I gave up using Alexa on my Beams

  • 31 December 2020
  • 2 replies
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H
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I have 15 Sonos speakers including two Beams. I initially got the Beams due to Alexa integration. However, I have now given up. I have deactivated the voice assistants on my Sonos/Alexa devices (Beams and Sonos Ones), and have installed Echo Dots next to the speakers.

I have have two major issues. 

First, Alexa’s voice volume renders Alexa useless for interaction because she speaks too softly to hear.  There have been numerous threads about this over the past few years, yet the issue remains. A recent post here indicates that your engineers were unaware. LOL. They must be new hires since it has been an issue since day one.

Second, so many Alexa capabilities are not enabled, such as communications.

So my recommendation to those who like Sonos and use Alexa is to use separate devices, because Alexa / Sonos integration really is poor.

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2 replies

J

I don’t think the integration is poor.  The speakers are voice-enabled speakers not Echo devices (or Google devices).  I think some people’s expectations were out-of-line with reality.  That apart, I do agree with a lot of what you say.  I bought Echo Dots because I already had speakers that were not voice-enabled, but I would not swap my Play:1 + Dot for a Sonos One.  As well as the reasons you give, I like the freedom to place the Dot where it is best for receiving commands, which is not necessarily where the speaker is.

I assume you have used Groups in the Alexa app to make the music come from the Sonos speaker rather than the Dot?

melvimbe

So my recommendation to those who like Sonos and use Alexa is to use separate devices, because Alexa / Sonos integration really is poor.

I agree with this recommendation, but I don’t fully blame Sonos for the limitations of the integration.  Some of the limitations are all that Amazon allows, while others surely get relegated as lower priorities for what is primarily an audio company, not a voice assistant company. Sonos would be forever trying to add features to catch up with whatever the latest Alexa or Google Home feature while also trying to make a better speaker than other audio companies.

The other reason is that it’s just logical to separate voice assistant functionality from speaker functionality. For one, mics work best when they are closer to the person speaking, while speakers need to be a certain distant away from the person.  For two, it makes sense to be able to update your voice assistant hardware without having to upgrade perfectly working speaker hardware.  All-in-one devices are nice in some instances, but that have limitations.

 

If all you want from Alexa or Google is music control and some basic smart home control, than Sonos is just fine. I still use it in a couple bedrooms in a bathroom.  For every other room in the house, I use an echo show or dot.

Danny
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