We discuss whether remastering albums is worthwhile, why some artists re-record their albums, and how there seem to be no more standards.
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Apple has released its Apple Music Classical app for iPhone, and it’s pretty good. Not perfect, but it’s a big step forward. We discuss this new app and how it can be improved.
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Creative content we discover at certain times of our lives imprints on our brains, and we forever compare other music, movies, and books to those we discovered at the right time.
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Doug moved, and we discuss 19th century technology and wires.
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On speaker placement and triangles.
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Chris Connaker from Audiophile Style joins us again to discuss some of his recent discoveries in immersive audio, and we talk about how the new HomePod sounds; better than expected.
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I’ve been intrigued by Apple’s HomePod since it was released. The idea of a fairly high-end smart speaker fits squarely into the Apple product matrix of premium devices that leverage Apple services. The first HomePod, however, was mediocre. The sound wasn’t great, and Siri support was not what was expected. When Apple discontinued the HomePod after just two years, this was just a few months after they had introduced the HomePod mini, the cheaper, lower audio quality device that seemed to be designed mainly to compete with Amazon’s Echo, and suggesting that Apple was giving up on higher end devices. Then, in January of this year, another two years later, Apple released a second generation HomePod.
I didn’t think the original HomePod was very good; its audio quality was limited, especially because you could not apply EQ, and it was over priced. (Apple added a Reduce Bass option several months after the launch of the HomePod to remedy the overly Bassy sound.) I felt that Apple was trying to do too much with this device, and that it just didn’t fit peoples needs, especially with competition from brands like Sonos, who sell excellent speakers at lower prices.
I was surprised to find that the second generation HomePod sounds much better than the original model. It’s still expensive, at $299, but its ability to play spatial audio — enhanced if you have two HomePods in a stereo pair — makes it a compelling device for people who want to discover this new type of audio.
The HomePod lies at the intersection of Apple’s audio and smart home areas. With a wide range of headphones, with several AirPods, and many Beats headphones, Apple covers all bases. On the smart home front, they only had the HomePod mini, until this new larger HomePod was released.
You can use two HomePods with an Apple TV and get decent sound for films and TV shows in Dolby Atmos. Apple should go one step further and sell a sound bar that combines an Apple TV with a full Dolby Atmos speaker set and call it the HomeBar. This would be a compelling all-in-one device for anyone who wants to use an Apple TV and get better sound, and it would be easier to use than a pair of HomePods. (One power cord instead of three.) They could even sell a sub-woofer as an add-on, something that most soundbars need to reproduce audio for big movies correctly.
I don’t expect Apple to ever sell a TV set; it doesn’t seem like a product that fits with Apple’s marketing, and it would be hard to showcase in the many small Apple retail stores. But a device that adds all the Apple smarts to any TV would fit in perfectly with the company’s focus on original TV content, with Apple TV+, audio, with Apple Music, headphones, and HomePods, and with smart home management.
Apple has released a new HomePod, two years after discontinuing the original model. But is it the HomePod we want, or the HomePod we need? We discuss how it works with home automation. Also, Audio Hijack has just been updated. It’s an essential app for recording audio on Macs.
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Why do so many people turn on subtitles when watching TV?
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We discuss the state of Apple’s Music app and new or missing features for 2023.
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Find out more at The Next Track website, or follow The Next Track on Twitter at @NextTrackCast.