Newbie user here. I have a number of Alexa echo devices throughout the home that I’d like to replace over time with alternatives. What are the top recommended smart speakers that the Home Assistant community recommends?
Long-term goals:
local voice commands with fallback to consumer Cloud services (and eventually HA Cloud when/if it is as robust as others)
superb music playback from consumer music playback services (with the opportunity to transition away from Spotify/etc., in the future)
good intercom capability, which never really worked all that great with Alexa Echo
I have been experimenting with a Voice PE, and I’m happy with the results so far (even though I haven’t quite figured out the “fallback” piece of this.) This has led me to wonder if the recommended practice is to decouple, that is pair a PE with passive speakers connected to a wifi/bluetooth/matter? device.
It sounds like the majority opinion there is to use Sonos + Voice PE? It does seem that for every 5 Sonos fans, there’s one detractor, so that has me wary.
I have a Denon as my primary AVR, so I’m also curious if there are any Denon/HEOS observations that could tip me towards Denon smart speakers.
Sonos is just unnecessary. Nothing wrong with it but if you are using HAVPE, why not pair with amp/speaker vs using an expensive Sonos?
I connected HAVPE to zone2 of my Denon and that worked well.
Esp32-S3 devices work well with sendspin (music sync protocol) used by music assistant. I have a few waveshare s3 AI(esp32-s3 voice device) that work well. They have speaker/mic but using them to output to amp is an option
Sorry, I think I’m still a bit green so I’m not following. How are you pairing HAVPE with amp/speaker in various rooms distant from your Denon receiver? I think I’m trying to figure the easiest way to add speakers into the system without messing with developer boards or custom devices. I have an Arylic A50+ I’m using with passive speakers in my office and contemplating whether that’s a good way to go more widescale. But a smart speaker from Denon/Sonos/whoever simplifies all the pieces I have to assemble in each room in addition to the HAVPE block.
HAVPE has and audio out port.
Denon has a zone 2 output for speakers.
I HAVPE audio out into audio in of denon zone 2.
In another area i have a 2 channel audio amp with Left are right line level input. Just like the Denon, I connected a esp device to the left channel input. The left channel output is connected to a set of speakers on my outdoor patio. Adjusting line level input (basically turning up and down volume on esp device) adjusts the volume on the speakers. The right channel of the amp is connected to another esp device with speakers in another room.
budget?
If budget is not a concern sure, but cost per watt that is kinda pricey and the integration may not be great or long term supported. Thats 180USD for a single zone/room. My posts are rushed and may make things sound more difficult but honestly there are several better solutions even beyond what I mentioned both DIY and off the shelf. I dont have many good off the shelf solutions and the DIY are actually pretty off the shelf.