I’ve been using Sony’s active speaker, the h.ear go (SRS-HG1), which has since been discontinued by the manufacturer.
I originally bought it when I was using my MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) to enjoy better sound. Not long after I got it, Sony released the next model, h.ear go 2 (SRS-HG10), and I thought I might have bought it at the wrong time. Still, it served as a compact speaker for my desk.
There was one thing about this speaker that always bothered me: the sound would distort as soon as I turned up the volume a bit. I assumed that since it was an active speaker, it might not be designed to handle higher volumes and continued using it.
But, as we know, when there’s a bit of a problem with a device, you tend to stop using it. Days went by without turning it on. Here I had a speaker for listening to music, yet I wasn’t actually using it for that purpose. So, I decided to finally do something about it—and somehow, I found myself stopping by the Apple Store in Marunouchi on my way home from work.
The HomePod mini is slightly different from a regular Bluetooth speaker. It’s an AirPlay speaker, meaning it’s primarily made for Apple products. I have a MacBook Pro, an iPad Pro, and an iPhone, so an AirPlay speaker fits my needs perfectly.
It can also connect to an Apple TV 4K, but I was only looking to replace my desk speaker, so I just purchased one HomePod mini in yellow.
Once home, I set it up immediately. As always with Apple products, setup was a breeze—just hold your iPhone close to the device, and everything’s done. I’m continually impressed by the seamless integration and easy setup between Apple devices.
When I played music, I was amazed at how good it sounded without any distortion, even at higher volumes. Clearly, it’s built with quality in mind. And since it connects through AirPlay, I no longer have to disconnect and reconnect via Bluetooth when switching between devices.
The little round speaker sitting on my desk is so charming. Plus, it has Siri, so I can ask for tomorrow’s weather or have it play a specific song.
I’ve only just set it up, but I’m looking forward to enjoying a lot of music with it!
