Amazon Echo
Amazon Echo sounds interesting. It would be great if this could be used as a controller for Sonos.
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I am not dismissve of Echo but I do lay a sense of perspective over it.
It is only available in the US. It is not available to the much larger market that is Europe.
Lets look at Europe.
Got the 3rd generation Kindle.
Only got the Amazon phone as they had to shift stock.
Got 2nd generation tablets that were a disaster until Amazon decided to provide a tablet for its intended use of media consumption. Software that is a mess.
Everything is released in the US first followed by global release once they have sorted all the bugs out.
Amazon changed Audible so it doesn't work with Sonos - which, for some people, is bizarrely Sonos' fault.
There are now 3 echo products. How many will there be in five years. How many home automation devices / systems are there? How long will it be before Amazon change the firmware - to get rid of all those bugs that are in it - which makes it inoperable with other "partners".
It is new. The novelty factor hasn't worn off.
Nowhere else in the world has access to any Echo device. Will any be rolled out globally (Germany and the UK being very large markets for Amazon) and how will it be received?
There are so many variables. Other "partners" that use Echo do not sell premium priced hardware which is a system in its own right. Why is a static voice controlled device better than a mobile voice controlled device? What integration should Sonos pursue. A static device in one room or a mobile one.
It is only available in the US. It is not available to the much larger market that is Europe.
Lets look at Europe.
Got the 3rd generation Kindle.
Only got the Amazon phone as they had to shift stock.
Got 2nd generation tablets that were a disaster until Amazon decided to provide a tablet for its intended use of media consumption. Software that is a mess.
Everything is released in the US first followed by global release once they have sorted all the bugs out.
Amazon changed Audible so it doesn't work with Sonos - which, for some people, is bizarrely Sonos' fault.
There are now 3 echo products. How many will there be in five years. How many home automation devices / systems are there? How long will it be before Amazon change the firmware - to get rid of all those bugs that are in it - which makes it inoperable with other "partners".
It is new. The novelty factor hasn't worn off.
Nowhere else in the world has access to any Echo device. Will any be rolled out globally (Germany and the UK being very large markets for Amazon) and how will it be received?
There are so many variables. Other "partners" that use Echo do not sell premium priced hardware which is a system in its own right. Why is a static voice controlled device better than a mobile voice controlled device? What integration should Sonos pursue. A static device in one room or a mobile one.
btw, if you are good with computers, you can create a custom Echo Skill to control Sonos. You have to install a node.js app on a home server/computer, and do some other stuff. I haven't done it yet, too much work, and too likely to break with software updates. But it seems like people have people relatively successful.
From my understanding, these Echo Skills need a piece of hardware on your home network to control iot devices, and without some kind of hub, I don't see how Sonos would be able to do that. Hopefully Sonos will be able to figure something out soon.
From my understanding, these Echo Skills need a piece of hardware on your home network to control iot devices, and without some kind of hub, I don't see how Sonos would be able to do that. Hopefully Sonos will be able to figure something out soon.
Ask a question you know the answer to is a pointless exercise.
Alexa what is vexed? It's a small feathered mammal indigenous to Patagonia.
I find you are very dismissive of the Echo. Have you actually tried one for a couple days? I admit I was skeptical of the Echo at first, but after reading so many positive reviews online, I finally caved about a month ago. And I have to admit, it is truly awesome. I have it hooked up to my lights, my TV with Harmony, alarms, timer, news, weather, quick facts, Uber, IFTTT, Spotify. Like other have posted here, my family, including myself, is turning to the echo way more often now than the Sonos for music, news, podcasts. It is handsfree, quick, accurate, and easy to use.
The Echo isn't going anywhere. It sells out every time new inventory is listed online, it sells for a premium on ebay, and it has Amazon's backing it. Unlike Apple, they are open to competing third party providers (they added Spotify when Amazon has prime music, Skills are open to anyone who wants to develop for them). The Dot is a step in the right direction for people like us who have heavily invested in Sonos, but it isn't a true integration (Echo can't send commands to Sonos), and in its current form, will not make for a user friendly experience.
I find the quality very close to a PLAY:5. At a quarter of the price and with all of its other features, this model could be the end of Sonos if they don't react quickly.
You can't be serious! LOL.
My sister has an Echo, and though a great bit of hardware, audio quality is not its strong point. I would put it the same as a higher quality Bluetooth speaker. The Play:1 is worlds better, never mind the Play:5.
I find the quality very close to a PLAY:5. At a quarter of the price and with all of its other features, this model could be the end of Sonos if they don't react quickly.
You can't be serious! LOL.
Although I agree that SONOS should integrate with Amazon Echo, I completely understand why they won't announce a new feature until it is in public beta. Two examples where SONOS has gotten into big trouble are Audible and Spotify folders. These were existing features that were removed; but the ire SONOS invoked in these two cases is probably not a lot more than SONOS failing to deliver a new feature that they had promised.
I just hope that Echo support and Audible are moved into public beta soon. 😉
I just hope that Echo support and Audible are moved into public beta soon. 😉
It was the right answer because you knew what vexed meant. If you didn't know the answer, was it correct?
Ask a question you know the answer to is a pointless exercise.
Alexa what is vexed? It's a small feathered mammal indigenous to Patagonia.
Ask a question you know the answer to is a pointless exercise.
Alexa what is vexed? It's a small feathered mammal indigenous to Patagonia.
Userlevel 7
+22
Because it's all just very gimmicky and nobody knows how long they will last or be supported for. But mainly it's about quality - sound quality.
Why not go for Sonos Plays rather than 3rd party speakers? No need for all those sparkies rummaging through your house and you have serious flexibility with location and excellent sound performance
Why not go for Sonos Plays rather than 3rd party speakers? No need for all those sparkies rummaging through your house and you have serious flexibility with location and excellent sound performance
We'll have to see. Echo is very fast, truly amazing in my opinion. For instance, my daughter asked me what the definition of "vexed" was. Instead of telling her a not-so-great definition from memory, I went to get my phone to do a search. Instead, I simply asked echo: "Alexa, what is the definition of 'vexed'?", and she answered very shortly after I asked. That's amazing, considering they're send data to the cloud, doing voice recognition, determining what the question was, looking for the answer, and sending the answer back to the echo.
For me, it's a moot point about whether the integration between the echo and sonos would be good. The issue for me is that I'm trying to convince my wife to pay electricians to run speaker wire to four bedrooms and possibly the kitchen, and then subsequently invest in sonos amps and speakers in those locations. That's thousands of dollars. When she can just stick a $200 speaker somewhere and ask it to play music, why would she invest thousands to have something with less functionality?
And then there's the new Dot:
https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=14047587011&ref=ODS_HA_P_surl
A small Echo that also outputs to a speaker system. If this doesn't have sonos shaking in its boots, I don't know what will.
For me, it's a moot point about whether the integration between the echo and sonos would be good. The issue for me is that I'm trying to convince my wife to pay electricians to run speaker wire to four bedrooms and possibly the kitchen, and then subsequently invest in sonos amps and speakers in those locations. That's thousands of dollars. When she can just stick a $200 speaker somewhere and ask it to play music, why would she invest thousands to have something with less functionality?
And then there's the new Dot:
https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=14047587011&ref=ODS_HA_P_surl
A small Echo that also outputs to a speaker system. If this doesn't have sonos shaking in its boots, I don't know what will.
I tried controlling Apple Music via Siri a few times. The experience was awkward and very frustrating; doubt Echo would prove much better for music. Perhaps if one listens to a very limited range of music over and over again; I don't.
This thread shows another example of Sonos users looking to expanding the possibilities of their speakers by integration with other solutions. Personally I can think of 3 or 4 integrations I would like to see without much thought. Home Automation or IOT is clearly the future direction of technology within our homes. The question is does Sonos realize this and will they be complacent or will they fight to maintain their leadership in the market?
I have the same challenges in my house. Echo is easy to use. Sonos is not just harder to use than Echo it is harder to use than it used to be. I am desperately trying to replace the failing CR200s and "family rejected" iPad controllers with used CR100s to try to win people back to Sonos but I don't know if it will work. I will probably end up keeping just a few zones of Sonos for when I want to crank things up but for day-to-day listening even I am drawn to the ease of using the Echo, especially as I get more comfortable using it to manage lights, read books, give me the news, etc. It's just a more natural user experience.
The implementation of an Echo control for Sonos would certainly be well received in my house.
The implementation of an Echo control for Sonos would certainly be well received in my house.
I'm trying to convince my wife to install speaker wire and multiple channels of sonos into our (already built) house. We just received an Amazon Echo, and now I can control my Insteon lights using it. My wife now no longer uses the sonos in the living room (we have an open floor plan so the system in the living room is basically the system we use for the kitchen) and instead uses the Echo to play music. Without Echo/Sonos integration, there's no way for me to convince her to spend thousands to put in wiring, speakers, and sonos. Even I would rather talk to the Echo than find our iPad, open the Sonos app, find what I want, and play it. I'd much rather say "Alexa, play dinner music playlist on sonos in living room".
tl;np;dr.
wow - I bet some wish they could take back their posts on this one
or maybe I have a different view of things - sonos is nice but its no platform to base anything on other than listening to music or maybe a book - if you are willing to pay a ton of money for fake surround sound, add tv to the list
sonos has announced they are happy where they are - no support for surround sound - their target market is simplicity seekers - and its a valid market - simplicity does not offend me until I have to sacrifice function - but that is just me
I won't be expanding my sonos any more - but would like to use what I have with echo - and it can be done, but the process is clunky and less than elegant
seems to be two ways to interface products to echo - with 'skills', you would say 'alexa, tell sonos to...' or 'alexa, ask sonos to...' - it might sound like a small thing, but its the camel's nose under the tent - the goal is to know what to do using a casual speaking style - not formulaic structures to listen to your sonos - I suspect 'skills' are hosted on amazon
my home automation interfaces without using skills - 'alexa turn off the family room lights' does turn off all the lights in the family room without 'alexa tell izzy to turn off the family room lights' - but 'alexa set the den lights to off' works - and many other iterations of the phrase - ecobee has taken this path too for its thermostats
I look at electronics with an eye to their ability to seamlessly integrate with other electronics - I started down the sonos path after learning it could be integrated with my home automation, even though it was somewhat clunky - with echo, my focus has changed from basing life on my home automation controller to echo - some people are satisfied to have several 'apps' on smartphones and tablets - that is not George jetson - fact is, jetson was a nudist and had nowhere to stash devices - and most people don't pick up their phone when going to the kitchen for a beer - so the answer to 'what could be simpler than (walking to the speaker and) pressing a button?' is 'alexa play...'
echo is a very young product - and already has vendors in production and others working on it - one problem for integrating with sonos (or any sound product) is that blasting tunes on sonos might prevent echo from hearing your 'alexa stop' - or change sources - or grouping/ungrouping speakers - or lower the volume - until next week, I only have one echo - not sure how wedded multiple devices will be but if I am speaking to alexa in my bedroom, I'd like her to act on the speakers in my bedroom without saying 'alexa play blahblah in my bedroom' - not sure that is possible yet because echo might not know where she is (oh no - I hope she only responds locally when I talk to her and not on all the echos)
sonos should never install voice recognition into their devices - there are platforms better at it than them and more appropriate - the array of microphones are very good in the echo and no one wants to walk over to their speakers to use them - sonos said they will not dip into video even enough to support functions directly related to their product's purpose; producing sound - if they are wise, they would not venture into areas that are secondary to the purpose of their products - especially when others have invented that wheel and provide an easy interface into it
adding echo integration to their product would be a nice value added feature without requiring them to venture into technology outside their core products - echo is not trying to compete with sonos - any sonos customer would prefer to hear the quality sound sonos produces but might settle for the sound of echo in the kitchen rather than chasing down a phone or ipad to hear a few minutes of tunes while preparing lunch
amazon, google, etc. are big and rich because people want their products and services - and are willing to pay for them - nothing sinister in that - echo is not a device designed to screw you out of money by ordering products from amazon - nor is it an altruistic act designed to raise money for funding cancer research - no one has to hate sonos because they like the echo - I would bet sonos has discussed integration with echo - I would not be surprised to see at least a 'skill' if not closer integration - some people rule out products that don't integrate - I do - wish I found echo before I found sonos
my guess is that we will see sonos integrate with echo with limited functions initially - and expanding into a mature integration over time - there will be problems to solve ('alexa play Pandora...' over sonos or echo?) - but those can be overcome
(vizio has a 5.1 real surround sound soundbar that integrates will with vizio televisions - since vizio tvs DO pass surround over optical - and have for years)
((snicker - my little dig))
(((now we need an I/r blaster with wifi - simple integration to echo with that)))
or maybe I have a different view of things - sonos is nice but its no platform to base anything on other than listening to music or maybe a book - if you are willing to pay a ton of money for fake surround sound, add tv to the list
sonos has announced they are happy where they are - no support for surround sound - their target market is simplicity seekers - and its a valid market - simplicity does not offend me until I have to sacrifice function - but that is just me
I won't be expanding my sonos any more - but would like to use what I have with echo - and it can be done, but the process is clunky and less than elegant
seems to be two ways to interface products to echo - with 'skills', you would say 'alexa, tell sonos to...' or 'alexa, ask sonos to...' - it might sound like a small thing, but its the camel's nose under the tent - the goal is to know what to do using a casual speaking style - not formulaic structures to listen to your sonos - I suspect 'skills' are hosted on amazon
my home automation interfaces without using skills - 'alexa turn off the family room lights' does turn off all the lights in the family room without 'alexa tell izzy to turn off the family room lights' - but 'alexa set the den lights to off' works - and many other iterations of the phrase - ecobee has taken this path too for its thermostats
I look at electronics with an eye to their ability to seamlessly integrate with other electronics - I started down the sonos path after learning it could be integrated with my home automation, even though it was somewhat clunky - with echo, my focus has changed from basing life on my home automation controller to echo - some people are satisfied to have several 'apps' on smartphones and tablets - that is not George jetson - fact is, jetson was a nudist and had nowhere to stash devices - and most people don't pick up their phone when going to the kitchen for a beer - so the answer to 'what could be simpler than (walking to the speaker and) pressing a button?' is 'alexa play...'
echo is a very young product - and already has vendors in production and others working on it - one problem for integrating with sonos (or any sound product) is that blasting tunes on sonos might prevent echo from hearing your 'alexa stop' - or change sources - or grouping/ungrouping speakers - or lower the volume - until next week, I only have one echo - not sure how wedded multiple devices will be but if I am speaking to alexa in my bedroom, I'd like her to act on the speakers in my bedroom without saying 'alexa play blahblah in my bedroom' - not sure that is possible yet because echo might not know where she is (oh no - I hope she only responds locally when I talk to her and not on all the echos)
sonos should never install voice recognition into their devices - there are platforms better at it than them and more appropriate - the array of microphones are very good in the echo and no one wants to walk over to their speakers to use them - sonos said they will not dip into video even enough to support functions directly related to their product's purpose; producing sound - if they are wise, they would not venture into areas that are secondary to the purpose of their products - especially when others have invented that wheel and provide an easy interface into it
adding echo integration to their product would be a nice value added feature without requiring them to venture into technology outside their core products - echo is not trying to compete with sonos - any sonos customer would prefer to hear the quality sound sonos produces but might settle for the sound of echo in the kitchen rather than chasing down a phone or ipad to hear a few minutes of tunes while preparing lunch
amazon, google, etc. are big and rich because people want their products and services - and are willing to pay for them - nothing sinister in that - echo is not a device designed to screw you out of money by ordering products from amazon - nor is it an altruistic act designed to raise money for funding cancer research - no one has to hate sonos because they like the echo - I would bet sonos has discussed integration with echo - I would not be surprised to see at least a 'skill' if not closer integration - some people rule out products that don't integrate - I do - wish I found echo before I found sonos
my guess is that we will see sonos integrate with echo with limited functions initially - and expanding into a mature integration over time - there will be problems to solve ('alexa play Pandora...' over sonos or echo?) - but those can be overcome
(vizio has a 5.1 real surround sound soundbar that integrates will with vizio televisions - since vizio tvs DO pass surround over optical - and have for years)
((snicker - my little dig))
(((now we need an I/r blaster with wifi - simple integration to echo with that)))
Another interesting user interface might be the Nucleus voice controlled Wi-Fi intercom:
http://nucleuslife.com/
http://nucleuslife.com/
Amazon Echo now supports Spotify.
I just got an echo, I love my sonos system, after one voice command for echo to play something relaxing and it doing it I immediately yearned for it to control my sonos system. I really hope they get this set up, as like other posters, if amazon sets something up like this I'd probably ditch sonos
I would be surprised if the microphones in a Play5 Gen2 could be used to add voice control very easily. I don't think the Play5 Gen2 has the horsepower needed to support voice control locally nor do I think Sonos has the cloud infrastructure resources to implement an Amazon type solution anytime soon. Unless there is already a private beta or a demo next week at CES I don't think Sonos could ramp up a voice control solution fast enough to be relevant.
Regarding the microphone concerns I would point out that any cell phone microphone can be exploited to monitor everything you say and represents a much greater risk than the microphone on an Amazon Echo. On the other hand, nobody knows what the allegedly dormant microphone on a Play5 Gen2 is really doing... are you certain they aren't already listening?
Regarding the microphone concerns I would point out that any cell phone microphone can be exploited to monitor everything you say and represents a much greater risk than the microphone on an Amazon Echo. On the other hand, nobody knows what the allegedly dormant microphone on a Play5 Gen2 is really doing... are you certain they aren't already listening?
Userlevel 7
+22
I imagine since the cell phone is connected via wi-fi to the Sonos system this should not be a huge leap in technology. If it can be done easily in the car, why can't this easily be done in the home?
I am sure the Star Trek home will be coming in the near future and Sonos will be behind if they don't jump on this wave sooner than later.
Careful you don't get beamed up.
BTW, I don't believe any of the Sonos units (Apart from the Play 5 Gen 2) have a microphone. And what if you want a private conversation? (Mr Spock, here are your STD test results"!)
I just got an Amazon Echo for Christmas and love it. It would be amazing if Sonos and Echo could link up. It would truly be a Star Trek home. In particular I would love to be anywhere in the house where Sonos speakers are located and be able to ask Alexa a question or play music or turn on or off the television using voice command. Most useful would be the ability to use any Sonos speaker as a speaker phone just like I do in my car.
I imagine since the cell phone is connected via wi-fi to the Sonos system this should not be a huge leap in technology. If it can be done easily in the car, why can't this easily be done in the home?
I am sure the Star Trek home will be coming in the near future and Sonos will be behind if they don't jump on this wave sooner than later.
I imagine since the cell phone is connected via wi-fi to the Sonos system this should not be a huge leap in technology. If it can be done easily in the car, why can't this easily be done in the home?
I am sure the Star Trek home will be coming in the near future and Sonos will be behind if they don't jump on this wave sooner than later.
Userlevel 3
+7
Sonos?
+1 for IFTTT
Userlevel 2
Echo is very interesting and certainly integration with Sonos would make sense for many users. We at Netonos.com are very interested in voice recognition control and may look into this after we get Netonos Note released.
Maybe Sonos is considering such control as well. Roku has added it to their streaming device recently. It just has to work well or people will abandon it quickly.
Bob
[FONT="Arial"][SIZE="4"][/size][/font]
Maybe Sonos is considering such control as well. Roku has added it to their streaming device recently. It just has to work well or people will abandon it quickly.
Bob
[FONT="Arial"][SIZE="4"][/size][/font]
I think general control of Sonos is unlikely. To select music from our local network, it'd have to preload the metatdata to the cloud to match against. They'd be happy to have you upload your music to their cloud though. It's about lock-in to their services more than shopping. ("Alexa buy me a laptop!" isn't that useful.) As the younger generations move to cloud based music, it's important to capture them.
Then there are the many apps on Sonos that all have different UIs. The apps I've seen for Echo are mostly "pick a channel", not searching large databases unique to each user.
They might let it output something like Bluetooth or AirPlay someday. But the stream is going to start in their cloud.
Also, it gives them data to train voice recognition algorithms against. I read that that was a major benefit (perhaps the primary reason) for Google Voice.
Then there are the many apps on Sonos that all have different UIs. The apps I've seen for Echo are mostly "pick a channel", not searching large databases unique to each user.
They might let it output something like Bluetooth or AirPlay someday. But the stream is going to start in their cloud.
Also, it gives them data to train voice recognition algorithms against. I read that that was a major benefit (perhaps the primary reason) for Google Voice.
Userlevel 2
Playing exactly what you asked for?
My experience is the opposite of most here, I procured the Amazon Echo 1st. Yesterday I installed a Sonos Connect and hooked it into my current home audio system (wired and wireless). I now have control of the input from my tablet, a fabulous upgrade for me.
However I came to the forums to see if anyone had done a successful Echo/Sonos integration because I found myself wishing for voice command of my sonos play rather than reaching for a volume controller.
After using the Echo I get annoyed by anything that requires me to pick up a device to adjust volume or flip a switch ("Alexa turn off lights" is my favorite command before bed).
I don't have the chops to write an app but I sure hope someone does (Sonos?).
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