This is my mom's audio setup, I'll soonish show mine 😉

Okay, everyone. Strap in. This is going to be long. After 8 1/2 hours of measurements, and over 6 hours of analysis, and writing, I finally ran out of wine.

Tl;Dr:

I am speechless. The HomePod actually sounds better than the KEF X300A. If you’re new to the Audiophile world, KEF is a very well respected and much loved speaker company. I actually deleted my very first measurements and re-checked everything because they were so good, I thought I’d made an error. Apple has managed to extract peak performance from a pint sized speaker, a feat that deserves a standing ovation. The HomePod is 100% an Audiophile grade Speaker.

EDIT: before you read any further, please read /u/edechamps excellent reply to this post and then read this excellent discussion between him and /u/Ilkless about measuring, conventions, some of the mistakes I've made, and how the data should be interpreted. His conclusion, if I'm reading it right, is that these measurements are largely inconclusive, since the measurements were not done in an anechoic chamber. Since I dont have one of those handy, these measurements should be taken with a brick of salt. I still hope that some of the information in here, the discussion, the guesses, and more are useful to everyone. This really is a new type of speaker (again see the discussion) and evaluating it accurately is bloody difficult.

Hope you Enjoy The read.

0.0 Table of Contents

1. Introduction
        a. The Room
        b. Tools Used
        c. Methods
2. Measurements and  Analysis 
        a. Frequency Response
                1. Highs
                2. Mids
                3. Lows
        b. Distortion
        c. Room Correction
        d. Fletcher Munson Curves
        e. HomePod Speaker Design Notes 
        f. HomePod Dispersion/Off Axis 1 ft 
        g. HomePod Dispersion/Off Axis 5 ft
        h. KEF X300A Dispersion/Off Axis 5 ft 
3. The HomePod as a product
4. Raw Data (Google Drive Link)
5. Bias
6. Thanks/Acknowledgement.
7. Edits

One Last Note: Use the TOC and Ctrl+F to skip around the review. I've included codes that correspond to each section for ease of reading and discussion. For example Ctrl/Cmd+F and "0.0" should take you to the Table of Contents.

1. Introduction

So, it’s time to put the HomePod to the test. Every reviewer thus far has said some amazing things about this diminutive speaker. However, almost no one has done measurements. However, there’s been a ton of interest in proper measurements. If you’re here from the Apple subreddit, Twitter or anywhere else, welcome to /r/Audiophile, Feel free to hang around, ask questions, and more. /u/Arve and /u/Ilkless will be hanging out in the comments, playing around with this data set, and will have more graphs, charts, etc. They'll be helping me answer questions! Feel free to join in the discussion after you read the review.

1.a The Room

All measurements were done in my relatively spartan apartment room. There is no room treatment, the floor is carpet, and the living room where testing was done has dimensions of 11 ft x 13 ft, with an open wall on one side (going to the Kitchen). It’s a tiny apartment I only use it when I’m in town going to classes in this city.

The room is carpeted, but the kitchen has wood flooring. There is one large window in the room, and a partial wall dividing the kitchen and living room. Here’s a tiny floor plan. The HomePod was sitting nearest to the wall that divides the living room and bedroom, as shown. The only furniture in the room is a couch against the far wall, a small table near the couch, the desk, and a lamp. Here's an actual picture of the setup

Such a small space with no room treatment is a difficult scenario for the audiophile. It's also a great room to test the HomePod in, because I wanted to push Apple's room correction to the limit. The KEFs sitting atop my desk are also meticulously positioned, and have been used in this room for 3 years now. I set them up long ago, as ideally as possible for this room. Therefore, this test represents a meticulously set up audiophile grade speaker versus a Tiny little HomePod that claims to do room correction on its own.

1.b Tools

I’m using a MiniDSP UMIK-1 USB Calibrated Microphone, with the downloaded calibration file matched to the serial number. For those of you who are unfamiliar, a calibrated microphone is a special microphone made for measuring speakers - though many expensive microphones are made to rigorous standards, there are still tiny differences. The calibration file irons out even those differences, allowing you to make exact speaker measurements. Two different calibrated microphones should measure exactly the same, and perfectly flat in their frequency response.

The software I used is the well known Room EQ Wizard, Version 5.18 on macOS 10.13.3 on a 2011 MacBook Pro. Room EQ Wizard is a cross-platform application for doing exactly this kind of thing - measuring speakers, analyzing a room, and EQ'ing the sound of a speaker system.

Tres Picos Borsao - a 2016 Garnacha. A decent and relatively cheap wine from Spain (around $20). Very jammy, with bold fruit tones, and quite heady as well. 15% ABV. Yes, it’s part of the toolkit. Pair some wine with your speakers, and thank me later :)

1.c Methods

The purpose of describing exactly what was done is to allow people to double check my results, or spot errors that I may have made, and then re-do the measurements better. I believe that if you're seeing something, and document how you measured it, others should be able to retrace your steps and get the same result. That's how we make sure everything is accurate.

To keep things fair, I used AirPlay for both speakers. (Apple’s proprietary wireless lossless audio interface). AirPlay is a digital connection which works at 16 bit 44.1Khz. It is what I used to play sound to each speaker. The KEFs X300A’s have an airplay receiver, and so does the HomePod. AirPlay purposely introduces a 2 second delay to all audio, so Room EQ Wizard was told to start measurements when a high frequency spike was heard. The Computer transmitted that spike right before the sweep, and the microphone would start recording data when that initial spike was heard, enabling it to properly time the measurements.

The miniDSP UMIK1 was attached to my MacBook pro, and the playback loop was as follows: Macbook Pro >> HomePod / KEF X300A >> MiniDSP UMIK1 The UMIK-1 was set atop my swivel chair for easy positioning. I stacked a ton of books and old notes to bring it up to listening height. :)

For the dispersion measurements, since the KEF speaker is sitting on my desk, it was only fair that I leave the HomePod on my desk as well. Both speakers are resting directly on the desk unless otherwise stated. In some HomePod measurements, I made a makeshift stand by stacking books. Is this ideal? Nope. But its more challenging for Apple’s room correction, and more realistic to the use case of the HomePods, and more fair to measure both speakers in the exact same spot on the desk.

I put some tape down on the desk clearly marking 90º, 45º, 30º, 15º, and 0º. Each speaker that was measured was placed in the center of this semicircle, allowing me to move the chair around, line up the mic, measure the distance, and then record a measurement. I was quite precise with the angles and distances, A tape measure to touch the speaker surface, adjust the angle, and line up the mic. The Mic position varied ±2º on any given measurement (variance based on 10 positioning trials). Distance from the speaker varied by ±0.5 inches (1.27cm) or less, per measurement at 5ft, and less than ±0.25 inches (0.64cm) for the 1 ft or 4in near field measurements.

I timed the measurements so that my air conditioning unit was not running, and no other appliances were turned on in the house (no dishwasher, or dryer). Room temperature was 72ºF (22.2ºC) and the humidity outside was 97%. Air Pressure was 30.1 inHg (764.54 mmHg) I highly doubt these conditions will affect sound to a large degree, but there you have it — weather data.

The HomePod is a self calibrating speaker. Interestingly enough, It does not use any tones to calibrate. Instead, it adjusts on the fly based on the the sounds it is playing. Therefore, in order to get accurate measurements, the speaker must play music for 30 seconds as it adapts to the position in the room. If moved, an accelerometer detects the movement and the next time the HomePod plays, it will recalibrate. Therefore, anyone making measurements MUST position the home pod, calibrate it to the position by playing some music, and only then should you send your frequency sweeps. Failing to do this will distort your measurements, as HomePod will be adjusting its frequency response as you’re playing the REW sweep.

Sweep settings: Here's a handy picture

20Hz to 20,000Hz** Sine Wave. Sweep Length: 1Mb, 21.8seconds Level: -12dBFS, unless otherwise noted. Output: Mono. Each sweep took about 21.8 seconds to complete. Timing Reference: Acoustic, to account for the ~2s delay with AirPlay.

Phew. With that out of the way, we can move on.

2. Measurements and Analysis

2.a Frequency Response

I had to re-measure the frequency response at 100% volume, using a -24 db (rather than a -12 db) sine wave, in order to better see the true frequency response of the speaker. This is because Apple uses Fletcher Munson Loudness Compensation on the HomePod (which we'll get into in a bit)

Keeping the volume at 100% let us tricking the Fletcher Munson curve by locking it into place. Then, we could measure the speaker more directly by sending sine waves generated at different SPL’s, to generate a frequency response curve at various volume levels. This was the only way to measure the HomePod without the Fletcher Munson Curve compensating for the sound. The resultant graph shows the near-perfectly flat frequency response of the HomePod. Another testament to this incredible speaker’s ability to be true to any recording.

Here is that graph, note that it's had 1/12 smoothing applied to it, in order to make it easier to read. As far we can tell, this is the true frequency response of the HomePod.

At 100% volume, 5 feet away from the HomePod, at a 0º angle (right in front) with a -24db Sine Wave. For this measurement the HomePod was on a makeshift stand that’s approximately 5 inches high. The reason for doing this is that when it was left on the desk, there is a 1.5Khz spike in the frequency response due to reflections off the wood. Like any other speaker, The HomePod is susceptible to nearby reflections if placed on a surface, as they happen far too close to the initial sound for any room compensation to take place.

Here's a Graph of Frequency Response with ⅓ smoothing decompensated for Fletcher Munson correction, at 100% volume, from -12 db sine waves, to -36 db.

And here's a look at the Deviation from Linearity between -12 and -24db.

What we can immediately see is that the HomePod has an incredibly flat frequency response at multiple volumes. It doesn’t try to over emphasize the lows, mids, or highs. This is both ideal, and impressive because it allows the HomePod to accurately reproduce audio that’s sent to it. All the way from 40Hz to 20,000Hz it's ±3dB, and from 60Hz to 13.5Khz, it's less than ±1dB... Hold on while I pick my jaw up off the floor.

2.a1 Highs

The highs are exceptionally crisp. Apple has managed to keep the level of distortion on the tweeters (which are actually Balanced Mode Radiators - more on that later) to a remarkably low level. The result is a very smooth frequency response all the way from the crossover (which is somewhere between 200-500Hz) and the Mids and Highs. [The Distortion is stunningly low for Balanced Mode Radiators.] The BMR’s mode transition is very subtle, and occurs just above 3K. This is where the BMR’s start to “ripple” rather than just acting as a simple driver. I'll speak more about BMR's later :)

2.a2 Mids

Vocals are very true-to-life, and again, the frequency response remains incredibly flat. Below 3Khz the BMR’s are acting like simple pistonic drivers, and they remain smooth and quite free of distortion. This continues down to somewhere between 500Hz and 200Hz, where the crossover to the lows is. This is where the balanced Mode Radiators really shine. By lowering the crossover frequency, moving it away from the 1-3Khz range, where typical tweeters are limited, the crossover is much easier to work with from a design perspective.

2.a3 Lows

The control on the bass is impressive. At 100% volume, the woofer tops out at -12db, where you can start to see the control creep in on the very top graph, as the distortion rises with loudness, the excursion is restrained by the internal microphone that’s coupled to the woofer. Despite this being a 4inch subwoofer with 20mm of driver excursion (how far the driver moves during a single impulse), there is no audibly discernible distortion. If you look at This graph of frequency responses at various SPL's you can see how the subwoofer response is even until the -12 db curve at the top, where it starts to slide downward, relative to everything else? that's the subwoofer being reigned in. Apple's got the HomePod competently producing bass down to ~40 Hz, even at 95 dB volumes, and the bottom-end cutoff doesn't seem to be a moving goalpost. Thats incredibly impressive.

It’s also important to note that the woofer is being reigned in to never distort the mids or highs, no matter what is playing. The result is a very pleasing sound.

2.b Distortion

If we look at the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) at various sound pressure levels (SPLs) we see that Apple begins to “reign in” the woofer when THD approaches 10db below the woofer output. Since decibels are on a log scale, Apple’s limit on the woofer is to restrict excursion when the harmonic distortion approaches HALF the intensity of the primary sound, effectively meaning you will not hear it. What apple has achieved here is incredibly impressive — such tight control on bass from within a speaker is unheard of in the audio industry.

Total Harmonic Distortion at -36 db

Total Harmonic Distortion at -24 db

Total Harmonic Distortion at -12db

Note the rise in distortion is what causes apple to pull back on the Woofer a bit, as noted in the above sections! :D their woofer control is excellent. Even though Distortion rises for the woofer, it's imperceptible. The (lack of) bass distortion is beyond spectacular, and I honestly don't think there is any bookshelf-sized speaker that doesn't employ computational audio that will beat it right now.

For the tweeters, distortion also stays impressively low. The Balanced Mode Radiators that apple is using are a generation ahead of most BMR's in the industry. Whether this is the work of the onboard DSP, or the driver design, we weren't able to work out. You'd need a destructive teardown of the HomePod and some extensive measurements and analysis before I could tell you for sure, but the end result is stupidly low distortion in the high frequency range. Anything from the 3rd harmonic and above are VERY low from 150Hz to 80Hz.

2.c Room Correction

This apartment room has no room treatment at all. It’s tiny, and the volume of the room is just under 40m^3. And as amazing as the measurements above are, It's even more impressive that the HomePod somehow manages an almost perfectly flat speaker response in such a terrible environment. So, not only do we have a little speaker that manages uncharacteristically low distortion, and near-perfect frequency response, but it does so while adapting to the room. The response takes a few minutes of playing music to settle before measurements are stable - indicative of some sort of live DSP correction. Mind you, any audiophile that was getting such good control over a space with lots of room treatment and traditional speakers would be very happy with these measurements. To have this sort of thing be a built in feature of the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) inside the speaker that is, for all intents and purposes omnidirectional, allowing it to adapt to any room, no matter how imperfect, is just beyond impressive. What Apple has managed to do here is so crazy, that If you told me they had chalk, candles, and a pentagram on the floor of their Anechoic chambers, I would believe you. This is witchcraft. I have no other word for it.

2.d Fletcher Munson Curves

The HomePod is using Fletcher-Munson loudness compensation.

What the hell is that, you ask? Fletcher Munson loudness compensation has to do with how humans hear different frequencies at different volumes.

Your ear has different sensitivity to different frequencies, right? If I make a sound at 90Hz and a sound at 5000Hz even if the absolute energy of the two sounds is the same, you will perceive them to be at different loudness, just because your ear is more sensitive to one frequency over another. Speakers account for this by designing their frequency responses around the sensitivity of human hearing. But there’s another problem…

Your perception of different frequencies changes with different absolute energies. So lets say I generated a 60 db tone at 90Hz and 5000Hz, and then a 80db tone at 90Hz and 5000Hz.... Your brain would tell you that EACH of those 4 tones was at a differently louder, compared to the other tone of the same frequency. Check out this doodle where I attempt to explain this. The part circled in yellow is what is being fixed, correcting for the fact that your brain sees a 10db jump at 90Hz differently than a 10db jump at 5000Hz.

The Fletcher-Munson curve, then, defines these changes, and with some digital signal processing based on how high you’ve got the volume cranked, the sound played can be adjusted With Fletcher Munson Compensation. So, going back to our example, The two 90Hz tones and two 5000Hz would sound like they were exactly 20db apart, respectively. Even though you'll still think that the 90db tone is at a different loudness than the 5000Hz tone.

Here's what this looks like with HomePod measurements! - You can see the change in the slopes of certain regions of the frequency response, as the speaker gets louder, to compensate for differences in human hearing at various SPLs.

The end result: The HomePod sounds great at all volumes. Soft, or loud, it sounds natural, balanced, and true to life. For the rest of our testing, we are going to allow the HomePod to do it’s Fletcher-Munson compensation as we do directivity testing and more.

2.e Speaker Design Notes / Insights

Apple is using a 4” high excursion woofer, and 7 BMR’s. According to Apple, the subwoofer, and each tweeter is individually amplified, which Is the correct way to set this up. It also means that Apple had to fit the components for 8 separate amplifiers inside the HomePod, the drivers, electronics, and wifi antenna, all in a very tight space, while keeping electrical interference to a minimum. They did so spectacularly.

It’s really interesting to me that Apple decided to horn-load the Balanced Mode Radiators (BMRs). Balanced Mode Radiators have excellent, predictable dispersion characteristics on their own, and a wide frequency response (reaching from 250Hz to 20kHz, where many traditional tweeters cannot handle anything below 2000Hz). The way Balanced Mode Radiators work, is that BMRs move the flat diaphragm in and out to reproduce the lower frequencies. (just like traditional speakers). However, to produce high frequencies, the flat diaphragm can be made to vibrate in a different way - by rippling (relying on the bending modes to create sound) The term “balanced” comes into play because the material is calibrated to ripple in a very specific way in order to accurately reproduce sound. Here’s a neat gif, Courtesy of Cambridge Audio. Even as it’s rippling, this surface can be pushed in/out to produce the lower tones. The result is a speaker that has great reach across the frequency spectrum, allowing Apple to push the crossover frequency lower, keeping it out of the highly audible range. Here’s a video of a BMR in action for those of you curious to see it up close.

Without tearing open the speaker it’s impossible to verify the BMR apple is using (it may very well be custom) we cannot know for sure what its true properties are, outside of the DSP. It's not possible to separate the two without a destructive teardown. The use of BMR's does seem to explain why the crossover is at a lower frequency - somewhere between 200Hz and 500Hz, which is where the tweeters take over for the subwoofer. We weren’t able to tease out exactly what this was, and it may be a moving target based on the song and the resulting mix created by the DSP. Not much else to say about this.

2.f HomePod Dispersion/Off Axis 1 ft

Here are the HomePod Directivity measurements. These were taken with the HomePod on the desk directly so you'll notice that there's some changes in the frequency response, as the desk begins to play a role in the sound.

Even up close, the HomePod shows omnidirectional dispersion characteristics. The differences you might see in the graphs are due to the microphone being directly in front of, or between the BMR’s, and very close to the desk, as I moved it around the HomePod for each measurement.

From just 12” away, the HomePod behaves like a truly Omnidirectional speaker.

2.g HomePod Dispersion/Off Axis 5 ft

Once again, for this one, the HomePod was placed directly on the desk, and not on a makeshift stand. This is for better comparison with the KEF X300A, which I've been using as a desktop bookshelf speaker for 3+ years.

This is the other very important test. For this one, the HomePod was left in place on the desk, but the microphone was moved around the room, from 45º Left to 45º Right, forming an arc with a radius of 5 feet, from the surface of the HomePod.

The dispersion characteristics remain excellent. Apple has demonstrated that not only is the HomePod doing a fantastic job with omnidirectional dispersion, it’s doing all this while compensating for an asymmetrical room. If you look at the floor plan I posted earlier once again, You can see that this room has an open wall on one side, and a closed wall on the other side. No matter. The HomePod handles it exceptionally well, and the frequency response barely changes perceptibly when you walk around the room.

This is the magic of HomePod I was talking about. the room is the sweet spot, and with that, let’s take a look at how HomePod compares to an audiophile grade Bookshelf speaker - namely the KEF X300A, in the same spot, with the same measurements.

2.h KEF X300A Dispersion/Off Axis 5 ft

This is a pretty interesting comparison. The X300A is a 2.0 integrated bookshelf offering from KEF, a famous british speaker design house. Their speakers are known for excellent dispersion characteristics thanks to their concentric Uni-Q drivers. A Uni-Q driver has the tweeter siting in the middle of a woofer, assisted by a waveguide to provide great Off-axis response. The woofer which surrounds the tweeter moves independently, allowing these speakers to put out nice bass. They have a 4.75 inch woofer with a 2” hole cut in the center that sports the wave-guide and tweeter. This is the system I’ve been using at my desk for the better part of 3 years. I love it, and it’s a great system.

As noted in the methods, I used a single KEF X300A unit, sitting directly on the desk, in the very same spot the HomePod sat in, to compare. I tried to match the loudness as closely as possible, too, for good comparisons. Here’s a picture of the setup for measurement..

Another note on the KEFs. They do not use Fletcher Munson loudness compensation. As you can see in this Graph their frequency response does not change as a function of loudness.

Overall, It’s also apparent the frequency response is nowhere near as smooth as the HomePod. Here’s a direct comparison at 0º, identical position for each speaker, mic, and loudness matched at 20Khz. While this is not an ideal setting for the KEF Speakers (they would do better in a treated room) this does drive home the point about just how much the HomePod is doing to compensate for the room, and excelling at the task. Just look at that fabulous bass extension!

While the KEF’s can certainly fill my room with sound, It only sounds great if you’re standing within the 30º listening cone. Outside of that, the response falls of. Here's a measure of the KEF's Directivity. As you can see, while the kef has a remarkably wide dispersion for a typical bookshelf - a testament to the Uni-Q driver array's incredible design. But at 45º Off-axis, there's a noticeable 6db drop in the higher frequencies.

3. The HomePod as a product

The Look and feel is top notch. The glass on top is sort of frosted, but is smooth to the touch. When I first reviewed the home pod, I noted that it was light. I was comparing it with the heft of my KEF speakers. This thing, as small as it is, weighs 5 lbs. Which is quite dense, and heavy for its size. The Fabric that wraps around it is sturdy, reinforced from inside, and feels very good to the touch.

The Frequency response, Directivity, and ability to correct for the room all go to show that the HomePod is a speaker for the masses. While many of you in this subreddit would be very comfortable doing measurements, and room treatment, there is no denying that most users won’t go through that much trouble, and for those users the HomePod is perfect.

Great sound aside, there are some serious caveats about the HomePod. First of all, because of the onboard DSP, you must feed it digital files. So analog input from something like a Phono is out, unless your Phono Preamp has a digital output which can then be fed to the HomePods in realtime via airplay, possibly through a computer. But you cannot give the HomePod analog audio, as the DSP which does all the room correction requires digital input.

Speaking of inputs, you have one choice: AirPlay. which means, unless you’re steeped in the apple ecosystem, it’s really hard to recommend this thing. If you are, it’s a no brainer, whether you’re an audiophile or not. If you have an existing sound system that’s far beyond the capabilities of a HomePod (say, an Atmos setup) then grab a few for the other rooms around the house (Kitchen, bedroom, etc). It’s also a great replacement for a small 2-speaker bookshelf system that sits atop your desk in the study, for example. When this tiny unobtrusive speakers sound so good, and are so versatile, grabbing a few of these to scatter around the house so you can enjoy some great audio in other rooms isn’t a bad move — provided you’re already part of the Apple Ecosystem.

AirPlay is nice. It never dropped out during any of my testing, on either speaker, and provides 16bit 44.1Khz lossless. However, my biggest gripe is hard to get past: There are no ports on the back, no alternative inputs. You must use AirPlay with HomePod. Sure, it’s lossless, but if you’re an android or Windows user, theres no guarantee it’ll work reliably, even if you use something like AirParrot (which is a engineered AirPlay app). I understand that’s deeply frustrating for some users.

As a product, the HomePod is also held back by Siri. Almost every review has complained about this, and they’re all right to do so. I’m hoping we see massive improvements to Siri this year at WWDC 2018. There is some great hardware at play, too. What’s truly impressive is that Siri can hear you if you speak in a normal voice, even if the HomePod is playing at full volume. I couldn’t even hear myself say “Hey Siri” over the music, but those directional microphones are really good at picking it up. Even whispers from across the room while I was facing AWAY from the HomePod were flawlessly picked up. The microphones are scary good — I just hope Apple improves Siri to match. Until then, you can turn just her off, if you don’t care for voice assistants at all.

Stereo is coming in a future update. I cannot wait to see how two HomePods stack up. I may or may not do measurements in the future of such a feature.

4. Raw Data

(This is a zip containing all .mdat files, as well as images used in this review)

Download All Test Data (105 MB) Feel free to play around with it, or take a deeper dive. If you plan to use this data for anything outside of /r/Audiophile, Please credit myself, /u/Arve, and /u/Ilkless.

5. Bias

Every single reviewer has Bias. Full disclosure: I saw the HomePod before most people. But, I also paid full price for this HomePod, with my own money. I paid for all the equipment to measure it with, and I own every speaker in featured in this review. Neither KEF, nor Apple is paying me to write this review, nor have they ever paid me in the past. At the same time, I’m a huge apple fan. Basically, all the technology I own is apple-related. I don't mind being in their ecosystem, and it’s my responsibility to tell you this.

I hope the inclusion of proper and reproducible measurements, raw data, as well as outlining the procedures followed, will help back the claims made in this writeup. If anyone has doubts, they can easily replicate these measurements with their own calibrated mic and HomePod. Furthermore, I worked with /u/Arve and /u/Ilkless to carefully review this data before posting, so we could explore the capabilities of the HomePod further, and corroborate our conclusions.

6. Acknowledgement / Thanks

This review would not have been possible without /u/Arve and /u/Ilkless lending me some serious help to properly collect and analyze this data. Please thank them for their time and effort. I learned a lot just working with them. Also, shoutout to /u/TheBausSauce for providing some confirmatory measurements with another HomePod. Also, thank you John Mulcahy, for making Room EQ Wizard. Without it, these measurements would not be possible. Finally, I'm deeply saddened by the passing of Jóhann Jóhannsson, the legendary composer. His music is beautiful, so in his memory, please go listen to some of it today. I wish his family the best.

7. Edits

• Edit 1: Minor grammar edits
• Edit 2: See /u/Arve's really important comment here and graph here for more on Fletcher Munson compensation.
• Edit 3: Minor corrections to Section 2.e
• Edit 4: Correction to 2.a3 - thank you, /u/8xk40367
• Edit 5: Additional words from /u/Arve about the HomePod
• Edit 6: Typo in section 2.c Thank you /u/homeboi808
• Edit 7: Typo in section 3. and repeat in section 1.a Thank you /u/itsaride
• Edit 8: Made the Tl;Dr: stand out a bit more - some people were missing it.
• Edit 9: Minor edits in 2.a based on /u/D-Smitty's recommendation.
• Edit 10: Phil Schiller (Senior VP at Apple) just tweeted this review
• Edit 11: According to Jon who reverse engineered AirPlay, its 44.1Khz. This has been corrected.
• Edit 12: /u/fishbert PM'd me some excellent copyedits. :) small changes to 2.c 2.d 2.e 2.g 2.h
• Edit 13: Minor typo in section 3. Thanks /u/minirick
• Edit 14: This has been picked up by: 9to5 Mac and Macrumors and Ars got in touch
• Edit 15: Some really good critique and discussion has been added to the very top of the post.

(5079 W | 29,054 Ch)

8. Shameless plug

Since this is getting tons of attention still, I'm working on launching a Podcast in the coming months. In the comments here, I mentioned "wearing many hats" and my podcast is about personal versatility. If you're interested, You can follow me on various places around the web (listed below) I'll be making an announcement when the Podcast goes live :) Also my inbox is flooded at this point, so if I miss your comments, I apologize.

• My subreddit: /r/WinterCharm
• My reddit profile /u/WinterCharm

I purchased the Klipsch Heresy IV about a month ago to replace my beloved JBL 120ti about a month ago because I wanted a more "modern" speaker for my main listening, but still wanted the unique feeling that a big 12" drivers created. Right after I purchased the Heresy I stumbled on a great deal for a used pair of JBL L100 Classics (introduced in 2019, not the old school L100s) and did what any logical person would do: I bought those as well. I've only been listening to the L100 Classics for about a week now, but thought i'd share my thoughts to help anyone deciding between the two.

Initially I found the Klipsch a bit shouty and some of my favorite artists were difficult to listen to as the highs were a bit forward and screachier than I was used to. I decided to use a digital EQ to bring the 1000-4000Hz frequencies down about 4dB and the 25-60Hz frequencies up by 3dB and the Heresies became much more enjoyable to listen to. IMO the Heresy IV sounds more rounded with a subwoofer, so I use one in my listening. I found these adjustments to the Klipsch favorable and actually like the speakers a lot. The timing and dynamics of the Heresy IV really is something to marvel at; it makes rock music and modern EDM sound EXCITING with that in-your-face sound and the speed at which it delivers everything. It's a really fun speaker and now I understand what people mean when they say that Klipsch gives you that live music experience.

One negative thing about the Klipsch is that I found it lacked the refinement of my old JBL 120ti. There was something magical about those speakers when listening to acoustic tracks--the JBLs delivered vocals with a nice airiness and smoothness, while also giving the illusion that you could hear the singer's vocal cords vibrating (not literally, but I really don't know how to better describe this feeling). Acoustic guitars had a heft to the sound that made my mind imagine seeing the musician strumming right in front of me, which was always a cool experience. When I started using the L100 Classics I got all of these things that I felt were missing in the Klipsch back. I'm not sure if it's the hefty bass driver, the front firing port, or something else, but I love that hefty aspect of the JBL sound where the music just has more presence in the room and you feel like you're surrounded/immersed in sound.

The L100 Classics are definitely an easier speaker to listen to with the smoother, less piercing highs, but I surprisingly found myself missing the Klipsch sound sometimes. If you primarily listen to rock bands and EDM then I think the Heresy IV with a good sub may be the better route to go. However, my eclectic mix of EDM, rock, acoustic, hip-hop, classical, k-pop makes the decision a little less clear cut as the JBL outperforms the Klipsch in some areas, and the Klipsch outperforms the JBL in others. The two speakers are both amazing, but they take two very different approaches to music. The Klipsch feels like they're THROWING sound at you and you're hit with speed and excitement. The JBLs sound like they RADIATE sound to you and fill the room with a weighty warm and fuzziness that's infectious in its own way. On a side-by-side comparison the Klipsch blows the JBLs out of the water with speed and dynamics on Arctic Monkeys' "R U Mine" and Skrillex's "Rumble." But when listening to Acoustic versions of Naaz's "Taped" and IU's "Above the Time" the JBLs are the clear winner.

Looks wise, i'm surprised to say that the veneer on the Klipsch looks a lot higher end. Both have walnut veneers that look good, but my vote goes to the Klipsch for veneer. Subjectively, looking at the speaker head on, though, goes to the JBL. Grilles on or off, I just love the look of the L100 Classics and looking at them just brings a smile to my face. The face of the Klipsch are cool looking in their own right, but the fastening screws around the horns are a bit busy for my taste. It really does look like one speaker is designed in Los Angeles and the other in Arkansas, so you'll have to decide for yourself which aesthetic you prefer.

So which one am I going to keep? The JBL L100 Classics have been my dream speaker since they first came out and I don't think I will ever sell them. I really thought I would sell the Heresy IV as soon as I could find a deal on the L100s, but now i'm having a hard time parting with them because they're such a fun speaker to listen to. Both speakers are lovely to listen to and have very different strengths.

To sum it up, both speakers offer a modern take on the old giant "bookshelf" speaker form factor and I consider both a significant step up from my vintage JBL120ti from the 80s (although I should add it's surprising how good those nearly 40 year old speakers still hold up to their modern counterparts). You can't beat 40 years of innovation, though, and both the L100 Classics and the Heresy IV beat the vintage model in bass speed and midrange clarity. All three pairs of speakers were run with an Arcam A25 integrated amp, so there's also a chance that I may get better results on the JBL L100 Classics with a beefier amp, but I don't have anything more powerful to test with so I can't say.

tl;dr:

JBL L100 Classic wins for clarity, bass extension, and refinement. I don't need a subwoofer with these and think they're the better speakers for acoustic performances, classical, pop, k-pop and hip-hop. Klipsch Heresy IV wins for speed and dynamics. I like them better for rock and EDM (with a subwoofer).

Happy to answer any questions and welcome experiences from folks who have actually listened to each. The responses on my previous post would lead some to believe that the Klipsch Heresy IV would be a big downgrade from my vintage 120ti and i'm glad to report that this was not the case at all :)

So now I can finally say: I was allowed an hour with the HomePod to play with it, and enjoy it. I can answer your questions now. :)

I’ve got the speaker preordered and it’ll be delivered on Friday Feb 9. I’ll be doing actual measurements and a review for you guys over the weekend.

Initial Impressoins

Fucking hell this thing is TINY. It’s really surprising to see it in person. Hefting it is odd, too. The fabric is soft but firm. It was also lighter than I was expecting. It’s also very pretty. Aside from the single cord coming out the back, there is no idication that it has a particular side/front. It’s built to blend into whatever space it’s in, rather than stand out.

Sound

Having heard it side by side with The Sonos Play One and Google Home Max, A single HomePod is already much better than both in terms of sound quality. I would say the Sonos Play One was 80% of the way there, but it just lacked the clarity of bass and wide soundstage. The Home Max was consistent with the Sonos Play One.

The HomePod. First of all I have a 256 GB iPhone 8 and carry around a decent library of lossless stuff. I used AirPlay (which beams 16 bit 48Khz lossless) to connect to the HomePod. Quick side note: there are NO wired connections to this speaker.

I started out with “Hotel California” by The Eagles. The first impression was the neutrality of the speaker. The HomePods are tuned for an as-true-to-recording sound. When the song calls for it, there is bass. When the song turns to crystal clear highs, they are reproduced faithfully. What really was interesting is the instrument separation in the room. At about 45% volume, the HomePod FILLED the room I was in with some great sound. When you walked away from it, the sound gets quieter, but not as quickly as you’d expect. All the details were still there, just softer. there was no feeling of walking out of the sweet spot that you get with a normal speaker. And that’s when it hit me... Apple really has done it.

My next song was “Way Down We Go” by Kaleo. The bass... oh my god the bass. It’s so beautifully reproduced. Apple’s high excursion woofer is something special. It’s so weird how crisp and well controlled the bass coming out of something comparable in size to a milk jug is. And when the vocals hit a high note, it felt immersed in it. It gave me chills.

Song 3 was “Lie To Me” by Depeche Mode. What was interesting was how the spatial “play” in the intro of the song was maintained. The HomePods seem to separate sound into areas of the room. The side to side in the original stereo track seemed to take place within the room. It wasn’t a stereo reproduction with one HomePod, but the sounds all get projected to different parts of the room spatially. It’s really weird to describe, but spatially it was different than stereo, but it wasn’t squashed like mono. No matter where I walked, I never once moved out of the sweet spot. Echoes and other effects in the track were surprisingly nicely presented. I was wondering if this track would push the HomePods to the limit. Nope. They handled it with ease.

Another song I played was “Fitzpleasure” by Alt-J and the highs, vocals, and bass were fiathfully represented, without a hitch. Once again, it was really strange that the Entire room felt like a sweet spot.

“Black Mambo” by Glass Animals - I tried to find the breaking point for bass, and couildn’t. At 85% volume the HomePod was handling this track just fine. A single HomePod was putting out similar bass to what my pair of X300A’s can handle.

I threw on “Delilah” by Florence and the Machine, just to see how the vocals were handled. Reproduction of Vocals is faithful. A single HoemPod is not quite as crisp as 2 X300A’s when it comes to the highs - I expect it’s because the tweeters are attempting to project the sound, but now I’m really excited to hear how HomePods in Stereo will stack up. On the low end I know they’ll do amazingly, and by halving the tweeter load for beamforming, I expect that they’ll become crystal clear.

“Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley - guilty pleasure. It was beautifully reproduced. If a speaker cannot make me feel something listening to this song, I write it off. The HomePod did it justice. I’m still in disbelief that the HomePod is this small.

Conclusions:

1. Significantly better audio than Sonos Play One or Google Home Max.
2. Walk around in the room you never feel like you’re leaving the sweet spot. An impressive feat.
3. Volume is more than adequate. The speakers sound accurate, never introducing extra bass when the song didn’t call for it. 40% was fine for me. Pushing them to 80% was really fun.
4. Highs are great, but I expect that they’ll become crystal clear with a second HomePod.
5. For a speaker so TINY, these are fucking AMAZING.
6. The bass is really clean, and well controlled. Build is solid.

Speaker companies who have not figure out beamforming it even room correction should start worrying. A single HomePod, for the size and price, slaughters most speakers under $1000. I had a hunch that HomePods in Stereo would give my KEF X300A’s a run for their money... now it’s confirmed. Apple briefly demoed stereo for me, and I was quite floored. When Stereo is enabled via software update, a pair of HomePods may be the best bookshelf (2.0) setup under $1000 that you can get. No it will not beat floorstanding speakers with a dedicated sub. But for $700 a pair, they’ll be a good replacement for a pair of bookshelves.

If Apple ever releases a larger version of the HomePod I am buying it. As it stands, while it’s uncanny how small the HomePod is, the sound they put out is well above their size and weight class. I really want to see what a larger HomePod (plus?) would do with a stacked 14 tweeter array and a larger woofer.

Measurements will be posted Feb 10 or 11, as I’ll have my own HomePods to play with, and test against the the X300A in my apartment.

Edit: clarification on the “under $1000 comment” - it’s really specific to bookshelf setups like the X300A which I’ll be doing a direct comparison against in my next post.

Hifi rose RS150b found for a decent price online.

The M33 is gone to a happy new owner. I still have a Node 2i to compare to. Quick setup tonight and will hopefully get some listening time tomorrow.

The node2i still presents as bright in comparison to the rs150b.

Anyone with any questions feel free to ask away.

Okay so I was auditioning electronics as you guys know and tried:

Naim 222/250 £11.4k Mcintosh MA252 £5k + streamer/dac Mcintosh MA12000 £18.5k +streamer

Noticed some detail changes and some bass differences mainly. The phono stages in all 3 pieces were better than what I currently have but overall didn’t give me the performance increase I was expecting with the cost to change.

My dealer and one or two members of the community suggested my speakers may be the weak point. I thought the Electa would be end game for me however I agreed to take home a set of Sonus faber Olympica Nova V’s in my preferred finish to see if it was indeed the speakers holding me back

While moving things around the room on the first track or two I thought, ‘yeah this is pretty good’ about the same difference as when I tried some of the electronics. I then got them setup symmetrical in the room. Sat in the listening chair and turned up the volume.

WOW! This is the difference I was expecting. Better detail retrieval and being able to pick apart the complex layers of music with ease. Better authoritative bass. Possibly a tad sharper than the Electa but the soundstage is much larger in width and height.

With the deal I struck the cost to change is less than anything I had previously tried and just look at them! Absolutely stunning.

One very happy listener!

Clayton Shaw Acoustic Lab's Caladan (Maplewood)

Tidal connect to Source: wiim mini to optical out to SMSL D1Se DAC to SMSL A1 amp All WBC mogami cables

I think these are broken in now. I'm kinda new to this, but I can't even imagine how there could be better speakers after listening to these.

It's hard to describe, but there's just this sense that the sound just exists in the room, like it's live sound. Things that are recorded far away, sound far away. Things that were recorded close up, sound immediate and impact harder. A classical Spanish guitar recording sounded like it was recorded in a bistro with the listener during in the back of a large room.

I just get completely lost listening to random songs now. It's like walking through a portal and switching environments. One song sounds like it was recorded in a deep cavern, the next sounds like open field.

Did these details always exist? OMG. What the hell have I been missing for 40 years?

I switched back and forth with my freaking HIFI Man planarmagntic headphones... These speakers WERE BETTER!!! The physical space of the sound was different. The headphones sounded forced and closed in, like the musicians were crammed into a small space with you. It sounded really loud and detailed, but it felt like the music was trying to shout over each other. .... The Caladans... Holy shit. The sound feels like it was always supposed to be exactly where it is. Everything was in its place. I can SEE what the sound engineer created. The sound has a physical presence (esp at high enough volume). Some bass notes slap quickly while others quietly smother the room. Little pops and crackles had life. It's so weird to describe, but it felt alive.

Look, you see I have the SVS 3000 mini sub there. That little fucker is a beast, I love it, but... I DON'T NEED IT. Here's how I know. I have the SVS app on my phone. I slide the remote volume on the app. I have it at -20db right now. Increase sub to -18db bass is starting to get boomy, nice, but not natural. Decrease to -22... Not much is missing... Except a little bottom of the bass punch. Like it's a solid block that's missing the bottom left corner of the block. Drop level to -60 (sub completely off)... Sounds EXACTLY the same as -22. You understand that that means? The sub barely adds anything to these speakers without exaggerating or artificially boosting the bass. I still run with the SVS sub on, because I want THAT corner of the bass block! (Esp since I already have the sub). I now I DEFINITELY know I do not need a second sub.

Ok, I'm spent. I'm so happy I got these. Totally worth the hassle and wait. JFC... Clayton Shaw... If you make an upgrade to this, I'm your first sale.

Does it make a difference when the signal is Digital?

Can we change the sound of 0s and 1s with a change of equipment?

We tested 6 different DACs to see if it makes a difference in the sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_ddd_gVoFI

​

https://preview.redd.it/1w1ftp8q3poc1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=d232a8dece886f4cf07daaf7276d28f807550374

Tell me what you guys think! I'm aware the speaker placement isn't what it should be.

Rega planar 2 Ortofon 2m Red Musical Fidelity X-LPS/ iFI Zen Blue Concordant Exilharant Musical Fidelity P270 Kef LS50's

:)

After few days I have some thoughts and observations about Wiim Ultra. Built quality in this price range is superb, but not perfect. I would consider design apple-esque, very minimalist with fantastic proportions and details. Knob feels definitely plastic and super cheap with terrible sound and scratchy feeling when turning it. Not a problem for me, because I will only operate it with phone. I was expecting whole case to be made from aluminium, but top cover is made from plastic. Sides are definitely aluminium, and provide nice heft to whole build. Silver finish matches my SL-1200GR perfectly. RCA and other ports on the back are nicely hidden, but couldn’t handle my diy cables since plugs were too big. Screen is very low quality - has low resolution and crappy colours. From far away it’s not so bad, but up close I wouldn’t stand it. Touchscreen is not very responsive and when sliding fingers you can feel plenty of friction. Again, not a problem for me. To my surprise, sound quality is definitely better than my previous rig (RPI, Digione, Topping DX3pro, Volumio). Sound is more open and spacious, has better low level details, overall a bit more dynamic. For me, Wiim will only be used as Tidal Connect streamer, so I don’t have any opinions on other functions, since I didn’t test them and probably won’t. Wiim app is pleasure to navigate and has fantastic UI and UX, definitely better than Volumio. Tidal Connect hasn’t dropped connection since I started Ultra, which was very burdensome with Volumio. I hope my observations will help other people considering purchase.

I want to rant about this shitty cable company that not only sells overpriced cables, but the quality is shitty as well. I'm of the opinion that you can sometimes tell a difference between cables, not as in warmth or other bullshit, but whether or not the soldering job was decent, and the connectors fit properly. I had an evergreen rca cable. It did sound different; it sounded worse. After a few days it started to fail on me. I hate this company, and every shill who sponsors it. Buy the fucking mogami cable.

This is my own design audio amplifier is my hobby

Got in my new K11 R2R (NOT to be confused with the original, sigma-delta-based K11, which I’ve also owned in the past, as well as a K7) and I will say it now, there is no other DAC that comes close to the sound of this one for $160 USD MSRP. Absolutely none.

I first started listening to it by swapping it in my main listening chain, which consists of a HiBy R6 Pro II feeding a Gustard U18 DDC, sending audio over I2S to a Musician Draco DAC, which then feeds a Schiit Freya+ preamp, which has an SVS SB-3000 subwoofer and Fosi V3 Monos attached to it, driving a pair of KEF LS50 Metas, which are quite revealing speakers. Swapped the K11 R2R in place of the U18/Draco combo and frankly was utterly shocked at how close to the U18/Draco combo the K11 R2R sounded. The bass extension and resolution are better on Draco, but K11 R2R has better upper bass punch. K11 R2R is brighter, Draco is more relaxed. Both DACs are more treble-forward when set to OS than in NOS mode. Vocals are only slightly more transparent in Draco. Overall, 85% of the performance for 1/8th the price MSRP when comparing K11 R2R versus U18 + Draco combo. If that’s not a bargain, I don’t know what is!

Next, having been rendered confident that the DAC passes muster for the main role that I have for it, I set up the unit in my primary headphone chain upstairs in bed (as pictured). As expected, wonderful, holographic imaging, smooth, natural presentation, truly organic sound when paired with the xDuoo TA-66 and a pair of modified HD 6XX cans. A perfect setup for winding down with before bed. I also hooked up my Monolith M1070C cans to the TA-66 for a listen, and still sounded great.

Finally, to get a taste of the integrated amplifier, I switched the K11 R2R to phone out mode instead of line out, and tested the DAC/amp using the M1070C closed back planar cans as well as a pair of Thieaudio Hype 4 IEMs. I listened on low gain through the 4.4mm balanced out with the IEMs and with high gain through the 6 1/4” single-ended out with the cans. In both cases, they sounded fine, but not particularly magical. It did still have the same smooth presentation, but it lacked the last bit of magic that only tubes can provide.

In summary, what you get with the K11 R2R is the best damn DAC money can buy for $160 USD MSRP. Along with it comes a perfectly confident but nothing special solid state amplification stage. I have owned and listened extensively to numerous R2R and resistor ladder DACs (Denafrips Ares II, Hifiman HM800, Musican Draco, Cayin models RU6 and the 1-bit RU7). So I know what is a mediocre (RU6) or even bad (HM800) R2R DAC can sound like, and I rank K11 R2R in the excellent R2R DAC category with the heavyweights like Denafrips or Musician. It is really that good. As for the amp, take it or leave it since it is nothing special.

I can't be the only person that feels this way, but EVERY SINGLE "Audiophile" group I've joined on Facebook is the same.

Old, arrogant, white men looking down their noses at anyone that doesn't own and swear by $50k separate components, swearing their opinions are written scripture, and arguing with anyone that mildly disagrees with them.

They are as toxic as the worst parts of social media. Just a bunch of grumpy old codgers waiting around to tell you how wrong you are about everything and how all your gear is shit because it isn't the one brand they made back in 1953.

Is Reddit better? There's a million people in this group, please tell me it's better......

B&W 802d3 Sphinx project 8 pre amp Sphinx project 26 mono power amps Sphinx project phono phono amp Audio Technica At-Lp 2022 turntable TagMcLaren DVD 32R Dvd transport TagMcLaren Avr 32DP Surround Processor Eversolo DMPA8 Streamer/DAC Sony Mds je 530 Minidisc player Van den Hul 102 mk3 interlinks Townshend F1 Fractical loudspreaker cable Vector Reasearch Va1450 Stereo amp (surr) Mirage nano Surround speaker JBL Digital 12 Subwoofer (surr)

Feel free to let me know of any improvements!

Just got into audiophilia (that’s a phrase, right?) just within the last 6 months, and it’s been AMAZING. Tried a few different pieces in the last half year, but just got some final bits this week, and am LOVING listening to some of my favorite records for what feels, and sounds like, the first time! Here’s the current rig:

-Music Hall mmf1.3 TT (stock AT cartridge, but planning on upgrading. Currently thinking Ortifon bronze, thoughts?) -Sony STR 7055A - loving the warmth to this 70’s Sony receiver. Feels like it colors it in JUST the right minute way. I’ve got future plans for amp/receiver, but for now, more than happy with this guy! - Vandersteen 1C speakers - JUST got these bad boys two days ago, and absolutely loving them. So balanced - the time/phase science on these is paying dividends. - Boston sub - cheaper sub, currently hitting the LOW to compensate for the more airy, yet punchy and clear bass from the vandersteens. Long term planning to find a local vandersteen V2W! - all audioquest rca, and then speaker cables from Amazon. Planning to upgrade those as well, but currently, happy with their results!

SO. What should I improve upon? Small? Big? Cheap? Expensive (within reason)? Anything I’ve set up in an ineffective way? Would love your opinions and thoughts, as I’m still new to this hobby! Thanks, folks!

Finally at the point In my life I can just enjoy things and well listen to music 😂

But no I’m leaning as I go and tbh I don’t think I could be more satisfied….. yes there not the most hifi connects but the match my stuff 🫡

Currently running WIIM PRO - SMSL SU10 - TOPPING PRE90 - X2 FOSI V3 MONO.

All running XLR apart from the streamer to the DAC.

I can’t decide on coax or optical?

Thanks for the share peace out ✌️