MY REVIEW IS MAINLY ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE SPEAKERS AS HOME CINEMA SPEAKERS
First of all, as a music speaker, it is very good! Powerful bass and clarity. Especially if two are combined in stereo mode. Definitely no comparison to the homεpod mini.
Now let's talk about it as a movie speaker.
I recommend it for those who:
- Have an Apple ecosystem (obviously Apple TV 4K)
- Do not have a 5-channel home cinema system (5.1)
So, if someone doesn't have 5.1, it's worth getting two Apple Homepods and using them as the default audio output on their Apple TV. They provide a very good simulation of Home Cinema. The engineers at Apple have done an excellent job with the sound dispersion.
HOWEVER, it cannot be compared to a 5-channel system for the simple reason that it doesn't have surround speakers, even though the sound sometimes gives you the impression that it's coming from the sides, and I'll explain why:
In my case, I have a Marantz AV receiver with four BOSE speakers, a center speaker, and a subwoofer. So, I can hear perfect Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. You might ask, then why did you get two Apple speakers?
Right!!!!
I did it for two reasons:
First, they said it supports Dolby Atmos and I wanted to try it (given that Atmos, compared to Dolby Digital, gives you the feeling that you are more inside the sound) -
Second, I wanted to buy/try other Apple products since I am a fan.
So, I have to say that even though the fidelity and clarity of the sound produced by the two Homepods in Dolby Atmos is truly exceptional, you lose the information from the rear surround speakers. There is a decent effort to give you the feeling that certain parts of the sound are coming from the sides, but it can never replace a 5.1 (at least in terms of surround speakers, because in terms of bass, they are quite good, almost the same as my subwoofer).
On the other hand, I have read that they are much better than a soundbar that also supports Dolby Atmos. The only soundbars I have seen compared to them are the SONOS ARC and BEAM, and again, the Apple ones are considered superior. The only difference with the SONOS is that it has the option to add surround speakers and a subwoofer later on, so the above mentioned points apply there.
Something else... The Apple Homepods have the ability to detect the surrounding space and adjust the sound accordingly. I noticed this when I made a change and saw that I hear movies much more immersively when I changed the position a bit. However, I have to emphasize that the position of the TV, being in a corner and not in the middle of the room, does not allow me to have the most ideal placement of the speakers on the left and right side in relation to the viewing position, and perhaps this also plays a significant role in my experience. In an ideal placement, I believe that the sound diffusion would be much better because I see several potentials.
We are looking forward to Apple being able to combine these speakers with two more Homepod Minis as surrounds in the future.
Since I have only had them for two days as I write this text, I will come back with an update.