Not so long ago, the internet was debating what the folks at Apple were thinking charging $549 for the AirPods Max. At CES 2022, luxury audio brand Mark Levinson would like a word. The Harman-owned company (which also owns AKG, JBL and Harman Kardon, and is itself a Samsung subsidiary) mostly known for its high-end home and car audio systems has announced its first wireless headphones: the No. 5909. While they offer everything you'd expect from a premium set, they have a nearly $1,000 price tag that only a select few might commit to.
The over-ear No. 5909 packs 40mm Beryllium drivers "expertly tuned to the Harman curve." The company explains that "the Harman curve" is acoustic response that it says has taken decades of research to construct. The result here is "incredible acoustic performance" in a set of "reference class" wireless headphones. Mark Levinson says that audio performance meets the guidelines for Hi-Res Audio certification thanks to 24-bit/96kHz signal processing and 40kHz acoustic response. The No. 5909 supports LDAC, AAC and aptX Adaptive wireless codecs via Bluetooth 5.1.
Mark Levinson promises you'll hear details you haven't before, like "the slightest breath an artist takes" or "a hidden harmony." The company explains that the same "world-class sound engineers" that built the luxury brand's amps, turntables and streaming players are behind the tuning of the ultra pricey No. 5909.
Mark Levinson/Harman
Sound quality isn't the only consideration though. The No. 5909 has adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) with three modes "for premium sound isolation" and an Ambient Aware feature that lets you tune into your surroundings as needed. The company also packed in four microphones for calls that are equipped with a so-called Smart Wind Adaption feature. The materials used to make the headphones are also better than the mostly plastic sets we typically see. The No. 5909 is built with an aluminum frame, painted metallic earcups, leather headband and replaceable leather ear cushions. An included hard shell travel case comes stocked with a USB-C charging cable, USB-C to USB-A adaptor, two USB-C to 3.5mm cables, 3.5mm to 6.3mm adaptor, airplane adaptor and a polishing cloth. Basically, it's everything you'd need to use the headphones on any setup — wired, wireless or while traveling.
Mark Levinson says you can expect up to 30 hours of use with adaptive ANC active and up to 34 hours with the feature disabled. A quick-charge feature will give you up to six hours of play time in 15 minutes. Via an app for Android and iOS, you'll get some control over the headphones, but the company didn't go into specifics there.
The No. 5909 will be available in black, pewter and red color options starting today for $999.
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For every friend who turns up to a party without a bottle in hand, there’s one that turns up with 10, and that’s the friend you should always cherish. JBL is a bit like that, except not at all, but what we’re trying to say is that it has, as usual, rocked up to a trade show with armfuls of new tech. A number of its portable speaker lines are getting an update, including redesigned bodies and internals, as well as a pretty tasty exclusive model just for Sam’s Club members.
First on the line is the JBL Boombox 3 (pictured) which gets a new three-way speaker system, including a racetrack-shaped subwoofer, two mid-range drivers and two tweeters. JBL promises that you'll get deeper bass, more intense clarity and even more powerful sound than before, as well as 24 hours of playtime on a single charge. It’s IP67 water-and-dust-proof, and can be used as a portable battery for other devices. It’ll arrive this summer, and will set you back $500.
JBL
Meanwhile, the JBL Pulse 5 is getting a refreshed design with a larger passive radiator and acoustic volume for deeper bass, as well as a refined woofer for better mid-low frequency sound. It’ll run for up to 12 hours of play on a single charge, and is IP67 water-and-dust-proof making it useful for trips to the beach and pool. Plus, with the vibrant LED light show and ability to pair any number of companion speakers through JBL PartyBoost, you could easily use this to run your own music and light show during a balmy evening. It’ll arrive this summer, priced at $250.
JBL
The JBL PartyBox is getting two different variations, the PartyBox Encore (pictured, right), as well as the PartyBox Encore Essential (left). The former, which is exclusive to Sam’s Club, packs a 100W speaker and a built-in lightshow that syncs to the music you’re playing. As you can see from the image, it’s also equipped with two wireless microphones, enabling that friend who’s really into karaoke to do their thing all night long. Naturally, it’s got IPX4 splashproof design, Bluetooth v5.1 and playback from USB and aux-in, ensuring you’ll have a great night whatever you’re doing. You’ll be able to pick one up from Sam’s Club in the summer for $400.
The Essential version, meanwhile, offers the same basic 100W speaker and lightshow, but in a smaller, more portable body. The battery will run to six hours, and you can connect Bluetooth, USB or aux-in to get the sound out, plus there’s a single wired microphone input for that karaoke friend you like a little less. This model will be available in March for $300.
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Most of Google's Nest devices went on sale for the holiday shopping season and, while those deep discounts have come and gone, we're already seeing new sales pop up across the web. Both Best Buy and Adorama have the second-generation Google Nest Hub for $60, which is $40 off its normal price and only $10 more than it was on Black Friday. The Nest Hub Max is also on sale for $190, while the Nest Audio and Nest Mini are down to $75 and $25, respectively.
Our favorites of the bunch for most people are the Nest Hub and the Nest Audio. The former is Google's most recent smart display and it earned a score of 89 from us. It has a minimalist design, a lovely 7-inch display, clearer and louder audio than its predecessor and faster performance as well. It's just the right size to fit into any room without taking up too much space, and you can even place it on your nightstand and it will track your sleep. The feature was a bit finicky when we tested it, but as long as it's place precisely, you should get data on your sleep duration, quality, schedule and even snoring information.
The Nest Audio is Google's $100 smart speaker that competes with Amazon's Echo and Apple's HomePod mini. It holds its own against both of those devices and it earned a score of 87 from us for its solid audio quality, charming design, good Google Assistant performance and stereo mode when two of the speakers are paired. It's the smart speaker to get if you care at all about audio quality and already rely on the Google Assistant a lot. The Nest Mini may seem like an attractive option at $25, but you get what you pay for. Like its Amazon counterpart, the Echo Dot, the Nest Mini is an affordable way to get the Google Assistant into a small place but you'll sacrifice quite a bit on sound quality.
The Nest Hub Max is for those who want to go all in on both sound and Google smart devices. It has the best audio quality of them all plus a 10-inch display, gesture controls and the ability to double as a Nest Cam. It would make a good home-base smart display, one that sits in your living room or kitchen so everyone in your family has access to it when necessary.
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Roku TVs will be able to pair quickly with more audio products in the future. The company has expanded its TV Ready Certification Program, adding Element, JVC, Pheanoo and Philips this year, with Polk Audio and Westinghouse joining the list in 2022. Roku also opened the program internationally, and partners like Bose are expected to launch TV Ready devices in the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico soon.
Bose vice president of Product and Experience, Doug Cunningham, said:
"Roku TV Ready makes it easier than ever to set-up and use a Bose TV speaker for an improved audio experience. We are excited to bring this option to more Roku TV owners across the globe."
The TV Ready initiative makes it easy to connect soundbars and speakers to Roku TVs — so long as the audio device supports the feature, it will automatically be detected as soon as you plug it in. Your TV will then turn off its speakers and switch audio output, and you'll be able to control your speaker's/soundbar's volume using the Roku remote. The program launched in 2020, with Sound United (the parent company of Polk, Denon, Marantz, Class A and Boston Acoustics) and TCL as the first official partners.
Roku says the program provides participants with an "easy-to-implement" SDK for fast integration, as well as a wireless soundbar reference design that it launched at CES 2021. TCL released the first model based on the reference, and it of course pairs automatically with a Roku TV.
A new entrant to the true wireless headphone space you say? Sure, that might be a fairly common occurrence these days, but this one – Grell Audio – comes with some pretty strong heritage. Its founder, Axel Grell, is well known in the headphone industry for his extensive work at Sennheiser on some of the company’s most prestigious products. The TWS/1 is his first solo product under the Grell brand. Accordingly, we’re interested to see what the $200 wireless buds can do.
The TWS/1 has a modern look. The mostly circular design is only interrupted by a small, AirPod-like protuberance on each bud. Originally the plan was to have the outer casing entirely metal but physics and radio waves meant that some concessions (plastic parts) were needed. Overall, they maintain a premium feel that stands above that often found at this pricepoint. They visually remind me slightly of the Jabra Elite 75t, but a little lower profile.
In terms of fit, that slightly more streamlined design means you don’t feel like something is balancing in your ear which can sometimes happen with more rotund models. As per usual they come with a charging case that promises four full charges of the TWS/1. The buds themselves offer around 6 hours per charge which holds true in my experience with ANC activated. Curiously, the buds are placed in the case with the right one to the left and vice versa. I’m not sure why this would be, but it does take some remembering (you’ll soon be reminded as the buds don’t fit the other way around).
In a world of me-too products, it’s hard to stand out. The easiest differentiator is price, then sound quality and or additional/premium features. It seems Grell Audio has tried to tackle all three of these, and with general success, I would say.
The price point puts the TWS/1 in an unusual category. Many premium brands are landing in the $250+ zone while more affordable options, like Google’s second-gen Pixel Buds or the aforementioned Jabra’s live in the $150 area. Budget options, south of $100, are also increasingly more common. This, then, pitches the TWS/1 at the overlap between high-mid and low-premium. I would wager this is entirely intentional as feature set and build quality skew higher end, but the barebones packaging and more accessible price indicate a more mainstream audience.
James Trew / Engadget
As for sound quality, this is where things are a little more clear. In my testing, I was generally pleased with the default sound. It was perhaps a little on the thinner side for my personal preference with a slight weight on the lower end for a typically commercial sound. But Grell has partnered with SoundID – a third-party app that tunes select brands of headphones to your personal preference/hearing.
We’ve seen things like this before, most notably with Nura which takes this to a whole new level. SoundID is a little more understated in its approach. It still uses some form of hearing test, but rather than asking if you can hear certain tones, it simply plays you some music and asks “which do you prefer, A or B.” Once I completed this short test, the difference was night and day. With my own personal profile activated (it uploads to the headphones so it applies no matter what you are listening on), my usual mix of mid ‘10s indie and rave nonsense came alive.
I have a slight preference for dynamic range and beefier low and mid-high frequencies. At least, I presume I do because that was the biggest change in sound after completing the test and I instantly found them much more enjoyable. In the SoundID app, you can toggle between the default sound and your own profile and it really does make a huge difference. You don’t need the app to get good sound, but I’m going to guess that you’ll be happier with what it gives you.
Coincidentally, SoundID is also where you’ll get software updates for the TWS/1. I had one during my testing and it improved a few things including the slightly unresponsive touch controls. They’re still not reading my taps 1:1 but its about on par with most other touch-control buds I have used. Before the update, it was much more frustrating (or, maybe I just learned the technique?).
Those controls aren’t user-configurable, so you’re stuck with what Grell gives you. But, fortunately, that’s pretty much everything you’d want and without too many complicated tap or gesture combinations. Swiping forward or back on the left ear skips tracks, up or down on the right for volume, and so on. It was the single taps that I was having issues with which control play/pause on the right and transparency mode on the left – both of which are more annoying if not activated immediately.
This brings us on to smart(er) features. As mentioned, the TWS/1 has Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode – both of which are becoming increasingly standard. But there’s also a Noise Annoyance Reduction (NAR) mode. Grell explained to me during their initial announcement briefing that ANC is great for lower-frequency sustained noises, but doesn’t work as well for higher-frequency annoyances (think, crying baby on a plane). NAR is Grell’s own attempt at offering some reduction of these types of sound.
James Trew / Engadget
In practice, I found it hard to pinpoint the difference that NAR makes. With ANC, it’s easy to hear the low rumble of the road outside my apartment decrease in volume. It’s maybe not the most powerful ANC I have heard but it does the job. With NAR, whatever the ear equivalent of squinting is, proved to be a little more indeterminate. It does seem to slightly improve the listening experience in combination with ANC, but it’s also hard to tell how much of that was me willing it to do so. It’s an interesting concept though and one that I hope Grell can continue to improve over time.
Other small perks include a “mono” mode (listening with just one bud). This isn’t as common as it should be in my opinion and it adds more flexibility for those that want to maintain some spatial awareness without having to wear both buds. It’s also, obviously, how some people prefer to handle their calls, too (reliving the Bluetooth headset days).
Another small added bonus is wireless charging “compatibility.” It’s not something I was able to test, but the more things that support it the better? Or, at the very least, it’s a nice perk for those already invested in the wireless charging world.
All in, Grell has given price, features and sound quality enough consideration that the result is a promising first product from an emerging brand. The price point, in particular, strikes a good balance between signaling premium ambitions without putting it too far out of reach for mainstream casuals. I’d love to see some further advances on the NAR technology and the controls could still be more responsive, but if you’re looking for a fresh set of true wireless headphones that are customizable to your taste, these are a great place to start.
Adobe is testing out a new web-based tool that uses AI to simplify audio recording. The software is called Project Shasta, and it could make recording and editing podcasts and other projects a lot easier and more approachable.
The project started off in Adobe Labs as an experiment to find "new ways to help people edit audio on the web,” Mark Webster, Adobe’s head of audio products, wrote in a post on Product Hunt. “But then it became clear that the pandemic made recording difficult too, even for audio professionals. Our vision became empowering everyone with the tools they needed to create professional sounding audio."
The result is a browser-based tool — it requires Google Chrome — for creating and editing audio recordings in a visual interface without the need for professional equipment or other advanced tools.
Users record their audio in clips and Shasta automatically transcribes the recordings. From there, editing is as simple as deleting text from the transcription. There are also AI-based filters that can improve the audio quality or automatically remove filler words like “um.” Project Shasta also supports remote recording, so guest speakers can easily join in for recordings. The software will handle syncing up the clips even if one person has a shoddy internet connection.
While the most obvious use case for Shasta is recording podcasts, Webster notes it could also be used for voiceovers, videos and other projects with an audio component.
For now, it’s unclear exactly what Adobe has planned for Project Shasta. Webster said that the software is in an “early Alpha” stage, and that the company is sharing it now to get feedback from testers, but didn’t share when it might be available more widely. Project Shasta is “free for now” to those who request access via Adobe's website.
LG has given us a glimpse of the audio products it's showcasing at next year's CES, specifically the lineup's crown jewel: A premium soundbar, which the company claims has the "world's first center up-firing speaker." The LG S95QR soundbar has an 810W output and 9.1.5 channels of surround sound. That's five up-firing channels, three of which are on the soundbar itself and two in the separate rear speakers.
The company says the up-firing channels provide realistic sounds, made even more immersive by the center up-firing speaker that enables clearer dialogue delivery. LG's premium soundbar supports Dolby Atmos, DTS:X codec and IMAX Enhanced titles for three-dimensional audio. The wireless rear speakers it comes with also have six channels instead of four like previous models do, with their four front/side drivers and two up-firing ones.
In addition, the model has a more sensitive receiver that allows greater distance between the soundbar and its accompanying rear speakers and subwoofer. It was designed with a more stable wireless connection to eliminate drops and lags in audio output, as well. In its announcement, LG is presenting the model as an option for gamers, due to its variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low latency mode (ALLM) features that can adjust its output and ensure that it's in sync with gaming consoles and PCs.
The S95QR soundbar uses LG's AI Room Calibration, the company's automatic sound tuning technology, to analyze the space it's in to tailor its output. It also works with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and other AI assistants for voice control. Aside from its audio lineup, LG is showcasing a couple of lifestyle TV models at CES. One of them is design-focused 65-inch OLED Evo TV with a motorized cover, while the other is a smaller battery-powered TV on wheels.
When it comes to noise cancelling headphones, there are several effective options that will get the job done. It’s putting together great audio quality with powerful noise blocking abilities and other handy features that cause many companies to stumble. The likes of Bose and Sony have damn near perfected the craft while the rest of the pack attempts to usurp them. Yamaha is the latest to throw rocks at the throne by adding a collection of 3D sound options of its latest headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC). The YH-L700A has unique qualities, but $499.95 is a high price for Yamaha’s latest blend of design and features.
Yamaha created a unique aesthetic for the YH-L700A. Opting for square earcups over the typical oval shape. They’re immediately striking – for better or worse. But, the combination of leather, fabric, matte black plastic and silver accents create a refined look. The company also decided to attach the headband at the front of the earcups rather than at the center. This doesn’t make a massive difference in terms of comfort, but it does mean the headband sits further forward on the top of your head. Earcups swivel flat and fold in for easy storage, which makes the YH-L700A a decent option for travel.
There are no touch controls here,Yamaha chose to go with physical buttons instead. On the back edge of the right earcup are power and 3D Sound Field buttons, with the former doubling as the Bluetooth pairing control and the latter allowing you to cycle through presets. On the outside of the right earcup, a small leather-covered panel holds buttons for volume, track controls, play/pause and activating a voice assistant. Those last two options are in the middle (single and double press, respectively) while the two outside arrow buttons adjust volume with a single press or skip tracks with a press and hold. Unfortunately these are difficult to find; they're not embossed deep enough to feel them easily. Over on the left, there’s a single button on the back edge for noise cancelling mode. A single press cycles between ANC, ambient sound and off.
The main attraction on the YH-L700A is Yamaha’s 3D Sound Field feature, complete with head tracking. Basically, the company has developed a collection of seven audio presets for music and movies or shows: cinema, drama, music video, concert hall, outdoor live, audio room and background music. Each one “transforms stereo sound into three-dimensional listening,” according to Yamaha, adjusting the parameters for each virtual environment in an effort to make things sound more immersive. Another aspect of this setup is dynamic head tracking, which gives the illusion of the audio coming from a stationary point in space when you move. It’s a bit weird for music, in my opinion, but it does add something to more cinematic viewing sessions.
It’s obvious that 3D Sound Field significantly tweaks the audio on every preset. However, all of the filters are very heavy handed, drastically changing the EQ and other parameters to the point that none of them work well across genres. Outdoor live, for example, accurately creates the feeling of being at a festival, with the heavy bass and subdued vocals you’d experience in real life. It’s okay for things like metal and rock, but for softer more acoustic styles it’s not great. If you listen to a wide range of music you’ll need to change presets when you venture to a new genre. Oddly enough, the cinema preset is the best all-around setting for tunes. Almost all of the music presets are loaded with reverb, which works for something like the concert hall preset, but it becomes exhausting elsewhere. All of the options recreate their stated venue, it’s just that none of them are really pleasant to listen to for an entire album’s worth of tunes.
When it comes to movies and television, the cinema and drama options are quite nice. There’s no content that highlights this prowess better than Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive. With a mix of spoken interviews, auto racing and dramatic overtures, there’s a lot for headphones and speakers to handle. The YH-L700A does well with the dimensional sound that’s typically best served by a Dolby Atmos setup in your living room. Everything sounds spacious, and the directional roar of the cars comes through nicely.
Without 3D Sound Field, the YH-L700A is an average sounding set of noise cancelling headphones. There’s good clarity and detail, but the mid-range can be overbearing when you’re listening to a full band. There’s decent, punchy bass but a shot of treble would go a long way here to round out the sound and cut through the chaos of songs like Underoath’s “Damn Excuses.” At times, the lack of highs creates an unpleasant muddy mess. Even with more acoustic genres like bluegrass, upright bass dominates with the other strings taking a backseat. That’s the case throughout much of Sturgill Simpson’s The Ballad of Dood & Juanita. It’s obvious Yamaha was intent on making its 3D audio feature sound good, it’s too bad the “regular” listening experience is mediocre at best.
The YH-L700A packs active noise cancellation, complete with an ambient sound mode that allows you to tune into your surroundings as needed. Like Apple and others, Yamaha outfitted its ANC setup with tech that can adjust the audio to changes in wear. The so-called Listening Optimizer takes measurements every 20 seconds to pick up any variances in seal and air leakage. The headphones can then adjust the sound to account for any issues. While I don’t have any way to measure how effective this is, I can tell you that overall, the ANC gets the job done. It’s not as powerful as the likes of Bose or Sony, but most of the time it’s good enough.
Lastly, there’s a Listening Care feature that attempts to maintain decent sound quality even when you listen at lower volumes. Typically, and to the detriment of our collective hearing health, headphones sound the best at medium high to high volumes. With the YHL700A, Yamaha says Listening Care analyzes sound to keep a full range at low volume. It accounts for changes in background noise during the process, to offer the best possible audio no matter how loud. And while it’s not as consistent as the company would have you believe, rock tunes maintain a decent frequency range well below 50 percent volume. You do lose some detail, as expected, but it’s still perfectly listenable at those levels.
Billy Steele/Engadget
The marquee features can be enabled or disabled from Yamaha’s headphones app. There are options for 3D Sound Field, head tracking, Listening Care, Listening Optimizer and noise cancellation. You can also select your preferred 3D preset from your phone as well as adjust (or disable) the auto power-off timer. The software displays your battery percentage too, so you’re not left wondering what the “battery level high” voice prompt means when you power up the headphones.
Battery life is a major sticking point with these headphones. During my initial tests, I managed just ten and half hours with both ANC and 3D sound enabled and head tracking off. That’s 30 minutes shy of the company’s 11-hour projection. Sure, that’s a lot of tech at work simultaneously, but most flagship noise-cancelling headphones are pushing 30 or more hours of use on a charge. Yamaha says this is possible if you disable the Sound Field tech, extending the expected battery life to 34 hours. The range with the YH-L700A at full strength should be at least 15 hours to justify the asking price. The company released a firmware update ostensibly to improve battery life during the course of my review, but the results didn’t change with ANC and 3D sound both active.
In terms of the movie- and 3D-focused competition, a few options come to mind. Apple’s AirPods Max feature dynamic head tracking and support spatial audio through Dolby Atmos and Atmos Music. It doesn’t have a selection of presets to help you fine-tune things ready at the press of a button, but there is an adaptive EQ that maintains sound quality as conditions and external noises change. AirPods Max also offers the most natural sounding transparency mode out of any headphones I’ve tested. However, they’re still $479, although we’ve seen them as low as $429 recently.
Billy Steele/Engadget
Sony’s WH-1000XM4 is another excellent alternative. The company’s flagship model is packed with handy features like pausing when you speak, quick attention mode and the ability to automatically adjust noise cancelling settings based on activity or location. The 1000XM4 equally impresses in the sound and ANC departments, including support for 360 Reality Audio via supported streaming services, making them our top overall choice for headphones right now. They don’t pack in dynamic head tracking, but they will save you significant money at the current going rate of $248 (full price: $350).
Yamaha has crafted an interesting proposition with its YH-L700A headphones. The company attempted to equally cater to both cinephiles and music nerds with features that work for both movies and television alongside options for casual listening. Battery life with the most attractive tools enabled is disappointing for a set of $500 headphones and the presets would benefit from some restraint. A fully customizable EQ and a slight bump in the battery department would go a long way to justifying the high price here, but for now, Yamaha has a solid set of headphones in need of some fine tuning.
Sony made the best even better with this year's WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones and they're back on sale ahead of Black Friday. You can grab the cans for $248 right now, or more than $100 off their normal price. If you prefer earbuds, the WF-1000XM4 have been discounted for a bit and remain down to $248 as well.
All of the key (and stellar) features of the previous WH-1000XM3 are in the latest headphones, but the new model has a few upgrades, too. The design is slightly sleeker and more comfortable, and you'll get about 30 hours on a single charge so you can wear them for long stretches of time. Sound quality is great with punchy bass, and Sony's 360 Reality Audio provides an immersive experience similar to that of Dolby Atmos. Active noise cancellation is also solid and, with Adaptive Sound Control enabled, the headphones will automatically adjust the level of noise cancellation based on your environment.
We also appreciate the addition of two new features: multi-device connectivity and Speak to Chat. The former allows you to connect the XM4 to a couple of devices at once, switching between them at will. The latter will automatically pause audio coming from the headphones when it detects you speaking. Most people will likely use the former feature more on a regular basis, but the latter is nice to have, too.
For those who prefer earbuds, you'll get many similar features in the WF-1000XM4. These earned a score of 86 from us for their excellent sound quality and ANC, improved battery life and wireless charging case. They also have the same Speak-to-Chat feature that the headphones have, even if it can be a bit finicky sometimes. The ANC on these buds is noticeably better than that of their predecessors, and they also support 360 Reality Audio.
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Apple expanded its HomePod mini lineup with three new colors back in October, and now we're seeing the first discount on the entire family. B&H Photo has all of the HomePod mini colors, including the new orange, blue and yellow configurations, for $95 each. That's $5 off their normal price and, while a modest discount, it's one of the best we've seen on the tiny smart speaker.
The HomePod mini is Apple's main smart speaker now that it discontinued the original HomePod (although the company still supports that speaker with software updates). It's also the most compact of the $100 smart speakers, its competition being the Amazon Echo and the Google Nest Audio. It's a capable device and, like other Apple accessories, arguably best for those who have many Apple products and use services like Apple Music. In addition to its cute design, we liked it for its easy setup and Siri's prowess with music controls. The voice assistant promptly plays Apple Music albums, playlists and tracks when you ask it too, and you can AirPlay audio from almost any other app (like Spotify and Prime Music) to the HomePod mini. So while the speaker is most convenient for Apple Music subscribers, anyone can use it pretty easily.
Despite being the smallest of the $100 smart speakers, the HomePod mini holds its own against the Nest Audio when it comes to sound quality. Mids and highs are clear and the speaker's passive radiators help deliver forceful bass. Its "computational audio" feature helps out by adjusting sound accordingly based on what type of music you're playing. You can also pair two HomePod minis together for stereo sound, and they sound even better this way.
However, if you're looking for the best sounding device at $100, we recommend going for Amazon's Echo instead. Siri also lags a bit behind Amazon's Alexa and the Google Assistant when it comes to smart home control — it's harder to find HomeKit-supported gadgets than it is to find devices that support either Amazon's or Google's voice assistants. But those are relatively small cons if you're looking for a solid, compact smart speaker, particularly one that shines with Apple Music and works well with Apple devices. And if you've been holding out for one of the latest colors, we expect B&H's sale to be one of the better options this holiday shopping season.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
