Sorry, slow on checking my comments over the weekend. I took your comment as bluntness, not aggressiveness, and am happy to explain why I think it's a great pro

Sorry, slow on checking my comments over the weekend. I took your comment as bluntness, not aggressiveness, and am happy to explain why I think it's a great product. You also appear to be quite cynical that the HomePod actually sounds good and delivers on its promise, right? ;) I would be happy to spend more, if it were just me. But my wife has more say on the appearance of our living space, and my large, self-built speakers long since made their exit to the garage. I wasn't actually going to spend the money to get one, but when she saw it, she was the keen one! > What does "this is a living area speaker" actually mean anyway? As compared to a dedicated listening setup, where everything is set up to sound good when you sit in a single "sweet spot" location. > Bouncing sounds in every direction is bound to sound crap. As I understand, it works out where it is in the room, and uses that to act more like a speaker with an omnidirectional response except towards the walls. So in that sense, it does the opposite of "bouncing sounds in every direction". > I would personally rather a single OK bookshelf speaker with a T-Amp or any small amp. The previous setup was exactly this, but with two OK bookshelf speakers. Given the positioning of them; it sounded great at the kitchen table, but the couch in the same room was so far off the axis of the speakers that it sounded pretty bad there. The HomePod sounds great in both spots.