beyond Apple Music, and what it does when stereo paired. I will order 2 on Friday, but I will have to wait a while to hear it in stereo. I can compare it to the A6 but not the M5. I can report back if anyone is interested.
Mark-N: NickPG:I haven't heard the HomePod but have the expectation that it will be better than the M3, and the M5 is £200 more expensive. Would two HomePods in stereo outperform an M5 - maybe.. My expectations will be that one HomePod will be about the same as the M5, and two HomePod's in stereo should out perform the A6. The DSP on the HomePod seems to do some interesting things. We will have to see if this extends beyond Apple Music, and what it does when stereo paired. I will order 2 on Friday, but I will have to wait a while to hear it in stereo. I can compare it to the A6 but not the M5. I can report back if anyone is interested.
Surely two decent speakers will always outperform a single at stereo given the fact that they can actually be separated and thus have at least half a chance of reproducing a "real" stereo image! Single speakers are OK for background listening but are no good for creating that (maybe 70's) experience of (possibly darkened rooms with) "closed eyed pretend you're there" listening!
On the other hand lets all walk around in public and get the tube listening to sh1t MP3's!
moxxey:A lot of people will buy the HomePod simply as it's from Apple. People are like sheep in this respect, sadly.
A lot of people won't buy the HomePod simply because it's from Apple. To each their own.
People who find value in it will buy it, and those who don't won't.
Sal:People who find value in it will buy it, and those who don't won't.
Well, for record, I will be buying HomePod. Just looking at the tech speck , I think it will be a great little speakers and it may be best sounding in that price range.
For real music listening, I only listen to real speakers (BL 5, BL 50) and the little speakers are just for fun and Siri integration. At $ 350 , HomePoD is cheap enough to be lots of fun and not expensive enough for a serious Apple vs. B&O shoot out...
svinaik:Well, for record, I will be buying HomePod. Just looking at the tech speck , I think it will be a great little speakers and it may be best sounding in that price range.
As will I, but later this year. My aim is to compare HomePod with comparable Sonos offerings. I'll buy only after Apple implements stereo pairing and multi-room, and only after Sonos implements Airplay 2. My comparison will help me decide which I'll go with for casual listening. That being said, the sound from HomePod would have to really wow me in order to overcome the amazing Sonos software.
I just re-read what I wrote, and realized a BeoPlay product is/wasn't even in the running. I've been so underwhelmed with the B&O software as the gateway to my music that BeoPlay isn't worth the price of admission.
Software is what's ailing B&O / BeoPlay. But we all know that.
Sal: moxxey:A lot of people will buy the HomePod simply as it's from Apple. People are like sheep in this respect, sadly. A lot of people won't buy the HomePod simply because it's from Apple. To each their own. People who find value in it will buy it, and those who don't won't.
Interesting reply, when you view the reviews of BeoPlay products here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/beoplay/reviews/
Of course, not saying that "some" people won't buy a HomePod as it's from Apple, but sadly the number of those people still outweigh ALL the people who will buy a product from B&O. Not being pessimistic, but realistic.
It looks like you can turn off the always listening microphone on the HomePod.
At least according to 9to5mac, which found some of the possible options (relating to the HomePod) in the Home app.
There are plenty of reasons to be more trustful fo Apple's approach to your own data than Google, down to the way devices like the iPhone handle machine learning (its done much more locally to your device than by sending all your data, patterns and activity up to their servers for processing).
It may mean they're less able in than respect, but i'll take that as a compromise over me willingly handing everything i do / own over to Google.
But anyway, the HomePod looks like it will have the option to toggle off the always on speaker.
Completely agree.
I am somewhat staggered, disappointed and yet ultimately unsurprised how the language around audio and speaker has changed.
Reviews of these single unit speakers, whether they are cheap or more expensive, often refer to room filling sound. Its utter garbage - out of the many hundreds of these single-point speakers on the market, there may be perhaps no more than 5 that even get close to room filling sound (the A9, Naim Muso the better of the bunch).
The rest range from outright rubbish to OK at best, fine for a kitchen / bathroom, but not much beyond that.
Rant over.
They (B&O) apparently have already chosen Voice Integration as a principal control interface for many / as many as possible of their products, using one or more of the existing voice assistants.
Personally i loathe them, but guess i'll have to use them one day. Just putting that day off until they actually work much much better than they actually do at the moment. Just because Amazon and Google have sold 10 million of the cheap 50 dollar versions doesn't necessarily suggest to me that voice control has taken off in a big way. But a good way of getting people habituated to using voice, by giving away dirt cheap hockey puck sized devices as a downpayment on the future.
Well, if some of what is stated in the article linked below is true, I'm not purchasing the HomePod however nice it sounds:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/23/homepod-can-play-purchased-itunes-music-podcasts-and-stream-beats-1-without-apple-music-subscription/
If it can't access music in my iTunes library that I've ripped from CDs, then that's a dud device in my book. No Home Sharing? Come on, Apple. For once, B&O's Twonky integration to make your iTunes library available via DLNA beats what 9to5 Mac are reporting as limitations to HomePod. Unbelievable.
Sandyb:They (B&O) apparently have already chosen Voice Integration as a principal control interface for many / as many as possible of their products, using one or more of the existing voice assistants. Personally i loathe them, but guess i'll have to use them one day. Just putting that day off until they actually work much much better than they actually do at the moment. Just because Amazon and Google have sold 10 million of the cheap 50 dollar versions doesn't necessarily suggest to me that voice control has taken off in a big way. But a good way of getting people habituated to using voice, by giving away dirt cheap hockey puck sized devices as a downpayment on the future.
moxxey: A lot of people will buy the HomePod simply as it's from Apple. People are like sheep in this respect, sadly.
you're 100% right! People don't care about the quality or other brands. As soon as there's an Apple logo on something they're blind and ignorant. So the Homepod can sound as awful as it looks: Many people will buy it!
Correct. And then, there is an option it will sound decent, integrate nicely with other Apple products and services many people are using already and the build quality could be good, right?
What would be the last Apple product, in your opinion, to qualify a buyer for an attribute like “sheep, blind and ignorant”?
Anyway, ontopic: as someone wrote - HomePod will likely be an elegant solution for those with AppleMusic subscription and the only music streaming service. Cannot imagine someone who is using Deezer/TuneIn combo to happily take HomePod as a first choice...
and why not??? i suffer the difference every day at work with the Microsoft-doorstopper and the Android stuff of my friends, family etc. nobody would complain that a Porsche is more expensive than a, let´s say, VW Golf. i’m fine within the Apple-cosmos since 1995 and therefore keen on the new Homepod, telling it to connect to my B&O devices
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Are there not still too many unanswered questions about Airplay 2 to know?
If, as it seems, many of the BeoPlay / BS speakers will be updated to the Airplay 2 protocol, does that effectively turn your BeoSound 2 for example into a HomePod? Outside of the integrated voice control, it may well effectively be the same, especially in conjunction with an iPhone.
I'm not sure what extra then a HomePod will get you? When you are saying "Hey Siri, etc etc" , your phone is listening and talking to the airplay 2 enabled speaker, rather than talking directly to the HomePod.
Of course, Siri on the HomePod may have a different capability set to the iPhone - that wouldn't be unusual, it works that way elsewhere (a Chromebook vs an Android phone). So who knows if that combination is the equal of a HomePod?
And of course, at what point down the road (if at all) will Apple open up the HomePod to other music streaming services in the same way as Apple Music.
Apple have been late to the game in other product categories before without harming them, this time its not going to be so easy. Launching without some of the capabilities finished yet plus the huge delay is not encouraging i would suggest.
@egges: I am comparing my today’s experience with Deezer/TuneIn built-in within B&O prodcust (native/elegant/does not consume my mobile phone’s battery) with Airplaying experience when I want to stream AppleMusic. Plus it is not one-click-music quick playback.
Then for the HomePod I anticipate the reverse thing. Not that it should stop Deezer users from buying it... ...just thought it might not be so ultimately elegant.
@Aussie Michael: we hope some adventurous forum members from countries where it is released might buy one and share experiences here... :whistle: ;j
However, still waiting for AirPlay 2 to be released ;-(
Might be more interesting for B&O/NL users (supposing that many also have ATV’s) than a ‘simple’ HPod.
sorry, AnalogPlanet, i was answering moxxey and TWG, who consider Apple-users as blind and ignorant sheeps, sadly(haven't seen your post before posting mine). of course i can't use AppleMusic out of the B&O-app, but that's not a problem for me at all. i hope Airplay 2 will give B&O the tool to enable BS 2 (and their other monospeakers) for stereo-mode as it is announced for the HomePod; at least i won't hesitate to get a second BS 2
Personally, I'm keeping away from voice control. Too many stories about people suddenly getting advertising for something they've mentioned in a private conversation, even though they were convinced that their mobile device microphone was supposedly turned off.
Just wait until rogue political parties start exploiting this technology and are listening to your views..... Big Brother???
Graham
AnalogPlanet:@Aussie Michael: we hope some adventurous forum members from countries where it is released might buy one and share experiences here... :whistle: ;j
I have 2 pre-ordered but will only set up one initially. I am a pretty basic user since I don't subscribe to Apple Music and only use my local library of music. I won't be using Siri much if at all since it won't work well with Japanese words and then only pull my music off of iTunes Match which is lower resolution. I will be happy to report back on my Airplay usage and how well I think it sounds without doing any direct comparison's to my B&O devices. I don't know if I will have Airplay with Tunein or how elegant that might be, so that might be missed. The Tunein app for iPhone/iPad seems to require a paid subscription to use. I believe this will be an advantage for B&O!
vikinger: Personally, I'm keeping away from voice control. Too many stories about people suddenly getting advertising for something they've mentioned in a private conversation, even though they were convinced that their mobile device microphone was supposedly turned off. Just wait until rogue political parties start exploiting this technology and are listening to your views..... Big Brother??? Graham
Orwell was prescient in predicting abuses of the surveillance state, but he never would have imagined that Big Brother might not be the government but rather the tech giants like Google, Facebook, etc. I am far too distrusting to let voice command products have free reign around the house.
For a while I worked in computer forensics, the things I can tell you after looking at your cache and search results would astound you. We've seen cases over here where the police obtained Siri and Alexa search records that were quite damning. Siri, how do you get rid of a body? Seriously. But what kind of moron asks that and doesn't think it's recorded somewhere in the cloud?
Once again, it's a tradeoff between privacy and convenience. Usually convenience wins for most people. As for the HomePod, I look forward to hearing what it really sounds like, the blurbs on the drivers and such look promising.