Far too much bass in HomePod: can it be reduced?

The problem is only two speakers (woofer and tweeter), and Apple has tuned the HomePod to give listeners a LOT of bass, which probably duplicates Beats headphones, which are supposed to be bass heavy.

Apple did this because 95% of their listeners don't know what quality sound is like, having been raised on heavily compressed MP4 sound files. They think bass is kewl, so that is what they get. HomePod is designed to cater to people who listen to modern music, so full-range classical music will be lacking until the device includes full-range speakers. I can hear holes in classical music.

I like my Echo, but the music on it is not as good as HomePod. Alexa is more capable than Siri, which is odd. I expect both devices to compete w/ each other and Sonos, so consumers will benefit down the road.

I am kind of sorry I spent the money for a HomePod, considering the lack of full-range sound, less than capable Siri, and lack of information on how to get it to do what I want. But I know that Apple will work to improve its performance, so for now, HomePod has replaced Echo, and Echo is now in the kitchen, where its superior performance is appreciated.

I was hoping not to have the HomePod in the middle of the room away from wall, but they may need to be for me. I have heard a number of contributers here say how much they enjoy their AirPods sound quality, and I also enjoy them a lot, so thought the HomePod would be as balanced as them. Am continuing to experiment with different sources, and thought that the higher quality of FLAC was helping, but actually its the Plex app that its great from the iPhone X via airplay, not the FLAC, as I am comparing the same Dream 1 track through Plex from FLAC and MP3 sources and they both have very nice sensible bass, compared to iTunes Match airplay (same test track), so well done Plex. macOS and iOS iTunes equaliser tried with "reduce bass" but not very effective (as you can see in the pic the track is properly "Matched". So I now have. 14 days to decide if the HomePod can work for me as well as the AirPods do.

Just received the HomePod today in UK and was exited to have it in the bed room so that I could listen to gentle music to fall asleep to, without the bright glaring screen of the AppleTV in the bedroom (a sleep mode for the AppleTV would be a basic option to provide) to listen to the likes of the wonderful Sleep by Max Richter on iTunes only released in 2015 but am shocked and saddened that on the first track Dream 1 (before the wind blows it all away) that the bass is so excessive and distorted that it completely ruins the experience. Its horrible, and unless I can reduce the bass significantly will have to return the HomePod as my existing audio equipment is far better balanced (and not expensive) without ugly vibration of the whole room. Sad that Apple seems to be catering on for Beats style excessive sub-bass sound over all other. I request that Apple tries listening to Max Richter - Sleep and create a sound balance that doesn't ruin this release 😟

Edit: Interesting I just switched from my Apple iTunes Match of Max Richter - Sleep to my FLAC version from Plex app on iPhone X to the HomePod and the bass is still excessive BUT NOT DISTORTED

I have to congratulate Apple on allowing FLAC on macOS and iOS in recent updates 🙂

Agree 100%

It now has drastically reduced depth and bass.

Please file a complaint with Apple......I have done this and also contacted support to file a complaint.

Pure and simple it's wrong to take a product and completely change its music Eq and assume it's what everyone wants.

The two Homepods I have are not the same as I purchased and sound like a cheap speaker.

Also, there is now a big difference between Airplay and streaming from iCloud music library........streaming sounds like a cheap transistor radio.....Airplay sounds OK to me.

File here:

Feedback - HomePod - Apple

The HomePod has SEVEN tweeters and a long excursion woofer. If you are complaining about mid-range speakers it’s all about the software. Audiophiles have almost unanimously praised the sound quality of the HomePod so don’t go on about “full-range” sound. It makes you look uninformed. Also, both iTunes and Apple music have equalizers you can play with to your heart’s content. look in the Settings->Music menu on your iOS device. These equalizer settings will be passed on to the HomePod, confirmed by people who know their stuff about audio.

Finally, if your are “kind of sorry” you bought the HomePod you have 14 days to return it for a full refund.

Both iTunes and Apple Music have quite good equalizers that work just fine with the HomePod. On an iOS device go to Settings->Music->Equalizer (near the bottom of the menu) and play with settings to suit your taste. In iTunes click on the Window drop down menu and select Equalizer. Think outside the box rather than expecting to see Bass and Treble knobs on the HomePod. None of the other high end smart speakers out there have them either. It’s all about the software these days.

Where is the speaker located, if it is in a corner move it out of there, any room boundary close to the speaker will tend to increase the quantity of low frequencies developed, in a corner there are 3 boundaries.

As far as I can tell from what Apple thinks are specifications it is designed for 'free space' use. And about those 7 tweeters, 6 of them are not pointing at you as they are in a semi-circle. The design lacks coherence in the near field, which is how many people will use one.

I dont have an HomePod yet, sitting on fence till I read a few more reviews and a listen at an Apple Store before I decide it’s for me, but have read that you can reset the auto sound configuration (or whatever it’s called), have you tried to see if the second time around makes any difference.

Also have you tried moving it away from corners or back walls, yes, it’s supposed to compensate when auto tuning but it might be just too close for it to accommodate such an extreme position.

Lastly, what does it sit on, if a table or cabinet that’s partly enclosed underneath, that might be reinforcing the bass, try standing it on something more solid or heavier to see if that will damp down the bass element.

The above might not make any changes to the sound because of how it sets itself up, but they are quick and easy to try so you have nothing to lose.

Try what we all do with HiFi speakers that have to sit on suspended floors, mine are on 12” square granite slabs 1 inch thick, they damp down any bass going into floor quite effectively. Do you have a bit of paving slab spare from outside, or a granite chopping board in the kitchen?