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

It's not necessary to use a specific piece of music, the HomePod sounds ugly on everything, no favoritism there.

I've seen it and wonder why no comparison with real music was made, as it is written it is a fine review of the listeners preferences.

Thanks, I will.

Thanks for sharing that suggestion.

I wouldn’t say it’s not designed for real-world use, but that’s it’s designed to sound like it’s in party mode all the time.

It's a reggae box.

Yes, yes and yes. Great post.

The tweeters actually face outward, if you search “HomePod exploded view“ you’ll see a nice rendering of it. The HomePod certainly does not lack in the high-end department.

You disagree that reviewers get paid to review?

I disagree with your disagreement.

You guys both have good points. Let’s keep this on-topic so the thread isn’t closed. I’d like to continue to hear from more folks who don’t like the sound of the HomePod.

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Because you do not agree with me has nothing to do with the correctness of what I say.

I have been there, you have not.

Dude.... chill. CSound hasn't posted a glowing review here on HomePod, just helpful placement tips. Your poor etiquette calls your credibility into question.

My untrained ear hasn't noticed a change at all.

tt2

Csound1 wrote:

...a good speaker benefits from good equalization to allow you to iron out the irregularities caused by walls, floors, ceilings etc...

I beg to differ, having spent years carefully selecting the components for my audio system to obtain the level of quality I now have, by far the biggest challenge was the speaker/room interaction. The other units were chosen for there timing, pace and definition, but with speakers you have to consider additionally how they interact with the room you have, placement can influence that greatly and how they are supported, but I've come to realise that some speakers that works great in one system and room just don't in another.

That's why you simply can't audition speakers in the shop (or in isolation from the rest of your system), even in a specially prepared demo room, yes, it can help you narrow down your choice but which will ultimate work the best has to be assessed when connected to your system in your room.

Altering the signal going into them will change the sound characterises but as you previously pointed out usually at a cost elsewhere in the spectrum because you simply can't be selective enough in what you are trying to alter, even with the best of equipment.

Now I know I'm talking about audiophile equipment, and a £350 speaker linked to your computer is some what different, but I still feel the same approach to matching the sound is valid, especially when quite a few are reporting such big differences in sound quality. I just think trying to pull the sound back by alerting the signal is not a good way to go, by far the best is to try and find out the cause and see if it can be eliminated, and if not possible accepting the fact that the speaker might not be right for you.

One thought that has just occurred and would answer why there are reports coming of such varied performance, could the self tuning ability within the speaker itself be behind the issue, after all it's basically equalizing the sound automatically, what if it can't cope with certain extreme environments that are asked of it!

And for those interested, my system - Linn LP12/2M Black Cartridge , Naim Pre and Power Amps, Naim CD and Spendor Speakers, all bar the cartridge flying the flag, British 😁

As your reply elegantly demonstrates the number of variables involved in obtaining good sound is bewildering, add everything that can happen at the input to everything that can happen at the output and you have a workable model of chaos theory. My day job is in live music concert production, pro speakers are (apart from other traits) designed to reduce the variables wherever possible, so pattern control is more important than how much bass it has. Pattern control on the HomePod appears to be of the shotgun cartridge model. I realize that I am not addressing the home market when I am working, but the ears are a constant.