I Built a MINIMALIST HomePod Home Cinema

I tried to recreate the minimalist HomePod home theatre from the mockups in the Apple advertisement. It went well! The whole setup was extremely hard to pull off and I show the whole build process in the video as well as review the HomePods and explore the choice of TV and overall decision making process. Overall we have a super minimal Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos capable home theatre in our small living room and it's brilliant.
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Contents:
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0:00 Intro
0:12 HomePod Launch and Initial Ideas
0:52 SetSeed Promo
1:08 Perfect HomePod Setup
1:21 House Layout And Room Requirements
2:17 LG Gallery TV Choice
3:20 Speaker Choice and Requirements
4:01 HomePod Size to Performance Ratio
4:28 The Floating Shelf
4:37 HomePod Hidden Feature
5:00 Omni-directional Beam-forming Tweeters
6:17 How Are The HomePods Really For?
6:42 Voice Control
7:12 Apple TV - Key Component
8:59 Apple TV Secret Feature - eARC Support
10:14 Apple Ecosystem
10:42 The DIY Build
12:54 Fixed Power Cable Setback
14:22 The Shelf Build
16:43 Sound Quality and Conclusions
#homecinema #apple #homepod

[@AR-uy8yr]

apple should make use of this opportunity to make a proper dolby atmos based HomePods with quad pairings and it'll be interesting ...

[@pdtheowl9292]

as someone who completely avoids apple ecosystem in my personal devices, I completely agree on the amazing quality of the Apple TV. My partner has one in their living room, and the os and interaction is so smooth and refined, as with all apple products, but it especially shines through on the apple tv. To me a smart tv box is a lifestyle device (as most tech is nowadays, but especially this product), so having an amazingly fluid experience when just trying to relax and watch a show is lovely. They have the generation that uses the touchpad remote, god I love the touch pad, adds to the smooth feel, and typing and scrubbing through video is better than any other remote.

[@jacksherman5696]

I wish apple would set them up to work with 4 home pods and a center channel. We have two in our great room while facing the screen the left one is. Middle of left side the right one is off back right corner. Spreads the sound out quite nice.

[@Marsk1tty]

That wall looks like it would've been perfect for a projector! Though I can appreciate not wanting the screen to be the highlight of the room. Cool build!

[@michael-4k4000]

NO He made the right choice

[@darkerFirestars]

I had wondered since I saw that advert how exactly this worked over ARC, Appreciate the explanation and loving the minimal setup, Great video, Many thanks!

[@BenVallack]

Thanks! Yeah eARC is such a game changer. Really amazing system.

[@lwandakoltana7145]

Great Video

[@hcolyn]

Great video - thank you! I know I can't expect the same results, but I'm not very happy with our 10 month old Denon soundbar and have considered doing the same with HomePod minis.

[@halfwit2]

I was just, just talking about doing this. You inspired me to build a Keyball39, cuz trackball integration is great. Your videos are excellent!

[@BenVallack]

Thanks so much!

[@johnw65uk]

Thanks for sharing. Best thing I did was inset my tv into the wall. Have about 8cm depth and enough room underneath the tv for a large soundbar. It’s a wall that like yours you walk near the soft end so it doesn’t inhibit any movement.

[@BenVallack]

Awesome yeah I did think about that too. Might do it one day!

[@chrismitsos6817]

Made the mistake of buying an era 300 thinking it would work like the homepod. But you need a soundbar too. Ended up getting two homepods with apple tv and couldnt be happier. For movies with dolby atmos the sound is amazing and they are surprisingly loud too. Better than a soundbar for sure. Wireless atmos and so simple to use. Speakers look great too.

[@Drew-wf9bg]

this looks great! i’ve been using the stereo homepods ones since they came out, and i’d recommend about 8in between the homepods and the walls, it looks like you have some space but 8in is the recommendation apple has for this type of set ups.

[@BenVallack]

Yeah I can definitely see how that would improve things - just havn’t got that kind of space unfortunately!

[@MaestroFiddler]

What an excellent and insightful review of what I have to say are amazingly ballsy speakers for their size. It gets at Apple’s superpower - its uncanny knack for combining its now iconic aesthetics to products that define what we refer to as a “seamless user experience.”

[@BenVallack]

Thanks! Yep exactly that.

[@5t4n5]

Looks great. I do really like the minimalist style, even though it's the complete opposite to my overloaded maximalist clutter living room (and i don't even have a television). LOL

[@caskwith]

Very thorough build, looks smart! For reference there is absolutely no warranty issue with cutting off a moulded plug as long as the replacement plug is fitted correctly by a competent person. If the plug was to be damaged the last thing a manufacturer wants is someone using an unsafe plug because they are worried about replacing it.

[@BenVallack]

That's good to know. Should have just cut it off then lol!

[@WoodyW2k]

Really enjoyed this video, Ben. I guess we won’t avoid bass frequency standing waves electronically until there is beam forming of low frequencies using ultrasound

[@BenVallack]

Thanks so much. That sounds very interesting!

[@rahulchawla20]

Very beautiful set up! That’s a lot of work! This must have required a lot of careful planning and design. 👌

[@BenVallack]

Thanks!

[@fernandotta]

Cool build! Have you considered the Sony HT-A9? I think they have a similar if not better size to performance ratio, and the front of the build would look very similar. The main challenge (and also kind of the point) is integrating the rear 2 speakers

[@BenVallack]

Yeah rear speaker placement is the issue but also huge cost.

[@TheMonkeydood]

Nice setup but you are setting off my ocd with that white thing on the left which is stopping symmetry and also blocking a bit of the telly. Also thanks for inspiring to build my first split keyboard.

[@BenVallack]

Hah!

[@andreaturbolz3542]

Hi. Tanks for the video 👍🏻. Wich distance do you have from the Tv and the position of your head on the couch? Tanks

[@BenVallack]

2.8 Meters

[@andreaturbolz3542]

@@BenVallack Tanks. The same have I

[@BenVallack]

It's within THX recommended viewing distance for 4K which is interesting.

[@andreaturbolz3542]

@@BenVallack 🤔 At the moment I have an acoustimass Bose 5.1 . But speakers are up on the ceiling for a “wife design problem” 😅. Suppose in the future will sell all and make your set up

[@douggottlieb]

Fascinating video!! Think HomePod minis would also work?

[@BenVallack]

Thanks. They can work as a stereo pair but don't have any of the beam forming coolness of the big ones so no surround sound effect at all. But they do work with the Apple TV in the same way.

[@bel5978]

Hello Ben, but are we stuck with Apple TV device? Can’t we use googleTV and Kodi with these 2 pods?

[@BenVallack]

Correct. Apple TV is the heart of the system.

[@DahouiM]

Very nice setup. What is the size of the tv? Is it G3 model? Looks great with the homepods

[@BenVallack]

55” - it’s the G2. Cheers!

[@DahouiM]

@@BenVallack thanks looks great

[@JackStow]

I have the same set up and a very similar sized and shaped lounge and sofa - and the bass standing waves drive me mad! Away from the walls it’s great, but borderline unlistenable near the walls. I have to turn ‘reduce bass’ on, which hobbles the bass entirely. It’s such a shame that Apple don’t have some kind of ‘pro’ tuning option, like Sonos Trueplay, which I have used with Sonos kit in the same room to totally solve the bass issue.

[@BenVallack]

Really glad I'm not the only one noticing this! Also very interesting to hear that Sonos tuning can solve it.

[@nottoolive]

Nice couch, where did you buy it? (if i may lol)

[@BenVallack]

IKEA :) by a massive margin the best value sofa of this size we could find! It’s definitely going to need a bit of extra stuffing before too long but otherwise it’s a nice size and shape and overall comfort is good. It was very low stock when we got it and had to phone and ask when they were coming in, and snapped it up as soon as it came on the website. This was last year; my wife was so pleased she said it was a Christmas miracle lol.

[@PaddyC90]

Unless I’ve missed something it looks like your HomePods are wired straight into the ring and are therefore on a 32A fuse. The solution would be to put a fused spur for each under the shelf. Very neat looking setup though,

[@BenVallack]

The whole shelf is actually on a fused spur, the hole next to the double wall socket is a switched fused spur. Forgot to mention that was added by a professional for my first setup so I just added my new wire to that. That connects to the socket under the shelf which powers the TV and connects to the wires from HomePods.

[@BenVallack]

You can just see the fused spur box with switch by the corner of the sofa at 17:39 - edit: even better shot of it at 10:57

[@michael-4k4000]

I thought the LG G series sits closer to the wall?

[@keithard8920]

what kind of couch is that?

[@BenVallack]

IKEA 😀 cheap and cheerful but it’s a nice design!

[@02mb]

The only problem with this setup is when it comes time to upgrade... whether a new cable comes out, or you need to move the mount for a different shaped TV, or Apple discontinues use and support of HomePod and you want something else... Other than that, it's beautiful.

[@BenVallack]

Hopefully these will have a long enough run that I won’t mind a bit of rebuilding if/when the time comes!

[@joostwestra]

Of course taste is subjective. But to me it sounds that a Sonos Arc might be a better solution for your use case.

[@BenVallack]

I considered it - but as fas as I can make out it doesn't have any kind of beam forming system to emulate surround channels. They try and upsell you to grab the surround speakers. And that the costs significantly more. I did demo one in a shop, hard to come up with any real conclusions in that environment but I was very underwhelmed by music reproduction. It also sounds like the Arc doesn't work with the latest Apple TV eARC configuration which is a serious issue! That's just from a quick search of Arc forums.

[@joostwestra]

@@BenVallack It might not use beam forming because there are actual drivers pointing in multiple directions to bounce of the walls (and ceiling!) The general consescus is more similar to this: "I have one tv with an arc and I HAD one tv with two original HomePods. The arc is hilariously better. I switch the two HomePods out on my second tv to a Sonos beam gen 2 and even that is better." But nice to see that you are happy with the setup. And very clean install of course!

[@BenVallack]

@@joostwestravery interesting and likewise glad you’re happy with your setup! I’ll definitely look to test one when I find someone with one I can play with.

[@Ran-qb8vf]

Love it! Just wondering if you notice any image quality degradation watching from the Applet TV? I have a 4k Apple TV hooked up to my OLED Sony A80J and no matter what HDMI cable I use or however much I change the settings (apple tv or the TV), I can't get the image coming from the Apple TV to look as good (vibrant and popping off the TV realistic) as it does when using the TVs built in apps. I not only have image vibrancy issues, but pixelation in the all black areas of youtube videos. When watching my favourite LG demo reel (kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJu7Y5WrYsSJrZYfeature=shared) the Apple TV cannot produce a smooth black area surrounding the centre circle during the opening 6 seconds, no matter how long I let it buffer or replay it (hard wired or wi-fi), but the TV is smooth black everytime (wi-fi). I love the Apple TV user experience, and my family couldn't care less about image quality so we still use it, but I'm curious if Apple TV is degrading all OLED TV owners experience and they're not realizing it, or if it's just me and my A80J.

[@BenVallack]

That sounds super strange - as far as I’m aware there’s no way the Apple TV could be degrading the image - it is capable of sending the proper signals to the TV and it’s all digital etc. It’s widely regarded as one of the best digital sources as far as I know. Having said that - it does have a whole bunch of different modes it can do in terms of how it passes through the signals so have a play in the settings on the Apple TV. Also have a look in the settings per source on the TV in case it’s doing something fancy on the built in apps that it isn’t doing on HDMI sources.

[@Ran-qb8vf]

@@BenVallack Here's a video showing the pixelation issue with KZbin kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3ybap-Xh55jd80 if you're interested. When I was doing this test I was looking at the settings again and noticed the Sony software updated and now has some "Calibrated" picture modes which look a bit duller and similar to Apple TV's output compared to Dolby Vision Bright mode. Maybe the Apple TV is doing some extra 'calibration' to the image which looks muted to my eyes. I'd be interested to hear if you or others notice any difference between the built-in apps vs Apple TV. I know it's widely regarded as the best, but I haven't seen any comparisons using some higher end OLED panels.

[@BenVallack]

@@Ran-qb8vfhave you seen issues on other Apple TV apps or is just KZbin? What model Apple TV is it? I know the older one didn’t support HDR content on KZbin due to a bit of a format war between Apple and KZbin so I’m wondering if what you’re seeing is KZbin switching the content to a version it’s recoded to be compatible, I.e non HDR or this is some other issue resulting from trying play HDR on a setup where it’s not supported.

[@Ran-qb8vf]

​@@BenVallack I have Gen1 Apple TV 4K (A1842), you're right it didn't initially have HDR capability, can't seem to find a conclusive answer on the current status of that. In terms of issues, across all apps (disney+, Netflix, Prime) the image just doesn't look as vibrant. I tried taking some videos yesterday comparing a few live action and animated shows but it's tricky to get the lighting right, makes me appreciate your videos even more :) I was able to eliminate the pixelation from the youtube test I uploaded by turning on Match Content Range and Match Frame Rate, but then it seemed to add noise during other parts of the video (bubbles in the glass). Doing some searching this morning on the topic and one person suggested setting the Apple TV to SDR, then turn on match content (so it will go into HDR when available) and turn off Match Frame Rate (can't recall why). This seemed to really help, but now for some reason the Apple TV is much quieter than the TV (built in speakers). Finding all of these forums filled with people having similar struggles makes me feel better, and it looks like I've got a few more hours of digging into this ahead of me. Surprising that Apple TV settings aren't talked about more in all of the TV reviews out there. Thanks for the replies :)

[@TravisHi_YT]

Why didn't you put 7.1 in the ceiling? you could have just had the screen alone with no speakers or awkward shelf, not digging the trash can aesthetic of the mac speakers either. Thanks for sharing regardless!

[@yashwinss]

Umm you clearly haven't seen Samsung's The Frame tv in person. The whole point of the Frame is for it to look like a piece of art when not in use. From any angle. Which it does amazingly well. That's literally one of its main strengths. So I'm not sure who or what made you believe the Frame tv doesn't have good viewing angles but you're wrong regardless. AND the Frame has this anti glare screen coating which is unlike anything else out there & perfect for rooms that are brightly lit or get a lot of sunlight. Like in your space, where you have to draw your blinds in the day for anything to be watchable on that super glossy oled. No such problem with the Frame. It handles glare and sunlight extremely well. AND it gets a lot brighter than your oled. Making it the perfect tv for your situation. Also, the 1-connect box is a lot more convenient with a single thin detachable cable running from TV to box. The cable the TV comes with is plenty long but even longer cables are available if needed. Making it a lot less cumbersome than your lg. You also mentioned something about the frame tv tech being "old"? FYI, Quantum dot produces higher color purity than oled. And they get a lot brighter than oleds. The tech in the Frame is perfect for its intended purpose. And lest I forget, the Frame actually mounts COMPLETELY flush. Heres the problem I have with your approach. On one hand, you don't mind the plethora of compromises you've had to make by choosing a dual Homepod setup. Any half decent stereo setup like a pair of Q Acoustics M20 HD active speakers (with or without a sub) would wipe the floor with those homepods. Yet you chose to go with the homepods. However, you decided to go with an oled for of its "better tech" & blacker blacks & didn't want any compromises with picture quality I presume? I'll tell you what, you've ended up with the worst of both worlds for your situation. All that hassle only to end up with a glossy TV with glare that doesn't get bright enough in a room with tall windows & an unremarkable sound system you'll end up wanting to replace soon enough. However, the work you've put in has turned out well in terms of aesthetics. Can't fault you there.

[@BenVallack]

I certainly have seen the Frame in person and considered it very carefully. I agree the anti-glare is nice but not at the expense of viewing angle. Here is the objective data. www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/samsung/the-frame-2022-qled It can't hold a candle to the OLED. Colour washout at 29º instead of 68º on the LG. Brightness in real images isn't event close either - it can beat the OLED only when displaying a solid white screen where the OLED limits itself. In real images the OLED has brighter highlights in HDR content - and due to proper blacks an infinite contrast ratio, unlike the frame. (data from Rtings) Colour purity is better in the LG than the Frame too I'm afraid. 98.58% coverage of DCI-P3 compared to the Frame's 87.49%. (data taken from Rtings) I agree decent stereo speakers can easily beat the homepods in terms of music - but not for surround sound. I also agree the whole thing is a compromise from both a decent stereo setup and compared to a decent cinema setup - but the trade oft is minimal clutter and aesthetics and a great balanced ability for film and music.

[@Empty_Vima]

7.1 surround sound This is apparently for the poor. The rich think differently...

[@BenVallack]

You’ve lost me!

[@blaineallenbrown]

"I'm not sure how bad the lag is" 😅 did you bother to test anything? This level of analysis is not for me. You boast about the apple experience without really comparing it to anything. I'm not sure you've tried anything else because most set top boxes are okay these days. Apple may still have the edge in some ways but this video leaves a lot to be desired.

[@BenVallack]

My point is that for the family life setup I talk about in the video, the lag is not perceivable so is not relevant.