Disgruntled HomePod owners say firmware update alters sound quality

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 86
    Mine became self aware. šŸ˜±


    fluffheadretrogustowatto_cobra
  • Reply 22 of 86
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Reminds me of the introduction of ā€œNew Cokeā€ and peopleā€™s complaints that Coca-Cola never tasted the same afterward.
    muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 23 of 86
    kruegdude said:
    Worse than that it changed the color of my HomePod from Space Gray to White. 
    My mortgage payments went up.

    Undet Steve. Fire Cook. Etc. 
    watto_cobrahammeroftruth
  • Reply 24 of 86

    I found the base to be improved today. 
    ā€œBaseā€?
    He's probably talking about the white rings that the base makes on some surfaces ;)
  • Reply 25 of 86
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    If someone says it's better, someone else says it's worse and a third person says there's no change, doesn't that mean all three cancel out and there's no story?
    I think the story is that if equalization were adjustable, people who don't like the default EQ could modify it to their satisfaction.
    muthuk_vanalingamnetmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 26 of 86
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,301member
    My HomePod sounded great before the update and sounds great after the update.
    sflocalequality72521AppleZuluzroger73shark5150welshdogpbone15watto_cobra
  • Reply 27 of 86
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,717member
    MacPro said:
    If ever you needed proof hearing is subjective this is it.

    "However, for every disgruntled user who decries HomePod's software update, there seems to be another dissenting voice extolling the new version's boost to bass fidelity and loudness. Still more say there is no discernible difference between the two firmware releases."
    While generally agreed it might depend on the type of music you listen to. 
    netmage
  • Reply 28 of 86
    clarker99clarker99 Posts: 230member
    Ran the update from work today. Got home and played ā€˜some music I likeā€™ and IMO the sound was better. Btw, this is completely subjective. 

    **searches internet for anyone giving a damn about Google Home or Alexaā€™s software update that generated any headlinz and it was only alexaā€™s recent update where it apparently pauses longer to have a ā€˜conversation with youā€™. Which only means they are collecting (surveillancing) more data from you**

    Homepod sounds awesome. Bring on Airplay2 so I can buy another. Thx
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 29 of 86
    jsmythe00 said:
    Users have no right to complain . You spent 350 on a device you have no way of configuring.  That's your fault. 

    You should have learned by now Apple wants you to use their devices the way THEY want you to use it. Not how you want to.

    If you're not holding your phone how I say hold it then YOU'RE holding it wrong.  WTF wake up people
    Wake up? My wife does not want to **** about with controls or settings, or look at an eyesore. HomePod is perfect for our needs. Perfect. There are hundreds of alternatives for people who do want that (like I did in my late teens and early twenties). Iā€™ve moved on, HomePod is for me. My choice. Right for now. Get over yourself. 
    2old4funnetmagebrucemcwelshdogpscooter63watto_cobra
  • Reply 30 of 86
    I've noticed that Siri will now play my own playlists, which it didint before, so it's an improving my opinion. Haven't noticed any difference in sound quality
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 31 of 86
    LatkoLatko Posts: 398member
    Gee - how hard can it be to make an equalizer with say 10 settings & Siri control ?
    (excuse me for giving away the iOS 12/13/14 planned feature list here...)
    edited March 2018
  • Reply 32 of 86
    I've noticed that Siri will now play my own playlists, which it didint before, so it's an improving my opinion. Haven't noticed any difference in sound quality
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 33 of 86

    It should be pretty easy to measure the frequency response before and after, right?  I mean, the tech to analyze sound with significant precision has been around for at least a century.

    And, while it's unfortunate that Apple didn't include any equalizer functionality in the device itself, I understand why, but the equalizer tutorial posted in the story itself seems pretty straight forward and can be used to tune it however an individual wants. 

    netmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 34 of 86
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    A key thing about the HomePod is that it doesn't play music "raw" off the recording, but uses it's own sensors (microhones) to interpret it's environment and alter it's playing of the music accordingly. I wonder if it occured to most people that this implies that a mere software update could change how your music sounds? Well people are quickly learning I guess.
  • Reply 35 of 86
    deminsddeminsd Posts: 143member
    jsmythe00 said:
    Users have no right to complain . You spent 350 on a device you have no way of configuring.  That's your fault. 

    You should have learned by now Apple wants you to use their devices the way THEY want you to use it. Not how you want to.

    If you're not holding your phone how I say hold it then YOU'RE holding it wrong.  WTF wake up people
    Wake up? My wife does not want to **** about with controls or settings, or look at an eyesore. HomePod is perfect for our needs. Perfect. There are hundreds of alternatives for people who do want that (like I did in my late teens and early twenties). Iā€™ve moved on, HomePod is for me. My choice. Right for now. Get over yourself. 
    If Apple DID give users controls to configure the Homepod, is someone holding a gun to your wifes head forcing her to use them?  Maybe there are people other than your wife that DO want some level of configuration.  That's what is nice about giving people options--you can choose to use them or not. 
    muthuk_vanalingambeowulfschmidt
  • Reply 36 of 86
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,350member
    Fucking idiots on parade.

    Of course people are going to complain when a characteristic is significantly changed, as they should. Frequency response is not subjective. Alter it and the resulting audio is altered. Whether it's argued to be good or bad is subjective. Whether it's there or not isn't. Some of you a) don't own a HomePod so don't care or b) are tone deaf and audio fidelity is lost on you.

    Those of you complaining about users being upset would whine like little bitches if Apple put out a firmware update that gave a purple tint to your display. Or if it changed your monitor's resolution from 2560x1440 to 1920x1080. But not to worry as 'it's subjective'. 

    I haven't heard either version of the HP yet. But while most people lauded the audio quality, a few people who took the time to critique the sound said that it lacked presence and the mid-bass crept up into the mid-range. This is common problem for a lot of modern small speakersā€” tailoring the sound to be bass-heavy at the expense of balanced frequency response.

    Regardless of which version is preferred, anybody should be ticked if a change to their purchase, after the fact, negatively affected them. 


    williamlondonretrogustobeowulfschmidt
  • Reply 37 of 86
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member
    Being a part-time sound engineer... there is the topic we come across frequently called ā€œpsychoacousticsā€. It involves how your brain interprets meaning from the pressure waves the ear is sensing. The HomePod relies heavily on psychoacoustics to produce the room filling sound. The point is there is a ton of subjectivity in this process and mere suggestion of a change can change perception. For instance, if Iā€™m running sound and someone says something is too loud, I can pretend to move a fader on the soundboard and ask if thatā€™s better and it will be!  The point is, just an update coming out puts people on edge to listen for changes, and if there were minor ones, they may perceive it as ā€œbadā€ when itā€™s not.
    edited March 2018 bsimpsennetmagewelshdograndominternetpersonequality72521pscooter63tryd
  • Reply 38 of 86
    seanie248seanie248 Posts: 180member
    safari seems snappier though.....
    watto_cobralukei
  • Reply 39 of 86
    zroger73zroger73 Posts: 787member
    The dramatic part of my brain was ready to jump on the bandwagon and complain about a change in my HomePod's sound quality following the update yesterday afternoon.

    To my (pleasant) surprise, it sounded no different after the upgrade. If there is a difference, the only way I might been able to tell is if I set two HomePods in the same location - one running the original firmware and the other running 11.3 - and performed an A-B comparison while playing the same song.

    If 11.3 resolves an issue where two different HomePods become "hard of hearing" after hours/days of use that gets instantly, but temporarily corrected following a power cycle, then I'll be completely satisfied with my HomePod.
  • Reply 40 of 86
    techrulestechrules Posts: 53unconfirmed, member
    No ability to connect to use as a sound bar as no input jack like the Google Home Max made it impossible for us to get a HomePod. But then so many features missing. Hard to see why anyone would buy at this point. Saw the latest numbers and the HomePod is not registering yet in market share. https://us.kantar.com/business/brands/2018/amazon-and-google-smart-speaker-gold-rush-is-just-starting/
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