Until a couple of months ago, I had a pair of white 1st gen Apple HomePods as a stereo pair with my Apple TV. Then one failed, stopped working completely. When I came back home from hospital, I had to use just a single HomePod, not an ideal home theater setup. Two days ago i bought a pair of Apple refurbished Midnight 2nd gen HomePods and they arrived yesterday.
The sound is great again, esp when I access my Apple Music on the Apple TV.