Amazon Speakers
I bought a couple of Echo Dot’s to start with, 3rd Generation, when they were on special offer. Following that, I really liked the sound and played about with the automations (Routines) to setup some simple actions when alarms went off, that kind of thing.
I’ve bought into the Amazon ecosystem with Fire TV devices and media subscriptions, so going down the Amazon smart speaker and assistant route was a no-brainer for me. I have tried Google’s assistant and, while pretty good, the only real value I get out of it personally is with Android Auto in the car.
Echo Dot - 3rd Gen
This was my first real taste of a smart speaker. Playing music, setting up alarms and generally getting used to interacting with a smart assistant.
Surprisingly good sound out of a single down-firing speaker.
We even have one of the Clock editions for a bedside clock/speaker. It works very well.
Echo Plus - 2nd Gen
Trying to get better sound, I got myself a couple of these speakers – they came with the added bonus of a built-in Zigbee hub.
Stereo pairing the 2 new speakers with a 4k Fire TV Stick really was a game-changer for me.
Dolby stereo sound and UHD films … perfect.
I still use the 2 Echo Plus speakers but they’re now paired with a 2nd Gen Fire TV Cube.
Echo Show 5 - 1st Gen
This was my first real taste of a smart speaker. Playing music, setting up alarms and generally getting used to interacting with a smart assistant.
The single down-firing speaker is okay but it’s not very clear when you turn up the sound. The 5″ display is pretty good but the perfect place for this type of speaker is on your bedside table or tucked away in the corner of the kitchen. Good for background noise and a clock on the screen.
Echo Show 8 - 1st Gen
Stereos speakers, and decent quality too. This is the best sound I’ve heard from a single Echo. The screen is big enough to be useful to even watch a programme on from Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
Best Features
- Announcements
- When everyone’s scattered around the house, this is the easiest way of telling everyone that lunch/dinner is ready.
- Drop-In
- Similar to Announcements, when you’re nowhere near the person you want to speak to, you can just drop-in and have a conversation. “Alexa, drop in on Kitchen” would open a channel to the kitchen and you can then chat away from wherever you are.
- Routines
- These are the basis for the Automations. I’ll cover the most useful ones I’ve put together in the Automations section.
- Playing Music / Streaming Radio
- Whether its just playing random music, a specific album/artist or even a radio station from a seemingly endless selection, this is one of the primary uses of the speakers in our home.