Answered

Beam + Port/Connect in same room - Alexa setup

  • 16 March 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 80 views

In my living room I have both my TV, with a Beam for sound, and my hi-fi (turntable, amplifier, passive speakers). I’m looking at getting a Port or Connect for my hi-fi to both stream music to the system from Spotify and also to integrate the turntable into my multiroom system.

I want all music to go through the Port/hi-fi, and all TV to go through the Beam. So my understanding is that I would just create two ‘rooms’ - one for TV and one for Music?

What I’m unsure about though is the Alexa integration. The Port obviously doesn’t have Alexa integration and the Beam does. I can connect an Echo device to the Port, but having two voice devices in the same room could be annoying.

So, is there a way of setting things up so that if I ask Alexa through the Beam to play music, it plays on the hi-fi instead? Or would I need to disable Alexa on the Beam and connect an Echo device to the Port, and use that for all voice-control in this room? Or something else?!

icon

Best answer by GuitarSuperstar 16 March 2021, 16:46

View original

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

3 replies

Userlevel 7

Alexa on the Beam alone is sufficient. You will be able to play music to either the Beam or the Port (or both) with Alexa just using the Beam’s microphone.

Thanks @GuitarSuperstar. Will I need to specify ‘play blah on Port’, or can I somehow set all Alexa requests to go to the Port without having to specify? (Trying to make as idiot-proof and user-friendly as possible)

Userlevel 7

You can set a preferred speaker in the Alexa app but I think it has to be an Echo device or Alexa-compatible speaker. So more than likely you will have to specify the device… “Alexa, play [song title] in the [Sonos room the Port is associated with].”

https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-an-alexa-preferred-speaker-and-how-to-set-one-up-4783787