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Hands up if you’re completely confused by home audio and personal assistants.
And when I say “completely confused”, I’m not suggesting that you don’t understand what these devices are for or how they’re supposed to enrich your life – I’m suggesting that, like me, you simply have no idea which brand to settle on.
Last week, I ordered my first HomePod Mini. I’ll be reviewing it on my YouTube channel in the coming weeks, but I think this diminutive device holds a fair amount of significance.
I love audio kit and I love music. Combining the two in a home system which can be easily operated by both my better half and myself is the only wish I have. Although it needs to sound great, too. And it needs to play with my fully integrated 5.1 cinema system. And it needs to have a personal assistant which is capable of being assistive, rather than relentlessly annoying and useless.
So, not a big shopping list, right?
An, going back to that HomePod mini – has Apple finally worked out how to direct my full attention their way for home audio?
My current setup (it’s a mess)
As a tech reviewer and fan of audio gear, I’m embarrassed to reveal my current home audio setup. Beyond the carefully installed and configured 5.1 system, it’s a total mess.
It started many years ago with great intentions. I bought several Sonos devices which included the deceptively powerful Sonos One (I had a few of them – it was like an addiction), the somewhat disappointing Sonos Play 3 and a Connect for my home cinema receiver.
It all worked pretty well – even when I introduced an Echo Dot and connected that to Sonos for voice control.
Fast-forward a few years, and following the end of a relationship and two house moves, I was, a) a couple of Sonos devices light, and, b) one of the many people who suddenly got caught out by Sonos’ deprecation of their old firmware.
Now, I can’t update what’s left of my Sonos system. Even worse, following a house renovation, I haven’t bothered to set it up again.
That’s very unlike me.
It has, however, pushed me to completely rethink my home audio setup.
My ideal setup
I’m really not asking for much. I simply want a speaker in each room (well, those in which they’re most likely to be a heard, at least) and the ability to take at least one of those speakers outside when the weather is half decent.
I want good sound, too. Not sound to satisfy the audio elite, either – just sound which is well defined, rich and house-filling.
I want to use my existing home cinema system in conjunction with every other speaker in the house – in perfect sync. I also want an assistant which sets timers, responds to music requests and answers questions about celebrity relationships as accurately as possible – on the nearest device (I’ll get onto that in a moment).
I’m an Apple Music user, therefore it needs to of course use that as its primary source of content.
That’s it!
Why I love and loathe Alexa
I noted earlier that I’ve added Alexa to my current setup, and while Sonos has been temporarily – or permanently – disbanded, my unwieldy collection of Amazon devices have been tasked with filling the gap in effortless home audio.
There’s just two problems with this:
- we have two first generation Echo Dots which sound dreadful; and
- those two Echo Dots seem to be incapable of working out which room you’re in.
The former is expected; these particular devices were never intended to replace your HiFi. But the latter issue is teeth-itchingly annoying. You can stand two feet away from the living room Dot, ask it a question and listen as the kitchen Dot (which is a good twenty feet away) responds.
I’ve also purchased an Echo Studio, and reviewed it on my YouTube channel:
The Studio is a great device, and I think it’s a bit of a bargain (you can pick it up on Amazon, here). But it gets a bit pricey if I want to fill my home with Studios, and I’m still of the opinion that Amazon doesn’t place the same degree of importance on audio quality as it does on directing people to their store via home ‘assistance’.
Alex is also, in my opinion, the best of the home assistants, but it’s not enough to tempt me wholesale into that ecosystem.
Sorry, Jeff.
Is HomePod mini the answer?
So, Apple. The HomePod. The device I never bought.
Originally announced in 2017, the HomePod was Apple’s attempt to capitalise on the home audio market. Only, it was a bit of a misstep.
The original HomePod (which is still available today), was far too expensive to tempt people away from the ease and economy of the Alexa ecosystem. And, despite the huge play on audio quality, it simply wasn’t capable of drawing attention from the Sonos crowd, either.
I’ve still never heard a HomePod, but I’ve heard (if you’ll excuse the pun) great things. For me, though, it was a product which simply never tempted me to part with my hard-earned. It appeared to be over-engineered and completely ignorant of the market into which it was attempting to penetrate.
Then, in 2020, Apple announced the HomePod mini, and I think it signals the fact that they finally ‘get it’.
In contrast to the HomePod launch, the mini was all about Siri’s burgeoning powers and effortless integration within busy, privacy-focused lives. Very little was said about its sound capabilities.
More significantly, the price of the HomePod Mini is just £99 (or $99). That really got my attention. Finally, Apple appears to have understood a market in which they really should be excelling.
So, I have a HomePod mini on the way. It’ll arrive later this month, and I can’t wait to try it out. But I have concerns.
What will it sound like? Is Siri really capable of beating Alexa? And how on earth can it play nicely with my home cinema setup? The latter is my biggest concern and the one thing which has forever plagued my choice of home audio.
Lots of testing lies ahead. But if you’ve encountered a similar challenge with your home audio, I’d love to hear your experiences. Get involved, below (and if you know how a HomePod setup can integrate seamlessly with a home cinema system for synced playback, I’d love to know more!).
