Alexa/Echo dot/spotify type questions from old git.
Discussion
Friends relatives have a small round speaker thing which they shout Alexa at to get it to play music. The music seems to come from spotify.
I fancy something similar but in my bathroom. what is involved and is it possible?
I assume the speaker thing has to be plugged into the mains so it couldnt go in the bathroom anyway? Could a wireless rechargeable speaker be slaved to it?
If the round speaker bit is mains powered is it a faff to move it from one room to another? Also a bit annoying if say you wanted to use it as an alarm clock or "sleep music" thing and had to move it into the bedroom every night, bound to forget one night.
Are they expensive if two was the answer?
If you had two and you asked one to play something, would the other one also play the same thing at the same time?
Do you have to pay monthly to subscribe to spotify for it to work? what are other options?
Cheers all, as you can tell Im a bit out of touch! (I do have a wi-fi router and broadband at least)
I fancy something similar but in my bathroom. what is involved and is it possible?
I assume the speaker thing has to be plugged into the mains so it couldnt go in the bathroom anyway? Could a wireless rechargeable speaker be slaved to it?
If the round speaker bit is mains powered is it a faff to move it from one room to another? Also a bit annoying if say you wanted to use it as an alarm clock or "sleep music" thing and had to move it into the bedroom every night, bound to forget one night.
Are they expensive if two was the answer?
If you had two and you asked one to play something, would the other one also play the same thing at the same time?
Do you have to pay monthly to subscribe to spotify for it to work? what are other options?
Cheers all, as you can tell Im a bit out of touch! (I do have a wi-fi router and broadband at least)
You can play music from an Echo Dot to a Bluetooth speaker.
Subject to the present of WiFi, they can be moved from one room to another quite easily - they'll just need a minute or two to re-attach to the network.
Dots are currently about £30, but they're regularly on offer.
If you had more than one, you can configure them into the same group and have them playing the same music 'everywhere'.
In my opinion, and to get the best in terms of music, you'd need to subscribe to a streaming service like Spotify or Amazon Music.
Subject to the present of WiFi, they can be moved from one room to another quite easily - they'll just need a minute or two to re-attach to the network.
Dots are currently about £30, but they're regularly on offer.
If you had more than one, you can configure them into the same group and have them playing the same music 'everywhere'.
In my opinion, and to get the best in terms of music, you'd need to subscribe to a streaming service like Spotify or Amazon Music.
My 4 year old has one in his room. It is plugged in and left in the same spot. I don't really get them but he loves it. When you set it up via an app, it connects to your Spotify account so you can get a song, album or playlist from your items. I prefer more audiophile sound and not to have a conversation with my devices, especially when they don't understand my Northumbrian accent!
Amazon Echo connects to your Wifi network, as long as it is in range it will work any where. The sound from the Dot is pretty poor, you really need the bigger Echo if you want reasonable sound. It will play free general music but if you want specific tracks it asks you to start an Amazon music sub, don't know about Spotify. Radio is easily played for free.
Why not get a £20 Dot and give it a go. The novelty will soon wear off and you'll be back to you radio alarm clock.
Why not get a £20 Dot and give it a go. The novelty will soon wear off and you'll be back to you radio alarm clock.
We've got an Echo Show 2nd Gen in the kitchen and the sound quality is pretty good with a rich, deep bass - that said, it's a fair bit pricier than a Dot.
Agree with comments on the Dot - the sound quality is a bit weak. The only one we have in the house is wired connected through a decent amp and speakers.
Agree with comments on the Dot - the sound quality is a bit weak. The only one we have in the house is wired connected through a decent amp and speakers.
We have the Google Nest Hub (£60 and comes with a screen), fairly good quality sound. Plus with Google you have the added bonus of being able to use Google Play Music which allows you to upload your own music collection and access them for free. What I like is that I can ask it to play a particular album without needing to create a playlist.
Some say the voice recognition is better on Google as well.
Some say the voice recognition is better on Google as well.
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