Can anyone give comments on how well the echo tap would work instead of regular echo in a large space (like kitchen/dining open to living room). I believe they are or can be set to recognize the wake word without pressing button. But how well does voice rec work, does it have the array of mics? How does music audio quality compare?
Thanks!
Neither are going to be the top choice of real audiophiles. The echo has a true woofer which the tap does not. The tap is more for a backyard party. But both should fill the room with music.
In my own experience, the echo is way better at hearing you across the room, and hearing from multiple sides. The tap was designed with the idea that you were going to be pressing a button and therefore you would be within a foot of it when speaking. Although they now have the option to set it to always listening, they didn’t change the microphones when they did so.
And if you do have it set for always listening, the battery life is way reduced. You’re supposed to get nine hours of regular use, but if you set it to always listening, you may only get four or so.
If you absolutely have to have a cordfree device, the tap is certainly worth considering, but I think for most use cases the echo is going to win. 
I have two Taps and a Echo. The Taps were purchased for smaller rooms (basement and master bedroom) where they would be docked on their charging bases 95% of the time and the Echo is in the living room which is a big open concept room with high ceilings. We like both and both are set to listen for the wake word. Both are acceptable audio quality for us, were not blaring them and its background music most of the time. We bought the Taps not only so we could use them for SmartThings integration (which we do) but also to get rid of all the other portable blue tooth speakers we had lying around.
We’ve had no issues doing a “Alexa whats the weather going to be like tomorrow” from 10 - 15 feet away with the Taps and they respond just fine. But they don’t pick up as well while music is already playing or with background noise. Then again they are cheaper and portable…worth the trade off for us as we got rid of all our other bluetooth speakers in the house since we didn’t see a need for anything else.