Amazon Echo Club

[tubemonkey]

wrong post

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I just got my Dot 3s today and plan on setting up a stereo pair while I'm watching football tonight.

Check back later tonight for an update.

BTW: if you buy two, they're $25 each.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Success! It sounds fantastic! But then, I'm long past my audiophile days. I highly recommend it, if you're not an audiophile. This is now my new setup. My Dot 2 will be moved to another room.

Adjusting the volume on either Dot, adjusts it on the other Dot too. I still need to adjust the equalizer.

Now this is with the Dot 3. Imagine how much better it'll sound with a pair of Echo 2s.

Pull the plug and get another one

[tubemonkey]

Amazon Fire TV Cube to support Multi-Room Music and Alexa Follow-Up Mode

Amazon is on an Alexa improvement kick with the Amazon Fire TV Cube that has been bringing formerly Echo-exclusive features to the streaming device. The Fire TV Cube gained support for Alexa Announcements earlier this month and now Amazon has announced that the next update will add support for multi-room music and Alexa follow-up mode. Multi-room music support will make it possible to sync music playback on the Fire TV Cube with all other whole-home audio capable Alexa devices, such as the Amazon Echo speaker line up. Follow-up mode allows the Fire TV Cube to continue listening after responding to a voice command so that customers don’t need to repeat the wake word before follow-up requests.

A new software update with version number 6.2.5.8 and build value NS6258/1604 should begin rolling out to Fire TV Cubes this week with these two new features in tow. Both features will be configurable through the Alexa app, just as they are with smart speakers, like the Amazon Echo.

more...

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Success! It sounds fantastic! But then, I'm long past my audiophile days. I highly recommend it, if you're not an audiophile. This is now my new setup. My Dot 2 will be moved to another room.

Adjusting the volume on either Dot, adjusts it on the other Dot too. I still need to adjust the equalizer.

Now this is with the Dot 3. Imagine how much better it'll sound with a pair of Echo 2s.

Pull the plug and get another one

How do you set it up?

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Catlady

How do you set it up?

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Success! It sounds fantastic! But then, I'm long past my audiophile days. I highly recommend it, if you're not an audiophile. This is now my new setup. My Dot 2 will be moved to another room.

Adjusting the volume on either Dot, adjusts it on the other Dot too. I still need to adjust the equalizer.

Now this is with the Dot 3. Imagine how much better it'll sound with a pair of Echo 2s.

Pull the plug and get another one

I ordered another Dot 3 this morning. I plan to stereo pair it with my other Dot 3 in my Study/Office. I've been using a 3.5mm wired connection with it to my Sony XB20 Portable Wireless Speaker. That little speaker is pretty good but at only 8" wide the speakers are not separated enough to get very good stereo. I want to repurpose the Sony XB20 for my Mac Mini computer which currently doesn't have any speakers hooked up to it. I'll use the twin Dot 3's to listen to stereo music in my Study. With about 48" of separation on either side of my desk they should work pretty well.

The Dot 3's are backordered but it says I will probably get it on Dec 21.

[OregonJim]

My Dot 3 is due to arrive in a couple of hours (current status "out for delivery"). I got it for free with a SiriusXM subscription. I plan to change the wake word from Alexa to Computer and then watch a few episodes of Star Trek TOS. We'll see what happens...

[Catlady]

Thanks, OtinG. I watched the short video, and will look at the long one if I run into problems. But it seems straightforward enough.

Since I can't get a reliable Bluetooth connection between the Dot and the adapter on my LR stereo (and a wired connection is awkward), using both Dots might be a great alternative when I'm streaming music.

[OregonJim]

Originally Posted by OregonJim

My Dot 3 is due to arrive in a couple of hours (current status "out for delivery"). I got it for free with a SiriusXM subscription. I plan to change the wake word from Alexa to Computer and then watch a few episodes of Star Trek TOS. We'll see what happens...

Got it, but my initial impression is not good. Not good at all.

"I'm having trouble connecting to the Internet" (yet my connection is just fine)

"I don't know that city"

"Please consult the help page in the Alexa app"

"I'm having trouble playing that song"

"Please try again later"

(me) "Set volume to 5" (she sets the volume to zero)


Guess this will be my first and last Echo device. At least it was free.

[tubemonkey]

My free Google Home Mini from Spotify arrived today. I shall set up the enemy device and see what she does. I already know it won't replace my Echos. Since Google's knowledge database is much larger than Amazon's, I'll probably just use it to answer questions.

Would I buy this device. No way, but I'll gladly take a free one

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by OregonJim

(me) "Set volume to 5" (she sets the volume to zero)

I just say "Alexa, volume 5" and she does it every time. My impression is that fewer words confuse her less.

She also turns the lights on and off perfectly, by schedule or voice. Which is the main thing I wanted the Dots for.

[tubemonkey]

Apple Music is now available on your Alexa/Echo devices. It's NOT an option for a default music service (see below for a listing).

You can see a listing of all entertainment services in this post.


By selecting a default, Alexa will automatically use that service without you specifying the service name.

To set your Default Music Services in the Alexa app, go to:

Settings --> Alexa Preferences --> Music & Media --> Account Settings --> Choose default music services

Default Music Library

• Amazon Music
• Spotify
• Pandora

Default Station Service

• Amazon Music
• Pandora
• iHeartRadio

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Apple Music is now available on your Alexa/Echo devices. It's NOT an option for a default music service (see below for a listing).

You can see a listing of all entertainment services in this post.


By selecting a default, Alexa will automatically use that service without you specifying the service name.

To set your Default Music Services in the Alexa app, go to:

Settings --> Alexa Preferences --> Music & Media --> Account Settings --> Choose default music services

Default Music Library

• Amazon Music
• Spotify
• Pandora

Default Station Service

• Amazon Music
• Pandora
• iHeartRadio

This coming week Apple will officially start pushing some of its devices via Amazon, so maybe this was a part of the partnership deal between the two companies.

[OregonJim]

Originally Posted by Alohamora

I just say "Alexa, volume 5" and she does it every time. My impression is that fewer words confuse her less.

Yeah, I tried that, too. For some reason, she's behaving better today. Yesterday was endless frustration, today is more or less what I expected it to be. I'm wondering if there wasn't something wonky on Amazon's end yesterday evening. Time will tell...