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Are you less likely to buy a Speaker with a computer in it like Amazon Echo Smart Speaker?

froggyboy604

froggyboy604

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I only buy regular wired speakers when I need a pair of speakers for my Desktop computers, laptops, and my TV.

I don't feel I need a smart speaker which has a computer inside the speaker case like Amazon Echo or Dot smart speaker. I already own a tablet, laptop, phones, and desktop PC which I can use as a smart speaker if I wanted to. Most of the apps for smart speakers don't seem very useful for me.
 
I'm fine with the Sound Blast Roar speakers from Creative. they aren't smart but they give me what I want, good sound.
 
Demon_Skeith said:
I'm fine with the Sound Blast Roar speakers from Creative. they aren't smart but they give me what I want, good sound.
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I have a cheap AmazonBasic soundbar which has a line-in 3.5mm port, RCA audio, and Optical S/PDIF audio, and wireless Bluetooth audio. I feel it is more worth it than the Amazon Echo and Dot Smart Speaker because the soundbar has a lot of audio connection types, and the sound is louder and has more bass than most small smart speakers, and TV speakers.
 
froggyboy604 said:
I have a cheap AmazonBasic soundbar which has a line-in 3.5mm port, RCA audio, and Optical S/PDIF audio, and wireless Bluetooth audio. I feel it is more worth it than the Amazon Echo and Dot Smart Speaker because the soundbar has a lot of audio connection types, and the sound is louder and has more bass than most small smart speakers, and TV speakers.
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not sure if it matters, but my sound goes through a usb connection which I think does offer better quality.
 
Demon_Skeith said:
not sure if it matters, but my sound goes through a usb connection which I think does offer better quality.
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I think it depends on what type of sound player you have. A lot of people claim Vinyl Records sound best, and Vinyl players mostly use analog speaker cables because Vinyl records are analog music disc which uses a needle to read music embedded into the records.

But, for files like Flac, MP3, and WMA, and optical digital discs like CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray, digital connections like S/PDIF, USB, and HDMI audio sounds better compared to RCA audio, 3.5 mm line-in audio, and analog speaker cables where electrical interference may make the sound less clear. Plus, you need to convert the digital signal to analog, so it would work with analog soundcards, so some quality maybe loss in the conversion of digital files to analog signals to work with RCA, 3.5mm, and analog speaker cables.
 
I can imagine they would be useful sometimes... hard to know really without actually having one! I'd love to try one for a few weeks to see if it would be useful. I guess for when I'm cooking or cleaning, it would be great to give voice commands to the smart speaker. Even for news in the morning, would be really cool. But the price just seems a bit much at this point. Judging from this comparison: Google Home vs. Amazon Echo – A comparative study I think I would go with the Amazon Echo, for fears that Google is collecting all sorts of info about me!
 
gooniesneversaydie said:
I can imagine they would be useful sometimes... hard to know really without actually having one! I'd love to try one for a few weeks to see if it would be useful. I guess for when I'm cooking or cleaning, it would be great to give voice commands to the smart speaker. Even for news in the morning, would be really cool. But the price just seems a bit much at this point. Judging from this comparison: Google Home vs. Amazon Echo – A comparative study I think I would go with the Amazon Echo, for fears that Google is collecting all sorts of info about me!
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I agree the price is kind of expensive.

But, I feel using a smartphone with a voice control app, and a wireless headset mic or regular Bluetooth speaker with mic would be a cheaper alternative since they can be bought for $10-50.
 
This is true. But other than the smart speakers, is there an option you can ask while you're cooking, cleaning, etc? Can a smartphone do that as well? I never use voice control for my phone.
 
gooniesneversaydie said:
This is true. But other than the smart speakers, is there an option you can ask while you're cooking, cleaning, etc? Can a smartphone do that as well? I never use voice control for my phone.
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There is an Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Voice Assistant app for Apple iOS, and Android, so I think most people will be fine using the voice apps on a smartphone.

I think the main advantages of smart speakers is that they don't use up your smartphone's battery power like leaving your smartphone turned on to listen to your voice. But, smart speakers don't have a screen, so there is no subtitles which is a problem for people who have bad hearing, or are slower at listening to audio.

Smart speakers most likely have a better microphone because there is more space on the case to add a bigger microphone, and better audio equipment.

But, buying an external bluetooth, 3.5mm headset, USB or Lightning microphone will improve the mic's sound quality on a smartphone.
 
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