Much cheaper options than Hue for lighting, Xiaomi's Yeelight being arguably the major one. 16 million colour LED bulbs have been as low as 7 quid delivered from China! Plus they don't require a bridge (50 quid from Philips!) to work with Alexa.

Just me or anyone else feel the urge to punch chiccobuff in the mouth ? Stfu dude your a total knob

Just bought another one for £69 with the NUS £10 discount on Amazon - considered returning the first one but now thinking of where else I can put it! Great find OP!

I wonder if a lot of these are purchases from Amazon Prime Day that were impulse buys and maybe returned with slight packaging damage? Would make sense to resell at this price as "refurb".

Alexa works better than Google Home for Google calendar for some inexplicable reason. GH can't even read out all day events. Alexa can. Plus Alexa gives reminders which GH currently lacks

Surround sound speakers are useless for music unless you are listening to audio that has been mastered in 5.1, whether it be multichannel 5.1 DSD (SACD) or PCM or even lossy DTS Audio. Majority of stereo recordings in pseudo Pro Logic II mode just sound pretty bad, maybe ok for a party but it certainly would not make Metallica's terrible cover of 'The Wait' sound any better.

I'm not an audiophile but I'd say the sound quality from this is excellent for a bedroom or small room plus you can connect it to better speakers via bluetooth if you want. I have surround sound speakers in my room but typically just play music via the Echo.

There's a guy in the thread that's posted a survey of what people actually use these things for.
Basically Fatty Bombatty sits on his sofa, turning down his Wi-Fi lights, listening to Barbie Girl and waiting to be told his microwave meal's done cos he can't hear the ping over how awesome his Echo speaker is...

Meanwhile, laptops are known for their uses: Facebook, YouTube, Redtube...

Just picked one up for £69. Amazon student £10 off £40 spend code

Logic and the cheap driver used in these, alongside them being mono would dictate otherwise. I will pass judgement on seeing the speaker driver used in operation on youtube and the sound output of these being mono...and once again say from statistics and music listening if this is going to be someones prime usage for audio (poor feckers) then at least you have the option to bluetooth it to better speakers, albeit a far more expensive way than the Dot.

Not so sure on this, but I would say the development required to split audio into a left and right channel would be quite different, and more complex, than syncing one audio stream across multiple devices.

Still, if you have two. would be nice to have the option to stereo pair them, and cant be that difficult since multiroom audio is now enabled...

Was actually posted on hotuk, when they were selling for £99, you could use the new customer code to get £30 off! Was almost going to get half my family to sign up, so I could have a few of them!

hotukdeals.com/dea…657

'Hardly obsessing' HAHA.

For everyone else, as I've previously said, I have owned both the dot and echo and have not found a sub £50 speaker that is better than the Echo's - unless anyone else wants to tell me that a 20w Anker speaker is 'crap'.
But then sound is subjective, hence why you need to hear the damn thing for yourself before passing judgement.

Thanks, it is always worth doing an Amazon Prime Now £10 off £40 if code available during Black Friday deals.

Great deal on the dot, I am pleased for you. Really well done. We are all very happy for you.

Great, glad you are pleased with it, why would I own one when I have an Echo Dot for £30 last Black Friday?

yes you are obsessing. You've never even owned the device, I can just as many reviews stating how good the echo sounds vs how bad it may sound.


Plus I have one and to me it sounds very good what it is and what it cost me (£99) and what it includes.
yet you are trying to shove your opionions down everyone throats here.

Hardly obsessing, when I am replying to those that choose to quote my comments and opinions. I have already stated I own an Echo Dot.

And trying to pick apart my comments by misquoting here one to another user and getting your facts wrong, and trying to state that I have strange behaviour?!?....

I do not 'claim' anything, it is my opinion. This is not a legal matter.

I said that at £80 for 'convenience' it is ok, if that is what you want, although if your primary use is for music listening why would you when pairing to a bluetooth speaker with better drivers gets way better results.

I also said at £80 this is vastly overpriced compared to the Dot at half its cost. I still hold this opinion. For the majority of people that statistically want this for primary music listening, bluetooth connecting one of these up to a better quality bluetooth speaker is twice the cost of an Echo Dot. For those that want it primarily for its virtual assistant cloud functions why pay more.

And now you have edited your initial comment, taking out 'obsessing' and 'strange behaviour', the irony.

At least you have now conceded at 80 quid it's OK as opposed to your initial claim that at that price point it is vastly overpriced. Progress. Of sorts.

Has anyone noticed any reference to the unit being refurbished? I just received mine and its brand new in sealed box?

Thank you, and for your information you do realise that this very forum frowns on name calling, I have been polite in each and every response here. Just a heads up before you say something really stupid and really show a sense of immaturity that you are veering towards.

Jesus wept. I'll leave you to it.

Because people like yourself keep responding trying to claim contrary to it. The Amazon Echo has a budget 6cm Woofer and 5cm tweeter in it, nothing more, nothing less. For convenience at £80 its ok, at its £150 price tag it is ridiculously overpriced....whichever, plain and simply for £80 a Echo Dot combined with a bluetooth speaker will give better sound quality.

Now whether anyone is interested in doing that is up to them, to refute it is nonsense.

Zzzzz,,, yes obviously that's the case. What kind of tool infests a thread all day with venom over about a product he's never even tried and tested?

Well, you must be experiencing some really crap bluetooth speakers then if you cannot find any for under £50 that have two semi decent drivers better than what is put in the [Echo], worth approximately £3.

Sure you can. i connect mine to my home cinema via bluetooth, but a sub £50 Bluetooth speaker? Not in my experience.

Because others in here were scoffing at LadyEleanor initial comment about this being mono, which actually is correct and that you can get better sound quality from a Dot and bluetooth speakers, in stereo.

Just because I have not tried the Echo does not mean that my assumptions are incorrect, a simple google search brings up many reviews that are dissatisfied with the sound of the Echo are you refuting all those arguments because you have become an audiophile?.

Technically yes you are right it is a mono speaker, in real world use it is still ermm technically a mono speaker, unless of course it has a pseudo virtual stereo mode, of which would be akin to those darned awful pseudo surround modes on some soundbars.

I am sorry but there is no way I am going to believe that the Echo packs in some special sauce into its amplification to drive a budget woofer and tweeter cramped into its cylindrical tube that would make it sound better than any larger drivers embedded into the carcass of any stereo bluetooth speaker box with room to breathe and add weight.

A very small 6cm Woofer combined with a 5cm Tweeter, it is way more versatile to go down another route if sound is a priority, if sound is not at all a priority then why even go for the Echo over the Echo dot which has even worse audio?

For anyone interested in better sound quality over an all in one it is far more versatile to go down the Echo Dot/Bluetooth Speaker route even at £80, and at the RRP the Echo becomes an absolute joke.

I had a Dot with a 20 watt Anker speaker (A3143) and sold both once i'd bought the Echo due to its superior speaker and convenience. Why are you droning on and on about something you've never even heard?

As you stated, you haven't even tried an Echo, so your agument is based purely on assumptions and other people's views. it may technically be a mono speaker, but it sounds really good in real world use, I would recommend trying one out. I have a ~£50 bluetooth speaker similar to the Anker one in your link of "better" options and while it sounds alright, it def is not any better than the Echo, and being at best costing £80 all in with a Dot, it makes zero sense to go down this route.

I never said anyone did want to pay for that, I was answering someone else not yourself that was questioning me.

I have already said, and know that for even mediocre quality a bluetooth speaker combined with an Echo Dot would sound better than this lump of crap.

I am sorry but how anyone can think a single mono 6cm Woofer combined with a 5cm Tweeter is anything to shout about I do not know.....even this Aukey Bluetooth Speaker at Amazon would beat it hands down for £32.


And yes, already covered the 'advantage' of an all in one, but I am throwing out a caveat on this approach to anyone that is vaguely interested in a better sound quality out of the same experience...those that can see it as a disadvantage, with marginal inconvenience of either bluetooth connecting it to the bluetooth speaker or simply even connecting it with a 3.5mm audio cable.

So no, once again I am in disagreement with anyone that claims that the speaker on the Echo is better than a vast majority of cheaper bluetooth speakers, because that is not the case.

I mean you think you said it all here really "my front speakers alone in the lounge cost 4 times as much as one Echo" many do not want to pay for that.

The speaker in the full size echo is just fine, isn't as good as my bose bluetooth speaker? no. is it better that the vast majority of cheaper bluetooth speakers? yes.

An all in one device is what a lot of people want. The simplicity is key here. I don't want an echo device, connected to a seperate speaker that may or may not be turned on.

Suit yourself if you think that those options would not be as good. And yes I care about audio having home cinema setups in both the lounge and bedroom of which FLAC is the only file format streamed to them. I do not need a good audio system out of any bluetooth speaker or for that matter your claimed Echo speaker brilliance which goes against reviews....my front speakers alone in the lounge cost 4 times as much as one Echo.

I am well aware of the target audience, but MANY reviews state that the Amazon Echo is inferior to a Echo Dot and bluetooth speaker setup, so anyone in the market for mediocre sound would do a darn sight better buying an Echo Dot and a stereo bluetooth speaker.

Do you really need me to answer why you would want speakers located elsewhere in the room? :thinking: If your primary use is having a 'good audio system' primarily for music, you are in the wrong thread looking at a mediocre mono speakered virtual cloud assistant. An immediate upgrade would be an appropriately located dedicated bluetooth speaker, and a real step up would obviously be either a home cinema receiver for combined home cinema and music listening or ideally for stereo listening a dedicated amplifier and speakers.

Those options you have posted are laughable at best - and you are basing this all off an online review, not experience. Standard cheap bluetooth speakers that would only be used for travel or in a small room such as a bedroom, apart from arguably the JBL one that is between $70 and $100 (lets say £60-90) or the Sony at $95 (lets say £80).

If you care about audio that much, you would buy none of these options...it's a completely different target market than what Amazon are aiming for.
As for your view that nobody would want an all in one device, I find that so wide of the mark. Why would I wan't a device in one position in my living room (say to pickup voice commands) and another the other side of the room for the speakers? My Echo picks up my voice no bother from the other side of the room, even with music playing.

My main use is for music, I got an Echo and 2 dots, so now have a good audio system and voice capabilites all through my house for a combined cost of £130. Just gutted it was so vastly overpriced...

It is soooo hard to pair, or even connect with a 3.5mm line. :kissing_heart:

If your primary statistical use for it is for music streaming then why would you want inferior sound for the same price? Other than the 'convenience' of having it in one unit...I will turn the comment around on its head....why on earth would anyone want an all in one...a more appropriately located device for voice pickup with a more appropriated speaker setup is a heck of a lot of better than spending £80 on a device with less connectivity and then having to fork out for a better bluetooth speaker because the sound is crap.

But there seems to lie the problem these days and why audio is taking a backwards step, people oddly favouring total 'convenience' over sound quality.

Echo Dot...useful for voice commands, crap sound, better connectivity, 50 % this price.
Echo....useful for voice commands, crap sound, worse connectivity.

There is not another all in one speaker and voice command system for less than £80 that is better...it is overpriced because it is an Echo Dot with an average speaker and just about every review I have seen for it state this.

And yes, there are options for £40 that are [better]

And no, I have not tried an Echo, but trust the reviews on the sound quality. Not only that prefer (in its extremely limited capacity) the Echo Dot for an 'assistant' in the kitchen. Not only can we pair it to the Kitchen DAB for streaming music as and when we feel like it...it also has the ability to separate itself. Meaning I can have the DAB blaring out its own speaker and use the Echo Dot for its 'assistance' with recipes or timer with its crappy but functional integral speaker for voice commands.

Absolute crap, it already is £40 overpriced against the Echo Dot, because you can get better quality speakers for it for less than the overall cost of the Echo...even at its refurbished price. I do not need to provide links a simple google search on "echo dot better than echo" suffices with enough links.

As for criticism of the Echo, I own an Echo Dot...and yep my wife mainly uses it for a sodding timer in the kitchen.

The other usage, for bluetooth connecting it to the Kitchen DAB Radio for music streaming. Why spend more for a crap speaker in an oversized cylinder.

All the complexity of pairing etc , echo is much simpler . Instead ,my other half pairs her iPhone to my echo to listen to music . We have 1200 watt Bluetooth sound system but no one uses it since we got the echo . To see her happy is priceless.

I ended up selling my Kitsound Contempo blueooth speaker. Maybe the sound was better but the standalone Echo has a very decent sound and no need to clutter your room up with more gadgets. Of course if you are an audiophile I'm sure you could pick holes in the sound but having said that if you were an audiophile you probably wouldn't fancy any sort of bluetooth speakker at all!

Plus you can now apparently link Echos around the house to play music a la Sonos...

PS No way on earth 80 quid is overpriced for the Echo because there isn'y anything comparable at anywhere near that price on the market. I bit at 80 quid on Prime Day but having used it for a few weeks I would probably have paid 150 for it.

PPS I get the people suggesting a mobile with siri etc can do similar but do you always put your mobile in a vantage point in the house where the whole household can use it? Would you want to? No. It's the convenience of it all that makes it so useful. I do find it interesting that the people criticising the Echo are predominantly people who haven't actually personally experienced one...

Sorry couldn't disagree more (which is fine as we have diff opinions), but i don't think you will find a £40 bluetooth speaker with as good sound as this. The fact you said "many reviews state" and not your own personal experience suggests you haven't used one? I was skeptical until I heard one at a family members, the sound is great and fills a room perfectly fine, without any noticable distortion. A lot of the reviews are comparing to a traditional stereo hi-fi system, or to things like a Sonos. That is comparing apples and oranges. Even if i could get a bluetooth speaker and a dot for £80 that sounded as good, why would I? i want one device, not two. It would need to be a good step up in sound quality and you won't get that with a £40 bluetooth speaker.

I think it's fair to say Echo doesn't suit your needs, but that doesn't mean £80 is vastly overpriced for it. Show me another all in one speaker and voice command system that is better, for less than £80? i think you will struggle to do so, which is why it isn't overpriced.

I disagree, many reviews state the sound of the Echo is crap, buying one of a multitude of bluetooth speakers for less than £40 would already give better sound than the Echo for the same overall outlay in cost. Pairing to a hi-fi would be even better, and you do not get that option (other than via bluetooth if your amp/receiver supports it) with the Echo.

Add to this the statistical usage of these, I am not missing any point. If you want music, the Echo speaker is crap and mono, therefore a Dot and a stereo bluetooth speaker would weigh in for less in cost.

If all you want is for voice commands, consider just utilising your mobile phone or get an Echo Dot.

The point you are missing is the cost of the "way more appropriate amplifier/amplified speakers". Dot's have their uses, particularly in smaller rooms imo, but the Echo is great for a larger room (such as a living room). The sound from the Echo is great (for the price) and gives you voice commands and good quality sound in one unit. If you already have a good sound system and want to only add voice command, then I agree to get a Dot, but if you don't then the Echo at £80 is a great price for what you get. To buy a Dot and a speaker system to provide better sound than an Echo would cost more than £80 and wouldn't be as compact I imagine.

Let us look at what people are utilising the Echo for......

[IMG][/IMG]

Now for those high percentages that are setting a timer, surely an Echo Dot would be more suitable in its more compact form and sufficiently adequate speaker for voice clarity. In fact for those playing a song even an Echo Dot would be more suitable linked via bluetooth or preferably 3.5mm audio out (which the Echo lacks) to a way more appropriate amplifier/amplified speakers.

At £80 this is vastly overpriced compared to the Dot which is half the cost

Thanks to the competition , we have quality products at cheap prices. Otherwise Apple would have patented it and sold for 10 -100 times more. Hate the patenting process which inhibits competition and deprives poor people like us of new innovations.

Bezos only has time to listen to your sweet melody :grin: . Bought one earlier, bought 2 yesterday . Very useful as personal assistant . Everyone I know loves it .

I like your pic

From internet.
Hold down mute for 30 seconds. Ring will turn blue and start performing the update

No experience myself

Purchased... Just couldn't resist! lol

damper/rwelts: My dot needs a firmware update for the Multiroom but the echo is ok.

Is there anywhere to force the update or do i have to wait 24hrs for it too check at some point during the day?

Does anyone else have a problem with both dots responding with the same thing? It's not mean to happen but it ALWAYS does for me :disappointed:

A few points, These are like brand new. We bought one and still had all the original packing not a fingermark on it. As for the not hearing you I had this problem you need to move it about /0 cm away from the wall and works fine.

Did you know Amazon dont sell the Google Home

£89 for a brand new one or £79 for a second hand one????? Hhhmmmmm the mind boggles why so many people think this is hot.

Cold from me. Brought a brand new one from qvc 2 weeks ago for 89.99

I'm raging I never waited a few months til the price went down :disappointed:

Bagged a mew one from, Very for £70, so this is cold for me, but will ad heat anyway!

Got an Echo and 2 dots on Prime Day and think they are great. Worth noting that Mutli-Room music feature has just been added. Meaning you can create a group of Echo's/dot's and play music across all of them at the same time (similar to Sonos). Currently only works with Amazon Music, Tune in radio, and a couple of others, but Spotify support is "coming soon". For my usage, it creates a very affordable household music system, with voice controls.

An £80 mono speaker.

This ultra modern tech seems to be passing me by.

Are these actually any good? I mean considering the speaker is quite basic, and that I already have a Sony Bluetooth speaker and sub setup connected to Siri, would there be any point in me buying this? I can't imagine the sound quality being much to rave (literally) about

I still don't really get what these are for. The only thing I use Siri for is to set timers when I'm cooking and have messy hands. Do you start using voice technology more when you get an Alexa or is it just not for me?

Was determined to buy one as soon as it dips bellow the £99.99 mark. Finally got it!! thanks

Thanks damper

It's in the app now.takes about a minute to set up. Settings. Multi room and then select the echos you want in the group and give it a name. I have an echo upstairs and dot downstairs. Alexa play 70's rock EVERYWHERE

I purchased this new and the echo dot when they were on sale on Amazon Prime day recently.

I kept the dot and returned the echo. I found the echo couldn't hear me over its own speaker but the dot has no problem.

Took the plunge, hard not to at that price!

Just bought 2. Thanks

Just ordered one, cheers

About time too! This has been 20 quid more than the brand new one for a week now...