My current multiroom audio setup is Sonos. I have seven old ZP100/ZP120 Zoneplayers and one old Play 5 - none of which are Airplay 2 or can be used with the S2 app. They're hooked up to in ceiling 6 and 8" Polk Audio or Monitor Audio speakers. I've been wanting to update to the new Sonos Amp but I'm looking at (what to me is) a serious wedge of cash at £700 each. I'm now wondering whether the new HomePods (available Feb 3rd) in a stereo pair would be a viable alternative acoustically? They may actually be better than the Sonos, as ceiling speakers, aesthetically pleasing as they are probably aren't the best choice. The only thing is all of my tablets are Amazon Fire running Joe Pages Hubitat Dashboard and I like being able to seamlessly jump in and out of the Sonos app from a tile on there to control everything. I certainly can't swap out all my tablets as well.
There's no way a home pod is going to outperform a 6" ceiling speaker, no matter who makes it...
I know the HomePod minis are pretty poor but that new full size HomePod looks like it might be decent. However I think on reflection I've been sucked in by the marketing again.....A salesman dream I am.
Oh I forgot to ask - @mike.maxwell when can I get my hands on that new C8 (it's ok you can tell me - no-ones listening) 
The sound of the Homepod minis are far better than the Echo Dot's. My wife just made me order a full size Homepod 2 so we'll see how that at least compares to the full size Echo. I don't know how it will compare to a Sonos speaker though (the small stand alone ones)
Yeah I agree on that. I had 3 echo dots that I initially got for Alexa capabilities. However I didn't rate Amazon music as a service and 'Alexa' could never hear me correctly. It just got silly when the Fire Tablets made by Amazon responded to 'Alexa - where's my delivery?' with 'I'm sorry I don't know that'. I would have to walk across the room to the Echo dot and whisper the same phrase to ensure it heard me before the tablet. I got a couple of HomePod minis before Christmas and they work so much better than the Echo's for voice control.
The HomePods only work with Apple phones and tablets, so you’ll probably want to stick with Sonos. The Sonos app is great. And more seamless than using Airplay.
Unless you are also swapping out all your tablets to iPads otherwise your homepods won't be very useful. No Bluetooth or input/output audio jack either. I do have a homepod mini for homekit and airplay for my wife's iphone.
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