Contributor I

Has anyone got an official answer from SONOS about AMAZON ECHO Integration?

98 replies
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I see there are 92 articles on Amazon Echo here in the SONOS community. Has anyone from SONOS responded? Does SONOS have any intent to support Amazon Echo integration?

I can't imagine anyone not wanting that. It feels like that is just how SONOS should work. We love our SONOS system but we keep finding ourselves using the lesser quality Echo just because it's easier. I wish I could use my SONOS system as my speaker and my ECHO as the controller (unless of course my SONOS could just do the same thing). I can't imagine how anyone will beat ECHO for speed and quality of response. Not even SIRI can compete with our Amazon Echo experience.

If I have to I will replace my SONOS system with a bunch of ECHO's but I would never want to do that. Not even because of the investment I have already made with SONOS. I would buy a whole new SONOS system if I could have the AMAZON ECHO controller.

Are there any representatives of the SONOS company in this community? Can I even wish for true Integration between the two companies?

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damo78

Lyricist III

If anybody is interested in voice control outside the Echo, then have a look at this:
https://www.athom.com

At this stage I cannot confirm how good it is as it's only just about to land after its Kickstarter campaign. But it is more feature rich than the Echo, and an open platform, and is a possible alternative. Also see these two threads about Sonos and Echo in particular (Emile's the creator btw):
https://forum.athom.com/discussion/289/sonos-connect
https://forum.athom.com/discussion/91/amazon-echo

Homey is obviously intended for fuller home integration as well as the basic Echo commands, but is very new so who knows how it will fair. I will try to remember to come back in a few weeks (mine is due within a couple of weeks) to let you know how it works with Sonos, which I'm very keen to get working with voice control.

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arollin

Lyricist III

I haven't done it yet, but the Echo Dot that was just released has a 3.5mm audio out that can be used to connect to the audio input on a Sonos Connect or Amp, essentially using the Dot as the input device on the sonos system.

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Chris_25

Lyricist I

I have actually started replacing my Sonos with Alexa and Dot. Yea, the sound is a bit lacking, but the control and the added features is worth change. If Alexa and Dot start being able to be grouped I no longer see the benefit of Sonos for average person. I was a fan of Sonos too, having 5 Play:1, a Play:3, and Connect. The lack of integration has really disappointing.

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captainkaboom

Trending Lyricist I

I have an Amazon Echo and like it - and the Dot is an interesting addition that I plan on getting.

How would I use the Dot? One use case is to use it in my Bedroom - and in the ideal world connect it to a Play 1

Unfortunately - the Play 1 doesn't have an input connector - NOR - does it have Bluetooth capabilities - which pretty much kills the overall idea ..

Hopefully, Sonos is working with Amazon on some type of integration to make my use case possible ..

Stuart_W

World-Class Superstar

I have an Amazon Echo and like it - and the Dot is an interesting addition that I plan on getting.

How would I use the Dot? One use case is to use it in my Bedroom - and in the ideal world connect it to a Play 1

Unfortunately - the Play 1 doesn't have an input connector - NOR - does it have Bluetooth capabilities - which pretty much kills the overall idea ..

Hopefully, Sonos is working with Amazon on some type of integration to make my use case possible ..

If you have a Play 1 why would you need/want an Amazon Dot? Isn't it just a speaker? As a speaker it will be nowhere near as good as the Play 1 either.

Arc + Sub (Gen 1) + 2 x Play 1/ Stereo Play 3s/ Era 100 Stereo in Kitchen, One Stereo in Bedroom, Play 1 stereo pair in Study, Play 1in Bathroom, Sonos Move 2

C

captainkaboom

Trending Lyricist I

I have an Amazon Echo and like it - and the Dot is an interesting addition that I plan on getting.

How would I use the Dot? One use case is to use it in my Bedroom - and in the ideal world connect it to a Play 1

Unfortunately - the Play 1 doesn't have an input connector - NOR - does it have Bluetooth capabilities - which pretty much kills the overall idea ..

Hopefully, Sonos is working with Amazon on some type of integration to make my use case possible ..

If you have a Play 1 why would you need/want an Amazon Dot? Isn't it just a speaker? As a speaker it will be nowhere near as good as the Play 1 either.

No - the Dot is the Voice Command piece only. It has a very small speaker (which I guess allows Alexa to answer) - but it is designed to connect to a real speaker

So the idea - you talk to the Dot - the response is sent out to the Sonos Speaker .

J

JamMasterCD

Contributor I

So does this open the door to Sonos working on an Echo skillset?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/aarontilley/2016/03/10/as-amazon-echo-takes-off-sonos-announces-layoffs-and-preps-for-a-voice-controlled-future/#276269117bbd

jgatie

No details on specifics, but here it is in the CEO's words:

http://blog.sonos.com/news/industry-in-transition-invest-in-future

G

gij801

Trending Lyricist I

Unfortunately, today's announcements are typical of a company caught napping. Seen this kind of PR many times before - lofty tone, few specifics, layoffs. They were the first, they did it best but now they have to compete face to face with Google, Amazon and others. Are they a closed wireless music ecosystem or are they an integrator of their core competency...which is?

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captainkaboom

Trending Lyricist I

Here is the problem I have with the blog entry. Streaming Music is a different beast than Voice - and this just isn't about "voice" - its about control in the household and the functionality of the voice system itself

It makes little/no sense for Sonos to compete against the likes of Echo, Cortana, etc - to many players with deep pockets.

So we get back to the initial question. Integrating Sonos with one of these Voice systems - lets say Echo - that isn't a "knee jerk" reaction by any extent of the imagination .. Echo has been out and growing for about a year - and new product here today ..

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