There has always been this argument: Is music on a better system more enjoyable because it’s on a better system? The answer is no. If it’s digital music and the information is not being sucked out of it by digital means and something worthwhile is getting done with it, it won’t sound good.
This is particularly important while listening to music on the new HomePod from Apple. Call it HomePod 2 or the new generation HomePod, it’s a seriously clever piece of device that has sucked me in for the past week or so. And it comes at a time when young people are once again listening to more albums rather than only playlists.
The first full-size HomePod — as opposed to the Mini — came out in 2018, which is a full five years. There is a substantial crowd that either didn’t get a chance to own the 2018 product or maybe it’s the HomePod Mini that offered the first experience of Apple’s smart speaker.
There are two kinds of groups that will use the new HomePod — one comprising people who want to listen to music and the other that wants a little bit of music and also smart home features.
FOR THE MUSIC LISTENER
There’s something similar between 2018 and 2023. One of the sad things about the way we listen to music is we don’t sit down and enjoy 50-60 minutes of music anymore. The phone rings, we have emails to catch up on. For someone born in the 1970s, these distractions appear mindboggling.
At the same time, something incredible continues to take place — the revival of vinyl, which offers music that’s extremely different from the compressed sounds on little earbuds. A lot of young people are listening to vinyl, not necessarily at home. There are (hip) venues that host vinyl recording sessions and that’s once again awakening the ears to the quality of good music, encouraging young minds to once again listen to a record from start to finish as opposed to a medley of completely unrelated songs. Playlists won’t disappear but lately, I have been hearing from a lot of young folks speaking about enjoying the experience of listening to albums, which means the flow is important.
Then there’s a difference between the system used to create a piece of music and a system that’s used to hear what has been created. If I had a reasonably modest system that could recreate what musicians, sound engineers and producers wanted me to hear, I would be as happy as a bowl of jelly. To be able to play a track on a speaker while keeping the energy of the recorded track in place is an achievement. And that’s what the HomePod does. Disclaimer: All my music listening is via Apple Music app, with all the bells and whistles turned on. Spatial Audio is a game-changer and so is Apple’s take on lossless music. There has been a lot of talk about how the configuration of the new speaker has been slightly lowered to keep cost in check. This means the new one has four microphones instead of the original six and there are five horn-loaded tweeters compared to seven on the first. What these “critics” are not asking is: why would Apple deliberately try to make things worse? It’s not worse at all.
The improvements are quite big actually. Even with fewer microphones, the device is able to hear better now. Even if I am far away from the speaker, it can clearly pick up my voice. And sound? If I were blindfolded, I would still know when the new HomePod plays because it’s clearer and crisper.
The new HomePod is more fun to listen to. The sound is more detailed and there is more fullness to the tracks. When the song starts it’s very atmospheric as it should be and then when the bass comes in, it really fills the room. At the same time, the bass is not overpowering If you are wondering whether it colours the sound, of course it does. Don’t expect them to be studio monitors. But the music is close to what the creators of it want us to hear.
The first singer that brought to life the second-generation HomePod is Samara Joy and her creamy tone, making you want to re-embrace the songbook. There’s excellent clarity and the voice shines. Joy made me switch to Frank Sinatra’s A Man Alone, listening to the Chairman of the Board go walking in the rain, looking for happiness. The speaker adds plenty of dimension to each track. Then to something new — Kelela’s Raven with its minimalist club and R&B playlist. The laidback sound produced by the speaker had me in its thrall.
You don’t have to turn up the volume all the way up to get the best out of the system. Since I have been listening to it in my home office a lot, I often turn down to a lower level and even then the frequency response is still really good. I can still clearly hear the lows, everything is balanced just like if the volume were higher. The other great thing about the speaker is that it sounds exactly the same, no matter where you are in the room. If you decide to walk around the room, the sound remains the same.
Despite having fewer things in terms of hardware, the speaker offers a soundscape that’s better than that on the first-generation HomePod. You still get a satisfying thump from the woofer and the low sub-bass rumbles are enjoyable even at lower volumes. The way it uses computational audio to adjust sound based on how close it is to a wall is absolutely stunning.
The HomePod can fit anywhere, including the nightstand
The new HomePod with the latest HomePod Mini
The touch interface appears bigger and more receptive than before
The cable this time around is detachable
THE DIGITAL COMPANION
There are many people who don’t want to spend on an expensive 5.1 home theatre. They should take the two-in-one route, that is, get two of these HomePods and pair it to the new Apple TV 4K to get transported to a different sonic zone by creating a theatre experience with Dolby Atmos or surround sound right in your home. Unfortunately, if you have an old HomePod and you get a new HomePod, the two can’t be used as a stereo pair because the technology has been updated on the new device. Now add to the mix Apple TV+ programming and I promise you weekends will never be the same.
There are a couple of other nifty tricks the HomePod can do. It comes with a built-in sensor that can detect the temperature and humidity of a room. It’s important. Using the Weather app what I am getting is the temperature outside; now I can easily find out the temperature inside the room. Plus, it will help in home automation. What if I want to sync the triggers for the fan to increase or decrease speed with the sensor?
There will also be an update later this spring that will allow for sound recognition for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Hang on, there’s more. Besides supporting Apple’s HomeKit, the new HomePod also supports the new Matter standard, an opensource protocol that works across many smart-home devices.
SHOULD YOU BUY IT?
For the audiophile, there will always be that one setup at home around which the entire family gathers to enjoy an album like Kind of Blue or Bruce Springsteen’s The River. But then each family member has his or her own taste and would like to unwind in their nooks while music unspools from a personal speaker. This is that personal speaker. This is that one device you need for listening to voices that conjure romance, loneliness, bright dreams, wistful romance and misplaced hopes. If not anything, it offers stellar computational sound for its size.
At a glance
Dive into the HomePod menu after setting up the device
Device: Apple HomePod (second generation)
Price: Rs 32,900
HIGH NOTES
- Meant for listening for long hours
- Pairing a couple of new HomePods can turn it into a sound system for the TV
- Anybody looking to gear up home automation, this supports the new Matter standard
- The sound sparkles no matter where you are in the room
- With a built-in sensor, HomePod can detect and tell you the temperature and humidity of the room
- Apple is known for privacy-related features
MUFFLED NOTE
- To set it up, you need an iOS device