Amazon Echo - anyone have one?

Just got my echo dot up and running. So far so good... it's going to provide hours of fun with the addition of a harmony hub universal remote to connect everything together. The lack of wires is a sad downside of the modern world, but we must embrace the future!

One question: I have my echo dot connected by default to my Onkyo AV (TX-NR737) receiver. Is there any way to have Alexa respond to voice commands via the dot rather than the bluetooth speaker (AV amp)? I don't really want to disconnect and reconnect bluetooth the whole time and Alexa is much clearer for voice responses than the AV amp due to the volume at which both are set up. Also it means the music stops playing when she responds which is a little annoying!
 
Sadly not. It’s the same with the line out. I spoke to Amazon who reported it to the developers to hopefully create a solution.
 
tom_nieto said:
Just got my echo dot up and running. So far so good... it's going to provide hours of fun with the addition of a harmony hub universal remote to connect everything together. The lack of wires is a sad downside of the modern world, but we must embrace the future!

One question: I have my echo dot connected by default to my Onkyo AV (TX-NR737) receiver. Is there any way to have Alexa respond to voice commands via the dot rather than the bluetooth speaker (AV amp)? I don't really want to disconnect and reconnect bluetooth the whole time and Alexa is much clearer for voice responses than the AV amp due to the volume at which both are set up. Also it means the music stops playing when she responds which is a little annoying!
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If the Echo has started the music, it will dip the volume regardless when it is speaking or being spoken to, even if that music is being played by another device.
 
Kenai said:
Picked up a bunch of Ikea smart bulbs, they connected to the Plus no problem and can change brightness and from cool white to warm white but Alexa can't set it to a colour yet it seems (yes they are colour bulbs not just white bulbs:p)

edit - nvm, i was confused by the colourful circle on the box, they all only change to different temperatures of white, that'll be why they're cheaper than hue
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Do you need the gateway or the remote for the bulbs to work?
 
Kenai said:
If the Echo has started the music, it will dip the volume regardless when it is speaking or being spoken to, even if that music is being played by another device.
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Thanks for the reply. Are there any tricks to change this? I've got a harmony hub which should allow me to control the amplifier via voice on Alexa to some extent and this might be the better solution. Perhaps this is Alexa's way of telling me to stop bothering her?
 
Kenai said:
No, they can connect directly to the Echo Plus, assuming they're latest firmware, which they all should be by now.

Obviously a regular Echo needs a gateway as it doesn't have the internal hub.
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I just have a dot at the moment with hive and a tplink plug setup on there.

Guess I’d need a gateway too.
 
Is there any difference between the different models in terms of voice recognition ability? I’ve got an Echo Dot which is great when it actually picks up what I say.

As an aside, is there an optimal place to put your Echo within a room?
 
Just curious what do people ask Alexa?

I picked up a Fire Tablet 10 during the Black Friday Sales. The tablet is great, Alexa works for certain tasks (Weather, Sport etc).

I tend to run out of ideas and give up after the novelty wears off. The Echo's are popular and I'm not sure if I am missing something?
 
Turn lights on and off, ask for the weather in the morning as I'm wandering about making a coffee, to play music, set reminders, adjust the heating...
 
Ninco! said:
Just curious what do people ask Alexa?

I picked up a Fire Tablet 10 during the Black Friday Sales. The tablet is great, Alexa works for certain tasks (Weather, Sport etc).

I tend to run out of ideas and give up after the novelty wears off. The Echo's are popular and I'm not sure if I am missing something?
Click to expand...
I use mine daily for radio, music, alarm, lights, heating, general shopping list, timers and ordering things instantly like cat litter (Amazon are cheaper than supermarkets for some things like Catsan and it's easy to just say Alexa, order cat litter). Also use the the comms functions quite a lot, as an intercom between rooms or if I'm away then I speak to my kids on an Alexa Show. They also call their grandparents on it who have an Echo Show at home as well.
 
I can get a free echo dot if I switch my contents insurance (same price, same cover).

It's it worth it? I have a hive hub with two bulbs I could hook up to it. But other than getting a Bluetooth speaker for Spotify what else would I do? Can it control bravia TVs?

I *really* need to learn tasker on my phone. I read an article that shows how to add "ok Google" commands to control it. :cool:
 
Currently got a dot in my living room to control the hue bulbs, im eyeing up the full sized 2nd gen echo for the bedroom for controlling the hue bulbs in there and playing some music when people are upstairs.
Never really looked into what music i can actually play through it because of only having a dot with a crap speaker before, i've got amazon prime but not the music unlimited, not got spotify or anything else.
I know it can play radio stations like radio 1, but is there a way to get it to just play some random metal/rock only radio station for example?
 
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