I got some smart plugs so that I could turn on inside lights if we come home after dark with the app on my phone.
My 82 y.o. Dad lives with me & has a hard time walking & he's also losing his ability to see at all in the dark, because of Macular Degeneration. So the last thing I need is him tripping over something in the dark, trying to turn lights on!!
I have an Echo & Dot in my room, which I mostly use to stream music with my Amazon Music Unlimited.
I was controlling even his bedroom light & the hallway light with the app on my phone as well as my Echo.
So I bought two more Dots during prime day sale.
It's been a game changer!! My Dad struggled, even with the app on his phone to control the lights. Now that we have a Dot in his bedroom & an Echo & Dot in the living room, he's very easily learned how to ask Alexa to turn on the hallway light, his bedroom light when he's going to bed!! NO MORE STUMBLING AROUND IN THE DARK or trying to remember where he put his flashlight!!
Since the Echo Dots all sync together, once he gets to his bedroom, he tells Alexa to turn off the living room light & the hallway light when he gets to his bedroom!! This little device is a SAVING GRACE, not only for my Dad, but for me!! I don't have him calling me to "Show me again how to turn the lights on/off" with his phone app!!
It's like having someone else here that helps me take care of my Dad!!
I made a list of the commands for the lights, etc & hung one on his night stand & put the other beside his chair in the living room!!
He's also exploring, BY HIMSELF, different commands for Alexa. I've heard him ask her about the weather, baseball scores, etc. THIS LITTLE ITEM IS A TRUE GEM FOR SENIORS!! I love mine just as much & the quality of the sound thru the Echo is AMAZING for listening to music. I'm VERY PICKY about sound quality!! I have Bose speakers hooked up to my TV & have Bose ear buds as well. The quality of the sound from the Echo is just as good as Bose speakers!!
Let me preface this review by revealing a few facts about myself. I am male, aged 75 years old, and more tech savvy than most people my age, but if you can use a modern computer, and own one, you should have not problem using this device. IT IS SO FAR, MIRACULOUS, and intriguing! I bought mine about a week ago, and waited till a couple days ago to jump in with "both feet" and set it up. Even though I once did computer tech support for Dell computers, It was a long time ago now, and a lot of tech has evolved since then, and i have the same fear of new things as most people my age, though admittedly higher skills. I also own an Iphone 6s plus, of which I have mixed emotions. The Iphone is made by apple, and Apple's idea of "intuitive" and mine are very different. Microsoft is much better at designing "intuitive" into an operating system than Apple. Aniyway, You will need some type of connected WIFI device to use this product. (read that Cell Phone with it's own WIFI abilities, and Bluetooth built in) You will need to download the "Alexa App. " on that device to set up the Alexa products.
From that point on, simply plug in the Echo device into a regular 110V. wall outlet, it comes with a plug in adapter. There are no batteries in this device, although some have them. A NOTE HERE" YES, YOU CAN UNPLUG IT WITHOUT IT LOSING ITS BRAINS AND REQUIRING REPEAT SET UP. So though not specified anywhere I read it evidently has some on board nonvolatile memory built in that will allow this. ( i spent several research sessions attempting to find this out, and finally had to bite the bullet and just try it. ) I moved it from one room location to another and within a few seconds it greeted me and said it was operational. NOW I AM ONLY AN OLD GUY WITH PRETTY GOOD HEARING ABILITIES YET, (NOT EXACTLY AN AUDIOPHILE ) BUT WITH DOLBY DIGITAL SOUND, THIS IS ONE NICE SOUNDING SPEAKER SYSTEM,
FULLY AS GOOD AS MY 7 SPEAKER ALTECH LANSING ON MY PC. IT MAY EVEN BE BETTER.IF YOU HAVE A NORMAL EAR, YOU WILL BE AMAZED AT THE SOUND QUALITY!
Now I am still learning about this product. Every new thing I try I am pleasantly surprised. I plan to get at least a smart home door lock and thermostat to use with it in the future, and several light switches. I am no great fan of the "RING DOORBELL" (due to frequently needed battery recharging) at this point, but I understand Amazon has purchased that company and will soon have an interface app available to use with the "Ring System" If you want to keep up with the march of technology, this device is probably your best doorway to that end, since Amazon is committed to pursuing it. Others may drop out along the way. (NEW) I made a hands free phone call to my son this moring as a test of the phone capabilities. Sound on my end was like he was in the room. The Alexa app and it's capabilities are evolving technologies. Features will be added. (Mine did an update download while playing music) Don't be disappointed. It is attractively packed, and very capable, but the "instructions" are not detailed and are sketchy. Lean about it online as I did before you purchase it. Read as many reviews as your eyes and attention span will allow, and take the plunge! An education awaits you!
I would have to say this is the BEST gadget I have ever bought on Amazon.
Attached is a Voice Mail from my mother, and how much she LOVES the Amazon Echo
We purchased the 1st Gen Echo as a refurbished unit for $127.00 Nov 9th 2016. Could not tell it was a referb and we enjoyed it, asking Alexa silly and meaningful questions. We also used the 1st Gen unit for music and enjoyed the fidelity the Echo provided and the Amazon music and Ihart music stations. We would have purchased more units for other rooms had Amazon included multi room music sync.By the time Amazon offered music sync between units word was out that Gen 2 was on its way so we waited.
In Dec 2017 we ordered 3 more Echo's, two for the house as gifts for each other and one as a gift for a neighbor. Come Chrismas we were excited to get our new 2nd gen Echo's up and running. It was quite simple to do so and after setting up the Everywhere group via the Alexa app we had 3 rooms playing the same music, now we could have the music through out the house with out it blasting in any one room...nice.
The new Echo's were a lot less expensive, even then our refreb Gen 1 Echo, They are a bit shorter and we opted for the grey fabric wrapped on the Gen 2. While I do miss the Gen 1 volume control where you counld just spin the Echo's top left or right to adjust the volume I find the Gen 2 to have the same fidelity with maybe a touch more base. All other features seem equal with the Gen 1 as Amazon keeps updating (automatically over the air) features to the entire line of Amazon Alexa devices.
We have now started integrating "Smart Home" devices. We started with a couple of the TP plugs Amazon was providing at a greatly reduced price with the Echo purchases in Dec 2017, then I found the Sonoff WiFi switches that can be hardwired into circuits. Now our electric fireplace has a Sonoff inline and we can just say "Alexa fire place on" and the lighting system of the fireplace comes on or off when we tell it to. I've also hard wired Sonoff' switches to some of the exterior lighting circuits to control them either with Alexa or the app's timer feature and finally added one to the attic lights where the switch was practically inaccessible, now I just say "Alexa turn on (off) attic lights" before I enter the attic and I'm no longer stumbling through the pitch black attic looking for the switch.
These Sonoff devices are less than $8 each! Its cheaper to use the Sonoff WiFi switches than the cost just in parts and wire to run a new light switch!
Home automation is not coming, its here with devices such as the Echo and Sonoff that are scalable, easy to set up, easy to use, work well and are affordable for the average American. Thank you AMAZON for bringing home automation to our home.
CON's: Wish Echo's could be grouped on more than one group.
Be sure to indicate any Alexa device your buying from Amazon AS A GIFT if your giving it away, otherwise Amazon sets the device to be on your Alexa network and the gift recipient will end up with your Alexa options and info such as your shopping lists ect until deleted from your account.
I purchased a 3 pack of the new Echo to get the $50.00 discount special. I had read other reviews where folks weren't happy with the sound quality of the speaker during music playback. I must admit that after I set up the first unit and played some music I would tend to agree. Flat base and a bit washed out over all. But Wait!! There's good news. As I set up the second and third Echos the first unit that had been set up for 10 minutes or so said, "I'm updating, I'll be available shortly". One by one each speaker received an update from Amazon and I have no idea how but after updating they sound "AMAZING" Full, rich base, excellent vocals and overall sounds as good as my JBL or UE Boom. If you are thinking of getting these but were afraid after reading the not so great sound quality reviews, go ahead. You will be more than pleased after receiving the updated software. AAAAA+++++ and the "Play Everywhere" effect sounds amazing.
Feature Product
Description
I was a bit cautious about buying this- but it went on sale and I figured, even if I hate it I can return it... Well, I LOVE IT! I am not a super-tech-savvy guy, but I had it set up and playing music within 20 minutes of it being delivered to my home. I used my iPad to "install" it (after getting the free Alexa app), and that was it. No problems. Sound is fantastic, and even though I bought it mainly for the music, I can see me using it to ask about the weather, how far it is to the nearest Domino's pizza, and how late does my local grocery stay open. If you like to listen to music and ask general questions, this is fantastic. If you are really interested, you can do all kinds of other stuff with it. I think I will keep it simple. Highly recommended!
I still have my original gen 1 echo,... she's getting a bit tired, doesn't always hear you, been knocked off the end table onto the hardwood floor way too many times by the cats, leaving her top a bit crooked and wonky,...but we still love her and she does her best to keep up so she stays in the living room until she decides she wants to call it quits.
During the prime day deals I saw a 2 pack of the generation 2 echos. Seeing how the Heather Gray and the Sandstone colored echoes hopped into my shopping cart (story I told hubby) I figured it shouldn't be too hard to find a place in the house they could stay.
Well the Heather Gray echo looks very nice in our bedroom and the Sandstone looks great in the kitchen. A tiny little white echo Dot (super cute) also stowed away in the cart... all three of them get along great with each other, even our original Alexa. They are grouped together in our Alexa app and can function singly or as a group.
Not wanting to sound disloyal to our original Alexa, these newer models do sound better, a little bit more bass than I like but still better. The sound is deeper and richer. It could be it's because they're new, or maybe it's because Alexa had been dropped one too many times, whatever the reason they sound great and response time is quick.
We have them set up to control the lights and the fans around the house using a few Wi-Fi plugins and I can also have them play the same music at the same time if I ask Alexa to play through the group I set up, ....which is great because not only does the echo have room filling sound by themselves, but as a group they completely fill the entire house with sound, love it! 😍
I love these echoes, including our original one. They are used daily for one thing or another, it's so simple to set alarms, timers, play music, ask questions, make phone calls, text someone on my contact list, even play games. It's very easy to get used to having and using them in your daily routine, they are habit forming for sure and once you have one adding a few more makes the experience even better! 😊
I saw no reason to get one. I've lived 60+ years without one. But then my 80+ yo friend raved about hers. She calls her friends, plays music, orders from Amazon, etc. She had me over to show me what it could do. Hmmm, it sounds darn good! And so easy.
So I came home and ordered one. Love it. No fumbling around with CDs or LPs on the stereo. No more radio stations fading in and out and with static. Wow. The sound quality is good enough for me that I'm seriously considering getting rid of all my stereo equipment and music collection. It's now all there in this little gadget. I've even re-ordered stuff from Amazon through Alexa - so easy. Have yet to do phone calls, one thing at a time :)
I have only one regret - that I didn't order two while they were on sale.
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UPDATE 11/4/2017
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After all the negative reviews and feedback on the poor sound quality of the 2nd generation Echo it appears that Amazon has taken quick steps to help remedy the issue. I spoke with an Amazon representative on the phone who confirmed that there has been a software update which is rolling out to Echo devices. After getting the update my Echo does indeed sound better! I still wouldn't call it audiophile-quality by any means, but the bass is fuller and the sound is less "tinny" overall.
To check which software version you have, select "Settings" on your Alexa phone app, choose your Echo device, then scroll down the page to where it says "Device software version." The updated version (as of 11/4/17) is 592452420 (previously it was 592452320).
You don't have to do anything to get the update; it will be sent automatically by Amazon. You may see the indicator light on your Echo will pulse blue as the update is installed. The representative I spoke with said you may get it more quickly by not using your Echo for several hours. I hit the mute button on mine and received the update within a few hours. I'm very impressed by Amazon's quick response to this issue!
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ORIGINAL REVIEW
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As a very happy owner of three Echo Dots (2nd generation) I was glad to see Amazon release a 2nd generation of the Echo as well. After using it for several days I can say I'm quite pleased with it, and even though it doesn't have any radical new features compared with the 1st Generation Echo or the Echo Dot, there are some notable improvements. I'll summarize these differences first and then describe the new Echo in a bit more detail.
Improvements over the Echo 1st Generation:
- More color and texture choices
- A swappable outer shell
- Ability to output audio to another device or stereo system via Bluetooth or an auxiliary cable
- Dolby-powered speakers
- Significantly lower price!
Differences from the Echo Dot (2nd gen):
- Larger size and swappable outer shell (these are probably obvious)
- 2 speakers (tweeter and woofer) vs. 1
- Power adapter sits flatter against the wall
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Overall appearance
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I purchased the "Heather Gray Fabric" version. The cloth is a polyester woven fabric made up of lighter and darker shades of gray which certainly gives it more visual interest than if it were just a solid, uniform gray. The neutral color blends in with nearly any decor, and the cloth gives it a softer look which is great for areas of your house where you don't want something that screams "I'm a device!"
In terms of size, the Echo 2nd Generation is almost the same diameter (3.5") as the 1st Generation Echo (3.3"), but it is several inches shorter. To me the original Echo looked like a tower; this shorter version is much less ostentatious.
The top of the device is identical to the 2nd Gen Echo Dot: it has four buttons (volume up, volume down, microphone off, and an "action" button), a multi-colored light ring around the edge that tells you about the Echo's status, and seven tiny holes below which the microphones sit.
A new feature of this Echo is its swappable decorative shell. Simply press a button on the underside of the device and the shell slides right off, allowing you to replace it with any of the other shells that Amazon sells. I'm not sure how many people will take advantage of this feature given that additional shells are $20-30, but it could be useful if you want to change your Echo's look to match a different location in your home.
A final note on appearance: the power adapter for the Echo sits fairly flat against the wall, protruding maybe 1.5". By contrast, the Dot's adapter sticks out from the wall 2-3 inches. The flatter adapter of the Echo is nice if you want to plug it into an outlet that is behind a piece of furniture.
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Audio quality
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I did a side-by-side comparison of the 1st and 2nd Generation Echos, and despite the new Dolby-powered speakers I did not notice a significant difference in sound quality with either music or spoken text. I certainly wouldn't call it "room filling sound" in any case. Clarity isn't bad, but bass is nearly non-existent. However, the real potential improvement in sound quality comes not from the speakers themselves but from a new feature for 2nd Generation Echo devices: using Bluetooth or a 3.5mm auxiliary cable (not included), you can play the audio through a nearby speaker or stereo system. Yes, this does means you are using two devices to accomplish one thing, but in a sense it's no different than plugging any other sound source into your stereo system. To be honest, I don't generally think of the Echo primarily as a music playback device anyway other than for very casual listening (but I realize that puts me in a minority... admittedly I'm a bit of an audiophile).
Compared with the Echo Dot, however, there IS a noticeable difference in sound. This shouldn't be a surprise given that the Echo has two speakers (a tweeter and a woofer) while the Dot has only one. To my ear the difference isn't so much in clarity but rather in fullness. With two speakers and a bit more acoustic "heft," the Echo's sound has more presence than the Dot's, which to me makes it more tolerable to listen to for a period of time. The difference is even more appreciable with music than with newscasts or other spoken text.
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Voice recognition
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This is one area where I must confess I'm disappointed. Like the 2nd Generation of the Dot, the Echo 2nd Generation uses seven microphones beneath its top surface to recognize voice commands spoken from any direction. My wife and I both found this Echo to be slightly LESS proficient at detecting our voices and recognizing vocal commands than our Dots are. We did side-by-side comparisons of the Echo and the Dot in several locations around our house and the Dot was nearly always better at picking up our voices (and yes, we only had one plugged in at a time!). I'm not sure why this would be since both devices use similar technology, but the difference was pretty consistent. One possible explanation I can think of is this: Both devices have their microphone openings on their top surfaces, effectively pointing upward. Because the Echo is taller than the Dot, if you put both devices side by side and speak to them from several feet away, your voice will hit the Dot's microphones at a slightly more downward (i.e., direct) angle than the Echo's, which may help the Dot pick up your voice better. Obviously I'm only speculating here, but in support of this theory I have noticed that both devices have difficulty detecting my voice if I speak from below them (for example, if I'm sitting on the floor and the device is on a table).
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Functionality
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The bottom line is that overall functionality -- what the Echo 2nd generation "does" -- is nearly identical to the 1st generation Echo and the Dot. Keep in mind that the Alexa assistant software on which all Echos operate is run on Amazon's cloud, not your individual device. This means that as Amazon adds features to Alexa they automatically become available on all Echo devices. So, you can use any of them to:
- Stream music via WiFi from multiple sources
- Control smart home devices
- Make hands-free calls to other Echo devices or phone numbers in North America
- Make purchases from your Amazon Prime account
- Listen to news feeds, podcasts, etc.
- Do anything else in Alexa's ever-growing skill set, such as make shopping lists, set timers/alarms/reminders, play games, tell you your daily schedule, and any other skills Amazon dreams up for Alexa in the future.
Personally I have two favorite Alexa skills: the Flash Briefing and the drop-in feature. The flash briefing is fully customizable daily "digest" of news and other information which you can hear any time by asking "What's my flash briefing?" There is a huge list of content you can add to your briefing including news updates, weather forecasts, sports and traffic updates, and educational snippets along with many that are just humorous or entertaining. Using the Alexa phone app or your Echo account page you can select exactly what content you want in your briefing and in what order you want to hear it. For example, I configured mine with NPR news, BBC news, the weather, and a word of the day. I love having an on-demand synopsis of the latest news from my favorite sources.
My other favorite feature, "drop in," essentially opens a two-way communication channel between any two Echo devices, sort of like an intercom. Simply ask Alexa to "drop in on [the living room, the kitchen...]" and you are instantly connected. My wife and I use this feature all the time when we need to communicate from opposite ends of the house. You can turn drop-in capability on or off for each of your Echo devices individually, and you can also choose whether each device can drop in with ANY Echo device or only those in your own home.
[Note that the drop-in feature is NOT the same thing as Alexa's hands-free calling feature. Hands-free calling allows you to call most phone numbers and Echo devices in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada from your Echo by saying your contact's name or number. Just like with a phone call, the other person must choose to answer your call before you can communicate. By contrast, with the drop-in feature communication is instantly established. For this reason you will probably want to use drop-in only with your closest family and friends, and probably only for certain rooms in your home!]
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A few (minor) complaints
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Unfortunately the Echo 2nd Gen shares an annoying trait of the Echo Dot: widely varying volume levels within the daily Flash Briefing. As you listen to the briefing, some components (such as One America News) come through quietly while others (like Fox News) are much louder. I don't know whether this variability is due to differences in how each component of the feed is produced or whether it has to do with the device itself, but in any case I hoped the phenomenon would be less pronounced with the 2nd Generation Echo than it is with the Dot. Unfortunately, it is not. Just be prepared to adjust the volume at the beginning of each segment.
Another complaint I have is the inability to listen to certain feeds outside of the Flash Briefing. One America News is an example here: you can listen to the channel's live feed any time, but you can only hear the channel's "top stories summary" as part of your Flash Briefing. This issue is probably more software than device related, but still, it bugs me.
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A few tips
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1) The Echo seems to pick up voices best when placed at or below eye level (i.e., roughly the level from which your voice emits). Mine has trouble detecting voices coming from below it, so I don't recommend placing this on a high shelf.
2) When you select news feeds for your Flash briefing I recommend picking one U.S. source and one international source (I use NPR and BBC - both are excellent). If you add too many feeds you'll get a lot of overlap and hear the same story several times.
3) If you have multiple Echo devices in your home, sometimes speaking to one will cause others to respond as well, especially if they are in close proximity (like in adjacent rooms). One way to prevent this is to change the wake word of one of the devices to "Echo" or "Amazon." The only downside is that you then have to remember which wake word you assigned to each device!
4) Some speakers have a bit of a "burn-in" period, so in an attempt to improve my Echo's sound I left it playing music for much of the first few days I had it. The sound did seem to improve a LITTLE, (the lower frequencies filled in some), but it's still not stellar. But if you're not happy with the sound at first, let it play frequently for a few days and it may improve a bit.
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Which one to buy?
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If you are trying to decide between the Echo and the Dot, think carefully about how you plan to use the device. The single biggest practical difference between the two is that the Echo has fuller, better quality sound. So if you plan to use the device mostly for listening to music, news, podcasts, or whatever, you will probably appreciate the Echo's better acoustics. On the other hand, if you want to use it mainly for voice control of smart home devices, the Dot is more than sufficient. I have a Dot in our home theater room that I use exclusively to control the lights in that room. For that type of single-purpose application anything more than a Dot would be overkill.
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Bottom line
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Although the Echo 2nd generation may not have any earth-shattering new features compared with the 1st generation, its significantly lower price and ability to send music to another speaker or stereo system make it a winner. If you already own a 1st generation Echo there probably isn't a compelling reason to upgrade because the difference in sound quality isn't significant. But if this is your first Echo device you will probably be very pleased with it. And if you are deciding between the Echo and the Dot, which one you purchase comes down to how you want to use the device. For heavy listening, the Echo may be preferable for its better acoustics; otherwise, the Dot is a great deal -- especially at half the price of the Echo!
So it’s been an interesting first few weeks with the Echo and am happy to say Echo 2nd Gen has finally delivered on its promise of improved sound quality over 1st Gen Echo, with the 3rd firmware since launch. If you are confused about a lot of the negative reviews, old firmware is the likely cause of most of them regarding poor sound quality.
Want to keep this short and spare all the gory details, but there was a bug in the launch version of the firmware, which was fixed after a few days, but the first fix, while satisfying some, was not, in my opinion a full fix and left the mid-range frequencies muted and tinny. Today I noticed that Alexa’s voice in this unit sounded much more like Alexa’s voice on Gen 1 Echo’s I own and, after playing some music, suspected they had upgraded the firmware again, and indeed they have. The current firmware is 592452720 and it’s a massive improvement over both the original and updated version 592452420.
So I decided to do some more side-by-side comparisons with the Gen 1 Echo and can honestly say in many areas the sound quality is now actually better than Gen 1 Echo. This is how the product should have sounded at launch! If I have any complaints at this point it’s that the low-frequencies loudness could stand to be bumped up just a tad. (Better yet, PLEASE add an EQ feature to the Alexa app so users can adjust EQ for the room and music type they prefer). I did my comparisons at volume level 8. Anything above that and Gen 1 Echo dynamic range starts to break down, while Gen 2 maintains quality but doesn’t get quite as loud and Gen 1. It’s the right trade off, I would rather it sound good than be louder and sound harsh. At that volume level I went thru a range of music, streamed over Bluetooth, switching between Gen 1 and Gen 2 devices, and found Gen 2 to be an improvement over Gen 1 for the vast majority of the music I tried. I’m impressed with the quality of the audio coming out of this form factor, and impressed how quickly Amazon has responded to feedback on the problems. Kudos, this Echo is a keeper.
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