The HomePod Is a Mono Speaker

[wgscott]

Yes, you are right.  The whole idea behind stereo speakers is you have two identical speakers with a significant separation between them (where "speaker" can be any array of drivers, as you say).  The separation part here is of critical importance, as is having two identical sources, so that the soundwaves emitted from each can interfere with one another and create a stereo image.  (For this to work, the input channels have to differ a little bit as well -- two identical channels will produce a mono output, even with two speakers).  Ideally, the separation between the speakers should be similar to the listening position distance.

 

I think some of the single-unit speakers, like the B&W Zeppelin, attempt to do stereo through a combination of off-axis driver orientation and DSP, but in that case what is really going on is that they are trying to mimic genuine speaker separation.  If the homepod does that, too, it might be attempting to mimic stereo playback, but that is at best a stretch (especially given its cylindrical symmetry).

[wgscott]

My conventional two-channel stereo has the additional merit of not being an electronic eavesdropping device.