Question

First gen Play 5

  • 11 November 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 1922 views

Hi just wondering can i connect an Echo dot to the rear port on a first generation play 5.
Also, if I can, will Alexa come through only the play 5 or the two linked play 1s aswell.

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4 replies

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Yes, you can, and the Dot's output will play on wherever you've routed the Play 5's line-in to go to. So you could have it coming out the Play 5 and other Sonos speakers grouped with it, or any other Sonos speaker that's playing the Play 5 line-in. It works well - it's currently a better sulution than the Sonos One.
Thanks for reply.Have 2 play 1 speakers and im buying a play 5 gen 1 tomorrow.Just wanted to be sure no update killed that work around.Was goin to buy the play one but i hear its getting bad reviews.Using the dot with my play ones and i think the integration is very bad after waiting all year for it:@
Hi just wondering can i connect an Echo dot to the rear port on a first generation play 5. Also, if I can, will Alexa come through only the play 5 or the two linked play 1s as well.

Actually this is what I am doing as my temporary workaround until the Alexa skill gets out of beta. It may not be the best answer for everybody but it but provides a number of features that are valuable to me including:

-As you point out, the S5 (Play5 Gen1) has a line-in jack so it can accept a wired connection from an Echo Dot. It is also shallow enough that I was able to replace my Play1s on narrow shelves and fireplace mantels.

-All audio, including Alexa responses are played through the S5. If the S5 is grouped with other Sonos speakers the grouped speakers also play the responses and news briefings, etc.

-This arrangement lets me set up a stereo pair with another S5 and/or add a Sonos Sub.

-I can group the room with other Sonos rooms via the Sonos app.

-I can group the room with other Echos via the Alexa app. The delay between Sonos and Echo has not been an issue because it is slight and the rooms don’t have much acoustic overlap.

-Drop-In and all phone functions work well.

-Ducking works well and does not disturb music playing in other rooms when grouped via Alexa. (Sonos groups will all duck and play the voice responses on all grouped players but I mostly use Alexa grouping so this does not happen even on other rooms playing through a Dot + S5 combo)

-I can play my local library and enjoy gapless playback in any room with a Sonos player or Dot + S5 combo but not in Echo only rooms.

- I can change the wake word and control the Alexa response chime.

- I can add an Echo Show to the Alexa group and display Lyrics when the group is playing from Amazon Music.

- I use Amazon Music and Audible but the combo also works well with Spotify, Pandora, and Sirius XM.

- Works with Flash Briefing, Reminders, and all Echo specific features because I am playing through actual Echos.

-Does not require the new Flashlight app so I can keep using the firmware that best supports my CR100s and maintains logical queue management.

Overall I prefer the Dot + S5 combination over any other option currently available and it works well enough that I am not too concerned if the Alexa skill takes a while to catch up.
I have a different problem. I have two play 5s, and used one for a line-in phonograph player. However, I just set the two play 5s as surround speakers for my TV playbar, which work great for that purpose, BUT now they do not show up independently on my "Rooms". So when I go to Living Room, which is my Playbar and play 5 speakers, it does not include "Line In" as an option. Any idea how to work around this and still have the play 5s as surround speakers (not a stereo paid but surround with the playbar)? Thanks.