Resistance is futile... ALEXA!

[50nstillhifi]

Recently upon returning home, I was met by my wife dancing and thrilling to the sounds of Motown and old school jams. I thought this unusual given she rarely uses my system.. but was surprised her joy in singing and dancing to the sounds. At closer look, I realized the sound was coming from a new arrival.. the dot aka "Echo", a Christmas gift from a younger generation, using the interactive .. Alexa!

Given this "dot", the Echo, is so small but moved my wife to sing and dance, I envy the ease at which she can command a song, genre or special search of such by just asking.. Alexa! ?

Alexa, the smoothest, quickest, interactive to stream music I have yet to encounter and ... marvel. I am in awe of this little marvel able to rival all the music libraries, sound upgrades, and bluetooth streaming via phone and my system. My wife with a simple voice command, "Alexa", can out match just about anything I can gather to compete through various moves about my cassette, CD, and blue tooth phone link.

Alexa.. !! Have you had a similar experience?

My wife enlightened me the "Echo Dot" has a connection for bluetooth speakers and could become an integral part of my mostly "analog" sound system.

ALEXA... Resistance is futile .. ?

 

[likebike23]

I'm too hands on a guy to go for something like that. As for streaming replacing my analog system, I can't see it. My media of choice is vinyl. I've had a lot of fun finding older music on vinyl that I was unfamiliar with. It is what got me back into music and into audio after a long, dry spell.

That is not to say I don't have a place for streaming in my system(s). I've been finding a lot of new music that way lately. I stream YouTube while cooking just about every night. I figured that since I was streaming so much, I might as well up my game from a RCA to 3.5mm and headphone out from my phone into an AUX input.

I got a tube preamp/buffer to run a NAD 2155 power amp with some nice bookshelf speakers and have been streaming from a tablet's headphone jack into it. Not bad, but I ordered 2 Chromecast audios to play with. Hopefully it'll sound as good as the Echo

 

[Condorsat]

Replace? I like spinning Vinyl & Streaming (since 2012) on Laptop/USB Dac. No ALEXA for me .. I still recall 2001 A Space Odyssey.

 

[onwardjames]

Condorsat very succinctly and comically summed up why I will NEVER EVER use Alexa or any of the AI things that listen to my voice.

No freaking thanks.

 

[jbrainey]

Digital streaming has a place in my system...background music, while vacuuming floors, taking a shower or times when I can't sit in front of my system.
It will never replace my analog sources for serious listening.

 

[GChief]

My streaming is played on my anolog system, it’s all I own.

 

[RichPA]

I've gone all digital, but 95% is listening to music I've ripped to my server. No TT in the house anymore, and FM is limited to NPR news and talk.

 

[mac mini]

My wife enlightened me the "Echo Dot" has a connection for bluetooth speakers and could become an integral part of my mostly "analog" sound system.

ALEXA... Resistance is futile .. ?[/QUOTE]


It's my understanding that Alexa doesn't just listen and respond but that it also records. Here's a link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/tech...r-through-human-error/?utm_term=.447ca155b7f4

 

[50nstillhifi]

My wife enlightened me the "Echo Dot" has a connection for bluetooth speakers and could become an integral part of my mostly "analog" sound system.

ALEXA... Resistance is futile .. ?

It's my understanding that Alexa doesn't just listen and respond but that it also records. Here's a link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/tech...r-through-human-error/?utm_term=.447ca155b7f4[/QUOTE]

Thank you for the article..

It is VERY interesting.. I wonder about "the Dot's" passive posture as I wander about the house?

Can someone spell... "Manual Over-ride"!

 

[50nstillhifi]

Replace? I like spinning Vinyl & streaming (since 2012) on Laptop/USB Dac. No ALEXA for me .. I still recall 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Perhaps this is the rationale for Amazon choosing a "female voice" over a male.. Implying us fellas can't be trusted..

Imagine that!

 

[the skipper]

Are you asking an all or nothing question? I can't say I'll abandon my analog sources (FM, Tape* and vinyl) but digital sources (CD's and streaming) do make up a greater portion of my usage nowadays.

And, this new voice responsive tech does bother me. Every word that's spoken in the house is sent to the internet. Anyone ever worry about big brother?

*although, I must say that thanks to the f**king movers "losing" my entire tape collection, that source is pretty much dead.

 

[Condorsat]

Perhaps this is the rationale for Amazon choosing a "female voice" over a male.. Implying us fellas can't be trusted..

Imagine that!

Possibly .. actually I would prefer Jamie Lee Curtis voice.

Seriously not for me though .. a Bridge Too Far from my perspective.

 

[sgmlaw]

Alexa is the ears of hell.

Never in my house.

 

[chicks]

Sure. Alexa has been controlling the music around here for a couple of years now. Google Assistant has recently gotten much more useful too, with the Home Hub and the ability to default cast to a CCA.

I still love to spin records, too, and photos of spinning LPs on a beautiful turntable are always more interesting than those of a video monitor.

 

[onwardjames]

chicks sums up why I'll never go all digital/streaming/server - aesthetics and the pleasure of the process.

 

[uofmtiger]

I have Alexa in multiple rooms. The aux output in the Dots and Spot means I can connect them to my stereo system or my Tivoli Pal radios.

I still prefer Apple's approach to privacy, but until they make a sub-$50 alternative to the Dot that has all the skills, which is unlikely to happen, I will live with the idea that there is a very, very slight possibility that somehow Alexa will record a conversation. I don't allow it to have access to my contacts, so I am not too worried about it sending anything to one of them. If a random stranger gets an anonymous recording of me saying..."turn out lights", "connect to iPhone", "play Music", I wont like it, but I can live with that.

 

[zebra03]

Resistance is easy here .

 

[uofmtiger]

I should have mentioned, I do see how these types of devices can be a turn off for a lot of people. I have a Google Home Mini and keep it in my office where they door is shut 95 percent of the time. I personally don't trust Google as much as I do Amazon. Also, Amazon has my buying habits which already say more about me than the words I speak at home most of the time. Just saw this article this morning about Facebook and Android, so the privacy issues aren't confined to these smart speakers.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/priva...at-unconsented-facebook-tracking-within-apps/

 

[peerson]

"Technology" already knows too much about me. I noticed that after commenting to a coworker that I was looking for new tires that I started being barraged with popups about tires. Not the first time this has happened with other items. Coincidence? Maybe. Try it yourself. Just say "I am looking for new tires" a few times close to your computer or phone and see what starts popping up. I do not trust high tech. I will not give Apple my fingerprint, either. In fact, I was much happier when I had a Tracfone. I feel like someone is looking over my shoulder all the time. Paranoid? I don't think so.

 

[GChief]

I still have foil hats for sale