![]() You can switch from one AirPlay device to another by tapping the AirPlay icon at the bottom of the Music window, and I switched back and forth, starting with my Kirk’s Audio Test Tracks playlist on Apple Music. (“Bedroom” below is the HomePod stereo pair.) ![]() In the Music app, I set the volume for each pair to approximately what was audibly the same level the Sonos One is a bit louder, so I lowered its volume until it sounded about the same. I placed each one on the same shelf as a HomePod, a few inches away. So, it was time to set up the Sonos Ones in a stereo pair in my bedroom and compare them. Note that a pair of HomePods costs $598, and a pair of Sonos One SLs costs $329. I don’t use Alexa, nor do I use Siri on my HomePods, and if you have a stereo pair, you don’t need both Sonos Ones to have microphones anyway. I did so recently, taking advantage of post-Christmas sales, and I purchased the less expensive Sonos One SL, which does not have a microphone so does not support Alexa or Google Assistant. ![]() So the next step was to buy a second Sonos One and set it up in a stereo pair. It turned out that the Sonos One sounded better overall than the HomePod. In late 2018, I bought a Sonos One, which is similar in size to the HomePod, but is much less expensive. Using two standalone speakers in a stereo pair is practical: you save the space you would need for an amplifier, and you don’t need to run speaker wire to them (you do need to plug both into AC power, of course). Not to the broader DSP algorithm, but to the tone sculpting that makes some music sound too bassy, or, at times, too trebly.Ī few months later, I got a second HomePod to combine them into a stereo pair to use in my bedroom. What the HomePod needs, of course, is user access to settings like an equalizer, as you have in iTunes or on an iOS device. As I said in my review, “sometimes this speaker sounds really great, sometimes it really doesn’t.” And the biggest problem for me was this: It sounds okay, but there are a number of issues with it. Mark Fleischmann is the author of the annually updated book Practical Home Theater and tastemaster of Happy Pig's Hot 100 New York Restaurants.I’ve had a HomePod since it was first released in early 2018. The Cubo is more for music, which it enriches with a meaty rhythm section sound and a slick upper-midrange rolloff that takes the sting out of heavily equalized pop music. With talk radio, there is definitely a bit of tubbiness with both male and female voices. If anyone would like to dissent, please do so in the comments field. Even a lithium ion battery may lose some of its running time if charged constantly after brief uses-this is why Lenovo laptops include software that intelligently charges the battery as needed. I prefer to run the battery down to at least 25 percent before recharging. Why, then, do I prefer it?īecause I don't like charging the battery every time I connect one of my iPods to a system. And the Sonoro docking method won't charge the battery or perform other functions enabled by the docking connector. True, a line-level connection through the docking connector would be audibly superior to going through the iPod's flea amp. Instead, a mini-plug cable fits underneath into the iPod's headphone jack. There's no iPod docking connector, perhaps making this a kind of non-dock. It consists of two pieces of transparent plastic that fit together to form a cradle. The Cubo comes with the best iPod dock every invented-or at least, the one I like the best. On the top is a single full-range speaker surrounded by station presets and other radio-related controls. Below the slot-loading CD mechanism are transport keys. ![]() The front panel includes a large backlit amber liquid crystal display, with tuning buttons to the left and volume buttons to the right. It comes packaged with a pair of white linen gloves to prevent your fingers from marring the glossy surface of the unit or its dock. Available colors include numerous sedate earthtones, plus red, pink, and the sweet lime green I chose for the review sample. ![]() It's bigger than it looks, at five inches high, 8 wide, and 9.5 deep. That was interesting, but when I visited the Sonoro site, I found something even more interesting: the Cubo system. Thirty-nine percent of them named FM radio as their number one audio entertainment source, beating iPods and other MP3 players at 23 percent. The company recently commissioned a survey on the listening habits of 560 consumers. ![]()
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