I tried hanging a HomePod mini from a lighting rail

Hello, good evening, I am Harushika.

I bought an Apple smart speaker, the HomePod mini. The inspiration was a tweet I saw on X titled "I tried hanging a HomePod mini from a duct rail (lighting rail)".

The sound quality of the large monitor in my living room was poor, and I was thinking about buying some kind of external speaker when I came across this tweet. Since I already have a lighting rail installed in my living room, I thought, "This seems relatively easy to do," and decided to give it a try.

I used this webpage (https://livrevie.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-183.html) mentioned in the replies to the tweet as a reference, and set it up with a few personal adjustments.

Items used

• HomePod mini

• Holder for HomePod mini

• Eye bolts (4mm x 20mm) x 2

• Nuts (4mm) x 4

• Lighting rail

• Lighting rail hook

• Duct rail outlet

• USB charger (Type-C)

I bought the HomePod mini at a second-hand shop, the holder for the HomePod mini on Amazon, and the rest at a home improvement store. I bought the lighting rail on Rakuten a few years ago. Since the second-hand HomePod mini didn't come with a charger, I'm using an Anker charger instead.

Installation steps

Secure the eye bolts to the two holes in the holder using the nuts.

Imagine sandwiching the holder from both sides with the nuts. You could hang it with just one nut on each side, but they only cost 8 yen each, and I recommend securing them from both sides for better stability.

Set the HomePod mini into the holder and wrap the excess cable around it. The nuts get a little in the way, but I wrapped it without worrying too much about it.

Set the lighting rail outlet and plug in the USB charger. The outlet is a locking type. It's safe and secure because the charger won't fall out.

Set two hooks on the lighting rail.

Pass the hooks through the holes of the eye bolts attached to the holder to hang the HomePod mini. Finally, connect the power cable to a USB charger, and you're done.

In my case, I had already been using a lighting rail, so I skipped the steps for installing the rail itself. Since no tools were used at all it was easy to do once I had the materials. (Lighting rails can also be installed in rental properties.)

The holder has a strong grip, so I don't think it's likely that the HomePod mini will slip out. Also, since it is secured by the cable as well, the possibility of it falling should be low, but if you do the same, please consider the risks and use your own judgment.

Benefits I felt from hanging the HomePod mini

The benefit I felt from hanging the HomePod mini is that it doesn't take up space. It's very simple, but that's all there is to it.

Due to the nature of a speaker that spreads sound 360 degrees, you would want to place it in the center of the room. Because the sound spreads evenly throughout. But this is difficult to do if you just try to place it normally, right?

If there is a table in the center of the room, it might be okay, but if you place a speaker there otherwise, it will inevitably get in the way. It means there is an obstacle in the center of the room.

Furthermore, you have to run the cable from the center of the room, which is likely the furthest point from the walls, to the wall. This also inevitably makes the cable a nuisance.

By hanging it from a lighting rail, you can realize a 360-degree speaker that is in the center of the room without the unit or the cable getting in the way

On the other hand, a disadvantage is that it is a little hard to hear the sound when you are directly underneath the HomePod mini. Since there is a light on the top of the HomePod mini, I think it is difficult for sound to come out in the vertical direction. The best position for watching a large monitor is directly under the HomePod mini, so this is a bit of a dilemma.

Adding another one to make it stereo might be an option. Well, my wife doesn't seem to mind, so maybe I'm just overthinking it.

Impressions of the HomePod mini

I will also share my impressions of the HomePod mini.

For someone like me who isn't that particular about sound quality, I think it's good enough sound. In the first place, it's a rental apartment complex, so I can't make loud noises. What was unexpected was that the bass is strong. I couldn't have imagined it from its cute appearance. You can enjoy the fresh sensation of bass raining down from above.

The goodness of the HomePod mini is its integration with Apple devices. You can easily transfer music from an iPhone or the like, and its integration with the Apple TV connected to the large monitor in the living room is also excellent. No particularly difficult settings are required, and it connects automatically when you start the Apple TV. Since there is a function to match the timing of the video and sound, sound lag is not a concern either.

I also like its round, fabric-like appearance, which is cute. Although it doesn't really enter my field of vision...

There are a few minor disadvantages, but the combination of a lighting rail and a HomePod mini, where sound spreads from the center of the room without getting in the way, was the best!

Just to be safe, I will repeat this, but if you do the same thing, please consider the risks and use your own judgment. If you are worried about it falling, I think there is also the option of reinforcing it with wire or the like. See you later. This was Harushikla.

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