Seems some store still have stock both the Chalk and Charcoal available.
Google Home Max (Charcoal)
Model:
GA00223-AU
SKU:
649077
PLU: 842776104472
High-fidelity music with dual 4.5” woofers
Get answers from Google, powered by Google Assistant
Far-field voice recognition
Works with Google Assistant
Yes, have pile of stocks at the door of my local JB
Still salty about the Hub Max.
I got one from ow paid $122.50 price beat
But my orders from tgg got refunded
What was the price match? that's a great price
$129 at tgg so ow price beat
That's an insanely good deal! Wow
I didn’t even bother buying one and I’m salty
I got one for the good guys, was worth buying it just in case it was honoured. I went there first thing to pick up.
How do these compare to the Sonos One?
my only feedback here is that the google assitant on Sonos is very very average. I'd say half the time mine does nothing on a voice command.
Isn't that all google assistants?
Nope, the ones on my home mini are fantastic… Way better than Alexa or Siri.
I think they sounds very similar. Maybe the Max is tiny bit better in sound quality.
I think the deciding factor as to which one you should go with depends on the type of phone you use. I use an iPhone which i can use Air-Play with the Sono One. The Max doesn't have this feature and I have manually link it to the bluetooth or if certain apps has Google integrations you will have to cast it from the app.
What? It's not even close. The Home Max is a long way behind.
The real question is whether the Sonos is 3.5x better. Which it probably isn't. And the assistant integration is pretty average.
@jjcf - he's talking about the Sonos One. Not the Sonos Five.
@foobat: Fair enough - pretty different use cases, but I'd definitely take the Max over the One if it were just a standalone.
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Can this and the sonos one play simultaneously?
You can't group them. yet. In future, maybe?
Yeah I'm really hoping they integrate Sonos into Google Home groups. My Sonos One is a nice speaker, but doesn't get much use, as I opt to play through the 8 speakers hooked up to the Google Home group instead.
yeah i was the same, ended up selling my sonos stuff. even though they sound heaps better, i would always play music over my 9 google home speakers lol. i mean for the price of a sonos 5 i can fill my entire house with google homes!
@cortex: That’s a good point. I love the options with Sonos (especially as I have Apple products) but so many companies are doing multi room audio now, and for a lot cheaper.
I really wanted a Sonos Play 5….but this was the consolation prize, so far it is good.
I sold a play 1 for $185 and got the home max - way better but very big and no mounting options
Don't think this is a bargain it has been this price everywhere for a month
Yeah probably getting clicks and front page because people think it's a hub max discounted, with all the hype from the good guys deal the other day.
I have Google Home Max and Apple HomePod both and the homepod absolutely kills this one in microphone performance ("Hey Siri" detected even from another room with music playing without shouting) and low to mid volume listening. Homepod produces clearer and more bass at low to mid volumes but at higher volumes Google Home Max produces more bass. The stereo separation is better in Google Home Max as well since its got stereo speakers. That said, its pretty massive in size and weight compared to relatively diminutive Homepod and the fact that Homepod kills in in some key areas tell me that, like always, Google isnt trying hard enough to get most of its hardware or that their hardware just isnt good enough. Its good for $198 though but at its full price its pretty bad.
I wish homepod had a headphone jack input, I'd plug two into TV for games consoles.
I still qent Home Max at full price as who would buy an Apple product in this day and age. I consider Google the lesser of two evils. Besides, id rather the microphone not to be as good, as it's already a big enough privacy breach.
Amazing that you mention privacy and then google being the lesser of the two evils. Compare how much money Apple makes from advertising to Google.
There is now a sensitivity option in Google Home app, so if you increase the sensitivity, Google Home Max will be much more responsive, so far it has responded to all my requests.
I am actually interested in a homepod setup with ipad in the living room as opposed to a smart display, I think this will be really versatile for my needs.
Yes I have its sensitivity all the way up and it still doesn’t respond sometimes even when I am standing in front of it. Siri on the other hand always does even when the music is playing loud. It’s almost magic.
I think there are also reported problems with Siri as well. I have not had issues with my Google Home Max after they updated the software.
My problem with Apple is that it is too restrictive, its probably their way of making money by coaxing customers to stay within the Apple brand, but can be a bit off putting/discouraging for someone not really using the Apple ecosystem.
Having said that, I think Apple Ipad and Homepod is still my best option in the living room right now, not sure if I will go with that though.
If you pair two for stereo you will introduce significant audio delay. Single speaker close to zero delay. Two paired gives up to 1 second delay. Known problem and yet to be fixed by Google.
You mean delay between the 2 units?
Or 1 second delay to both units but they remain in sync??
In sync both delayed. Causes problems if you group with other speakers are try to use with TV. Google been promising to fix this known problem for over 6 months now. Discussed in many forums.
Why does every google product feel like an experiment with zero polish?
@giventofly: Because they're a bunch of engineers not designers. its like the old thing you figure what you want to make first then figure out how, they do it the wrong way around.
@giventofly: That's not fair, there's a thin veneer of polish, mostly. It wears off when exposed to air, but that's just an earth problem
Is this different to the manual sync option when setting up a speaker group via Assistant?
I recently returned my Google Home Max after having it a few months because the Bluetooth pairing to my phone was unusable. It’s a fault with the software when you try to use the Google Home Max as a Bluetooth speaker. The audio is jittery and often drops out.
Why use Bluetooth in this day and age? I use my Max via Wifi, and via cable to my TV.
I meant Bluetooth audio streaming from my phone to the max. I had my TV connected to the Max via audio cable. When I had a Chromecast it was fine as I could stream audio via Chromecast which would pair to the Max no issues, it’s just an issue with Bluetooth pairing from a phone.
Does your phone not do wifi?
@DJ-89: Eh?
Some of us use wifi on our phones for internet. We don't want to be using mobile data to stream spotify to our Max purely because Google is too sht to get bluetooth working properly.
It shouldn't even be a question - Google SHOULD make their product function properly. Why should the consumer be compensating?
Some of us use wifi on our phones for internet. We don't want to be using mobile data to stream spotify to our Max purely because Google is too sht to get bluetooth working properly.
wtf? google home max should be connected to wifi. Where you getting mobile data from?
Why on earth would you stream spotify from a phone to a google max via bluetooth when you can just have it stream directly on the max via its wifi connection? If you hit the cast button on spotify app on your phone to cast to google home device, its not using your phone at all apart from getting the initial url of the stream…after that it streams directly from the google home device's internet connection. You can turn your phone off after this and see the google home still streaming.
@DJ-89: My phone and Google Home Max were connected to the same WiFi. But my iPhone doesn’t allow direct audio streaming to the Google Home Max via wireless if that’s what you’re implying? It had to be through a Chromecast which I don’t have.
@Poor Sunyol: You’re right, not all iOS apps can stream to the Google Homes, and that includes Apple Music. The YouTube Music and Spotify iOS apps can cast to Google Homes though using the “Google Cast” protocol (sometimes confusingly referred to as Chromecast protocol) . It doesn’t actually require an additional Chromecast physical device.
Not everyone has wifi in their house.
True that not everyone has wifi at home, but what's the point of buying Home Max if you don't have wifi?
I've noticed the same jittery audio with many bluetooth speakers but later figured out its due to frequency interference. This can be caused due to a device in close proximity using the a frequency close to bluetooth (2.45 GHz) but in much higher power. Example; Microwave oven, WiFi router etc. Try isolation each to figure out what causes it.
I totally agree with you.
My Home Max connected via Bluetooth without any issue. Never experienced lag or delay.
However I tend to use the voice commands more often. Like asking the Home Max to play my playlists or a specific song I wanna hear without using my phone. Having Spotify makes things easier
yeah i dont reckon this would be worth it if you dont have WIFI lol. id just get a cheap bluetooth speaker
These were $540 when they first came out. Great speaker, ive got 2.
Aww, I just bought an IKEA Eneby 30 because I wanted something bluetooth and there wasn't much great in the price range :(
Ikea should refund that if you like for change of mind
I sometimes host outdoor movies at my place where I use a projector to throw onto our back wall. I currently have a Samsung ms750+ plugged into my TV and I just unplug that and pull that outside. Its a bit cumbersome, so I was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me if this speaker would be loud enough, and clear enough, to be used outdoors for movies for groups of around 8-10, once all the social distancing is over of course?
Thanks in advance
Neighbour called police on me once when I used this speaker in the backyard thought I held an illegal party amid social distancing
Yeah it was loud
Group of up to 10 is OK in WA.
Is it possible to use this like a soundbar yet? I know its something google talked about when it launched; the ability to cast video to chromecast and have audio play through the Max.
Short answer is no, or at least not for me. Got one last night and tried everything to get what you say working, it seems like there's no way to send audio to one source and video to another source. My final solution was hooking up my android box to my projector and connecting to the speaker to the android box via bluetooth (if you use the wifi audio on the speaker there is a noticeable delay, took me a fair while to work out how to set the bluetooth to discoverable on the speaker though, you have to do it through the home app)
I'm using the Max as a soundbar via the aux cable. Works okay as it switches to aux automatically when there is a signal. My only gripe is controlling the volume as I need to use Google assistant or the app. Would of preferred a remote but I guess that is not the main purpose of this device
isnt $198 the normal price now?
I bought two last time (a month ago) for $183 each at HN. But I heard you can get even cheaper if you have the Good Guys membership, $170 I read.
just ordered 2 from harveynorman .. 7.95 shipping
I just received mine today and I'm loving it. I'm debating whether to get another one for a stereo setup.
Have you connected with tv ? No delay ?
Occasionally I would get a half-second delay but I suspect that's due to my crappy bluetooth adaptor and a lot of interference. It's currently connected via an AUX cable although i'll probably need a splitter if I end up buying another one.
Looks likea similar price at Harvey Norman - $199, if your nearest JB doesn't have stock.
It's been this price since 1/4/20