Amazon Echo / Echo Dot

noneforit

noneforit

Messages
1,294
Edit My Images
No
Hey

So I am thinking of getting one of these for my other half for Christmas.....she loves a gadget which is handy because so do I :)

Does anybody have one on here?

I get what it can be used for but I am trying to work out the Music bit and whether its going to work.
We have a Bose Soundlink bluetooth speaker so I could get the Dot and link it to that.

However, I couldn't then stream music from my phone right?
Presumably if the Echo Dot is connected to the Bose then I couldn't connect to the Bose without disconnecting the Dot (via Bluetooth)?

I don't want to buy her something and then get complaints she can't stream music from her phone and use the Dot without having to disconnect something...

Cheers
 
I've got both, had the main Echo for around 8 months when I got it from the states and recently bought a Dot for upstairs.

I'll test the Bluetooth connection later to see if it'll accept both an input (phone) and output (speaker) at the same time. I'm doubtful this will work to be honest but I'll let you know in either case.

What music source do you stream from as the Echo may already have support for this..
 
Neilc28 said:
I've got both, had the main Echo for around 8 months when I got it from the states and recently bought a Dot for upstairs.

I'll test the Bluetooth connection later to see if it'll accept both an input (phone) and output (speaker) at the same time. I'm doubtful this will work to be honest but I'll let you know in either case.

What music source do you stream from as the Echo may already have support for this..
Click to expand...

I don't think it will work but figured I would ask.

My concern about the Echo is that the speaker will not be as good as a JBL or Bose Soundlink and for an extra £50 I could get one of those with the Dot but it might mean I can only use Bluetooth one way.

I would use Amazon Prime Music and also upload to their music cloud.

I also like the idea of having the Dot with a portable speaker so it's dual use.

Thanks for your help
 
There is a 3.5mm jack, HOWEVER, if you use and it the speaker is not on you will not get any output.

This might seem minor and expected but if you use it for voice control such as home automation you have to ensure that the speaker is on or you won't get confirmation or the response that maybe Alexa didn't understand you.
 
Neilc28 said:
There is a 3.5mm jack, HOWEVER, if you use and it the speaker is not on you will not get any output.

This might seem minor and expected but if you use it for voice control such as home automation you have to ensure that the speaker is on or you won't get confirmation or the response that maybe Alexa didn't understand you.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

I would need to make sure any Bluetooth or external speaker was on all the time and didn't have any sort of sleep mode then I guess.

Cheers
 
If you use Bluetooth then upon the speaker being disconnected such as being switched off the Echo Dot will then output using its tiny speaker until the Bluetooth connection is available again.
 
I have the Dot and Bluetooth tooth it to my Bose mini speaker it's great for music etc. Works well with Spotify too
 
I agree it is really good in comparison to a lot of offerings out there, substantially better once you adjust the EQ, however if compared to the Bose Soundlink which the OP has stated they already own I would have to be honest and say it pales in comparison (I own a Soundlink 2), which you would expect if rated against Bose.
 
I've got the DOT and use it with my main audio over Bluetooth

Alexa "Turn on speakers" (I've got a wifi plug named speakers)
Alexa "Connect Speakers" (Connects to last paired device - my HiFi)
Alexa "Play Album XXXX"

Works well :)
 
Do people actually talk to Alexa? I mean Siri has been in existence for years and whilst she deals very well with natural language requests I don't find I'm using it. Not on my phone, not on my watch, not whilst I'm driving, not when I'm in the office, and not when I'm in my home/lounge.

And I most definitely would not want some cloud based shopping mall listen to every conversation in my home. Have you checked what data actually leaves you home?
 
Last edited:
dejongj said:
Do people actually talk to Alexa? I mean Siri has been in existence for years and whilst she deals very well with natural language requests I don't find I'm using it. Not on my phone, not on my watch, not whilst I'm driving, not when I'm in the office, and not when I'm in my home/launch.

And I most definitely would want some cloud based shopping mall listen to every conversation in my home. Have you checked what data actually leaves you home?
Click to expand...

This is a fair point, I use Siri sometimes but not frequently.

I guess it's more about controlling music and in future my lights etc for me than doing a shopping list.

I'm tempted to abandon the idea for now until I get some of the home automation that works with it and just use Siri and a Bluetooth speaker.

Cheers
 
I have, and it's the same amount compared to Apple's Siri or Google Now.

With regards to talking to it, I do and know many others who do too, Siri is not convenient and requires physical interaction such as tapping the screen or holding a button, and even then I'm likely to get a "Here's what I found on the web" response. I have an iPhone (for work) and an iPad Mini 4 and I just don't use Siri, too cumbersome and annoying. Alm

Google Now has a far superior system behind it and almost always has the answer or the ability to comprehend what you're referring to, although sometimes feels a little too robot-like.

Alexa on the other-hand doesn't have Googles Knowledge-Graph or some of the little Siri quirks that made it initially appealing, however what is does have is a nice speaker for streaming, a name that doesn't make you feel like a nerd when you use it (hey Siri, ok google anyone?), and an active development community.

If I had to press a button to make it work it'd lose the appeal and convenience for me. Google Home is tempting for me, but not if it would require me to have another music streaming subscription
 
Siri doesn't require a button press since IOS10 FYI.

I just say Hi Siri and she answers, no button.
 
noneforit said:
Hmmmmm maybe it does, I don't recall switching that on though.

Either way, it works without a button push now.
Click to expand...

From memory, after the update to iOS10 there was a prompt asking if you wanted to use "hey siri". If you said no, then you can turn it on in Siri settings.
 
I agree about the knowledge graph, unless it's an app that provides the information it seems pretty dumb at obtaining and presenting it. When it does have an app that integrates with it it is still pretty good. But I just seem to have a mental block to talk out loud and ask my computer to do things in my house. Perhaps I'm getting old.

I most definitely don't use it in the office, it's just not the right thing to do unless part of the disability network.

The wireless integrated speaker may be worth it indeed, especially if it sounds good. I am tempted to go down the Sonos route myself.

Nevertheless I enjoy reading and hearing feedback from actual Alexa users. Ps have you asked her yet what she thinks of Siri and Cortana? Have they ever been to Starbucks together?
 
Neilc28 said:
2 commands too many for me [emoji14]
Click to expand...

'xactly ;) Can't these boxes run macros? Or use a script language?

Talking to some friends who have them yesterday - I bet v2 will be awesome. I'll wait it out and see who winds out of Google and Amazon. My money is on Amazon FWIW.
 
It could previously be done using IFTTT, but as it's not available in the UK yet I've lost the functionality :(
 
dejongj said:
No it doesn't. Works on my phone and watch without power connection.
Click to expand...
Maybe on your phone and watch, but the iPad clearly states it must have the power connected, if that's not the case then Apple need to sort their bloody settings out ;)
 
Hmm, not sure the feature is worthy of purchasing an iPad Pro for... ;)
 
Thanks for all your help.

Decided to wait for a while, I can get Siri to play music via the Bluetooth for now and I feel the Alexa thing is just not good enough yet.

I had a play with one in Currys and it just didn't do it for me, perhaps if I had the home automation stuff it would be beneficial but £50 for something I will probably forget to tell to add something to my shopping list doesn't seem worth it.


I suspect Apple are working
On one and considering everything but my car is Apple, I will wait to check theirs out.
 
I've got a Dot. Got it bluetooth linked to my home cinema amp. Just need to say Alexa connect and it turns on the amp and away I go.
 
Ok so I completely ignored what I said and did the opposite.

I bought two Dots, one in the living room and one in our bedroom.

Amazon had a deal on the Philips hue starter kits and like anything remotely technological....I have the bug.

Alexa controls most of the lights in our house and it works reasonably well, seems to be perfect as long as the TV is off as she misses the odd thing otherwise.

We have Spotify so its nice to be able to tell her to 'Play X' and she does it.

The only downside is the speaker in the dot is of little use to play music and the bluetooth adapter I have for my AV Receiver has an 'Auto Reconnect' feature which means we have to power it off when we don't want to use Alexa via the Amp.
 
Post Xmas and a la k of gadgets means I am looking at one of these.
Whilst the speaker on the echo does not get eave reviews, it's not a bother to me as I have a soundlink, and the smaller height of the dot is appealing for .

What I plan to use it for is to answer questions (I have an inquisitive 6yr old) and to stream music.

Anyone that has one let me know if the limits do requirements will be met, or if this is just going to use another electricity socket in the house and then join the other plastic and electronic shi7e that I have a habit of accumulating?
 
My 11yr old frequently asks it questions, usually regarding homework, and most times it has quite a good response, about on par if not better than Siri, just remember it's no Google Knowledge Graph!

Speaker is adequate (on the full-size), not Bose level obviously, and most of the reviews are done by people who did not know there was an EQ initially, so sound can be tweaked.

I use mine for controlling my lights, heating, random questions, timers (a lot!), Calendar events, streaming music (probably listen to 10x as much music now via Prime) and sometimes news/weather.

To me, it was worth it, and is used far more frequently that Google now or Siri.
 
Thanks for the insight.
I have Prime, but no Spotify or lights/heating that is wifi connected.
Will this be the floodgates of starting an 'Internet of things' in my home?
WiFi is decent in my house so I have no worries on that side.
Winder if it will play tracks from my Nas?
 
It won't play songs from your NAS directly, however you can using Sonos or syncing your NAS with your Amazon Music (if the NAS supports it.

My NAS is overflowing with music, however I find it difficult to find music NOT ready to stream from prime directly, there are of course exceptions, such as a lack of AC/DC, but that's nothing I can't solve by uploading my AC/DC album to my music in Amazons Cloud

It won't be the floodgates to IoT's, I had just moved into my new house and hated the thermostat, and was looking at dimmable lights. Only thing I dislike about the hue lights are the price! But there are some fantastic deals about. You may be encouraged by the possibilities now that IFTTT is available for echo in the UK again though.
 
Received an Echo for Christmas and finding it pretty good, sound quality is fine, not there with the Sonos we have in the front room but it was less than 50% of the cost!
Using it mainly for Spotify and Amazon Music but also find it handy for listening to the radio (as opposed to having to stream via the laptop), will possibly be of more use when I start back at work after New Year and I'm wanting to get a news update in the morning.
 
Love mine. Gets used for Spotify, podcasts, radio, alarms, news and proving me right on film release dates.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top