The HomePod may have officially launched to consumers on Friday, but there are still some features users are waiting on, including stereo support and multi-room support. However, there are third-party applications that bring those features to HomePod users today…
AirFoil is an incredibly powerful audio tool available on macOS and Windows machines that opens up your computer to a host of new audio settings. For instance, you can easily use it to create a multi-room setup between multiple AirPlay and Bluetooth devices.
However, as YouTuber iCrackUriDevice discovered today (video below), you can also use AirFoil to create a stereo HomePod pair with a clever workaround…
How to use AirFoil to create a stereo HomePod pair right now
The first step in doing this is to download AirFoil from Rogue Amoeba’s website. AirFoil is a paid application at $29 per user, but there’s a free trial option that we highly recommend you take advantage of to make sure everything works as it should.
Once you have AirFoil downloaded, copy it to your Application folder. Then, you need to open it and ensure that all of your AirPlay-enabled devices appear. Then, you’ll want to choose your audio source. If it’s iTunes, you’ll have to download a quick add-on, but it’s free and AirFoil handles it all for you.
Once you’ve ensured that AirFoil is working properly, navigate to your Applications folder on macOS and find the AirFoil file. Right click on that file and choose “Duplicate.” This will create a duplicate application of AirFoil. Once you’ve done that, open both copies.
In one of the open instances of AirFoil, choose the HomePod that’s on the right side of your configuration. Click the equalizer icon along the top and drag the “Balance” slider all the way to the right side. This will play only the right channel through that HomePod.
Then, in the other instance of AirFoil, choose the HomePod that’s on the left side of your configuration. Click the equalizer icon along the top and drag the “Balance” slider all the way to the left side. This will play only the left channel through that HomePod.
From there, as long you have the same audio channel selected in both instances of AirFoil, you have a stereo HomePod configuration. It’s certainly not perfect, but it works as an interim solution until Apple rolls out official support for stereo later this year.
Were you able to successfully set up a stereo HomePod configuration using AirFoil? Let us know down in the comments.
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