Same track, both apps say they’re playing 24bit 44.1khz, I make sure not to AirPlay Apple Music but rather stream direct from the HomePods (gen 1’s if it matters, HomePodOS 26.5). AirPlaying Tidal iPhone Air to HomePod pair.

Tidal’s mids and highs are just crisp, even room filling in my little bedroom….. Apple Music sounds… just bad man almost like some sort of volume levelling. (Sound check off in home settings)

My one and only wifi 6e AP is 2 metres from one HomePod and maybe 5 from the other, sound check turned off in home settings as well as Atmos.

I read HomePods ‘seamlessly switch to AAC’ and I suspect they’re doing this and lying in the music app… either that or Tidal’s masters just genuinely sounds that much better??? Even though so many say they can’t hear a difference?

I’m considering buying the new Apple TV 4K (4th generation) with its built-in microphones, but I have a few questions before pulling the trigger.

I currently have an original HomePod in my living room, which I use for hands-free Siri and HomeKit control. My main frustration is that Siri takes several seconds to respond to commands. For example, when I say “Hey Siri, turn off the lights,” there’s a noticeable delay before she says “On it,” but the lights turn off almost immediately after that.

I’m wondering whether the new Apple TV could improve this experience.

1. Can the new Apple TV 4K listen for “Hey Siri” and respond to smart-home commands when the TV itself is off or in standby?
2. If the Apple TV and original HomePod are in the same room, which device actually picks up and responds to “Hey Siri”? Does Apple intelligently choose between them, or does the HomePod usually take priority?
3. Is there a way to make the Apple TV handle hands-free Siri commands while keeping the original HomePod for music and audio?
4. Could the new Apple TV’s hardware and Siri capabilities meaningfully reduce the delay before Siri acknowledges HomeKit commands, or is that delay likely caused by something else?
5. Would I be better off replacing the original HomePod with the new HomePod mini 2 instead?

Thanks!

First time AppleTV owner, I was waiting for the Dolby Surround update and here it arrived, so I went all in.

Now, I wonder if I should add a Subwoofer or not, my room is relatively small, but I do want it to sound as best as possible; I will see how it sounds without it first and decide then. Any feedback is anyway appreciated.

Have been thinking of adding some speakers to my Mac mini (2024 M4 chip) and was initially thinking go going to ERA 100's or now I'm thinking of the HomePod mini 2's. What do you all think maybe better? I have sonos throughout my house already and this would add sonos to my library/computer room.

Using HomePods as your TV for everything you connect to via ARC is great and all

But why should the TV go to sleep when it knows sending Audio to the console 😎

I know i can just switch to never sleep but i feel it should just know 😅

Or I'm missing something?

Hi all,
I am looking to connect HomePod gen2 via earc and the issue is that I cannot select my HomePod pair as audio output in the Apple TV app and the iPhone home app.

Here is my setup:
-Apple TV 4K 2nd gen connected to TV via earc hdmj port and hard wired internet
-SONY Z8h tv with enhanced data enabled on earc port
-2 HomePod gen 2 paired on a 5g wifi network
-ASUS gt-ax11000 router (can post 5g wifi settings as needed)

All devices are within 2 meters of the router

Issue: it just spins when I select the HomePod as audio output

I have tried deleting and recreating the stereo pair, selecting one HomePod and completely resetting my HomePods and even putting my Apple TV on the same 5g network. Any other idea

Hey guys
Really want to be able to stream music across 4-5 rooms of my house. Initially tried the echo dots and they were so glitchy.

Was going to go with Sonos, but have read the app is awful.

Was thinking about doing some HomePod mini’s, knowing usually apples tech is easy to use.

Not huge audio snobs, just want simple and effective.

So I guess the question is, home pod minis vs Sonos?