Funniest snake oil theories

[VenusFly]

They are molluscs/gastropods. But yes according to wikipedia (where I source all of my information) they are considered to be animals.

 

[scottjoplin]

That's a very sexy looking snail

 

[nezbleu]

Are snails not animals ???

Just try talking to one. Indistinguishable from a vegetable.

 

[MITsound]

Just try talking to one. Indistinguishable from a vegetable.

Maybe you're listening too fast?

 

[poynton]

I eat vegetables.

I also eat snails.


.

 

[scottjoplin]

I hope the snails are dead when you eat them unlike some vegetables

 

[poynton]

I've never asked them

 

[billshurv]

Not your normal snake oil, but amusing how reviewers will park expectations or analysis when faced with 'shiny'. This at least does something, although 'hifi' it ain't.
Apple HomePod review | What Hi-Fi?
Now the horn/waveguide array is very clever as is the monitoring of reflections to get the most out of a pint pot, but the review seems to ignore several things.

Wherever you place the speaker, it is constantly analysing the music you play and dynamically tuning the sound, from bass to treble, to deliver the track as intended. Or, at least, as the HomePod thinks it’s intended.

So it's a variable tone control over which you have no control.

this is an expressive bottom end - which is essential to getting the most out of the deep brass and deep vocal on the track.

. The DSP actively limits excusion and uses some careful pyschoacoustics to make you think you are hearing deep bass. But bass dat shakes da place it ain't!

What's more, you don’t need to pump up the volume in order to get the HomePod singing.Even at low volumes the core excitement is retained, with more bass weight and punch than rivals can muster when similarly quiet

So you can't defeat the built in loudness controls

Even when the HomePod is placed close to a back wall, the sound around the room is pretty consistent right until you’re essentially standing at a right-angle to it. This is our preferred positioning of the speaker, as the reflection of ambient effects on the surface behind creates a slightly bigger, more spacious and more three-dimensional presentation.

It's mono FFS.

I am sure the end effect is pleasant but this is no more something I would have in the house than a cable lifter or bybee.

 

[spaceistheplace]

Shine can be nice. Of course, performance should be contained within it.

Ideally, I’d like something that has both. I don’t think it’s wrong to enjoy something designed to be visually pleasing. I also don’t think god-ugly and 300kilos should be a requirement for excellent performance. The Devialet comes to mind as being a welcome exception to this rule, but I haven’t heard them myself or looked into them deeply. As someone who appreciates visual and functional art I wish engineers would not sneer so much at efforts to make something attractive (to their demographic, in their own vision).

I think it’s a clever solution by Apple and presently the best of its kind alongside google and amazons offerings by a decent margin.

Obviously the armchair fanboys will wax poetic- it’s easy to poke holes here but imho it’s too easy... a cheap shot. Who in the normal universe wants to listen to an EE review the HomePod in deep technical detail? That would be brutal for 99.9% of the population.

What do you all consider the highest quality small Bluetooth / wireless speaker option for “around the house” noncritical, portable listening? Don’t say Kii’s with a wireless adapter lol.

I have a Tivoli bedside clock radio which is ok, but I felt the reviews were more than a bit glorified in retrospect.

I wish there were better options.

 

[MITsound]

I've got my tube amp based system wired as the l/r of a home theatre system, with a refurbished Arcam AVP700 doing decoding.
Lately, its been occasional fun to use it for stereo music, with "music" selected for DSP effects. Someone did some good research for pleasant sounding distortion!
And my old Yamaha Natural Sound integrated was the best I could afford as a 17 year old putting myself through highschool- its variable loudness control was the deal closer for me, and I wish some of my no bells or whistles gear had this feature. So simple and useful.

 

[Jim the Oldbie]

This is our preferred positioning of the speaker, as the reflection of ambient effects on the surface behind creates a slightly bigger, more spacious and more three-dimensional presentation.

It's mono FFS.

Bill, I was just sitting here reading this in my quiet hotel room, and your reply gave me a good chuckle, whereupon someone passing by in the hall was also heard to giggle at my chuckle, so - well played all around.

 

[billshurv]

Space: I don't know what the solution is. I have a B&O (the wife's) in the bedroom and a receiver in the kitchen. My biggest challenge is a suitable front end controller for MPD in the living room that isn't my laptop.

MIT: I DO think that some form of adjustable and defeatable loudness control is a very good thing. I just don't like undefeatable tone controls.

I also think it's funny how journalists in a specialist HIFI magazine have different standards for different products without being very very clear up front.

 

[scottjoplin]

Why is it so expensive? oh it's an Apple device and a "one size fits all" one to boot. It has a little woofer that you can see pumping back and forth, always a turn on, and it talks to you too, what more could you possibly want?

 

[gpauk]

I have a couple of amazon's devices, very cheap when bought on sale. One in the kitchen is invaluable as a hands free radio (usually radio4 - so all talk, the fi-ness isn't an issue) and as a hands free timer when cooking - handy also that you can give the timer a name "remove x from oven now" etc. Good for units conversions too. They are also the voice control for SSD streamer that is my main music source. Voice control for lights and TV too. For music all around the house, well, we just turn up the main system volume until you can hear it everywhere....

Crapple seem to be marketing theirs as a music device, rather than a general purpose home accessory.

 

[spaceistheplace]

Space: I don't know what the solution is. I have a B&O (the wife's) in the bedroom and a receiver in the kitchen. My biggest challenge is a suitable front end controller for MPD in the living room that isn't my laptop.

I’ve always had a big soft spot for B&O.

I use Plex Media Server running on a self built NAS box in another room being pulled wirelessly by an Apple TV 4 for movies and digital audio. Did a lot of thinking before pulling the trigger and I’m really glad I did.

Ultimate fidelity solution? Probably not. I’m sure some can find technical faults but to my ears it’s not better or worse than my 50lb luxman CD player or a variety of other expensive and heavy options I’ve tried. I’ll continue to upgrade the Plex software and get the newATVs and I’m sure the gap will close in time.

This leaves me with a minimal, user friendly and hi WAF solution. Wireless, remote controlled and audio quality is just fine for me for 98% of situations.

You can all continue to hate Apple, while I continue to not have a headache. [emoji3]

PS I’ll likely pass on the home pod though.

 

[billshurv]

Apple TV wouldn't work for me because a key requirement for me is to be able to play music without turning the TV on. I may have to back off on that if I can't find something that does what I want. What I have in other rooms is attached. The charging base puts it at a perfect angle to just wander up and select. It just doesn't have a usable MPD client.

Note I don't do playlists and have thousands of albums on the server so need an easy way to find things. Roon is tempting but needs a meaty PC and the TV being on .

I have a friend who rather likes his Naim Mu-so for the kitchen, but that is pricey.

 

[bwaslo]

I have a Plex server on a NAS and a Raspberry Pi set up as a Plex client. That arrangement works great "headless", I can just get out my phone or an Android pad to select tracks or playlists. Or listen via the TV upstairs. Or on the phone when away from the house even (though I almost never do...)

 

[spaceistheplace]

Bill you don’t need an Apple TV.

I can play via my Plex client on my phone through the Apple TV without the TV being on, all wirelessly. It depends if you use the optical out from your TV I suppose but older Apple TV models are inexpensive and have separate optical outputs, avoiding the issue entirely.

I bought a separate Apple TV of an older gen. for this exact purpose. What’s one more hockey puck on the shelf at this point?

Plex clients are available for just about everything- iOS and Android phones and tablets, Amazon firestick, Apple TV, Roku, any Linux distro, and on and on.

I got the Plex pass “for life” avoiding any monthly app fees and getting the earlier feature updates. I’d recommend this option for anyone taking the plunge.

I’d suggest feeling it out with what’s currently at your disposal and giving it a spin. It takes a bit to configure and getting a file naming scheme in order but after that for me it has been relatively flawless and a joy to use.

For me, I want to choose an ecosystem with long term viability, minimal headache and maximum versatility. I’m willing to sacrifice cutting edge digital playback technologies or feature for this, as eventually they will flow downstream to the ecosystem of my choice. I just have to be patient, and most importantly “loosen up” on that last .1%. Id rather focus on gains via loudspeakers and DSP in the interim. Life is too short.

That’s my point of view.

 

[spaceistheplace]

Also bill it seems Plex has built in MPD- MPD — Plex Forums

Edit: apparently this is built into their new hardware offering “Plex amp”

Plex has launched its idea for a music player: Plexamp - The Verge

 

[billshurv]

Which needs windows or MacOs. If I have a windows machine I can run GMPC. Which means a windows tablet, at which point I might as well have an old laptop sitting there just doing GMPC duties. I just have an odd use case.