HomePod SQ update

Per prior posts I've gone back and forth on the HomePod depending on how I was using it. We now have moved and I bought another one (returned the last one) to use on our new front porch and sometimes in the living room. I've got to tell you, if you play your own music (via Mac,etc) vs. Apple music, the HP can sound quite good. Almost all of my Americana, folk, CD mixes and soundtracks sound very good - especially those that are well recorded (kind of reinforces the notion that the recording is the biggest contributor to SQ). What does not work well on the HP is music that has congestion in the mid range, is overly compressed or maybe a better term is - has too much going on all at once. It has drawbacks but I actually think it is worth the $279 I paid for it given how it's used. And it answers the phone!