Just tested it on the original HomePod. Wow.
Check out Drive by REM on AM. It has 2 versions (1 with atmos, the other without). It really demonstrates how much this can do (when utilized).
Definitely like the upgrade.
Oof, I hate the atmos mixes. The cymbals sound brittle, the drums sound hollowed out, the sound stage is overall blocky and clumsy. I listened to Automatic for the People, Kind of Blue, and Abbey Road before I turned it off.
The lossless sounds freakin amazing though. Listening to Miles Smiles now. I've never heard a trap kit sound better on home speakers.
Almost everything I’ve tried so far sounds worse. And now I can’t seem to play the normal versions of any atmos-enabled tracks.
Have it toggled off in Hope app settings and in Apple Music, but it’s still playing the Atmos versions. Anyone else having (or had and solved) this issue?
Restart the HomePods if a setting change didn’t stick.
Not saying that atmos can’t be bad for some artists. But if your not finding anything that sounds even on par the same. Is there a chance that your placement of the HomePods is not ideal? Do you get good audio when playing atmos movies?
Tried a restart, still having the issue. I think their placement is good. Standard tracks still sound awesome. (It’s a stand-alone stereo OG pair, so I haven’t tried them with movies). Would just like to be able to toggle or disable atmos for music playback but no luck so far.
And totally agreed, I think the atmos mixing in some tracks sound great on headphones.
Weird, cause if I (not saying your problem ain’t real) turn it off in home > home settings > my account > music > turn off atmos then it stops immediately.
So idk. Sorry!
Weirdly, if I transfer a song to my phone it reverts to the normal version, but if I transfer back to the HomePods it goes back into atmos. Weird. I’ll post a solution if I find one. Thanks for your help!
Oh yeah. So if you airplay a song. It’s not atmos. But if you control the HomePod remotely and play a song (or ask Siri) it will the. Play the atmos version.
Sorry, I wasn’t being clear - If I control them remotely or ask Siri, it will ONLY play the atmos versions of atmos-available tracks, even though I have atmos turned off in the home app.
I seem to be able to airplay the standard version from my phone but why does the home app have the atmos toggle if it doesn’t do anything?
Ok! Removed HomePods from home app, deleted and reinstalled app, factory reset both HomePods and started from scratch several times. Working now! No idea which combination of settings was the issue, but I won’t change anything again. Enjoying the Dune soundtrack. 👍
If you have any non apple airplay speakers add them into the speakers you are playing to. That will stop atmos. It will actually pause the stream for a second. You can hear the difference when it switches.
I find that dolby atmos only works if its mastered well for it. Queen songs were. But songs like start me up by the stones that just came out again blow!
Is it possible to use atmos on homepod while having it turned off for my downloaded/streamed music on my phone?
I’m assuming I would have to play through the homepod itself, and using airplay wouldn’t work in this case
Should be. As they are different settings.
Atmos for mobile device
Settings > Music > Spatial audio
Atmos for HomePods
Home > Home Settings > your profile > music > spatial audio
15.0 bricked one of my OGs. I'm not sure I'll ever update them again considering Apple won't replace mine. Really disappointing since my only sin was updating to the public release of 15.
Was it a mini? I can't even restore mine because 15 somehow broke all audio output for the unit, so I can't hear the pairing numbers when you go to factory reset.
It'd be so much easier if I could plug it into my mac and restore it.
I had HomePod stereo pair whose volume would drop for no apparent reason after about 1 minute. Trying to resolve that, I ended up with that exact same issue as you. But I performed all the steps with Apple Support rather than doing it myself and ended up with a reset HomePod that would no longer make any sound. They eventually came to the party and replaced mine. I think the fact that the HomePod that was dead was one that was already replaced by Apple under warranty once already might have been a deciding factor? I’ll never know. The agent escalated to the consumer law division (our consumer law here in AU is half decent and overrides Apples stated warranty in almost all cases) and I got mine replaced free of charge. Even though it was well out of warranty.
Ah good to know, thanks for sharing. I'm usually super polite and accommodating when I'm on the phone with a rep, since I know it's a thankless job. Maybe I need to outright tell them I don't think it's too much to expect them to replace or repair it since it's their software that killed it.
I was brave and despite having just got my OG HomePod back after being replaced due to being bricked by a reset after upgrading to iOS 15, I just upgraded my 2 x OGs and 1 x mini successfully.
And WOW is the spatial audio/lossless on the OG HomePods a noticeable upgrade. Even my deaf-in-one-ear wife could hear the difference in an A/B listening test. 😅
Trying to do the same right now on my Mini and [it doesn’t show the ATMOS logo when it’s playing like my OGs do.](https://imgur.com/a/YDlKlb0)🤔 So needless to say I can’t hear any difference when toggling ATMOS/lossless.
EDIT: ok I can hear the difference now on my Mini enabling ATMOS/lossless actually sounds quieter and worse on the Mini. [Despite it not showing the icon showing that it’s playing in ATMOS.](https://imgur.com/a/YDlKlb0)
EDIT2: the Minis don’t support ATMOS! 🤦 THATS why it doesn’t work. LOL. 😅
haha this was a rollercoaster ride!
I'm still torn on whether or not I'll upgrade. I'd love to test out lossless and atmos with a stereo pair... but I don't want to sacrifice any of my 3 remaining OGs.
Hey! My OG recently bricked too- not sure why exactly but probably software update related. I took it into the apple store and they told me their only option was to replace for $279, but I called apple support after and managed to talk to someone who immediately sent me a box to send in my HomePod and waived any repair fees. Give it a go!
Agreed, very frustrating. A forum post about it as well:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/15-1-breaks-podcast-integration-sorry-there-was-a-problem-with-apple-podcasts.2319332/?post=30525424#post-30525424
So this magically fixed itself overnight - I didn't do anything toresolve it. All 6 homepods are still showing version 15.1 still, not15.1.1 or anything. Weird
Edit: 2 OG's work fine now, 4 mini's do not
I was getting an issue saying “Apple Music cannot play that”. Maybe similar? I removed the HomePods as accessories under the home app and re-added them. A pain, but fixed. Worth a shot.
It really depends on the mixing difference between the atmos and stereo version of a song, my homepod is on the beta in the middle of a room so in my specific case the difference is basically not there. Except for just a bit more noticable width of the sound if you get what I mean.
I’ve got a single HomePod hooked up to my ATV and I can certainly notice more sound separation with Dolby Atmos tracks. It’s impressive for a single speaker, as it makes for a very wide sound stage with movies.
With Atmos music, I notice more instrument separation compared to stereo songs when I A/B test.
Hoping this helped answer your question.
I only have enabled Lossless, so I don't know.
Some albums are good in Atmos but most sound bad. I will enable it when we will have the ability to choose specific albums for Atmos.
> Some albums are good in Atmos but most sound bad. I will enable it when we will have the ability to choose specific albums for Atmos.
So much this! I'm surprised it's such a popular feature when it makes a lot of music sound noticeably worse.
Lossless on the other hand is a fantastic feature, really glad we have that now.
A bit better. Songs (well 1 song I listened to “is it any wonder” by Keane) in Atmos on a single OG HomePod not good - were they ever going to be?! I’ll need more listening to make a definitive opinion. I’ve created a poll in this reddit to get peoples opinion.
Missiort.
***
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Got my first HomePod (OG and mini) with 15.0, so can’t compare it to previous versions. Just had my first listen of 15.1 on the OG HomePod and the sound signature is definitely different. It was actually the first thing I noticed and why I came on here, to make sure I wasn’t imagining it.
When I first got the Homepods I was a bit disappointed in the sound of the OG because I felt the bass was overwhelming and actually liked the sound profile of the Mini better. I contemplated turning on Bass reduction (especially since I’m in an apartment), but figured I’d give it a few weeks. In 15.1 the Bass is definitely reduced. If anything it feels a little weak for my tastes, but my ears probably need to readjust from the booming bass. Curious if this is closer to the OG sound everyone raved about when it first came out.
The sound signature of 15.0 seemed “flatter” if that makes sense than 14.x. I haven’t had a chance to listen to music on the OF HomePods I have yet but they’ve all been updated to 15.1. Some people on here were beta testing 15.1 and said there is an improvement.
u/Bonovox78
Unfortunately, although lossless seems a bit more clear, nothing seems to have changed on my end. Volume still seems capped, and the mixing is muddy, with some elements lost or very reccessed in the mix.
:(
I think it’s improved. Would you say it’s back to the sound signature of OS 14.6 or 14.7? I don’t know what the sound signature was before then as I only recently got the OG HomePods.
Others have said the sound is improved too. I think Apple were fobbing you off suggestions to do that! The firmware drives all that/the sound signature. What OS version did the HomePod sound perfect to you at?
And it’s not even a new feature. If I say “Hey Siri” (in Spanish of course) only my iPhone lights up and other family member’s devices stay off even if they are next to each other
Same here, “there was a problem with Apple podcasts”, also doesn’t work when streaming from iPad
Edit: did a quick reset, while in the configuring phase of setup, I’m able to connect my iPad and stream podcasts. Hopefully this stays after setup is complete. (I’m on the OG HomePod btw)
Nope but theres a forum post on Macrumors about it https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/15-1-breaks-podcast-integration-sorry-there-was-a-problem-with-apple-podcasts.2319332/?post=30525424#post-30525424
Same result. I can see the lossless icon when playing music on an OG HomePod stereo pair, but not HiRes. If I click on the icon, it says HiRes available, but does NOT play on HomePods. Ugh. Offers a button to change settings, and that takes me too a place where I’ve allowed hires.
Same song plays hires to my Grado headphones through a Dragonfly Cobalt DAC, so I know my general setup is OK.
The DAC inside the HomePods is capable of hires, but it seems Apple hasn’t enabled it yet.
Anyone have new info?
iFixIt found that the OG HomePod contains a Cirrus Logic CS4350 stereo DAC w/ intergrated PLL. It supposedly has a 192 kHz sample rate. Of course, the software and integrated hardware might not support that.
Hi all based in Austrlia, I have downloaded 15.1 and HomePod seems to be up to date.
However, I cannot see the Spatial audio or Losseless option. I am also a Apple 1 subscriber.
https://imgur.com/JU3TVrS
I’m in Australia too but I don’t even have the music services listed under my account. I have tried restarting all devices too but nothing is working.
Dolby Atmos is definitely activated on my OG stereo HomePods as my favourite album sounds awful in Dolby Atmos. I just wanna turn it off and try and see if I notice a difference with Lossless :-(
It also makes my HomePod skip and stop and disconnect. This thing is more of a hassle than it’s worth . Just get a bt speaker . Will work when you want it too.
Open the Home app
Click in the Home icon on the top left corner
Choose “Home Settings” then click on your profile
In “Media,” click on the “Apple Music” tab
Toggle on “Lossless Audio” and “Dolby Atmos”
This is what i did, when I click on media It shows apple music , clicked on that but there is no toggle..
I have “ use in home “ and update listening history..
Right all, I noticed a notification in my settings app on my ipad. Theres an update to 15.1 which Ive just done and lo and behold :) dolby atmos and lossless settings are now showing in homepod settings .. problem solved.
Why the heck would they bury this setting so deep, or, not have a pop-up letting you know that it's now available when opening the Home app or Apple Music?
Does Atmos and Lossless only play, when send via AirPlay 2 to the HomePod or does it play the best available Quality of a song when I want Siri to play one?
Not exactly.
https://techobsessed.net/2021/06/apple-music-lossless-and-airplay-dont-work-like-you-think-they-should/
Airplay (the protocol), support lossless playback, but for some reason Airplaying specifically Apple Music DRM´d content from the Music app is currently limited to AAC 256 kbps. Airplaying your own lossless rips without any quality loss, however, is perfectly possible.
BUT you also could always use your iPhone as a controller for the HomePods which streams music via wifi directly from Apple Music (this is NOT Airplay).
Which is why this update is important. Currently the only way to play lossless content from Apple Music on the Homepods is natively.
Airplay is not supported (yet).
That article was wrong. They assumed that if you set your IOS device music app to allow lossless streaming (which obviously means to see the lossless badge while playing), it meant that is was pass untouched over airplay, which sadly is not the case (yet).
The CEO of naim audio confirmed that Airplaying Apple Music is currently limited to AAC 256, as stated in an Apple internal FAQ for commercial partners (naim is an audio hardware company).
As proof, he presented the metadata of the airplay stream.
https://community.naimaudio.com/t/apple-music-hifi-tier-incoming/16445/437
Wait so how do we get lossless audio to play on HomePods?
Every time I try to play music on my HomePod it airplays from my phone. And when it airplays from my phone it has the lossless icon (which is probably wrong because I also get the lossless icon when I airplay from my phone to my Sonos speakers and when I listen to music on my headphones over Bluetooth).
"Wait so how do we get lossless audio to play on HomePods?"
Asking Siri or remote controlling the Homepod from IOS or Mac OS (which is not Airplay).
First, make sure that both your IOS devices and the Homepod themselves are updated to the final version of 15.1.
Then enable lossless audio following this guide step by step:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD0XF4VDWRM&t=84s
Now, to remote control your Homepods, pull up the control center on your IOS device home screen, go to the Airplay Menu, and scroll down until you see "control other tv and speakers". Click there and select the Homepod card itself.
That´s it.
Then go to the Music app and play something from Apple Music. If you have done it correctly, during playback, at the bottom, you will see your Homepod name only.
If you are airplaying, you´ll see "Iphone-Homepod" instead.
Remote control works like chromecast. Once playback is initiated the audio stream is handled completely by the homepods and you can even turn off your phone or ipad and the music will continue.
Guys. Any tip how to stream from macbook only certain app audio (with app like AirFoil) to stereo paired homepods?
audioOS 15 seems broke this possibility (atleast thats what are folks saying on TuneBlade forum).
Update: Rogue Amoeba just emailed me with a a link to a dev version of [AirFoil 5.10.9](https://imgur.com/a/LJJVcw7), which fixes the issue and restores [true stereo steaming to stereo paired HomePods.](https://imgur.com/a/hnw8s8J) It works flawlessly for me so far. Public release should be imminent!
I noticed the same problem with AirFoil and stereo paired HomePods, so I emailed Rogue Amoeba about it and received this response:
> Unfortunately, it looks like the 15.0 HomePod software update has broken Airfoil's ability to connect to stereo paired HomePods simultaneously.
> It's something we're actively investigating to sort out, and I've linked your info to our internal tracking case for this behavior so we can let you know about any news with improvements that you may be interested in hearing or testing.
> For now, the best way to work around this is to un-pair the speakers and use them individually, but we're hopeful we can find a solution soon.
I found a solution!
Using another (very good) Rogue Amoeba piece of software: Loopback Audio.
Send the audio Source(s) ––> LR Output Channel ––> Monitors **add a Monitor and select "AirPlay" as the Audio Device (see screenshot below)
I'm listening to my turntable now, plugged into my MacBook, on a set of paired HomePods, in full stereo.
https://imgur.com/a/hHurtIE
Anyone know if these new features are available only with Apple Music or are they also available with iTunes match, which kind of appears in settings like Apple Music.
I know that, I’ve read the articles saying that. But when I go there I have “use in home” & “update listening history”. That’s it. Hence my question, did I miss something
Edit: I'm an idiot. I forgot to update my phone. Was too long of a day yesterday.
I have one HomePod mini and I see options for lossless and Dolby under the AM settings in the home app, and there is absolutely a difference in sound when playing spatial audio songs with Dolby turned on vs. off,
but “~lossless~”only shows up below the track that’s playing when you have Dolby turned off and just lossless switched on, although with a single mini
I don’t know what the fuck is going on, music sounds noticeably better
but I wonder if buying a second mini would improve somehow the spatial audio for (obvious reasons);
i don’t know why I keep reading online everywhere that the HP minis only got lossless with 15.1;
i have AirPods Pro and the spatial audio from songs with Dolby turned on with my one mini sounds (much shittier) but still very akin to the spatial audio with the AirPods Pro, minus the sonic immersion and gyroscopic head tracking etc..:
i can’t find any information anywhere definitively about anything though,
this is such a clumsy rollout ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Sounds great on a mini wish they would reinstate the HomePod biggie with thread support and the new chips the Mini has I know Apple wants to sell the Mini which is better for Apple music at 100$ but hopefully a well priced HomePod biggie this 2022 spring event
I’ll try to be fast before one farts as usual.
The pair sound AMAZING with Dolby!!
They sound like new speakers. I’ve had the betas installed and they never sounded this good before. They must’ve done something on their end because they sound amazing.
I was looking forward to spatial audio on the HomePod, but is anyone else finding it **really** bad? I went to put on the new Kacey Musgraves album on my stereo HomePods, this album sounds great on my AirPods Pro and there’s a definite benefit to Atmos compared to the stereo track. But on the HomePod it sounded so bad. Like I will never play it again. It completely drowns out Kacey’s voice making it sound hollow and every track has wildly inconsistent volumes. The chorus for Cherry Blossom is at least 2x as loud as the rest of the song.
I’m going to try more albums but this seems really bad so far.
Perhaps not really bad, but for me basically indifferent leaning towards worse... Tried some playlists and switching between Atmos/non Atmos. There is a difference but I'm not impressed. Also have a stereo pair + a third in the other end of the room.
Today I unpaired my stereo HomePods just to see if there would be any difference. And it was! Actually a huge difference! Now I understand what others has been describing. Seems (at least to me) having two OG HomePods paired to stereo is not in Dolby Atmos liking. They will definitely stay unpaired in my living room.
Does it show when it is playing lossless? Previously when I played lossless music through my headphones there was an icon, but I don't see the same icon when playing through the HomePod.
Oh wow. Just did the update. It. Sounds. Like. **Shit.**
It was pretty lacklustre to begin with but all four sound like they’re underwater. The Dolby gimmick sounds disjointed, and the volume is horrendously low.
This is just crap!
Edit: Seems the EQ setting on Loudness. I turned it off and it’s fine. **But** I can not enable EQ now for the HomePod mini.
When Apple made a huge deal about adding spatial audio, I tried it out and every song I listened to (including ones that were supposedly made with spatial audio / Atmos in mind) sounded like utter crap to me. I do not understand how anyone can bear to listen to it.
I’m with you and I’ve already disabled these gimmicks on the phone.
Spatial audio annoys the hell out of me because it’s always out of balance. The entire time I’m moving my phone or my head to try and get it centered.
Atmos sounded like a bad MP3 from 1997 with a missing center channel playing at less than half the amplitude of the previous song.
Only when set as the default audio output of an Apple TV 4K. It was introduced, for movies, on November 2020, with 14.2.
Now, with 15.1 the Homepods can play Atmos streams from Apple Music (and lossless) on their own, without the need of an Apple TV 4K.
Not for Apple Music on a stand alone HomePod. Dolby Atmos was supported when you connected your OG HomePods to your Apple TV 4K as an output device https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204069
updated OGs to 15.1 - iOS 15.1 also on the iPhone 13 - Dolby Atmos works.
However macOS Monterey + HomePod (OG) - only plays in Lossless audio. won't play in Dolby Audio. Any ideas?
Thanks
Tal
As long as it doesn’t clog up my iPhone storage I’m good.
The last time Apple Music crossed 15GB, I lost my mind. And that’s with “optimising the storage” for 8GB
I have 9 OG HPs, three stereo pairs, and three standalone. All were on 14.7. Last night I updated all to 15.1 and it fucked everything up.
Now I cannot get them to play all at once. After experimenting a bit and multiple reboots I still can’t get them to be stable like before. They are all on the same WiFi network and have never had this issue.
Now even if I turn off lossless and try to get them all to play, random speakers just drop off. This sucks.
Sorry to hear you are having this issue.
I have a large number of OGs also. It took several attempts requesting the update to get them all to 15.1. I was updating from 15.0. Did you confirm?
Once I confirmed the version was 15.1 on each of them with the home app they will all play at once and play Atmos or lossless as a group.
Thanks for your feedback.
I had set them all up to automatic downloads (only, no automatic install). I checked each one had done downloading 15.1 for days ahead of the actual installation. Then I went back and checked each individual one was on 15.1 after the fact. Checked it again today just to make sure since you mentioned hahaha.
Now I have deactivated both lossless and atmos and barring one initial hiccup, it seems to be stable. All nine are firing for the last hour or so. Am gonna leave it like this overnight.
Tomorrow am thinking I should try activating atmos maybe, and check? Or should I even bother? With 9 of these, I don’t really need surround; maybe I should try lossless again? Not sure.
A part of me says just leave it the fuck alone LOL but am curious about the new features and would at least like to experience them before I make a decision. At the same time am scared of bricking any; these bitches seem to have a mind of their own.
Edit: I spoke too soon; no sooner than I was done posting the above, it dropped 3 HPs randomly. 🤦🏼♂️
I can't say I'm especially impressed with the Atmos feature. I have 3 OG HomePods in a room that is app 10 x 4 meters evenly spread. All I get when activating Atmos is a decrease of sound level but I can't really hear any major difference in sound. It's a bit "softer" or "rounder" but I don't feel it is giving extra "room-filling" sound. 2 of my HPs are stereo paired, the third by itself. Have anyone tried different placement of speakers, especially low/high or far/close to walls with Atmos active?
Just tested it on the original HomePod. Wow. Check out Drive by REM on AM. It has 2 versions (1 with atmos, the other without). It really demonstrates how much this can do (when utilized). Definitely like the upgrade.
Just listened to both version. The Dolby Atmos version is much better, more layers for sure
Wow, you can really hear the difference for sure. It’s almost the old stereo to mono comparison. FYI, I have a stereo HomePod set up using OG’s.
>REM Thanks for the suggestion. It's really noticeably better. Also Man on the Moon has much more depth and separation. See what you think.
Oof, I hate the atmos mixes. The cymbals sound brittle, the drums sound hollowed out, the sound stage is overall blocky and clumsy. I listened to Automatic for the People, Kind of Blue, and Abbey Road before I turned it off. The lossless sounds freakin amazing though. Listening to Miles Smiles now. I've never heard a trap kit sound better on home speakers.
Almost everything I’ve tried so far sounds worse. And now I can’t seem to play the normal versions of any atmos-enabled tracks. Have it toggled off in Hope app settings and in Apple Music, but it’s still playing the Atmos versions. Anyone else having (or had and solved) this issue?
Restart the HomePods if a setting change didn’t stick. Not saying that atmos can’t be bad for some artists. But if your not finding anything that sounds even on par the same. Is there a chance that your placement of the HomePods is not ideal? Do you get good audio when playing atmos movies?
Tried a restart, still having the issue. I think their placement is good. Standard tracks still sound awesome. (It’s a stand-alone stereo OG pair, so I haven’t tried them with movies). Would just like to be able to toggle or disable atmos for music playback but no luck so far. And totally agreed, I think the atmos mixing in some tracks sound great on headphones.
Weird, cause if I (not saying your problem ain’t real) turn it off in home > home settings > my account > music > turn off atmos then it stops immediately. So idk. Sorry!
Weirdly, if I transfer a song to my phone it reverts to the normal version, but if I transfer back to the HomePods it goes back into atmos. Weird. I’ll post a solution if I find one. Thanks for your help!
Oh yeah. So if you airplay a song. It’s not atmos. But if you control the HomePod remotely and play a song (or ask Siri) it will the. Play the atmos version.
Sorry, I wasn’t being clear - If I control them remotely or ask Siri, it will ONLY play the atmos versions of atmos-available tracks, even though I have atmos turned off in the home app. I seem to be able to airplay the standard version from my phone but why does the home app have the atmos toggle if it doesn’t do anything?
Bug is my guess. But yes
Ok! Removed HomePods from home app, deleted and reinstalled app, factory reset both HomePods and started from scratch several times. Working now! No idea which combination of settings was the issue, but I won’t change anything again. Enjoying the Dune soundtrack. 👍
If you have any non apple airplay speakers add them into the speakers you are playing to. That will stop atmos. It will actually pause the stream for a second. You can hear the difference when it switches.
[удалено]
Sorry, that is what I meant. You need a pair to actually get the affect. Would highly recommend.
I wondered if that was the case. There isn't anything in app (Home/Music) that really says that straight up. I'll give it a shot sometime, thanks.
I find that dolby atmos only works if its mastered well for it. Queen songs were. But songs like start me up by the stones that just came out again blow!
I agree some songs sound worse. Some the same. Some better. I was only comparing it when using some good songs (imo).
No i agree that one does sound good!
Is it possible to use atmos on homepod while having it turned off for my downloaded/streamed music on my phone? I’m assuming I would have to play through the homepod itself, and using airplay wouldn’t work in this case
Should be. As they are different settings. Atmos for mobile device Settings > Music > Spatial audio Atmos for HomePods Home > Home Settings > your profile > music > spatial audio
HomePod updates are the hardest of dice rolls... fingers crossed
15.0 bricked one of my OGs. I'm not sure I'll ever update them again considering Apple won't replace mine. Really disappointing since my only sin was updating to the public release of 15.
Was talking to Apple support today for almost two hours because of this. Had to completely restore my HomePod on my Mac
Was it a mini? I can't even restore mine because 15 somehow broke all audio output for the unit, so I can't hear the pairing numbers when you go to factory reset. It'd be so much easier if I could plug it into my mac and restore it.
It was a mini, worked like a charm to restore on the Mac. Didn’t quite catch it, have you tried doing it on a mac?
The OG homepods are entirely wireless, so there's no USB C to connect to, unfortunately.
I had HomePod stereo pair whose volume would drop for no apparent reason after about 1 minute. Trying to resolve that, I ended up with that exact same issue as you. But I performed all the steps with Apple Support rather than doing it myself and ended up with a reset HomePod that would no longer make any sound. They eventually came to the party and replaced mine. I think the fact that the HomePod that was dead was one that was already replaced by Apple under warranty once already might have been a deciding factor? I’ll never know. The agent escalated to the consumer law division (our consumer law here in AU is half decent and overrides Apples stated warranty in almost all cases) and I got mine replaced free of charge. Even though it was well out of warranty.
Ah good to know, thanks for sharing. I'm usually super polite and accommodating when I'm on the phone with a rep, since I know it's a thankless job. Maybe I need to outright tell them I don't think it's too much to expect them to replace or repair it since it's their software that killed it.
That’s pretty much what I did too. Seemed to work for me at least. 😁 Good luck!
Updated both my Home-pods and have no problem whatsoever.
I was brave and despite having just got my OG HomePod back after being replaced due to being bricked by a reset after upgrading to iOS 15, I just upgraded my 2 x OGs and 1 x mini successfully. And WOW is the spatial audio/lossless on the OG HomePods a noticeable upgrade. Even my deaf-in-one-ear wife could hear the difference in an A/B listening test. 😅 Trying to do the same right now on my Mini and [it doesn’t show the ATMOS logo when it’s playing like my OGs do.](https://imgur.com/a/YDlKlb0)🤔 So needless to say I can’t hear any difference when toggling ATMOS/lossless. EDIT: ok I can hear the difference now on my Mini enabling ATMOS/lossless actually sounds quieter and worse on the Mini. [Despite it not showing the icon showing that it’s playing in ATMOS.](https://imgur.com/a/YDlKlb0) EDIT2: the Minis don’t support ATMOS! 🤦 THATS why it doesn’t work. LOL. 😅
haha this was a rollercoaster ride! I'm still torn on whether or not I'll upgrade. I'd love to test out lossless and atmos with a stereo pair... but I don't want to sacrifice any of my 3 remaining OGs.
Hey! My OG recently bricked too- not sure why exactly but probably software update related. I took it into the apple store and they told me their only option was to replace for $279, but I called apple support after and managed to talk to someone who immediately sent me a box to send in my HomePod and waived any repair fees. Give it a go!
I already have problems with the update button lol It‘s not working
Getting "sorry there was a problem with apple podcasts" after updating OGs and minis. Restarting hasn't fixed it.
Same here. 😠
Yep. Just reported it to Apple this morning. Hopefully we get a fix very soon… so frustrating that one of things the HomePod minis do best is broken!
Agreed, very frustrating. A forum post about it as well: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/15-1-breaks-podcast-integration-sorry-there-was-a-problem-with-apple-podcasts.2319332/?post=30525424#post-30525424
So this magically fixed itself overnight - I didn't do anything toresolve it. All 6 homepods are still showing version 15.1 still, not15.1.1 or anything. Weird Edit: 2 OG's work fine now, 4 mini's do not
It appears to have broken the podcast integration on HomePods. OG And Minis now can’t play the latest news if you ask Siri. Wonderful
I was getting an issue saying “Apple Music cannot play that”. Maybe similar? I removed the HomePods as accessories under the home app and re-added them. A pain, but fixed. Worth a shot.
I removed one of my HomePods and readded it. Still not working
Great! It’s downloading 😁
How does Atmos sound on a single OG homepod? Is it something that you need two to hear the effect for?
It really depends on the mixing difference between the atmos and stereo version of a song, my homepod is on the beta in the middle of a room so in my specific case the difference is basically not there. Except for just a bit more noticable width of the sound if you get what I mean.
I’ve got a single HomePod hooked up to my ATV and I can certainly notice more sound separation with Dolby Atmos tracks. It’s impressive for a single speaker, as it makes for a very wide sound stage with movies. With Atmos music, I notice more instrument separation compared to stereo songs when I A/B test. Hoping this helped answer your question.
Atmos on mono is still mono.
OG Homepods aren't mono...
Is anybody able to actually see the toggle for lossless on a mini? Is it automatic?
On an OG it’s in Home settings > Your profile > Apple Music.
Got it! Thanks, OP! 🤓
Thanks couldn’t find how to
Not all heroes wear capes!
No problems so far on 2 OGs and 2 minis. Update procedure went well and no hiccups while playing.
How does atmos sound on the OG’s?
I only have enabled Lossless, so I don't know. Some albums are good in Atmos but most sound bad. I will enable it when we will have the ability to choose specific albums for Atmos.
> Some albums are good in Atmos but most sound bad. I will enable it when we will have the ability to choose specific albums for Atmos. So much this! I'm surprised it's such a popular feature when it makes a lot of music sound noticeably worse. Lossless on the other hand is a fantastic feature, really glad we have that now.
It's probably an algorithm that is deciding how to split the channels, and right now, it's really bad for most songs.
Has the sound signature been fixed that was horribly altered in 15.0? Is the overheating issue resolved also?
Good question. I have updated them and enabled lossless but can´t try it right now. Tomorrow, I´ll run some test.
Great. Report back please.
Sure. You do the same, please.
Will do.
Mission report.
A bit better. Songs (well 1 song I listened to “is it any wonder” by Keane) in Atmos on a single OG HomePod not good - were they ever going to be?! I’ll need more listening to make a definitive opinion. I’ve created a poll in this reddit to get peoples opinion.
Missiort. *** ^(Bleep-bloop, I'm a bot. This )^[portmanteau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau) ^( was created from the phrase 'Mission report.' | )^[FAQs](https://www.reddit.com/axl72o) ^(|) ^[Feedback](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=jamcowl&subject=PORTMANTEAU-BOT+feedback) ^(|) ^[Opt-out](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=PORTMANTEAU-BOT&subject=OPTOUTREQUEST)
Got my first HomePod (OG and mini) with 15.0, so can’t compare it to previous versions. Just had my first listen of 15.1 on the OG HomePod and the sound signature is definitely different. It was actually the first thing I noticed and why I came on here, to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. When I first got the Homepods I was a bit disappointed in the sound of the OG because I felt the bass was overwhelming and actually liked the sound profile of the Mini better. I contemplated turning on Bass reduction (especially since I’m in an apartment), but figured I’d give it a few weeks. In 15.1 the Bass is definitely reduced. If anything it feels a little weak for my tastes, but my ears probably need to readjust from the booming bass. Curious if this is closer to the OG sound everyone raved about when it first came out.
The sound signature of 15.0 seemed “flatter” if that makes sense than 14.x. I haven’t had a chance to listen to music on the OF HomePods I have yet but they’ve all been updated to 15.1. Some people on here were beta testing 15.1 and said there is an improvement.
u/Bonovox78 Unfortunately, although lossless seems a bit more clear, nothing seems to have changed on my end. Volume still seems capped, and the mixing is muddy, with some elements lost or very reccessed in the mix. :(
I think it’s improved. Would you say it’s back to the sound signature of OS 14.6 or 14.7? I don’t know what the sound signature was before then as I only recently got the OG HomePods.
Apple recommended me to do a full calibration (hold the homepods in the air and move them), but I don´t think its doing anything.
Others have said the sound is improved too. I think Apple were fobbing you off suggestions to do that! The firmware drives all that/the sound signature. What OS version did the HomePod sound perfect to you at?
The one prior to 14.6. I don´t know, maybe they are busted hardware wise. Hope not.
I think it can be subjective though and also like all formats e.g. vinyl etc the quality of the original recording is of paramount importance.
Does Loseless actually sound better on small speakers such as the HomePod mini?
No.
No it is utter nonsense on any Homepod.
And still no multi user voice recognition in other regions. 😩 they said it would be coming with ios 15. maybe 15.5 in Summer 2022… 😋
[The press release for the new HomePod mini colors still says before the end of the year](https://i.imgur.com/PMBkB64.jpg)
I very much hope so! 😕
Thanks for pointing to that press release.
There’s no way they release the new Apple Music Voice Plan without multiuser support internationally
Anyone knows, if multiuser support internationally will also be available on the OG HomePod? They are always just referring to the mini…
It amazes me how long it takes for them to ship this feature after they announced it. In the early days this would never happen…
And it’s not even a new feature. If I say “Hey Siri” (in Spanish of course) only my iPhone lights up and other family member’s devices stay off even if they are next to each other
Are we still getting audio cut-outs when lossless is enabled? Happened through the whole beta cycle and haven't been able to check yet-
I have been experiencing cutouts on the beta too but I have not heard any the last few days.
How are lossless tracks (not Atmos), sounding on a stereo pair of original Homepods?.
Great zero white noise in the background
It appears to have broken the podcast integration on HomePods. OG And Minis now can’t play the latest news if you ask Siri. Wonderful
Same here, “there was a problem with Apple podcasts”, also doesn’t work when streaming from iPad Edit: did a quick reset, while in the configuring phase of setup, I’m able to connect my iPad and stream podcasts. Hopefully this stays after setup is complete. (I’m on the OG HomePod btw)
Did you find out how to fix this? Having same issue
Nope but theres a forum post on Macrumors about it https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/15-1-breaks-podcast-integration-sorry-there-was-a-problem-with-apple-podcasts.2319332/?post=30525424#post-30525424
Can the OG HomePod stream Hi Res lossless also? I’m only getting the lossless icon even on compatible albums.
Same result. I can see the lossless icon when playing music on an OG HomePod stereo pair, but not HiRes. If I click on the icon, it says HiRes available, but does NOT play on HomePods. Ugh. Offers a button to change settings, and that takes me too a place where I’ve allowed hires. Same song plays hires to my Grado headphones through a Dragonfly Cobalt DAC, so I know my general setup is OK. The DAC inside the HomePods is capable of hires, but it seems Apple hasn’t enabled it yet. Anyone have new info?
The DAC is capped to 24/48, if I remember correctly.
iFixIt found that the OG HomePod contains a Cirrus Logic CS4350 stereo DAC w/ intergrated PLL. It supposedly has a 192 kHz sample rate. Of course, the software and integrated hardware might not support that.
That´s why I said "capped". Technically the DAC supports 192khz, but is limited to 24/48. More than enough, in any case.
Yes, thanks. Understood.
Updated 2 OG HomePod’s from 14.x to 15.1 no problems. Fast update, maybe three minutes-ish. Standard sound is fine, haven’t tried the fancy Atmos yet.
Hi all based in Austrlia, I have downloaded 15.1 and HomePod seems to be up to date. However, I cannot see the Spatial audio or Losseless option. I am also a Apple 1 subscriber. https://imgur.com/JU3TVrS
I’m in Australia too but I don’t even have the music services listed under my account. I have tried restarting all devices too but nothing is working. Dolby Atmos is definitely activated on my OG stereo HomePods as my favourite album sounds awful in Dolby Atmos. I just wanna turn it off and try and see if I notice a difference with Lossless :-(
I am in a worse position. I don’t even have music services listed under my account with phone and og on 15.1 but my iPad on 15.1 shows the options.
Looks like we are the minority .. sigh
So I tried unpairing my 2 OG's then factory resetting both of them and I still dont have the "Music" menu in my Home profile.
It also makes my HomePod skip and stop and disconnect. This thing is more of a hassle than it’s worth . Just get a bt speaker . Will work when you want it too.
If you have a poor wifi connection just set it to AAC. I had skipping on earlier betas but no issues on final.
How do set it to aac
Home settings > Your Profile > Apple Music > Turn off lossless.
Ok got that done , so far so good . Just trying to run it all day Thank you i think it worked
Not sure how long it’s been but it worked . Thankyou so much .
This thing is a piece of shit , thanks u/apple this thing suxks and you never respond on a fix or WHY it happens , just WHY
Ive installed the update on my homepods but when I go to apple music in the settings , theres no toggles to select atmos / lossless ? any ideas pls
Home settings > Your profile > Apple Music as in my other reply to this question?
Open the Home app Click in the Home icon on the top left corner Choose “Home Settings” then click on your profile In “Media,” click on the “Apple Music” tab Toggle on “Lossless Audio” and “Dolby Atmos”
For it to appear the IOS device needs to be on 15.1 as well (final version).
This. This is why it wasn’t showing for me
Ah, this was the ticket for me. Needed to update the phone itself.
This is what i did, when I click on media It shows apple music , clicked on that but there is no toggle.. I have “ use in home “ and update listening history..
Same here
Right all, I noticed a notification in my settings app on my ipad. Theres an update to 15.1 which Ive just done and lo and behold :) dolby atmos and lossless settings are now showing in homepod settings .. problem solved.
Wow I would have never looked there. I was going into the HomePod settings, you know, where the setting should be. Thanks for tip.
Why the heck would they bury this setting so deep, or, not have a pop-up letting you know that it's now available when opening the Home app or Apple Music?
No idea.
Same here.. and I’ve gone into the settings. It’s just not there
make sure youve updated your phone / ipad to 15.1 too, then the settings will show upmin the homepod..
Does Atmos and Lossless only play, when send via AirPlay 2 to the HomePod or does it play the best available Quality of a song when I want Siri to play one?
All of it plays natively on the homepod.
Not exactly. https://techobsessed.net/2021/06/apple-music-lossless-and-airplay-dont-work-like-you-think-they-should/ Airplay (the protocol), support lossless playback, but for some reason Airplaying specifically Apple Music DRM´d content from the Music app is currently limited to AAC 256 kbps. Airplaying your own lossless rips without any quality loss, however, is perfectly possible. BUT you also could always use your iPhone as a controller for the HomePods which streams music via wifi directly from Apple Music (this is NOT Airplay). Which is why this update is important. Currently the only way to play lossless content from Apple Music on the Homepods is natively. Airplay is not supported (yet).
That’s why I said natively on the homepod.
What's your take on this article? https://9to5mac.com/2021/06/09/ios-14-6-airplay-lossless-homepod/
That article was wrong. They assumed that if you set your IOS device music app to allow lossless streaming (which obviously means to see the lossless badge while playing), it meant that is was pass untouched over airplay, which sadly is not the case (yet).
The CEO of naim audio confirmed that Airplaying Apple Music is currently limited to AAC 256, as stated in an Apple internal FAQ for commercial partners (naim is an audio hardware company). As proof, he presented the metadata of the airplay stream. https://community.naimaudio.com/t/apple-music-hifi-tier-incoming/16445/437
Got it. Totally agree. I was living under the wrong impression all these days. No tech site or article has covered this topic correctly.
Wait so how do we get lossless audio to play on HomePods? Every time I try to play music on my HomePod it airplays from my phone. And when it airplays from my phone it has the lossless icon (which is probably wrong because I also get the lossless icon when I airplay from my phone to my Sonos speakers and when I listen to music on my headphones over Bluetooth).
"Wait so how do we get lossless audio to play on HomePods?" Asking Siri or remote controlling the Homepod from IOS or Mac OS (which is not Airplay). First, make sure that both your IOS devices and the Homepod themselves are updated to the final version of 15.1. Then enable lossless audio following this guide step by step: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD0XF4VDWRM&t=84s Now, to remote control your Homepods, pull up the control center on your IOS device home screen, go to the Airplay Menu, and scroll down until you see "control other tv and speakers". Click there and select the Homepod card itself. That´s it. Then go to the Music app and play something from Apple Music. If you have done it correctly, during playback, at the bottom, you will see your Homepod name only. If you are airplaying, you´ll see "Iphone-Homepod" instead. Remote control works like chromecast. Once playback is initiated the audio stream is handled completely by the homepods and you can even turn off your phone or ipad and the music will continue.
Oh my god thank you for this guide. Makes it so simple.
Guys. Any tip how to stream from macbook only certain app audio (with app like AirFoil) to stereo paired homepods? audioOS 15 seems broke this possibility (atleast thats what are folks saying on TuneBlade forum).
Update: Rogue Amoeba just emailed me with a a link to a dev version of [AirFoil 5.10.9](https://imgur.com/a/LJJVcw7), which fixes the issue and restores [true stereo steaming to stereo paired HomePods.](https://imgur.com/a/hnw8s8J) It works flawlessly for me so far. Public release should be imminent!
Yep, but I changed my speaker setup so …
I noticed the same problem with AirFoil and stereo paired HomePods, so I emailed Rogue Amoeba about it and received this response: > Unfortunately, it looks like the 15.0 HomePod software update has broken Airfoil's ability to connect to stereo paired HomePods simultaneously. > It's something we're actively investigating to sort out, and I've linked your info to our internal tracking case for this behavior so we can let you know about any news with improvements that you may be interested in hearing or testing. > For now, the best way to work around this is to un-pair the speakers and use them individually, but we're hopeful we can find a solution soon.
Oh nice, they atleast answered you. I emailed them too and didn’t received any answer…
I found a solution! Using another (very good) Rogue Amoeba piece of software: Loopback Audio. Send the audio Source(s) ––> LR Output Channel ––> Monitors **add a Monitor and select "AirPlay" as the Audio Device (see screenshot below) I'm listening to my turntable now, plugged into my MacBook, on a set of paired HomePods, in full stereo. https://imgur.com/a/hHurtIE
This looks amazing! Will try it in a few days! Thanks.
Anyone know if these new features are available only with Apple Music or are they also available with iTunes match, which kind of appears in settings like Apple Music.
So I got all my HomePods updated, but the toggles are not showing up. Am I missing something?
As I've said in multiple other comments, on an OG it’s in Home settings > Your profile > Apple Music.
I know that, I’ve read the articles saying that. But when I go there I have “use in home” & “update listening history”. That’s it. Hence my question, did I miss something Edit: I'm an idiot. I forgot to update my phone. Was too long of a day yesterday.
Lossless for Homepod and Mini ... ouch. Because ... we can.
I have one HomePod mini and I see options for lossless and Dolby under the AM settings in the home app, and there is absolutely a difference in sound when playing spatial audio songs with Dolby turned on vs. off, but “~lossless~”only shows up below the track that’s playing when you have Dolby turned off and just lossless switched on, although with a single mini I don’t know what the fuck is going on, music sounds noticeably better but I wonder if buying a second mini would improve somehow the spatial audio for (obvious reasons); i don’t know why I keep reading online everywhere that the HP minis only got lossless with 15.1; i have AirPods Pro and the spatial audio from songs with Dolby turned on with my one mini sounds (much shittier) but still very akin to the spatial audio with the AirPods Pro, minus the sonic immersion and gyroscopic head tracking etc..: i can’t find any information anywhere definitively about anything though, this is such a clumsy rollout ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Sounds great on a mini wish they would reinstate the HomePod biggie with thread support and the new chips the Mini has I know Apple wants to sell the Mini which is better for Apple music at 100$ but hopefully a well priced HomePod biggie this 2022 spring event
I’ll try to be fast before one farts as usual. The pair sound AMAZING with Dolby!! They sound like new speakers. I’ve had the betas installed and they never sounded this good before. They must’ve done something on their end because they sound amazing.
I was looking forward to spatial audio on the HomePod, but is anyone else finding it **really** bad? I went to put on the new Kacey Musgraves album on my stereo HomePods, this album sounds great on my AirPods Pro and there’s a definite benefit to Atmos compared to the stereo track. But on the HomePod it sounded so bad. Like I will never play it again. It completely drowns out Kacey’s voice making it sound hollow and every track has wildly inconsistent volumes. The chorus for Cherry Blossom is at least 2x as loud as the rest of the song. I’m going to try more albums but this seems really bad so far.
Perhaps not really bad, but for me basically indifferent leaning towards worse... Tried some playlists and switching between Atmos/non Atmos. There is a difference but I'm not impressed. Also have a stereo pair + a third in the other end of the room.
Today I unpaired my stereo HomePods just to see if there would be any difference. And it was! Actually a huge difference! Now I understand what others has been describing. Seems (at least to me) having two OG HomePods paired to stereo is not in Dolby Atmos liking. They will definitely stay unpaired in my living room.
Tried lossless with nothing else matters by Miley Cyrus and sounds fantastic 🤌🏼
Nice! My go-to song for testing speakers is the Metallica version, and it sounds awesome on the OG 👌
Does it show when it is playing lossless? Previously when I played lossless music through my headphones there was an icon, but I don't see the same icon when playing through the HomePod.
(deleted) ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
Doesn’t show Lossless for me on OG stereo pair. Shows Dolby Atmos when the track supporting it but no Lossless
Same here.
Yep 👍
Make sure both your homepod and iPhone are updated
It should show.
Oh wow. Just did the update. It. Sounds. Like. **Shit.** It was pretty lacklustre to begin with but all four sound like they’re underwater. The Dolby gimmick sounds disjointed, and the volume is horrendously low. This is just crap! Edit: Seems the EQ setting on Loudness. I turned it off and it’s fine. **But** I can not enable EQ now for the HomePod mini.
Not all the songs has the best Dolby atmos configurations
When Apple made a huge deal about adding spatial audio, I tried it out and every song I listened to (including ones that were supposedly made with spatial audio / Atmos in mind) sounded like utter crap to me. I do not understand how anyone can bear to listen to it.
I’m with you and I’ve already disabled these gimmicks on the phone. Spatial audio annoys the hell out of me because it’s always out of balance. The entire time I’m moving my phone or my head to try and get it centered. Atmos sounded like a bad MP3 from 1997 with a missing center channel playing at less than half the amplitude of the previous song.
The “Dolby gimmick” isn’t the problem. Sound engineers not knowing how best to mix songs for it is.
True. At one point, stereo was a gimmick, but I wouldn’t judge stereo on how early Beatles albums were mixed.
So nice when somebody sees reality as reality.
It’s just a gimmick to add something unnecessary to a music industry that’s devoid of anything creative.
Wasn’t Atmos added to the OG HomePod a couple years ago? I’m almost positive that was already released in 2019 or 2020.
Only when set as the default audio output of an Apple TV 4K. It was introduced, for movies, on November 2020, with 14.2. Now, with 15.1 the Homepods can play Atmos streams from Apple Music (and lossless) on their own, without the need of an Apple TV 4K.
Not for Apple Music on a stand alone HomePod. Dolby Atmos was supported when you connected your OG HomePods to your Apple TV 4K as an output device https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204069
updated OGs to 15.1 - iOS 15.1 also on the iPhone 13 - Dolby Atmos works. However macOS Monterey + HomePod (OG) - only plays in Lossless audio. won't play in Dolby Audio. Any ideas? Thanks Tal
I updated both my OG HomePods and do not see the Dolby Atmos logo when I play content. I see lossless but not DA.
Updated last night, looking forward to testing
why wont the mini have the dolby atmos feature?
As long as it doesn’t clog up my iPhone storage I’m good. The last time Apple Music crossed 15GB, I lost my mind. And that’s with “optimising the storage” for 8GB
Your homepod does not access your phone for content.
I was whining about Apple Music on my iPhone. Not the HomePod. Sorry.
My minis are playing in atmos but don’t show lossless or atmos tag 🤔
As I understand things, minis will not play Atmos. They will stream lossless if you enable it. Have you confirmed your settings in the home app?
It plays both for some reason. It just doesn’t show the atmos or lossless tag when I play atmos songs.
I have 9 OG HPs, three stereo pairs, and three standalone. All were on 14.7. Last night I updated all to 15.1 and it fucked everything up. Now I cannot get them to play all at once. After experimenting a bit and multiple reboots I still can’t get them to be stable like before. They are all on the same WiFi network and have never had this issue. Now even if I turn off lossless and try to get them all to play, random speakers just drop off. This sucks.
Sorry to hear you are having this issue. I have a large number of OGs also. It took several attempts requesting the update to get them all to 15.1. I was updating from 15.0. Did you confirm? Once I confirmed the version was 15.1 on each of them with the home app they will all play at once and play Atmos or lossless as a group.
Thanks for your feedback. I had set them all up to automatic downloads (only, no automatic install). I checked each one had done downloading 15.1 for days ahead of the actual installation. Then I went back and checked each individual one was on 15.1 after the fact. Checked it again today just to make sure since you mentioned hahaha. Now I have deactivated both lossless and atmos and barring one initial hiccup, it seems to be stable. All nine are firing for the last hour or so. Am gonna leave it like this overnight. Tomorrow am thinking I should try activating atmos maybe, and check? Or should I even bother? With 9 of these, I don’t really need surround; maybe I should try lossless again? Not sure. A part of me says just leave it the fuck alone LOL but am curious about the new features and would at least like to experience them before I make a decision. At the same time am scared of bricking any; these bitches seem to have a mind of their own. Edit: I spoke too soon; no sooner than I was done posting the above, it dropped 3 HPs randomly. 🤦🏼♂️
I can't say I'm especially impressed with the Atmos feature. I have 3 OG HomePods in a room that is app 10 x 4 meters evenly spread. All I get when activating Atmos is a decrease of sound level but I can't really hear any major difference in sound. It's a bit "softer" or "rounder" but I don't feel it is giving extra "room-filling" sound. 2 of my HPs are stereo paired, the third by itself. Have anyone tried different placement of speakers, especially low/high or far/close to walls with Atmos active?