Another subtle difference I forgot to mention is that the Plus has a line output, whereas the Echo does not. I’m off to look for a battery base actually, similar to the ones I have for the Echo and for the Dot.
I’m quite surprised that Amazon haven’t yet established a presence over there. I would have thought that there is quite a market. ======================================== My compliments and kindest regards Gordon Smith: <[email protected]> Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist.. This Message Was Created Using 100% Recycled Electrons. If you can avoid printing it, please do so. Think of the environment, save a tree! Contact: • UK Free Phone: 0800 8620538 • UK Geographic / Global: +44(0) 1642 688095 • UK Mobile/SMS: +44 (0)7804 983849 • Vic. Australia: +61 38 82059300 • US/Canada: +1 646 9151493 ---------------------------------------- On 14 Nov 2017, at 21:16, Dane Trethowan <[email protected]> wrote: Interesting. I've decided to hold back on any further Amazon Echo purchases until Amazon officially start their services in Australia, that won't be too much longer in coming. On 11/15/2017 7:39 AM, Gordon Smith wrote: > Just to clarify. I said that the audio hasn’t changed much. Not true. > My error, when writing the message I posted a few moments ago, was that I > forgot that I’d tried them both in the same room conditions previously, and > noticed the difference. On my last test, I had them in totally separate > rooms, which moves the goal posts. As I said below, the speakers have indeed > been upgraded. > > Regarding the Echo Show, I think that there are probably better ways of > accomplishing an upgrade, without losing accessibility. Several manufacturers > are now producing speaker products with Alexa built-in. So look around before > buying an Echo Show. > > ======================================== > > My compliments and kindest regards > Gordon Smith: > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist.. > > This Message Was Created Using 100% Recycled Electrons. If you can avoid > printing it, please do so. Think of the environment, save a tree! > > Contact: > > • UK Free Phone: > 0800 8620538 > • UK Geographic / Global: > +44(0) 1642 688095 > • UK Mobile/SMS: > +44 (0)7804 983849 > • Vic. Australia: > +61 38 82059300 > • US/Canada: > +1 646 9151493 > > ---------------------------------------- > > > > > > > > > On 10 Nov 2017, at 10:00, Kulvinder Singh Bhogal <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > Hi there Gordon > > Thanks for the review. > > you have just helped me decide against getting the Show since it isn’t going > to be all that useful to me. > > Thanks again and keep it coming sur. > > Regards. > > Kulvinder Bhogal > E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Facetime: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Skypename: bobba2006 > >> On 9 Nov 2017, at 18:10, Gordon Smith <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >> Hello everybody >> >> Yesterday I took delivery of my new Echo+, which has relegated the previous >> generation Echo to my bedside table, and my Echo Dot too my studio. Both >> will still be used a lot, so I’m not worried about that. >> >> Downstairs, here in the lounge, the Echo+ now sits beside my multimedia >> equipment. So here are my initial impressions of the Echo+. >> >> If you got your hands on an Echo+, and sat it beside an Echo, you wouldn’t >> be able to tell them apart. Not, at least, without examining the silicone >> sheet that they both sit upon. The power connectors are the same, but >> orientated at right-angles to one another. In the case of the Echo, the >> power connector protrudes from the back of the case, indented from the outer >> rim of the case. On the Echo+, the power connector is mounted on the rim of >> the case, and the indentation does not even exist. >> >> In every other respect, the appearance of the two devices are absolutely >> identical. >> >> Another difference is that the Echo previous generation had 7 discrete >> microphones. The new generation of Echo and Echo+ has 8. Tests have proven >> that this is quite an important addition. Even with music playing at a >> considerable volume, the Alexa interface can still detect your voice and >> comprehend your commands. >> >> The processor in the new generation of Alexa-based devices has been >> upgraded. It now seems to be somewhat more responsive. This shows up most >> when you compare the new Echo and Echo+ to the second generation Echo Dot. >> But that doesn’t particularly worry me. >> >> There are two reasons why I opted to go for the Echo+ rather than the Echo. >> Firstly, I’m not convinced that an upgrade, new for old, would have been >> particularly advantageous. The Echo+ has an integrated Smart Hub, meaning >> that it’s no longer necessary to “bridge” an external hub to support those >> smart devices that need a hub. Not all of them do, of course. >> >> But the real reason why I upgraded was the quality of the audio. The speaker >> system has been upgraded, and the audio is now much more rich at the top >> end, and deep at the lower end of the spectrum. >> >> Setup was a piece of cake. Because I already have an Amazon account, the >> device was pre-registered for me. All I had to do was to set up the WiFi, >> Bluetooth® and Voice Remote, the latter of which I have hijacked from the >> Echo Dot, where it never really worked too well anyway. >> >> I’ve only had the device for just over 24 hours. But really, configuration >> was like home from home. It took me no more than 2 minutes in the Alexa app >> to get the thing set the way I wanted it set. >> >> I’m not about to start raving about how good the device is. Yes, as I said, >> there are advantages. However, unless the quality of the audio in the >> previous generation Echo really grates you, (and I can’t imagine why it >> would), and unless you are particularly in need of a smart hub, it’s >> probably not worth upgrading. In actual fact, I’m not really sure why Amazon >> bothered with the Echo upgrade. As in the Echo, not the Echo+. Upgrading >> from the previous generation Echo which, I think, was the second generation >> to the current generation Echo is, to my mind, completely vacuous. I had >> originally planned to go for an Echo Sow. But I bottled out because of the >> possibility that some of the more used commands might have been visual. But >> that is apparently not the case. Amazon tell me that although their quick >> start guide discusses setup using the touch screen, it can in fact be >> performed using the Alexa app just like any other echo. >> >> Thereafter, the Touch screen is an optional extra. The primary use of the >> screen is just to display video content. There is also a 5MP camera which >> can be used for video calls and chat. The Show has twin 4.9-Inch woofers, >> and twin side-facing tweeters which, if memory serves, are 2.6-inch. It also >> uses ambient audio, meaning it adjusts the audio to suit the characteristics >> of the room in which it is in use. This is one facet which it shares with >> the Google Home Max. >> >> Whether I decide to go for a Show at a later date is, at this time, very >> much in the lap of the gods. But I would doubt it. I think that their are >> other options which, were I in the market for another speaker system, I >> would opt for in preference to the Echo Show. >> >> Just my thoughts, for whatever they’re worth. >> >> >> ======================================== >> >> My compliments and kindest regards >> Gordon Smith: >> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> >> Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist.. >> >> This Message Was Created Using 100% Recycled Electrons. If you can avoid >> printing it, please do so. Think of the environment, save a tree! >> >> Contact: >> >> • UK Free Phone: >> 0800 8620538 >> • UK Geographic / Global: >> +44(0) 1642 688095 >> • UK Mobile/SMS: >> +44 (0)7804 983849 >> • Vic. Australia: >> +61 38 82059300 >> • US/Canada: >> +1 646 9151493 >> >> ---------------------------------------- >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > > -- ********** "For the gardener nothing is more handier than bulbs, I mean the one's you put in the ground and not the electric light one's." **********
