I mention this because the HomePod's "smart" features—its integration with Siri and the Apple Music streaming service—is a big part of its appeal. In its natural element, the HomePod provides a way of accessing music that, although as old as our century, to me is still new and unfamiliar: Forget your hoary music collection, your Rolling Stones and Beethoven. Decide what kind of music you want to…
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It's after 5pm on Wednesday, and I'm finishing up the listening part of my review of Apple's wireless speaker, the HomePod ($349). On a whim, I've just asked Siri to play me some drinking songs.
In less than a minute, music was playing. That's when, for the first time, Siri offered me a trial subscription to Apple Music, which spoiled the mood. Still, she had a point. If you're going to get a HomePod, you'll want an Apple Music subscription. It's Siri's home turf, where she lets her hair down.
Alternative sources and voice commands
I wrote that the HomePod was playing music within seconds —but where was it coming from? The music it was playing was stored on my iPhone, but the phone's Music app wasn't playing music, and the music kept playing when I closed the app. I…
I use Tidal mainly because it integrates well with Roon's music-server software. Can Tidal be integrated with the HomePod? It can. Just run the Tidal app on an iPhone or iPad or laptop that's connected to the same wireless network and, via Apple AirPlay, choose the HomePod as the output device. I was able to get both Tidal and Roon to work this way, with one caveat: With services other than Apple Music, Siri can't respond to spoken requests. More important, this experience was at the mercy of my wireless connection, which is not the most robust. My Apple Airport Extreme router is two rooms…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Smart speaker. Drive-units: seven horn-loaded tweeter/midranges; one 4" woofer. Amplification: each driver has its own amplifier. Internal microphones: 6 for farfield Siri, 1 low-frequency calibration mike for automatic bass correction. Direct and ambient audio beamforming. Transparent studio-level dynamic processing. Connectivity via wireless (802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO) and Bluetooth 5.0 (setup only). Supported formats: HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16–320kbps), protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16–320kbps), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, FLAC.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: MacBook Pro computer (early 2015); Intel NUC computer with SSD drive running Roon Optimized Core Kit; Apple Airport Extreme (sixth generation) wireless router.— Jim Austin
"It was not subtle. The [$2000/pair] Tekton Impact Monitors were doing it all: singing, drumming, shaking the air, drawing me in, and making every CD or LP pure pleasure to listen to. A little soft . . . but not too soft. Imagine a gentle but guiding touch with a most perfect sparkle—and then firm and impactful when necessary."
I wrote that last October, after hearing Tekton Design's new Impact Monitor speakers at the 2017 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. I repeat it here because, as I listened to the Impact Monitors, I thought, Yeah, these speakers sound pretty damn good, but those seven…
I was stuck: Move the Impacts back and they boomed, move them forward and they blurred. Seeking an enjoyable compromise, I kept moving them—forward and back, closer and farther apart. With each pair of speaker positions, the quantity and quality of bass were dramatically different from what they were in all other positions. A score of radical, floor-gouging adjustments and much lamenting later, I remembered the ol' sock mod. I stuffed the Tektons' ports with Wigwam Outlast Weather Shield socks. Voilà! It reduced the overloading of the room, which I'd determined was happening in the 50–70Hz…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, stand-mounted, ported loudspeaker. Drive-units: seven 1" (25mm) soft-dome tweeters, two 6.5"-cone (165mm) bass/midrange units. Frequency range: 40Hz–30kHz. Sensitivity: 94dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Power handling: 120W. Recommended amplification: >25W.
Dimensions: 24.5" (620mm) H by 10.125" (255mm) W by 13" (330mm) D. Weight 40 lb (18.1kg).
Finishes: Black standard; Red or White, add $100/pair; all finishes listed are Soft Gloss; High-Gloss Black (as reviewed), add $250/pair.
Serial numbers of units reviewed:…
Record players and the average consumer enjoy an on-again/off-again relationship—happily, at this moment in time, it is very much on—but to high-end audio enthusiasts, the turntable has endured as an object of near-talismanic importance. I think that's not only because the turntable continues to give us so much pleasure, but also because it seems so understandable—at its simplest, it's just a motor and a rotatable platter, attached to a board that also has some provisions for fastening a tonearm. End of story. Who among us has not, at one time or another, considered the lot of the turntable…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: AMG Giro G9 record player; EMT TSD 75SFL, Koetsu Rosewood Standard & Signature Platinum, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent EX cartridges.
Digital Sources: HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3, Mytek HiFi Manhattan II, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil Analog 2 DACs; Integra DPS-7.2 DVD player (as CD transport), Mac mini computer running Audirvana Plus 3.2.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 (for EMT cartridge), Dynavector SUP-200, My Sonic Lab Stage 1030 step-up transformers; Musical Surroundings Phonomena II (with Linear Charging power…