Near field studio monitors are good for making great audio in a small volume. With a well designed room they can work for larger areas. I use $2k of monitors to

Near field studio monitors are good for making great audio in a small volume. With a well designed room they can work for larger areas. I use $2k of monitors to get really good reproduction in a volume of about 1 cubic meter. Outside that it gets weird. The HomePod sounds good across two rooms with a volume of about 150 cubic meters. That’s pretty amazing. (80% open between the rooms) A single HomePod gives an interesting stereo experience. There is some separation in the middle and high end. Lows don’t separate well. It is a pleasant listening experience, but not the same as well placed stereo gear with a listener in the sweet spot.