The other unique feature of the Link is that it has both analog and digital inputs. The digital input allows you to connect your TV and have the Link automatically switch between streaming music and listening to your TV. The inputs have a priority to them, Streaming music is the 1st priority then the digital input then the analog input. So, you could use all three inputs but the analog input won’t be activated unless you turn off your TV (or other source connected to the digital input). See my video review for an example of the priority in action. I didn’t have an issue setting up the Link in a group with other speakers or playing all my Echo devices at the same time. The shortcomings of the Link could be overcome with a software update so let’s hope Amazon listens to us and keeps working on adding more features.
Pros:
Digital audio output for better sound quality
Optical audio input for TV sound integration
Automatic switching between inputs
Costs 40% less than a Sonos Connect
Only Amazon option for connection your own audiophile quality amps/speakers/DAC/AVR
Cons:
Analog and digital inputs can’t be sent to other rooms
Volume can’t be fixed when connected to AV receiver
The app is a little clunky and slow compared to Sonos
No mic built-in so you need a $20 Dot nearby to use it
Can’t play local music library yet
Compared to Sonos Connect:
Sonos pioneered the “whole house” streaming audio system 13 years ago (2005) and it shows with the quality of the app and ease of use. While $150 more than the Echo Link it does have a couple of strong points 1) App control is better, 2) The analog audio input can be sent to any room, 3) Easily listen to your local music collection whether it is on a NAS drive or Mac/PC. The Sonos Connect does not have a digital input which means you can’t connect a TV directly to it. Even if you use the analog input for connecting your TV the audio delay makes it unwatchable. Sonos did just release the new “Amp” with TV integration but you won’t be able to use your own amplifier.
Google Chromecast Audio:
The Chromecast Audio retail price is $35 but on sale for as low as $15 making it the most affordable option. What sets the Chromecast audio apart at this price point is the digital audio output (requires 3.5mm optical adapter). The Google app is pretty good but it has better features on Android than iPhone/iPad. If you are an Android user, want a digital output and don’t want to spend much then the Chromecast Audio could be your pick.
So what about just using a Echo Dot or Echo Input?
The big difference is that only the Link has the digital outputs and inputs allowing you to connect more devices and with better sound quality. The Echo Input is basically a Dot without a built in speaker. Since the Echo Link does not have a mic built in your will need a Dot (2nd or 3rd gen) or another Echo speaker in the same area to control it by voice.
Conclusion:
The Amazon Echo Link is your best option if you are already an Echo user and you want to add higher quality sound to your existing stereo system. If you don’t have your own amp and speakers or you don’t care as much about sound quality then you don’t need the Link, just get a Dot or Input and use the analog output. The ChromeCast Audio is the least expensive way to get a digital output but there are some limitations for apple users. The Sonos Connect app and local music file integration is by far the best but you won’t be able to connect your TV directly. Bottom line, the Echo Link work great and is a very much needed piece to round out the Echo Line-up. Fours stars while I hold out for a software update to take care of some of the cons listed above. Let me know if this review was useful by clicking the “Helpful” button!
A lot of negative reviews already - people expecting this to have features it doesn't list anywhere which is NOT really fair. It's doing just what I expected, and that's finally allowing a digital signal of my Prime Music to my nice amplifier. And yes it does sound improved.
It’s important that you set up a Room Group (not the same as a multi-room group) with both this and an echo dot or equivalent, but this as the Preferred Speaker. That way, the Dot will converse with you, but the MUSIC will come from the Link. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to work with skills, so I can’t listen to one of my favorite music streaming skills, The Jazz Groove, to my nice speakers.
I bought this to replace my analog cable from my Dot to my amp since it didn’t have the best quality. The link has solved the audio quality for me.
While the Link showed in my Alexa app after it was shipped, I did have to go through the setup of the wireless connection for it to work on the ethernet connection. I also set the Link as the default speaker in the room. Asking the Dot to play Spotify will just start playing on the Link. Asking the Dot to stop or play works, just not as fast as if it was playing from the Dot itself. It works quick enough to mute when a phone call comes in.
Power source isn't standard USB, its just a mini plug. Hopefully these aren't expensive should it ever break.
I did connect my computer to the toslink input and verified that passthrough works. When the Link isn’t playing an Alexa music product, the passthrough is active sending that source to the link. There is no switching needed.
Headphone jack and it works and you can change the level using the knob. Not sure exactly why there is a headphone jack since the amp it is hooked up also has a headphone jack if I really wanted to listen via headphones.
Only music sources like Amazon music, iHeartradio, Tunin, Spotify, Tidal will play on the link. The flash briefing does not play through the link at all and plays out of the Dot.
While a bit pricy, I’m happy that I get high quality audio out of the Link.
I've had my Pioneer gear since 1977 and it's still going strong. I LOVE playing vinyl BUT sometimes flipping a "licorice pizza' every 25 minutes can get distracting. Enter the Echo Link. My requirements were simple. I am using the Link's RCA OUTPUTS to the AUX INPUT on the Pioneer Spec 1 Preamp. I renamed the Echo Link to PIONEER. Now all I have to do is bellow out "Computer play Pink Floyd on Pioneer".
I don't hear any clipping and the frequency response sounds great (i.e. Bass will make your ears bleed if I crank it to 500 watts per channel).
I do think it's a tad expensive and would be more competitive @ $99.99 but HEY... it works wickedly fine for my application. :)
I connected it to a port on my Crestron whole house audio system. I already had Echo Dots and Crestron speakers in each room in the house. I wanted allow the Dots to select music that would play on the Crestron speakers in the rooms. I created a group with all of the Dots and the Link as the preferred speaker. Now when we can select Link device on the Crestron we can control the music from our Dot. It works great. The only limitation is that all the Dots control a single Link, so two rooms can't stream different music on the Link. If someone in one room selects the Link on the Crestron, and someone else was already listening to Amazon music, the second person will hear what was previously playing in the first room. Even with this limitation, voice control of the music is a big upgrade to the existing whole house audio system. The Alexa app also allow control of what is playing on the Link.
Feature Product
- Upgrade your stereo system with high-fidelity streaming music and Alexa.
- Voice control music selection and playback with your compatible Echo device or the Alexa app.
- Connect Echo Link to your stereo and group with other supported Echo devices to play music throughout your home.
- Multiple digital and analog inputs and outputs provide compatibility with your existing stereo equipment.
- Casting to multi-room music from a line-in or Bluetooth input is not currently supported.
Description
I've been waiting for a product like this from Amazon for at least a few years. I'm an audiophile AV nerd, so when the Dot came out I used that and bluetooth'd it to an Audioengine B1 bluetooth receiver which went into the TOSLINK optical input on my DAC and receiver. With the Echo Link, I can hardwire ethernet to the Link and use the output to go directly into my stereo, which is infinitely more reliable of a connection no cutouts etc, and the sound quality is lossless, bit perfect from whatever output you choose to use. Highly recommended.
This unit adds a new dimension to adding your stereo to the "Echosphere". We normally listen to our Echo devices separately in rooms. We keep a Echo Show2 in our kitchen to use for music, timers, etc. I had used Bluetooth to connect it to a Bluetooth receiver attached to our whole house stereo, along with a Harmony Elite remote that is also linked to Alexa. This worked well, you could say "Alexa, turn on the stereo", and the stereo would turn on, and auto connect via Bluetooth to the Kitchen Show and now would play over the whole house. The only issue is that timers etc, also announce over the house etc.
By going to this Echo Linc, then I added the Link to a group named "Whole House". We can still turn on the stereo via Alexa, then we can say things like "Alexa, play Pandora Hipster Barbeque on the Whole House". The music is now streaming directly to the Linc, the Kitchen show is showing the Pandora Playlist like a control panel for the stereo link. PLUS, asking the Kitchen show to set timers etc, does not interrupt the music over the house, nice!
So, overall this is a nice add-on option to make the stereo work even better than before. I'm a fan.
Set up is a breeze, but would like to be able to assign an IP of my choosing for the Wired Lan Connection instead of the one chosen by the unit. Volume control is and station choice is easy via Alexa App, Voice or Touch Input. I use the Optical output to feed my Emotiva Xmc-1. Great addition for audio fans.
I bought 4 Echo Spots and 2 Echo Links -- I must say, what Amazon provided in the way of instructions (both in the box and on-line) must be considered totally insufficient documentation.
Here's the story: I installed the two Echo Links, and got thru set-up perfectly. When I told one of my Echo Spots to play music on one Link or the other, it worked fine IF I plugged headphones in to the Link. But the DIGITAL OUTPUTS did not seem to work at all.
So the natural question that came to mind was: what SPDIF format is used on these digital outputs? There is no documentation on this at all! What is the sampling frequency and bit depth? 48 x 16? 96 x 24? Amazon should tell us! And, unbelievably, when I spoke to an Amazon Customer Service rep on the phone, the rep said "Developers here will not provide you with that information". This really happened!
With the help of a home automation pro, I figured it out with a protocol analyzer: It's 2-channel LPCM at 48 x 16. Just like the old Apple iPod default uncompressed format. (Ordinary CDs are 44.1 x 16, for comparison, and most hi-res files are 96 x 24). With this setting known, I got both SPDIF outputs (optical and coax) on both Links working great, and the sound quality is excellent.
So I revised my original 1-star review to this 5-star review. I really like what I hear. "Alexa, play Queen on Living Room Rig". Nice.
My suggestion: get a Link if you’re OK with overpaying a bit to solve an immediate need. Wait if you’re price sensitive, your current setup is satisfactory and you have the patience for a more complete Alexa hi-fi solution to come along.
I think Amazon miscalculated their recent releases for the target market of people seeking high-quality Alexa streaming. The Link fits in well with my current audio systems, but it’s too expensive for its limited capability compared with other streaming players, such as Yamaha and Bluesound. If I were starting from scratch I’d pay more for a full-functioning streaming preamp or player, especially since 3rd-party Alexa integration will eventually catch up to what can be done with music services on Echo devices. Bluesound may get there, but reviews for their recent Alexa integration are pretty bad.
By comparison, Echo Input looks like a strange device since it's aimed at hi-fi users but it’s only a stripped down Dot. I would think that the market for Echo Input would be larger if it had a quality DAC, 2-way AptX HD, and a combined 3.5mm analog/mini-TOSLINK jack. At something like a $95 price-point those seeking quality audio would buy it, especially now that CCA is no more. Then the Link could have been designed as a more capable preamp at a higher price. I think the current product positioning will result in disappointing unit sales for both.
I bought two Echo Links, one for my desktop Audioengine HD3 powered speakers and one for my 1980s component system (Adcom -555 preamp and amp, B&W Matrix 3 Series 2 speakers). I have a CCA connected by optical to each Link with analog out going to my systems.
Previously CCA had clearly superior analog output than the Dot, which was especially noticeable with classical and opera. Now they are pretty much equal in quality. Whatever DAC, signal path and circuitry improvements were made to the Link make a significant difference. I don’t have preamps with digital inputs or external DACs, so I can’t compare Link’s DAC with those. But thus far I’m satisfied.
The Link can work as a very limited digital preamp. There’s no explicit switching among sources. It outputs one source at a time when a signal is detected based on the following priority: Bluetooth, Alexa, coax, optical and RCA. For example, if you have a source playing through optical and you start streaming through Alexa, Link output will switch to Alexa since it has a higher priority. From what I can tell this doesn’t degrade digital signal quality, although best practice would be to only have one active signal at a time. I haven’t used the RCA inputs since it's best for analog sources to go directly to my preamp.
Right now this works for me because I use both Alexa and Chromecast. Chromecast is more universal for streaming from any app or through the Chrome browser. But I find Alexa voice control for media superior. Also, right now TIDAL is stuck between the 2 platforms: no voice control for CCA and no streaming from the app for Alexa. So you can’t stream TIDAL custom playlists or queues through Alexa and you can’t ask for a track, album or artist on Google Home devices. Also, now that CCA is discontinued it may be important to keep a foot-in-the-door with Alexa. If Google doesn’t care about hi-fi audio then streaming services and device manufacturers may discontinue Chromecast integration, or stop developing CCA improvements (such as MQA).
A couple of gripes about the Link: like the Dot the analog output level is far too low. If I have the Link set at Level 8, I need to turn my preamp level way too high for my other components (CD, turntable, tuner). It’s quite nasty if I forget to turn the volume down when switching sources. On my desktop system, my computer’s USB output is set to only 10%-15% to match Level 8 on the Link with my HD3 speakers turned almost to the max. Using the Link’s volume control just doesn’t work well if you have multiple sources connected to your hi-fi. Amazon should have boosted the line level output and added an option for fixed volume for those who only want to use external components for volume control.
Also, the Link should include an Echo Remote, and perhaps integral buttons for mute, pause/play and next/previous. Come on Amazon, $200 media devices should come with remotes that only cost a couple bucks to make. You include remotes with your much cheaper Fire TV sticks. With the Link connected to a hi-fi system most users will not be within easy reach. Yelling across the room at a Dot doesn’t cut it, or if you’re at your desk and a phone call comes in it’s much simpler to just hit a “Pause” button. Also, volume control is way too crude by voice. The remote control uses intermediate levels between whole numbers. On that note, it would be nice if voice commands like “a little softer/a little louder” would tweak volume by only a single increment between whole numbers.
So, basically it’s working for me but the gaps in function and product design are a bit frustrating.
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