2 homepod minis as tv speakers

[u/JoeyBananas314]

Found a really good deal on a pair of homepod minis, originally was going to go the soundbar route but stumbled upon this. I recently got an apple tv, 99% sure its the "HD 4th gen" Questions I have: How is the sound quality? Better or worse than a sound bar? I saw in another post that my tv and apple tv will need to support ARC, what is this and how can I tell if my tv supports it? I will be able to control them using my apple tv remote correct? Will I still be able to use them as a standard homepod (ask siri for things, etc). if theres anby important info that I simply didnt ask about and is importrant please let me know, thanks!

[u/bradatlarge]

I’ve been doing this for a while now and it’s great, fwiw.

I even setup my parents with this when they got a new OLED / ATV last year - their 80 year old ears are able to get dialogue better than their old soundbar setup and with Apple’s embrace of hearing issues, I expect it will only get better.

[u/Woolalas]

Edit: Others are correct, you NEED to have the 4K version of Apple TV currently for it to work. Sorry I missed that.

I’m currently doing this with a Samsung Tv, ATV 4K Ethernet, and two gen 2 HomePod minis. It was pretty simple to hook up. Just add the ATV and HomePod minis to your “Home” app on an iPhone and whilst setting up it will ask you if you want to use the minis as ATV speakers (you can change this in the ATV settings anytime).

Sound wise,they’re great little speakers, but of course if you buy a $1000 sound bar it’ll sound better. But for ~$300-$400 they make great speakers.

Your TV will need to support ARC/eARC. Which means on the back of your TV where the HDMI ports are there SHOULD be a slot labeled ARC/eARC. You may need to fiddle around with settings on the actual TV to enable ARC.

You will be able to use them as standard HomePods, Siri included. You can airplay things like Spotify if you want but for me, once I made them paired speakers with ATV, I couldn’t play Spotify music AND continue watching on the ATV at the same time because Spotify requires me to airplay TO the ATV.

The only thing that bothers me is there is a consistent white light that’s on when the speakers are on and there’s no option to turn it off. It’s only noticeable really on my blue one (I have a black one and the light is much more dim).

[u/hanoisensill → u/Woolalas]

Thanks for great instructions - I am looking at same thing in the near future.

[u/NoPlansTonight]

Honestly, I recommend normal speakers. I use a Kanto Syd like a soundbar and it works way better while not costing any/much more.

I feel that Homepod Minis sound really "empty" in comparison. It's not bad though, will be better than some of the soundbars out there but will severely lack in fullness and bass which you really want bigger speaker drivers for.

[u/iTalkidiot]

Your hdmi ports labeling behind the tv should indicate which one supports ARC/eARC if the tv has the capability.

[u/Robertown7]

I have this setup except with an Apple TV 4th Gen and a projector/screen. I mounted the 2 Homepod Minis upside down on the ceiling, at each end of the screen. The sound is great IMO. Also, I don't know how, but I don't have the light issue that someone mentioned. I'll have to look later to see if there is some sort of setting.

[u/sacro_on_reddit]

We have this setup and it works great! Good sound quality and the HomePods still work as HomePods for Siri and just as speakers when you want the tv to be off but you want to play music from your phone.

[u/Iliyan61]

we had a pair of minis and they were fine. we replaced them with a kinda shitty 2 channel soundbar along with a sub and rear speakers, the soundbar is not great and dialogue sucks, subwoofer isn’t noticeably better then the homepods, rear speakers are really cool but the dialogue being muddy kills it

they’re better then a bad soundbar and worse then a good one ig, you can still use them as homepods you don’t need ARC to use them with the atv but you need arc for other devices, you control the volume with the apple tv remote

arc stands for audio return channel and it means if you have 2 devices plugged in such as an xbox and apple tv with homepods you can play the xbox sound out of the homepods which is cool

[u/mytermsaresimple]

Yes. Works great with Apple TV 4K for me. Just be mindful of the network. I had a lot of headache with them not working when my wifi network waa choppy.

[u/Swagron12]

My 200 dollar Vizio soundbar sounds much better than the home pods. Home pods don’t have enough bass.

[u/Why-Zool]

To answer the question , is a pair of HomePod Mini’s better than a soundbar? I’ve tested both on my TV room setup and I would say, no. The mini’s sound fine if that’s the only option that you have or you’re trying to go for a wire free setup BUT, they do not sound better than a 2.1 soundbarsubwoofer setup. They don’t have the dynamic range that a decent soundbar setup will have and they also lack the volume of a decent soundbar setup.

If space or aesthetics are something that you have specific requirements around, a pair of HomePod mini’s will do the job. If you are more concerned with audio fidelity and quality, there are many soundbar solutions that will sound better for a similar price. Just to give an idea of my use case, I use the sound from the TVAppleTV to watch movies, streaming content, and to listen to Apple Music. If you want any bass in your music or thump to your movies, the mini pair doesn’t have the capability to pump out any low end. They sound pretty thin but they also are crystal clear for dialog (no low end to muddy things up).

[u/mynameisnotshamus]

Sound quality will not be good. There are much better options with a dedicated class D amp and some decent bookshelf speakers even. Add a sub if possible.

[u/No-Capital-6173]

Unfortunately it seems like only Apple TV 4K supports this. If you want the HomePod Minis to be the default speakers for the TV, you’ll need an HDMI cable between your Apple TV 4K (2nd gen. or newer) and your HDMI port on your TV named ARC (if it has one).

I think Shane Whatley made a good video about this a few years back.