The microwakeword code is here
I think you’ll need to recompile with your favorite microwakeword.
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One of the things I love about the Wyoming Satellites (not withstanding switching to the listening state randomly, which regretably no one seems to have solution for) is the ease of customization in adding custom sounds and custom wakewords. My custom wakewords were created using the routines posted on Colab. Copying the files directly to the Wyoming Satellites is simple copy to the satellite, as are custom sounds.
My question for the developers is: Are there plans to incorporate the ability to add custom sounds and custom wakewords to the VPE in the near future? It would be disappointing if there are not.
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Its nice that it has a mini jack for use with other speakers but I really hope we get a variant with at least a google / amazon / apple mini level speaker in it for music.
The comment on the live stream made it sound like it is common to have a bunch of speakers kicking around but no I just have a google mini in each room currently that I really want to replace with a native local solution.
Maybe a stackable enhanced speaker addon? Like you put this unit on top and connect the power and mini jack to a bigger speaker under it?
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I’m expecting someone to share the part list and the 3d printing files for something like this in under a month 
I do agree 100% with @Hedda proposal, making the speaker a Thread border router would be very useful and allow us to strategically place speakers all around the house with double benefit, local voice control and improving thread network
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I hope so… Assuming it really boosts the music functions I would build one to try out I have a 3D printer.
My main point however was that the device as announced falls short of a drop in replacement for a google mini etc.
At this point I am done experimenting with voice as I have tried a few different things and it is clear that the mic / noise canceling is key… Music assistant 2.0 seems to bring the needed music playback functions etc and LLM fall back will cover the ask "general question of the world from wikipidia type requests.
It is all there other than the HW not being “ok” for music playback.
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Would love to see a flush mountable option with 24v input so I can use this in a standard electric wall socket
Where in the world is that a standard?
As any other electric component there are different standards based on the region but a circular 45mm hole is very common in Europe and I guess us too. I think Germany alone would be a big enough market to sell this option.
For example NS panel offers a flush mountable option.
But it’s not a standard to have 24V in the wall socket…
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No, but there is such a thing as Passive Power over Ethernet, which I suspect is what would be used for the voltage mentioned.
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With a standard 220v or 110v wiring you can easily do 10W required to power the voice hardware using 24v over long distance even 50 meters. Means that you could have an ACDC adapter in a derivation box or the main electric panel and power the voice hardware with it or use PoE and and ethernet port.
I am mentioning 24v only because I am assuming a 110/220 ACDC adapter would not fit the case of the voice hardware even adding a back that will be flush mountable (so a 45mm diameter 45mm deep cylinder).
Alright, but I would still say this is far from a standard. Do you have separate wires for each power socket? For most in my house I have several sockets connected together. You may be overestimating how common your setup is.
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Hi, is it possible to:
- enable the wake word ping
- disable the talk back when the action was succesful performed
- enable the talk back when the action was unsuccesful (e.g. “could not find a device named blablabla”)
Reason: i’d like to reduce unneeded audio; my home is not a funfair.
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As anyone with a bus based automation (es KNX) I do have an easy way to get from a socket to the main panel. However you could also use passive PoE to power a 24v box or if you have a derivation box close you can place an ACDC adapter there.
That said if they / someone could create an AC 220/110 flush mount back case option just like Sonoff NS panel that would probably work for most users and would be an instant buy for me.
Congratulations to the Home Assistant team on releasing such an interesting product that opens up new possibilities for fans of open voice assistants! However, I’m saddened by the fact that in Poland, the speakers sold out almost instantly – Botland.com.pl sold all 240 units very quickly, and the next shipment is expected only in February 2025. That’s quite a long wait.
I really appreciate the ability to 3D print custom cases, which allows for great personalization. I’m eagerly awaiting a version of the speaker that could replace my Google Nest Minis – I have 14 of them installed in suspended ceilings throughout my home. I hope the sound quality will be at least comparable, if not better.
I have a few questions about these speakers:
- Can Home Assistant speakers act as Bluetooth beacons, aiding indoor location tracking?
- Is it possible to use them solely as microphones, while audio responses are played on other devices, like Nest Minis?
- Is there a plan for a version with just microphones, equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, in an even smaller form factor? This would be very useful in setups where users already have enough speakers but need well-integrated microphones for Home Assistant.
In my case, microphones are the key missing element. I’d love for them to work seamlessly with the existing Nest Minis in my home, offering full integration with the Home Assistant ecosystem. Is this a possible direction for future development?
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I have also pre-ordered a Voice PE. I have a Sonos speaker in the same room and would like to reduce its volume when the wake word is detected, and then restore the previous volume afterwards, similar to how it works with the built-in speaker. Would this be achievable out of the box with an automation, or would the configuration in ESPHome need to be adjusted for this?
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To Q1) ESPhome provides this function natively, just adopt your VPE in ESPhome add on and edit yaml accordingly (see ESPhome docs)
Re sound quality, the Nest mini is actually a very good sounding speaker, I do not own a VPE but I highly doubt it can compete. You would need to find a decent speaker with a 3.5mm input.
After reviewing the HA speaker specifications, some concerns arise regarding its functionality. The audio quality being below the Nest Mini level is disappointing, especially considering the device’s price point. The JACK input, unfortunately, doesn’t allow for controlling an external speaker, which necessitates additional configuration for volume control and power management of external audio equipment.
In this context, the Nabu Casa product might find its primary application as a WiFi microphone system for the HA voice assistant, which can be distributed across different rooms. Given that the speaker quality appears to be the device’s weakest point, a version equipped solely with microphones could prove to be a much more attractive option - something like an ‘HA Voice Mic’ by Nabu Casa.
Personally, owning 14 Nest Mini speakers, I don’t see a compelling reason to replace them with the current version of the HA speaker. The microphone functionality alone would be a more interesting proposition.
What are your thoughts on this?
My thoughts are, as stated in the YouTube stream, NabuCasa is very unlikely to release different hardware versions in the near future.
So people might stop holding their breath for this.
On the other hand, external parties can, and have already begun to, develop more feature intensive products based on the existing PE platform, since all specifications are open source.
So maybe there will be a version integrated into a microwave oven with 250W speakers and wheels soon.
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