Table of Content
As all Google commands work, you need to start with, “Okay, Google” and then say, “connect to Bluetooth”. The Nest Audio supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth streaming but lacks a 3.5mm input and ethernet port. Ambient IQ works well when streaming podcasts and listening for Google Assistant responses. Running water triggers Nest Audio to increase volume levels when streaming podcasts.
Every time you flip the mute switch, Google Assistant reassures you with a voice prompt. TruePlay is extremely effective, but I can’t evaluate Google’s tech because there’s no way to perform a before-and-after test when the tuning is going on all the time. I tested this by playing the song Havana by Camilla Cabelo at four different volumes . Then I played back a recording of myself saying “Hey Google” and played it from a separate speaker at distance of 5, 10, 15, and 20 feet.
Google Home Max review
Our dynamics tests measure how well a device reproduces the energy level of a sound source, taking into account attack, bass precision, and punch. Despite the presence of two tweeters and two woofers, the sound field could be wider. Finally, since the speaker is a front-firing device, the directivity is quite poor. No the Google Home Max isn’t spying on you, as in, it isn’t recording your conversations and delivering them to some foreign government. There are some privacy issues that you should be aware of before you put this thing in your bedroom. For one, some Google Home recordings in the past were leaked thanks to contractors that had access to the recordings.
That said, browsing is basically impossible because you’re interfacing with your TV through voice. You have to know what you want to watch, and then tell the Google Home Max to cast it. Cleverly, the speaker’s touch controls adapt to the orientation that you’ve selected. Sitting horizontally, moving your finger left to right increases the volume.
Supported Audio Formats
Google provides a proprietary power adapter to keep Nest Audio chugging along. It’s easy to move the speaker from room to room as long as an outlet is within 1.5 meters. The Nest Audio supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity (2.4 GHz/5 GHz) for high-quality playback. It supports FLAC, HE-AAC, LC-AAC, MP3, Opus Vorbis, WAV, and WebM Source audio formats. A dedicated machine learning chip with one TeraOPS of processing power sits in the belly of the beast. This chip hastens Google Assistant response time , because it learns your most common smart home commands and music preferences.
To my surprise, I still heard the host thanks to the automatic volume increase. For Ambient IQ to work the mic has to be enabled, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Audio recordings are kept separate from advertising, and will not be used for ad personalization . While Google doesn’t use the recorded audio, it retains the right to use a transcript of how you interact with the Google Assistant. If you purchase something with your voice, information derived from the commands can influence personalized ads. You can, however, limit Google ad settings and even opt-out of ad personalization altogether.
Google's Pixel and Nest smart home devices are back at Black Friday prices
Listening to Steely Dan’s “Babylon Sisters” from the group’s Gaucho release, streamed via Tidal Hi-Fi in my home theater, I was impressed with the Max’s musicality. The laconic bass line that opens the track sounded satisfyingly fat, and the drummer’s rimshots cut through with authority. The vocals—especially the tight harmonies of the female backup singers—exhibited a thoroughly enjoyable presence, too. Getting a review unit late, as is the case with the Google Home Max, gives me the benefit of reading a lot of people’s opinions of a product before I formulate my own. And reviewing a lot of similar speakers before I evaluate the one at hand gives me a broad base of experience upon which to formulate mine. Based on those two fronts, the Google Home Max has been praised just a wee bit overenthusiastically.
Most of the controls come from your voice, commanding Siri, but you can also tap the touchpad for basic playback and volume controls. The Sonos One is a pricier speaker at $219 USD and with that you get a sleeker design, ethernet port, and more comprehensive app. With the Sonos app, you can equalize the sound to a minimal degree, create a multi-room system, use it as your go-to media player, and more. You take and receive calls to and from mobile phones, tablets, and more directly through Google Duo—so long as you’ve set up Duo calling. You can call non-Duo affiliated numbers, though emergency calls can’t be made from the Nest Audio speaker.
There is just one touch sensitive area on the side of the speaker that’s responsible for volume control or pausing/playing music, but that’s it. And because you can orient the speaker vertically or horizontally that touch-sensitive bit can either be on top or on the right side. One helpful feature is that a voice will tell you when you’ve accidentally turned the speaker turned upside-down if you’re moving it. With an overall score of 145, the Google Home Max ranks second-best among all speakers we have tested to date, after Harman Kardon’s Citation 200. Google’s largest smart speaker delivers a great overall audio performance, with a good tonal balance, full and precise midrange frequencies , great volume consistency, and realistic distance rendering.
I admit, I’m already in the group of people that use a Google Home, but that’s mainly for setting alarms, timers, and asking it questions while I cook. With the Google Home Max I still do all of those things, but all while listening to music or podcasts. That said, if you can get one for cheap somewhere it’s worth considering. The top of the speaker is invisibly segmented into three touch-sensitive panels. The middle segment lets you control music playback, while the flanking outer segments control volume levels.
You should know that WiFi is mandatory as there is no ethernet input if you want to connect it directly to a modem. The Home Max is a great sounding, fully integrated smart speaker if volume and audio quality are your priority. It’s too expensive, too big, and too loud to fit in most rooms, so it’s best suited for a living room or larger space.
I did have some issues with the speaker hearing me when I spoke to it while music was playing, but I’ll get into that later. If you have a Google Chromecast, getting anything to play on your TV is seamless. Even pausing and playing the content is pretty quick and reliable just by telling the speaker to pause or resume playback.
Take a listen below as I speak from different distances and rub my hands together to create background noise. From your phone, you can also connect the way you would any other Bluetooth audio device. If you have multiple Nest speakers or Nest displays in your home, you can broadcast to certain ones or to the entire house. This is great when your kids are in their bedrooms, and you want to let them know dinner’s ready without yelling at the top of your lungs. Sit back, relax, and nestle in with Google’s latest smart speaker. The Google Home Max is a beefcake of a speaker, with an enclosure measuring 13.2 inches wide, 7.4 inches high, and 6.0 inches deep.
For this reason, consider this an experiment and not a foolproof plan, and make sure you check the return policy prior when using a trusted retailer. Google only receives audio data from your device when it detects interaction (e.g., “Hey Google”). You may access, review, and delete your audio recordings from your Google account at any time. The only time that Google shares audio recordings with third parties is when you use third-party apps or services with the device. Google isn’t carelessly sharing audio data, but it will share information with an affiliated home security provider if appropriate.
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