So with Sonos integrating Amazon Echo within their eco system a couple of questions: - If I install an Amazon Echo Dot in each room that I have Sonos speakers in will I be able to assign that particular dot to that rooms speakers? For example, I don't want to ask Alexa a question and then have all of the households Sonos speakers respond. - I assume using the Dots that as well as having full control of Sonos Music system I will also have full use of the usual Amazon Echo services i.e. Alexa, what's the weather forecast, and it will use that particular rooms Sonos speakers to respond? The potential is quite compelling if it's implemented well but good to get some clarification.

Amazon Echo / Dot and Sonos Integration

Userlevel 7

+22

Chris
Lead Maestro
17582 replies
7 years ago
1 March 2017

Sonos doesn't give exact timetables for all the reasons you mentioned. Unlike some of their competitors, when they say they are doing something they do it.

great reply. now you are a Sonos hero.
but I remember a statement about "beta at the end of 2016 , live in 2017"

Last I checked, it is still 2017. Seems like they are right on target.

Seriously, Sonos doesn't give specific dates for the very reason that if they were to predict March of 2017, you would be here today saying "Where is it!!!???" Instead, Sonos keeps quiet and relies upon internal software testing goals, rather than publicly announced dates. Both the public and Sonos benefits from this, in that their software is tested properly before release. Unless you would rather it be released when the public expects it, regardless of whether it actually works?

(Though they probably never actually switched. Nobody really does.)

I'm always amused by the "... or the bunny gets it" threats.

Actually not all crickets with HEOs....they actually put out a public statement that while they had announced and promised Google Cast compatibility they WOULD NOT introduce the functionality

True. My mistake.

Userlevel 2

+1

bamber2000
Trending Lyricist I
17 replies
7 years ago
12 March 2017

They'll release it when they think it's good enough and we'll all benefit from them doing their best to get it right. In the interim I shall enjoy the music I know and explore that which I do not.

Sonos never said "early 2017". They said "general release in 2017".

https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-alexa-coming-to-sonos-music-systems/

This article says "expanded to public release in early 2017". Maybe the article was wrong, but I'm pretty confident I heard this from multiple sources last year.

The only official Sonos document stated what I quoted. Everything else is second hand, which given the state of the press nowadays, can be assumed to be sketchy. There are in fact articles where the original "quote" of "early 2017" has been subsequntly corrected. Me, I also assumed early 2017 and was wrong, so now I trust only the original source.

Either way, it's coming. Kvetching over the intended release dates isn't going to add or subtract a single minute on the engineering development time. It will be here when it is ready, no sooner.

@biffta, I'd disagree with that. Although many can understand that the process of bringing a new product or upgrade to market is completely under control, there are many customers that really don't want to hear it. They just want it now and think the company should move the moon, no matter the cost, to bring it to them. There are still customers out there are upset that Sonos didn't do this in the first qtr of this year, even though Sonos never said they would. They were bothered enough by it that they promised to switch to Apple homepod, even though it doesn't exist and wasn't likely to come out before Sonos integration.

Then there is the fact there is a company has to be concerned about the track record. A customer may be ok with a missed deadline once, but if it becomes a pattern, then they start losing faith in the company. It makes more sense to avoid that.

Then there is marketing. What's going to keep customers more interested? You could argue that Apple's early announcement of the Homepod is going to make the actual realize feel a little anti-climatic. Rumors and gossip can keep customers interested for longer...it seems.

But where is the downside to all this? It's possible customers may buy something else why they wait, but I don't know that it applies for this release, since there isn't something else to buy at the moment. Not equivalent anyway.

That said, I do like how Amazon seems to do it. They don't do press releases till they are very close. And then they give themselves a buffer and deliver early if it's possible.

J

I agree entirely with @melvimbe. It is certain customers who are themselves acting like children who can't wait for Christmas. ''I want it NOW - waaaaaaa'.

Are we nearly there yet?

G

+1

There are probably 2 different markets for these speakers. There is the home theater/stereo market. Then there's the multi-room market. Amazon (Google and Apple too) are taking a large chunk of the multi-room market. If people go to Amazon for the multi-room aspect, then they might be less likely to go to Sonos for the "high end" speaker.

I don't think it's quite that simple. First off, people have varying levels of quality requirements. That means many won't us echo speakers until they vastly improve the quality. Second, people are going to look for different features in the same speaker system. Meaning, some may be fine with amazon for multi-room, but what it incorporated in home theatre, so opt for sonos. Then there is cost as a factor.

I think we're saying the same thing here. I mentioned there are 2 markets, 1)multi-room and 2)high end home theater.

That said, I think you are generally right. There are people who may have gone for sonos that will be satisfied with Amazon echo system now. No doubt. However, I'd argue that Amazon expanded the market and will bring more customers to Sonos that may never have been in the market if it were not for voice control. I'd guess Sonos will gain as many customers as it theoretically loses...if not more.

I disagree with this. Sonos' key feature was the multi-room aspect, which previously led people to buy their higher end products because they already had the Play1. Now, if customers get an Echo rather than a Play1, they're not tied in to having to get the higher end Sonos product.

Sonos has quality speakers. But their real selling point, what set them apart form their competitors, was the multi-room aspect. Now I fear they've missed the boat by not getting into voice control sooner and on a larger scale.

I'd say it is part of it. There is also ease of control and music selection, as well as good quality. Really, sonos was losing some customers to echo before echo went multiroom, just because echo was even easier to control.

I'm speaking directly from my experience in this regard. I was originally intrigued by Echo. But the fact that Sonos was able to do multi-room while Echo could not, was absolutely what caused me to go with Sonos.

U

I agree entirely with @melvimbe. It is certain customers who are themselves acting like children who can't wait for Christmas. ''I want it NOW - waaaaaaa'.

Are we nearly there yet?

Blame the customer doesn't seem like the best strategy. Sonos could have said "late" 2017 way back at the August 2016 announcement and set expectations correctly. If they delivered early they would have been heroes and if they didn't they still would be right on time. I think they just didn't want to admit how long this was going to take for fear people would jump ship so they kind of let people talk publicly about early 2017 without attempting to correct them.

I do agree that Amazon has been very market savvy this year:

-They release some new product or feature every month so people's focus doesn't wander.

-When they announce something it is available within weeks not months. Sometimes it is available immediately.

Also they have been very good at quickly responding to new market challenges:

-Google Home added phone calling - Echo can now do in-app phone calls, video calls, calls to any outside number and soon make and receive calls from a land line.

-Apple said any digital assistants should have a screen - Amazon released (not just announced) the Show.

-Google bragged that you can change the skin on a Google Home - Echo Gen2 has interchangeable skins.

-Apple emphasized speaker fidelity - Echo Gen2 and Echo+ have improved fidelity AND at a lower price not only than Apple but lower than their own Gen1 product AND will ship at the end of this month while Apple is still shooting for December. All the new Echos also have a line-out jack so there is plenty of flexibility to connect to upscale amps and speakers if desired.

-Amazon was criticized for not providing a way to block unwanted callers on their new phone feature. They didn't argue with users trying to justify their bad design but rather just fixed it within a couple of weeks.

-The Echo was not taken seriously by many because you could not group them to play in sync. Now you can and as a bonus those sync groups are persistent and do not have to be undone to play a speaker by itself if you want.

I don't know how long they can keep it up but so far Amazon seems to have the right formula for delivering what they promise at a pace that matches customer expectations.

I agree jgatie....to state the obvious.

To be fair though, the comparison wasn't really dot to P:1, but the new Echo ($100) to P:1 which is a lot better sound, but still not a P:1 if reviews are to be believed. Probably much more exceptable to a lot of potential customers. Sonos would then need to focus on home theatre integration, stereo pairs, the higher end speaker options, and more music sources as the differentiaton.

M

You don't need a speaker with built-in microphones to voice control it. Almost any single Alexa device, like the free Amazon app for Android & iPhones will let you control all your existing Sonos players.

Separate the voice/audio user interface from the things being controlled.

S

+1

This is awesome. owned a few echos, but just bought a dot to control my sonos arsenal. match made in heaven IMO.

Not interested in the integrated mic/speaker unit, but could see a bunch of folks new to sonos go for the higher end speaker version of alexa. will be a nice gateway drug for sonos products. 🙂

Userlevel 7

+26

Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
12372 replies
6 years ago
4 October 2017
Answer

We can mark this request/question as answered now! Alexa integration is now live with our beta skill for Amazon Alexa. Check out the announcement here. Also, there's some info on the Sonos One here.

At this time, it is not possible to assign a Dot to certain rooms or functions. I have a Dot upstairs and an Echo downstairs. I can't assign the Dot to turn on the bedroom tv by just saying "Turn on tv". I have to make a Harmony skill called Bedroom TV and say "Alexa, turn on bedroom tv." Same with the lights.

Whether this will change in the future? Who knows ( and I imagine Sonos to be its usual tight lipped selves). Though with Amazon now selling 6 packs of Dots, it's obvious they want one in every room, so individual function assignments would be a natural progression.

S

Userlevel 1

+2

At this time, it is not possible to assign a Dot to certain rooms or functions. I have a Dot upstairs and an Echo downstairs. I can't assign the Dot to turn on the bedroom tv by just saying "Turn on tv". I have to make a Harmony skill called Bedroom TV and say "Alexa, turn on bedroom tv." Same with the lights.

Whether this will change in the future? Who knows ( and I imagine Sonos to be its usual tight lipped selves). Though with Amazon now selling 6 packs of Dots, it's obvious they want one in every room, so individual function assignments would be a natural progression.

Surely though it would be madness to have all speakers answer a question asked in one specific room. For example, if you had eight rooms with Sonos speakers yet I was in the kitchen and asked Alexis what the weather forecast was the rest of the household may not appreciate being rudely disturbed by all the other rooms Sonos speakers responding to that question - I just want the kitchen Sonos speakers to respond? Maybe I have the wrong end of the stick here?

I have no idea what the Sonos integration will be. I've only described what it does now. We should probably hold off until the beta is launched before we start coming up with nightmare scenarios, eh?

M

@jgatie i think youre confused. the dots are all individually assigned and always have been. if anything you cant CONNECT echos. if you ask the echo upstairs a question, only the one upstairs will reply. you have to make the harmony skill regardless of how many echos you had. i have multiple dots connected to multiple speakers in each room and theyre all independent of each other. i CANT daisy chain them like the sonos. i think what spcdust is trying to ask is if sonos will be working the software on their end so the entire system isnt connected by default and the speakers themselves can be individually assigned, as if they were bluetooth, for example, without having to go into the app manually every time. not the dots. the dots are all independent of each other. always have been.

Userlevel 7

+22

Stuart_W
World-Class Superstar
4124 replies
7 years ago
14 September 2016

@jgatie i think youre confused. the dots are all individually assigned and always have been. if anything you cant CONNECT echos. if you ask the echo upstairs a question, only the one upstairs will reply. you have to make the harmony skill regardless of how many echos you had. i have multiple dots connected to multiple speakers in each room and theyre all independent of each other. i CANT daisy chain them like the sonos. i think what spcdust is trying to ask is if sonos will be working the software on their end so the entire system isnt connected by default and the speakers themselves can be individually assigned, as if they were bluetooth, for example, without having to go into the app manually every time. not the dots. the dots are all independent of each other. always have been.

Yeah, and what jgatie is saying is we'll know when we know

Are we there yet

Are we there yet

Are we there yet

Userlevel 7

+22

Chris
Lead Maestro
17582 replies
7 years ago
14 September 2016

Let me give this thow at it.

If you ask an Amazon Dot a question it will respond using its own internal speaker. If you want a Sonos speaker to answer the question instead you have to hard wire the dot to a play:5 (or whatever else) and set to autoplay to the speaker you want.

I do not believe Sonos integration will add onto those facts above. Future Sonos integration I believe will focus on utilizing Echo to control sonos units. I do not believe future integration will push the Amazon Dot voice to the Sonos speakers wirelessly.

What you should be able to do on any dot in your home is once integration is in place I would hope we get something like - Alexa tell Sonos to play Playlist 1 on Bedroom. Alexa tell Sonos to pause Bedrrom. Alexa tell Sonos to play bedroom.

The big question mark is how do you search songs etc. and will you have full access to searching sonos partner music. Like Alexa tell Sonos bedroom to search for artist, song on Apple Music. Gets complicated we'll have to wait and see.

In short Dots respond independently and via their own internal speaker (and output) but have ability to control other devices across home via skills and home or automation plugins. Sonos integration should be a skill that controls sonos itself - not a replacement for internal Dot speaker.

S

Userlevel 1

+2

@jgatie i think youre confused. the dots are all individually assigned and always have been. if anything you cant CONNECT echos. if you ask the echo upstairs a question, only the one upstairs will reply. you have to make the harmony skill regardless of how many echos you had. i have multiple dots connected to multiple speakers in each room and theyre all independent of each other. i CANT daisy chain them like the sonos. i think what spcdust is trying to ask is if sonos will be working the software on their end so the entire system isnt connected by default and the speakers themselves can be individually assigned, as if they were bluetooth, for example, without having to go into the app manually every time. not the dots. the dots are all independent of each other. always have been.

Thanks, you understand the point I am speculating about.

Obviously the Dot is assigned to a specific speaker/s as it is Bluetooth Paired to a 3rd Party speaker OR a direct jack to a 3rd Party speaker. Obviously the Sonos eco system has no Bluetooth and many of the speakers have no jack so I would assume that the Sonos Application could use a speakers specific MAC address "paired" with the Dots MAC address? If however the Echo / Alexa integration is limited solely to controlling Sonos then that's really not that exciting - much better that it's fully integrated so the Sonos speakers act as the voice of Alexa.

Nothing wrong with talking about these things - kind of the point of a discussion forum.

Userlevel 7

+17

nicka99
Local Superstar
1456 replies
7 years ago
14 September 2016

Thanks, you understand the point I am speculating about.

Obviously the Dot is assigned to a specific speaker/s as it is Bluetooth Paired to a 3rd Party speaker OR a direct jack to a 3rd Party speaker. Obviously the Sonos eco system has no Bluetooth and many of the speakers have no jack so I would assume that the Sonos Application would use a speakers specific MAC address "paired" with the Dots MAC address? If however the Echo / Alexa integration is limited only to controlling Sonos then that's really not that exciting - much better that it's fully integrated so the Sonos speakers act as the voice of Alexa.

Nothing wrong with talking about these things - kind of the point of a discussion forum.

I was kinda hoping the same. Ive preordered (UK release) an Echo and a Dot and was hoping I could sit the Dot next to my Play 3 in my bedroom and the Play 3 would just work as if it were wired to the dot and not use its (crappy) internal speaker at all.

S

Userlevel 1

+2

Thanks, you understand the point I am speculating about.

Obviously the Dot is assigned to a specific speaker/s as it is Bluetooth Paired to a 3rd Party speaker OR a direct jack to a 3rd Party speaker. Obviously the Sonos eco system has no Bluetooth and many of the speakers have no jack so I would assume that the Sonos Application would use a speakers specific MAC address "paired" with the Dots MAC address? If however the Echo / Alexa integration is limited only to controlling Sonos then that's really not that exciting - much better that it's fully integrated so the Sonos speakers act as the voice of Alexa.

Nothing wrong with talking about these things - kind of the point of a discussion forum.

I was kinda hoping the same. Ive preordered (UK release) an Echo and a Dot and was hoping I could sit the Dot next to my Play 3 in my bedroom and the Play 3 would just work as if it were wired to the dot and not use its (crappy) internal speaker at all.

That's the sort of integration I'm hoping for, basically placing Dots in rooms with Sonos Speakers, Pairing each Dot up with that rooms speakers and away you go. Now that makes it a compelling proposition and, on the face of it, cannot see technically why that couldn't be achieved as each device has a unique MAC address.

M

no, youre missing the point. if you have a dot connected to a speaker in a room at the moment, right now, right this instant, wether bluetooth or input, all OP has to say IS "alexa play the Beatles" to his bedroom alexa and have it only play in his bedroom. it's not going to play anywhere else BUT his bedroom. given that sonos doesnt do bluetooth and only the play 5 has input, op wants to know if sonos will work on a solution for pairing speakers to echos instead of the main system "hub".

Reading back, I agree with Chris. I don't see Sonos developing voice control to be nothing more than a wireless audio link between an Echo Dot and a single Sonos speaker. I think voice control will be just that, full voice control. So I can be in the bedroom and tell Sonos to turn on music in the kitchen, or turn it off in the bathroom, or group two rooms. Just like I can with my lights, my tv, etc. I think it would be a waste of Sonos' capabilities to just have the Sonos speaker be a higher quality output for a single Echo Dot.

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