What Does Apple HomePod Mean for Audition?

[Brian Stoppee]

Do you REALLY need Apple to “Rock your home”?

We always have Adobe Audition on our brains when we hear about new audio technology. The Apple HomePod https://www.apple.com/homepod/threw us for a loop, this week. During the Apple WWDC Keynote, we wondered if this would open a need for a new music recording and distribution model.

There’s been a great deal of discussion about Apple’s new HomePod. It was touted as a music-based device in a product category primarily known as a “Smart Speaker.” That name is something of an evolution of the “Smart Phone” name.

Google and amazon have had plenty of success with devices you can talk to and they talk back. That too is something of an evolution, in this case its Apple’s Siri which the other two players monetized for a digital home before Apple fully got around to it.

But, is the HomePod a great music solution? Maybe that’s analogous to asking. “Is the iPhone is a great camera?” If you don’t own a professional dSLR (digital Single Lens Reflex) camera, you might say, “Yes!” However, if the dSLR is part of your way of life, you might just roll your eyes at that question and that’s all you need to do to respond.

Well, the same is true of the audio question. At the Apple WWDC Keynote, Apple did flash on the screen a few logos of the big household names in audio. They’re the companies which have gotten on board with Apple AirPlay.

Here are a few things which need to be understood about audio playback. Things have moved forward from the days of the RCA dog tilting its head at the big monaural horn-like device or those huge 1960s pieces of furniture for playing two channels of stereo. Now, surround sound is everywhere, including in our high-end headphones.

The unique component is the nomenclature. Beyond Mono (1.0) or Stereo (2.0) are the more basic home surround concepts of 5.1 and 7.1, plus in the true theatre audio experiences there’s even 22.2.

The typical home theatre 5.1 configuration would be a total of 6 speakers. There are 3 speakers to the left, right, and center of the TV plus 2 on either side of the prime sofa seating. The “point one” in the “five point one” title is that rumbling subwoofer which is usually just off to the side of the TV. 7.1 has a more full surround effect with left and right speakers behind the prime listening seats. The 9.1 concept adds two higher front left and right speaker positions.

But, 10 speakers in at least one room? Then there’s various rooms of the house with more speakers? Isn’t that a mess of wires?

Well, it used to be. Wireless speaker systems are the new way to go.

That said, how does surround sound relate to the Apple HomePod?

We don’t know. We have not seen sufficient information on it. However, the HomePod appears to be about much more than music. And, the audio component appears to be far different than the above described home theatre configurations.

Should music producers concern themselves? Should Adobe’s Audition team prepare for new directions in playback configurations?

Though we do not doubt that the first HomePod will gain a fan base and Apple will expand the brand’s capabilities in the years ahead, we don’t think there’s a need for anyone to concern themselves that studio production nor postproduction techniques are about to change because of this.

Anything which brings about new excitement is good for business. What we know is that the photo capabilities of smart phones have revved people enough to want more from their photography and then they buy serious dSLR cameras. So, we hope the Apple HomePod will also open up renewed interest in all the great new gear, which excites the ears of audiophiles and lovers of terrific audio in movies and TV shows.

[ryclark]

I'm not really sure what this has to do with Audition, or any other DAW software, any more than Amazon's or Google's attempt at the same thing. I am a cynic when it comes to this sort of thing that is supposed to light up the world.

[Brian Stoppee]

I'm not really sure what this has to do with Audition, or any other DAW software, any more than Amazon's or Google's attempt at the same thing. I am a cynic when it comes to this sort of thing that is supposed to light up the world.

What multiple-speaker audio products from amazon and Google are you referring to?

Or is this a way of saying, "HomePod isn't an audio product at all. It's just a amazon echo which has speakers hanging off of it."? (If so, ryclark​ it's okay to say. "It's a joke. Lighten up, Brian.")

With Apple's claims that this is something very new for audio, we wanted get out in front of any possible concerns for Audition users.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Should say for everybody else's benefit that Brian already knows what I think about this thing - in some detail!

But to answer the specific question about 'what does it mean for Audition' - well, the answer is that it doesn't mean any more or less than it does for any other DAW. Since this device on it's own simply isn't capable of producing stereo, then it's not going to be possible to mix for it. So basically, ignore it. If people actually like the sounds they get from a 4" bass unit pointing upwards and seven tweeters arranged and run by a beam-forming system where the sound will alter when you open the door, then that's up to them, isn't it? Not much we can do about that...

[Brian Stoppee]

Should say for everybody else's benefit that Brian already knows what I think about this thing - in some detail!

We not only already know what Steve thinks of the Apple HomePod but we 1.) credit him for getting our heads in motion to delve into learning more about what the product is all about, but 2.) helping those investigations in our forming an opinion on the way forward, and 3.) learning more about how to react to those who may feel it's going to change music production.

People know Janet & I for both our Apple knowledge and experience as well as our candor.

So, here's our thinking: we do feel Apple is about to extend its home, office, mobile control environment and HomePod will play an important role in that.

Will we personally use one as well as provide consulting? The probably is 99% "Yes." But, will we make it our personal listening resource? Not a chance. I think Steve's one word excellent explanation of the messy audio output is "phassy" which we think he means a lack of clarity as sounds do something very different that the original producers and engineers intended.

And, yes, clients will say to those who labor over an Audition project, in the studio, "When I listen to it on my HomePad…" So, it's one of those things all DAW users need to prepare for.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_ · Accepted solution]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brian+Stoppee  wrote

Should say for everybody else's benefit that Brian already knows what I think about this thing - in some detail!

We not only already know what Steve thinks of the Apple HomePod but we 1.) credit him for getting our heads in motion to delve into learning more about what the product is all about, but 2.) helping those investigations in our forming an opinion on the way forward, and 3.) learning more about how to react to those who may feel it's going to change music production.

Not quite sure how to react to that! Should say that my reaction to this box is based on having looked at what's inside it, and listened carefully to the keynote speech (which was a little worrying, especially in terms of what they thought was most important, which was 'Rock the house', and the apparent need to 'reinvent' audio...), and considering it as an acoustician who has just a little experience of how loudspeakers react in rooms... as anybody reading my Masters thesis might realise.

Yes this thing uses beam-forming. For anybody who doesn't know what this is, it's essentially a non-linear process that can, by using spatial phase-changing, make sound very directional. It has a lot of uses, almost entirely (until now...) involved with speech and effects. With music though, with the wide range of wavelengths involved, the phase-change effects throughout the audio band are going to become very apparent - so this thing can have no 'accuracy' about it at all, even with a simple mono source.

I'm moderately confident that it's not going to be possible to reproduce any form of stereo with this box - certainly one on its own will not be able to reproduce any form of plane wave propagation. The math behind this is, to put it mildly, complex - you'll just have to take my word for this unless you want to get into the intricacies of spherical harmonics!

But...

And, yes, clients will say to those who labor over an Audition project, in the studio, "When I listen to it on my HomePad…" So, it's one of those things all DAW users need to prepare for.

Unfortunately, we will have to point out to them that their expectations are, to say the least, unrealistic. What is of greater concern in a way is that Apple appear to be heading in the wrong direction with this, in terms of what many consumers currently want. To this end, there is growing concern these days with the ability to recreate credible acoustic spaces for VR, and this box - or even several of them* - are not going to be in any way capable of assisting in this process. So at best, we're going to end up with divided consumer loyalty - one lot wanting us to do the best we can to make it at least slightly realistic, and another lot wanting essentially the complete opposite! And the paths to this are, to put it mildly, divergent.

*this box is supposed to be able to react to the presence of another one. We have no details of how this will be accomplished, except that the visuals we've seen of the resultant sound field look like a train crash!

[ryclark]

Or is this a way of saying, "HomePod isn't an audio product at all. It's just a amazon echo which has speakers hanging off of it."?

I'm afraid IMHO it isn't even that. Both the Amazon and Google versions also contain speakers. So in my view the Apple offering is just a typical more expensive version of the same I'm afraid to say. They just seem to be some sort of 'personal assistant' that can also play music. I don't need that kind of personal assistant so, if I didn't already have great audio equipment installed at home to listen to music, I would get something like a Sonos system that is actually designed to play music reasonably well. As you can probably tell I am rather critical of this sort of technology that is being, in my view, pushed onto the general public as 'can't live without' technology.

Interesting comparisons here http://www.androidauthority.com/google-home-vs-amazon-echo-vs-apple-homepod-features-778058/

Edit. Maybe I am just becoming a grumpy old man these days.

[Brian Stoppee]

I would get something like a Sonos system that is actually designed to play music reasonably well

Well… since 2011 we have been playing all our music, TV, and movies on great home theater systems, via Bluetooth primarily on our iPhone (but iPad and Macs, too). It was a little wacky in those early days, but it did much of what HomePod seems to be about for music. Back then, it didn't have the Siri thing but that's in must Apple devices, now.

The difference, compared to the HomePod is that we had the fully clarity and focus of 7.1

[Brian Stoppee]

Interesting comparisons here http://www.androidauthority.com/google-home-vs-amazon-echo-vs-apple-homepod-features-77805 8/

That's a cool chart, Ry. Thank you.

I was skeptical about a review from somewhere with Android in it's name, but it's very much, "just the facts."

[Brian Stoppee]

Not quite sure how to react to that!

TOUCHDOWN!

Been waiting for this day to get here.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brian+Stoppee  wrote

Not quite sure how to react to that!

TOUCHDOWN!

Been waiting for this day to get here.

[Brian Stoppee]

I'm moderately confident that it's not going to be possible to reproduce any form of stereo with this box - certainly one on its own will not be able to reproduce any form of plane wave propagation. The math behind this is, to put it mildly, complex - you'll just have to take my word for this unless you want to get into the intricacies of spherical harmonics!

First, let me say that as being part of the Apple Developer program (for about as long as it existed), we have seen zero guidance on the HomePod.

Next, if it doesn't have some kind of developer configuration capability I would hope the "real" developers would be jumping up on down on Apple's desks requesting such things.