Apple Anechoic Chamber

[Titanium Dome]

Apple has an audio lab that it's been using for years. It's in Cupertino and contains a number of interesting rooms, including "one of the largest anechoic chambers." Until I saw this report, I was unaware of such a facility.

http://www.loopinsight.com/2018/02/0...epod-audio-lab



I'd be curious to see the spinorama on Apple's HomePod to compare it to some products we know and love.

[BMWCCA]

I'd be curious to see the spinorama on Apple's HomePod to compare it to some products we know and love.

So far it seems they love the sound but find Siri inadequate compared to competition.
And, of course, you'll need two for stereo.
I run my own house so I really don't care!

[DES-1]

Looks like a PR story to bolster their woefully late entry into new field of home voice control. Apple really screwed up being late to the game but I guess they have their hands full of successful products (at least for now). I ended up with Google Assistant as it was gifted, otherwise I'd probably choose Amazon due to its head start. I would have liked to have used the Apple product, but what I have works well and is definitely not a gimmick.

[hjames]

My sister in law gifted me with an Amazon Echo for Christmas, before the price banged up to $50.

So far I have it tied to xTension home automation through my old macPro -
I can voice-command it to turn lights on and off and that sort of things,
for times when the automation scripts I created aren't enough - (they usually are).
I generally use the Remote App on my iPhone to access the 60k+ songs in iTunes (most are lossless)
to select tracks or playlists when I am in my easy chair listening to music on the tubes & big speakers ...

FWIW - I own Apple stock, and a wee bit of Amazon stock as well ...

[DES-1]

So far I have it tied to xTension home automation through my old macPro

Nice! After getting the Google mini for xmas, my son showed me his wifi light setup and that got me motivated. Ended up with a Samsung Smartthings hub bundle as it seems to integrate with everything, and Best Buy had a $100 off sale on the bundle. One of the coolest features of using this hub is that our cell phones work as proximity sensors. When a household member arrives after sunset, the outside lights turn on automatically when pulling up the drive.

Our Schlage house locks are integrated with Siri, so will probably leave that alone for now. It took them a few iterations of software updates to get the locks working seamless. Others in the house use the keypads but I like doing the voice commands from my watch!

[DavidF]

It's curious that the chamber appears to have a hard, reflective floor.

[Robh3606]

It's curious that the chamber appears to have a hard, reflective floor.

I believe you are looking through an acoustically transparent metal mesh floor like a screen door

Rob