I’m an old-fashioned music listener and prefer to put on a record than go through the rigamarole of setting up a wireless speaker.

But I’m starting to think that I might finally change my wicked old ways after trying out a pair of stereo Apple HomePods.

When the speakers launched earlier this year, you could only play one at a time. That’s all changed with a new software update which allows you to link up two HomePods to form one incredible-sounding wifi hifi.

We tried out a new Apple update which turns a pair of speakers into stunning mega hi-fi capable of incredible sound quality (Photo: James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

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In my review of the HomePod, I said that anyone who can afford the £329 price tag should rush out and buy one because you’re really not going to get a better sounding wireless speaker at anywhere near the price.

Today I’m going to go a bit further and recommend you get the credit card out and buy two because linking two HomePods makes for a strikingly different experience.

The ability to ‘pair’ up two HomePods was introduced in iOS 11.4, which is an operating system for iPhone and iPad, and it’s stunningly simple to use.

Basically, I plugged in two speakers, opened up the Home app on my iPhone and was able to make two speakers play the same thing (you can find out more about how to do this on Apple’s website or look at the image below) in a few button presses.

This gif shows the process of setting up stereo HomePods (Photo: Apple)

 

After this, I thought I’d get creative and just ask Siri to pair up the speakers by saying ‘Hey Siri, play HomePods in stereo’ – and it just worked.

This is impressive stuff because getting other speakers paired can be extremely fiddly.

The sound boost you get from two stereo speakers is also quite astonishing, with the huge, shuddering sub-bass boosted to room-shaking volumes and beautiful high or mids singing out clear and undistorted.

A pair of HomePods really does come close to matching the sound quality of a ‘real’ system costing thousands of pounds.

The low end was already notable on the HomePod, but a stereo pair really ramps up the bass to show off musical details you simply wouldn’t hear on lesser speakers.

However, when you arrive at this sort of price point you are starting to get into proper speaker territory – and there’s no doubt big boy speakers are always going to sound better, because they move more air.

But you’d have to buy speakers, an amplifier and a subwoofer to match the HomePod – and I don’t fancy your chances of getting all that for £758.

Spotify is still not totally welcome on HomePod, because you can only voice control Apple Music, so that might guide your decision too.

In practice, I didn’t find that a problem because you can connect your phone, computer or another device to HomePod to play pretty much anything – and I find that voice orders are fairly inefficient. Just try asking to hear ‘The Fall’, ‘The The’ or anything else with a common name and you’ll realise it’s easier to select songs from a gadget rather than trying to barter with Siri.

Nonetheless, if you’ve got just over £700 to spend and are looking for a smashing new hi-fi system, I think you would be very pleased with two HomePods. I’ve not heard speakers of this size produce such epic sound before and continue to be blown away with the depth, expansiveness and richness of the audio from Apple’s first hifi gadget.

Crucially, my poor old record player is starting to feel a little unloved, which I sincerely didn’t expect. One HomePod is great by itself – but listening to a pair of the speakers make sweet music together is a joy and a delight.