Better Sound for the Amazon Echo

Brian explains the music services for the Amazon Echo and how to connect the Echo Dot to external speakers.
Next Step Audio Enhancement -- goo.gl/3z9JZg
Brian Hill's Page -- goo.gl/sz5Poc
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[@nhr27]

Will that still give you stereo sound? Should I run the the dot to a DAC before running to receiver?

[@B17NNS]

"Next Step Audio Enhancement" - the irony of the horrific sound quality of this video is not lost on me.

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

You are, of course, correct. We've taken steps to add hardware and software that should make the sound in future videos much better. Stay tuned.

[@srikanth.pasumarthi]

B17NNS 😝😝😝😝😝😝

[@oscarjung5405]

WTF, your sound is sooo bad we cannot hear you!

[@parkerdariel2699]

a tip : you can watch series at flixzone. I've been using it for watching a lot of movies recently.

[@Connie-B]

ACK!!!! You have sent my Alexa into convulsions..'She" was listening to everything you said. haha

[@DeanoEssex]

Don't you just hate those out of date videos left behind on You Tube :-)

[@TruthFLA]

whats out of date about this?

[@edgar-mmxxiii]

BUT Echo Dot output is not HIFI enough

[@REJECKTID]

Awesome video thank you!!!

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

Thank you for the kind words. Keep tuned for more to come.

[@bunston1000]

All this could have been explained in a couple of minutes.

[@Anonyme09865]

Does the mic work like that? When listening to music to full volume

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

Yes, but you might have to talk louder over the music. Alexa, once she hears her wake word, will lower the volume of the music to hear the rest of what you have to say. Once your interaction is completed, Alexa will raise the music volume back to where it was before you started talking.

[@Anonyme09865]

Next Step Audio Enhancement great

[@TheRealRoof]

I have a logitech Z-5500 and my tv is connected via toslink to the logitech pod so if i connect the echo to the logitech , i can listen to my tv - no echo or listen to my echo - no tv. The only way i can use both is having a simple mixer attached to it, Only problem is that mixers with toslink input and output are very very expensive. And to buy a amp dedicated for alexa is somewhat over the top.

[@dirtmanrock5428]

I have a question, is it possible to connect the echo with the z5500 with out the TV or any dac/amp in between just pure music and sill get a hi resolution sound...?

[@scotty2221]

I have a bose lifestyle system, I hook up the aux cables and there is a ton of white noise/static, how do I fix this? I tried diff cables, surge protectors, nothing is improving.

[@danzahody]

Thank you. I was searching for this information and there were several on this topic - BUT yours was the best. Detailed but clear. Kudos.

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

You're very welcome!

[@rocko10ish]

Dude, stop saying Alexa!!

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

Totally agree with you. We live, we learn. You won't have the issue on future videos.

[@SteveFlanigan]

I have the same Yamaha receiver and my Echo Dot works great with it.

[@abj69sf88]

You ARE an adorable, handsome, distinguished looking gentlemen.

[@Enigmajestic1]

Not sure I can trust this dude 🤣 All jokes aside, thank you

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

You're welcome. Come around the back -- I got a used car I'd like to show you.

[@Enigmajestic1]

@@NextStepAudioEnhancement 😂

[@exionem]

Great video. Was wondering if it´s possible to link Alexa to my PC to run my music and videos FROM my hard drive? I don´t want to rely on the internet all the time.

[@royboyll]

Would like a follow up with where you plug it into the reciver,can you use the reciever via voice activation. And more importantly can you access your own music on a nas drive as you can on the av receiver 👍👍👍thanks

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

Scarlet, the receiver in the video has two extra audio inputs (audio1 & audio2). We plugged the Echo into audio1. In the case of the stereo in my home office, I plug it into the CD inputs (I don't have a CD player connected). What I do is set up the receiver for the loudest I would ever want to hear music from an echo turned up to 10. Then I tell Alexa to play at 4 or 5 or whatever. You can leave your receiver on and pay the electrical bill (not much if you're on the grid, nothing if you have solar power). or you can turn the receiver on when you enter the room and off when you exit. In either case, once everything is connected and on, you us Alexa to control music playing on/off and volume. As to streaming from your NAS. The Amazon echo does not stream your local music. To do that, you need to attach a streaming device to your echo via Bluetooth. Here's what my iOS app research has found. I don't have an Android device, so for that you'll have to check out the Google Play Store. Check them out. You might find one you like: Synology has a streaming app, but it only works with Synology NAS devices. I don't have a Synology NAS, so I can't say how well it works. Here's the link: itunes.apple.com/app/ds-audio/id321495303?l=zh&mt=8 mconnect is a generic player: itunes.apple.com/us/app/mconnect-player-free/id507379024?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 rmanager is a generic player: itunes.apple.com/us/app/remote-media-manager-access/id981869721?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 There are others you can also look at. In my house, we started with Western Digital NAS drives and both mconnect and rmanager see those and will stream music stored there. We also have a Linux server which stores all of our music, video, and pictures. mconnect can't see the server, but rmanager can and does stream the music files stored there. Finally, Amazon had a service where you could upload your music and listen to it directly with your echo, or through an app on your phone or tablet. There was a free limited plan and a $25 per year almost unlimited plan. The service worked great (although uploading was a pain). We use this service because we like accessing our music anywhere. It also works fairly well with the echo. !!! WARNING !!! Notice that I talked in past tense in the above description? According to TechCrunch, Amazon is discontinuing this service. Uploading has been disabled as of 12/18/17 and streaming will be turned off in January, 2019. My family will mourn the loss. Here's the article: techcrunch.com/2017/12/20/amazon-music-to-end-support-for-streaming-your-uploaded-mp3s/

[@royboyll]

Brilliant. ...thanks for your comments very helpful 👍👍👍

[@pedrocamposnl]

WOW U ARE SO CUTE...

[@dexis476]

pedro campos WTF

[@Sventra]

So the Echo doesn't play any music when you plug the jack into it? Because like that there would be no reason for me to buy a Echo Plus as I want to connect it to my speakers

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

The Echo itself does not play, the music is routed to the speakers that you connect.

[@wsmith6570]

Great video, very informative. I just got an Echo Dot for Christmas and have connected it (via bluetooth) to my main stereo (Yamaha amp with Mission speakers). Do you know if there is any way of increasing to input volume for the microphones on the Echo Dot so it can hear better?

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

W Smith, Thank you. There are no settings a user can tweak to change the sensitivity of the microphones. However, you can do some things to help out a bit. -- Move the Echo away from fans (computers, etc.), vents (heating vents, cooling vents, etc. -- They make noise), and noise-making appliances. -- Move the Echo so that there is six to eight inches of space between it's sides and walls or other surfaces (like cabinets and bookcases). -- Make sure there's nothing on top of the Echo. We have one on an end table, and sometimes a magazine will get put down with a corner on the Echo -- Bad human! -- If you find your Echo losing sensitivity over time, reboot it (unplug, wait 10-15 seconds, plug in again). -- And lastly, do what every other voice assistant owner does -- TALK LOUDER. I'm not joking or trying to be snarky. We have four Echo Dots in our house and sometimes we just have to raise our voices. A bit of trivia: Watch your Echo and say, "Alexa." Notice that the ring glows blue and a green bit rotates around. It will stop over the microphone it's using to hear you. Best of luck!

[@Portly]

WHAT

[@richardlinsday166]

Well done! This will be a nice addition to my vintage 2 channel system.

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

Exactly! I've hooked up a trickled-down stereo system to an Echo Dot in my home office. The Echo's sound is now much better and it's very nice never having to touch the receiver or a remote to control the office's music.

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

In addition to my previous reply, consider this: For the minimal price of an Echo, you've added multiple streaming services to your stereo system (Amazon Music, Pandora, tunein, iHeartRADIO, Spotify, and SiriusXM), plus you can connect a phone, tablet or computer using Bluetooth and stream whatever you can access with that device. All controlled with your voice. In essence, you've done a major update to your system. What a WIN!

[@MrCHOCBROTHA]

Very Nice. I have the same receiver on your table. Thank You.

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

We only sell and install what we would buy or have bought for ourselves. We're very picky. Yamaha is one of the audio brands we prefer.

[@metro228]

Awesome video sir. I was searching for this. Thanks a lot.

[@cosmefulanito5933]

I think this is a stupid long video to teach a very simple task.

[@mrdave2112]

Thanks for the info.

[@NextStepAudioEnhancement]

You're welcome. Stay tuned for more voice assistant videos.