Multiroom Audio/Whole house Audio Finally coming to Alexa

Might want to check your Alexa app, especially if you have multiple devices

3 Likes

Thanks for the move @JDRoberts, I couldn’t decide whether to put thread under integrations, announcements or general conversations . Since not really related to integrating it with ST, or an ST announcement.

1 Like

Alexa is an integration with ST, so that will usually work for Echo news. :sunglasses:

1 Like

I’ve got six of them, nothing jumping out in the ui


1 Like

Is that a reputable source? About a month ago rumors were on Facebook and some screenshots


They were proven fake


Has anyone been able to confirm this?

1 Like

AFTV is an " unofficial" Amazon Fire TV news, new integration, announcement, sale blog site. No official Amazon affiliation ( other than click referral bonuses of course for click through to Amazon ) but reason to just dismiss it.

1 Like

I’m confident that Amazon Development have this multi-Echo sound synchronization (like Sonos) on the near radar delivery table. But my paycheck bet will be that Amazon Marketing will make it only available initially for Amazon Music consumers. $$$

1 Like

The note in the article that it disables BT connections when enabled actually does make sense to me as a way to keep them all in sync. If not only for Amazon Unlimited, at least only for Prime accounts. Amazon likes to reward their paying customers with new toys before releasing them into the wild.

A quick Google comes up with announcements that Yamaha, Dish and others announcing release & integration of Alexa MRA in their devices. So if third parties can get MRA, why not their own ? I’ve always thought it was more of a licensing with ASCAP/BMI that was holding it back. Now with Amazon Unlimited they have that paid subscriber base to cover those licensing fees.

Not showing up in mine. Which is fine, as a) Echo’s audio quality is less than spectacular, and b) I find whole-house audio somewhat intrusive and unnecessary.

I agree about the intrusive nature of whole-house audio but it becomes a really compelling feature if and when Amazon allows notifications to trigger on the echo. When that happens then it makes more sense and with the developers that we have in this forum I would think a beacon solution would allow those notifications to go to the room you are in and not necessarily to the whole house. All pipe dream at this time but all very possible.

2 Likes

This is where a good DTH for the new Jasco switches with built in motion/presence sensors come in. Or Emerald project comes to market

1 Like

Actually, there is an app,

Used along with EchoSistant,

Allows you to send messages and notifications and the can be sent to only the active zones you set up.

2 Likes

I went with Google Home to get whole house music. It is very un-reliable. I also have many echo-ish devices. You can get the the “bubble” effect of having the music follow you simply by using Spotify and telling the echo-ish device to “play spotify.” Alexa will respond with “resuming your Spotify queue” and then almost seamlessly continuing playback.

The singularity is upon us. An Alexa can finally control another Alexa (at least for music). And they can be grouped together in different groups for whole home audio . Wha? Check the app! And name your Alexas simple single-word names under settings in the app for easier invocation. “Alexa play Rolling Stones in/on the kitchen”

Unfortunately Amazon allows “on” or “in” but who cares both work!

Unless I’m special, each device can only be in 1 group. If it is in the “upstairs” or “downstairs” group, I can not also add it in the “everywhere” group. Taps can not be grouped. A couple of my Dots say they require an update. I tried a reboot to force a connection, but no love, still says they need an update. So I guess it is just a sit and wait.

It is a user setting as to whether Taps are always on or you have to hit the wake button. Mine are always on, since they sit on their bases 99.5% of the time. I wasn’t complaining about Taps not being grouped, just stating. I was complaining that each device can only be in one group LOL

Taps are meant to be portable, so not really surprised they are not included.

2 Likes

I was in a Sonos house yesterday. Speakers in the ceilings, speakers outdoors
 sound is good, but at the lower volumes required to keep it out of the way of conversation not that much better than Alexa that I would want to spend hundreds or thousands on it.

So I think I will set up a ‘party’ group that includes the living room and kitchen/dining area, along with a portable Dot that can go outside or perhaps in a bathroom.

As of last week when I was playing with it, each device can only be in 1 group ( unlike the other Alexa SH devices where you can out a device into as many different groups as you want) . So I can see having to edit group contents to fit the occasion.

1 Like

Yeah, I can see where that might be inconvenient for some folks.
Personally, I’ll likely only ever have one group. Sort of a Muzak for parties (though the Pandora bebop station I favor is nothing like Muzak)
 for any times where a party develops into wanting dance or other loud music, Alexa will go off and the AVR will be fired up.

1 Like

I was trying to set up " upstairs", " downstairs “, whole house” etc. Upstairs, downstairs etc all were fine, but then I discovered I couldn’t make a whole house/ everywhere group.