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Listen, I’d go to more concerts if it weren’t for the cost, crowds, and hassle of getting to the venue. But now, after an all-too-short listening session with the new Apple HomePod 2, I may not need to go anywhere. The music experience is so good.
As much as Apple’s brand new HomePod 2 resembles its predecessor, it’s really quite different. After Apple’s surprise launch, I reviewed photos of the new audio components versus the old ones. Actually everything is different.
Inside the new HomePod 2 is a high-excursion woofer with a custom amplifier, five tweeters (each paired with a custom amplifier), and a far-field array of four microphones. There’s even a sensor that monitors how the system is working (including internal temperature) to determine if the power can be increased further…
Inside the original HomePod versus the 2nd gen HomePod. Looks like a cleaner build and some repositioning of audio components, like the tweet array for example. pic.twitter.com/FdsUgqfnkSJanuary 18, 2023
Yes, that’s two tweeters less than the original HomePod, but this is new hardware and the tweeters are all tilted up to avoid distorting the sound from reflections off the surface the speaker sits on.
The mesh fabric is more or less the same as the last HomePod, although it’s made from recyclable materials and is designed to have no dampening impact on audio.
These are all things you can learn by reading the publicly available spec page on the new audio hardware. But after my listening experience, I don’t think anything can quite prepare you for the HomePod 2’s superb sound quality.
Because of the HomePod 2’s design, you might expect 360-degree audio, but that simplistic term is misleading. Based on my listening experience, the HomePod 2 uses its all-encompassing audio skills and assistive technology to create an impressive and immersive audio landscape.
We started with a song called Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson. I sat about six feet away from the speakers in a medium-sized living room with a high ceiling. It’s a beautiful tune, with Michealeson’s clear, crisp, plaintive voice taking center stage. What immediately struck me, from a single HomePod 2, is the excellent separation of acoustic instruments and her voice. I could clearly pick out a tambourine, guitar and drum kit as separate elements in the air. I wish I could have listened to the whole song, Michealeson’s voice is kind of magical.
This was followed by the funky Six of Seven More by Cool Sounds. This gave me the chance to experience the surprisingly powerful, rich and warm bass. What struck me is that even with a solid basic beat, the music was never muddy. The HomePod 2 gave me an idea of where the original instruments might have been during the recording session.
Part of the HomePod 2’s musical prowess can be attributed to the S7 chip (yes, the same one found in the Apple Watch 7) and the application of Advanced Computational Audio. The HomePod 2 essentially listens to itself and makes on-the-fly adjustments to improve audio quality, just like the first, but now with more processing power.
The HomePod 2 was adept at delivering auditory clarity at anything from 30% to 90% volume. The 90% was loud but not in a bad way. It was a moment where I thought I’d walked into a dive bar to hear a really great indie band.
One of the interesting things about the new HomePod 2 is its spatial awareness. While listening to music from a single and then stereo pair of HomePod 2 devices, I noticed that the sounds often didn’t seem to come directly from the HomePods (thanks Spatial Audio!). Some came from the left, some from the right, and some (usually, but not always, vocals) from the center. The most interesting sounds, however, were the sounds that almost seemed to come over me; they bounced off the back wall (maybe a foot away from the HomePod 2) and then lifted up and, I’m guessing here, bounced from the walls to the ceiling to my ears.
The HomePod’s awareness of space is thanks to all those microphones that can read a room in about 20 seconds and adjust the audio to fit the space. The HomePod 2 even has an accelerometer so it knows when it’s on its way and will quickly adapt if a new song is playing in a new room.
When listening to Faith by The Weeknd, I could actually hear that soundscape of the electronics building in an area behind the HomePods 2 and then slowly advance until the whole auditory scene washed over me. And of course, the bass was smooth and moving without ever getting in the way of the clear falsetto voice.
I really enjoyed listening to Yebba’s Boomerang. There are so many different acoustic instruments you can choose from, right down to human hands beating a drum.
A pair of HomePod 2 speakers was even more impressive.
Masego and Don Toliver’s Mystery Lady sounded like it was coming from behind and in front of me. The soundstage was so wide and deep it didn’t matter where I stood in the room. This is not to say that the dead center for the loudspeakers was not the optimal auditory experience. It was, but I was just as happy to look away or stand in a corner and listen.
A live recording from The Eagles’ Hotel California highlighted the speaker’s ability to elevate individual instruments in the intro. I anxiously waited for Don Henley to begin singing, not realizing that the preamble lasts nearly a full minute into the song. [Note from our Audio Editor: “Ah, first time?”] The separation between left and right on the song and the ability of the HomePod 2 stereo pair to push aside the applause and reaction of the audience made it sound and feel like a real live performance.
Taken in the vacuum of this little experience, the new HomePod 2 offers impressive audio chops for a $299 / £299 / AU$479 smart speaker. That’s right, I said smart speaker, because there’s so much more than the HomePod 2 can do , but if you want it for nothing more than the best music you’ve heard in a while, it’s probably worth a look and the HomePod 2 could make it to our list of the best smart speakers.