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New Amazon Echo Input

  • 22 September 2018
  • 15 replies
  • 7870 views
Guyincognito76
Userlevel 2
Badge +3
Not an ideal place to ask, but I’m not signing up to another forum to just ask this... 🆒

Currently I have a couple of Play 1’s setup in the kitchen with an Echo Dot. Obviously, at the moment I have to say, ‘Alexa, play BBC 6 Music in the kitchen’ to kick things off. But I also have Sonos Ones and a Beam as well, so when I’m in the kitchen I often forget to say ‘kitchen’ so the bloody thing plays horrible sounds from the Echo Dot, or music as Amazon calls it -it’s almost rage inducing.

I have tried to find out but does anybody know if the new Echo Input will pair with just one set of speakers, and therefore will a target room not be necessary? If I can just say, ‘Alexa, play BBC 6 Music’ and it comes out of the Play 1’s then my sanity is worth £40.
Sonos: Beam; One x2; Play:1 x2.
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15 replies

D
Thx for asking this. I had exactly the same q, down to room and station!
D
Amazon needs to tweak the software.

If you call the echo kitchen, and you have a group called kitchen, saying “play music” should work in that group unless otherwise specified.

Same for “turn on the lights.” If you named the group of lights kitchen and you’re in the kitchen talking to the Echo Dot or Input named Kitchen, that’s where the lights should turn on.
U
It looks like the Echo Input is designed mainly to provide voice input to devices connected to it via Bluetooth or wired audio connection. It might be able to be paired with an Echo Link or Echo Link Amp as the dedicated voice input device for those. You would not need to say a target room for these configurations.

I have not seen anything to suggest it could be paired with a third party Alexa enabled speaker so I don't see any way it could help your situation.
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K

I have tried to find out but does anybody know if the new Echo Input will pair with just one set of speakers, and therefore will a target room not be necessary? If I can just say, ‘Alexa, play BBC 6 Music’ and it comes out of the Play 1’s then my sanity is worth £40.
The Echo input seems to be functionally identical to the Dot, with just the speaker deleted for a lower cost/price/form factor; but since the play 1 does not have a line in - a big miss, IMO - it will not do anything for your sanity. Making the target room not necessary in the voice command needs a wired connection to the speaker. Or a bluetooth one, and Sonos does not do bluetooth either.
Guyincognito76
Userlevel 2
Badge +3
Oh, well. Cheers anyway, lads.
Sonos: Beam; One x2; Play:1 x2.
D
The reason for this that non-Echo Alexa devices devices like my Invoxia Triby never got the updates that my echoes got. I’m not sure that stuff like the Ecobee 4 does either. The input should be the way for Amazon to maintain control of the system whilst allowing users to choose their own output devices.
UKMedia
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
Amazon needs to tweak the software.

If you call the echo kitchen, and you have a group called kitchen, saying “play music” should work in that group unless otherwise specified.

Same for “turn on the lights.” If you named the group of lights kitchen and you’re in the kitchen talking to the Echo Dot or Input named Kitchen, that’s where the lights should turn on.

At this moment Sonos speakers don't support Alexa Groups.
Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)
melvimbe
Userlevel 7
Badge +21
The reason for this that non-Echo Alexa devices devices like my Invoxia Triby never got the updates that my echoes got. I’m not sure that stuff like the Ecobee 4 does either. The input should be the way for Amazon to maintain control of the system whilst allowing users to choose their own output devices.

I don't know if it's a matter of never getting the updates, these devices not having the proper hardware, or Amazon is purposely not including Alexa enabled devices (as opposed to echos) with this feature and others. I'm thinking it's a combination of sorts, since not all amazon alexa enabled devices can use alexa groups either.
Danny
D
Amazon needs to tweak the software.

If you call the echo kitchen, and you have a group called kitchen, saying “play music” should work in that group unless otherwise specified.

Same for “turn on the lights.” If you named the group of lights kitchen and you’re in the kitchen talking to the Echo Dot or Input named Kitchen, that’s where the lights should turn on.

At this moment Sonos speakers don't support Alexa Groups.

I get it. They don’t. But right now I can tell Alexa to play music on a sonos group, like “living room.” So Amazon needs to tweak the software so if the “input” device is named the same as a sonos group or an echo group, it gets that your request is one for the local space unless otherwise stated. Same with lights.

You call the input “kitchen” and you have lights or a group called “kitchen,” then if you say “turn off the lights” without stating the room, then that echo input should assume your request is local and affect the kitchen lights.
arcadelt
Userlevel 3
Badge +5
You call the input “kitchen” and you have lights or a group called “kitchen,” then if you say “turn off the lights” without stating the room, then that echo input should assume your request is local and affect the kitchen lights.

You can set it up to do that for lights; however, I have not tried it with speakers.
UKMedia
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
Please see this link for recent functionality improvements: https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/an-overview-and-explanation-of-the-new-support-for-alexa-grouping-6817788
Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)
jgatie

You can set it up to do that for lights; however, I have not tried it with speakers.

As UKMedia said, Alexa Groups for Sonos is rolling out as we speak. See his link for details.
arcadelt
Userlevel 3
Badge +5
As UKMedia said, Alexa Groups for Sonos is rolling out as we speak. See his link for details.

That was not @Dwayne-D's point. He was interested in a default speaker linked to a room, and used lights as an example. I indicated that was already available.
B
Groups work just fine with Sonos - I have two different rooms both with their own sonos and dot - grouped them into rooms ( Bedroom and Kitchen respectivly) thenmake the default speaker for the" group" (i.e room) the sonos device(s) in that room - hey presto just say "play ..." and it comes out from the sonos in the room. my kitchen has 2 sonso 1's paired and it all works as youd want. To the point in Q though - if the "input" works like the "dot" then you are good to go.
UKMedia
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
According to the Amazon UK web site, it states that the Echo Input is NOT compatible with Sonos devices but I haven't checked personally.
Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)

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