Look out, Sonos! Alexa Home Theatre now rolling out on Amazon Echo speakers
Amazon's fancy new surround sound feature self tunes wherever you place the speakers in the home. It's called Amazon Home Theatre and is rolling out now.
Amazon has confirmed the rollout of its Alexa Home Theatre surround sound feature for select Echo smart speakers.
Announced alongside the new Echo Studio and Echo Dot Max speakers in September and now “broadly” rolling out (via Engadget) to customers, Amazon says the innovation “lets customers easily create high-quality surround sound in their homes.”
In a blog post Monday, Amazon said users can connect up to five of the Echo Dot Max or Echo Studio speakers and pair them up with a subwoofer to “enable surround sound customers can hear from every angle.”
The tech works seamlessly thanks to thespatial awareness each of the devices have of each other and their positioning in the home. There’s no searching for the ideal spots just plonk them wherever and the easy app-based set up process will auto-tune devices on the same Wi-Fi network.
“You can just put your speakers anywhere they blend in best with your home. We do the rest. That’s the power of Alexa Home Theatre,” says Philip Hilmes, director of audio technology for Amazon. Amazon says Alexa Home Theatre makes surround sound more accessible. And it sounds like a good alternative for those who may have been eyeing a Sonos system but have been put off by the price.
The Echo Dot Max speaker, which is handily on sale for Black Friday, are certainly more affordable as rear speakers than a Sonos Era 100 for example. It’s currently only $90/£90.
Chris Smith
