5/8/2023 0 Comments Google home max whiteMost people wouldn’t when you’re already looking at a £399 outlay for one.Īmazon Echo Plus review: Alexa has never sounded this goodĪnd that really does hit the nub of the problem. Yes, that can be fixed by adding a second Google Home Max for full surround sound, but that assumes you view “buying another one” as a viable solution to a minor flaw. It’s also not as hot as the HomePod when projecting a wide range, offering quite a narrow field of sound no matter whether you have it lying flat or stood upright. Live tracks, for example, feel like they lack a little atmosphere. It sounds great – until it gets to the higher frequencies. They offer lovely deep bass and a rich low-mid range. Behind the grille is a pair of 4.5in high-excursion woofers backed by a pair of tweeters. So it can project well, but is it projecting the right tones? Broadly, yes. Most people won’t need this kind of volume, but for those that do, you can rest assured that the speaker can handle a house party without distorting the sound quality. In fact, Google boasts that the Max version is some 20 times louder than the original Home speaker. But how about the second half – how is it as a speaker?īuy the Google Home Max from John Lewis now That, as the name ‘smart speaker’ suggests, is a pretty important quality. Both virtual assistants consulted the same source by the looks of it, but Alexa didn’t understand context enough to realise that this answer wasn’t just wrong, but completely off. That’s only one example, but it’s quite revealing. Case in point, when I was testing Google Home and an Amazon Echo last year, I asked: “How many hairs are on a cat?” Google’s answer was “On the website they say there are approximately 60,000 hairs per square inch on the back of a cat, and approximately 100,000 per square inch on its underside.” Alexa’s answer was considerably more dopey, yet more certain: “A cat has 60,000 hairs.” I have found it not only better at understanding phrases, but actually being able to deal with them when asked. Give it a tap, and it sounds tight and resonance-free, and pick it up and you’ll find it a weighty 5.3kg – about the same as an average adult, male cat – albeit less prone to moulting.īefore getting to the sound quality, it’s worth saying a few words about Google Assistant, because for my money it’s head and shoulders above rival offerings from Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung. It is, however, clearly solid and well made. This isn’t designed to be portable – there’s no battery, and it’s not waterproof so it would be purely ornamental in the park. The good news is that you probably won’t be doing that too often. Given the trouble Apple got into with the HomePod leaving marks on wood, this was probably a sensible move, although it’d undoubtedly fiddly if you’re prone to moving your speaker around the room. Whichever way you stand it, Google provides a magnetic rubber pad in the box which sticks to the base and offers your surfaces a little preference against vibrations. When I say the top, I mean the long edge, but Google lets you place the speaker lengthways or standing upright depending on your space requirements or aesthetic preference. I say ‘the top’, but that’s not quite as simple a description as it sounds. Similarly, a tap will play and pause music, if you don’t want to use your voice. There is no clunky volume dial or easily losable remote, for example: just slide your finger along the top, and the volume will follow, illustrated by coloured lights under the fabric which also respond to voice. It looks like the kind of bulky stereo speaker you’d find attached to a Hi-Fi at any point in the last 30 years – albeit with a couple of modern tweaks. While the Google Home and Home Mini did their best to hide in plain sight, the Home Max is very hard to miss.
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