The Amazon Echo multi-room audio system lets you turn every Echo in your home into a single system that can simultaneously play albums, playlists, and live radio stations throughout your home or office.
Amazon Echo devices received a free update in the summer of 2016 that added multi-room audio. If you are listening to a radio station in your home office, you can have the same radio station play music in your kitchen. You will not miss a moment of the music while walking between both areas. Multiroom audio works with Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Spotify.
Here’s how to use Amazon Echo multi-room audio to play music or podcasts in any room that has an Echo speaker.
Choosing the Right Amazon Echo to Use as a Wireless Speaker
You don’t need to buy new Amazon Echo devices to use multiroom audio. Your existing Echo devices will work with the feature.
If you don’t already have an Amazon Echo, you’ll need to buy at least two Echo speakers. It matters which speakers you buy. Not all Echo devices make great speakers for a multi-room audio system.
The Amazon Echo Dot costs $49.99. If you have a small room in your home that you want to stream, this is the Echo to buy for it. Make sure you don’t need great sound quality or loud volume, as the Echo Dot’s speakers are small. The headphone jack on the back of this device allows you to connect the device to a speaker system you already own.
2017 Amazon Echo.
The 2017 Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Plus each have a 2.5-inch speaker and a tweeter. Therefore, they offer better sound quality. They’re also larger than the Echo Dot, making them a little too big for smaller rooms like your bathroom. Each has a headphone jack to effortlessly connect them to your existing stereo system.
The Echo costs $99.99 and starts shipping October 31st. The Amazon Echo Plus, which includes a smart home hub and a 0.8-inch tweeter instead of the 0.6-inch tweeter that the regular Echo has, costs $149.99. Release date is October 31st.
Amazon continues to sell the first-gen Amazon Echo if one of the newer speakers is too expensive. It has a 2.5-inch speaker, a 2-inch tweeter, and Bluetooth. However, they do not have a headphone jack.
echo show
The Echo Show has two 2-inch speakers and barely a tweeter. It’s perfect for any room where you hope to watch videos as well. It’s $229.99 and you can buy it today.
Finally, there’s the Echo Dot. Launched this December, the Echo Spot has a 1.4-inch speaker and no tweeter. Its 2.5 inch screen also supports video streaming.
Echo Spot is a smart alarm clock-like device with Alexa.
Again, you should go with full-size Amazon Echo devices and their larger speakers for the best sound quality. In hallways, tight spaces, and rooms where you don’t listen much anyway, the Amazon Echo Dot is the best buy.
Read: 5 Things to Know about the new Amazon Echo for 2017
There are many devices that support Amazon Alexa. If you’re considering purchasing one of these to add to your setup, be careful. Many devices, like the Ecobee 4, take commands for Alexa and can hear you from across a room, but the Echo doesn’t have multi-room audio support.
Setting All Speakers for Wireless Streaming
To set up an Echo, connect it to your network and update its software. You can do all of this from the Alexa app. iPhone and Android.
Amazon Echo multi-room audio relies on groups.
Open it from your iPhone or Android device.
Tap the button in the upper left corner of your screen.
Now tap on inside the dropdown menu.
Tap on it.
Tap on it.
Tap on it.
First, use the icon at the top of the Create Group field to choose a name for your new Amazon Echo multiroom audio group. Select Custom Name to give the group the name you want.
Now tap on the Amazon Echo devices in your home that you want to add to this new group. For this tutorial we are creating a group for a downstairs area only. That’s why the group’s name is Downstairs.
Every properly functioning Amazon Echo device in your home should appear on this list. We named ours after the rooms they were in. Remember, not all devices you own with Alexa may appear on this list because many Alexa devices made by companies other than Amazon do not support all the features that Echo devices do.
Tap and let the Alexa app run to connect the two devices.
Tap when the installation is complete.
You can create as many groups as you want, but an Echo can belong to only one group at a time.
When you’re ready to play audio on multiple speakers, say the group name to Alexa along with what you want to play. We created a group for two Amazon Echo speakers called “downstairs”. Saying “Alexa, play The Devil Went Down to Georgia downstairs”, The Devil Has Fallen in Georgia By the Charlie Daniels Band on every speaker in the downstairs band.
Audio starts playing simultaneously on every device in an Amazon Echo multiroom audio suite. Also, switching to the next song changes the song on each speaker in the group. Unfortunately, increasing the volume of a speaker in a multi-room soundstage will not change the volume on your other Echo devices.
