Echo Link

[JonRA]

As previously mentioned, I'm a newbie so please treat this post according to my lack of expertise

Earlier this year I bought my first decent music system for decades - a Denon PMA600NE amp, a Denon DCD600NE CD player and a pair of Dali Spektor 2 speakers in order to revisit my CD collection. All was going well until I finally decided to upgrade my Amazon Prime subscription to Music Unlimited (courtesy of a 3 months free offer!). Suddenly I wanted more...

Although I can connect my phone to the amp via Bluetooth, as to be expected the sound isn't brilliant - rather muddy compared to the CDs. So after a bit of web research, I decided that one of the expensive streamers would be overkill with my system and plumped for an Amazon Echo Link streamer.

Set-up was easy and the small, innocuous box sits alongside the amp without a (front) light or anything to indicate it's working. I haven't connected it to a Echo dot or similar to give voice control, I just cast from the Amazon Music app.

What can I say - it's brilliant for the money (most of the negative reviews on the Amazon site are to do with voice control and streaming around a house, not sound quality). To me, the sound is at least as good as my CDs, possible even better detailed on some tracks. Now I'm wondering what to do with my CDs - they are largely redundant all of a sudden.

BTW if you look carefully, you will see the other addition to my music room today - a pair of drum sticks. The best value addition ever for encouraging air drumming and whacking the sofa along to whatever rock track is playing!

 

[Gray]

...a pair of drum sticks. The best value addition ever for encouraging air drumming and whacking the sofa along to whatever rock track is playing!

You're preaching to the converted there - sticks and a cowbell for me 😉

 

[JonRA]

You're preaching to the converted there - sticks and a cowbell for me 😉

Now I'm googling cowbells!

 

[Edbostan]

Up until today I played Amazon Music through my Sonos system. My Sonus Bridge has died so you have given me another possibly to play Amazon Music

 

[JonRA]

Up until today I played Amazon Music through my Sonos system. My Sonus Bridge has died so you have given me another possibly to play Amazon Music

I had read that they are sometimes on offer, like most of the Amazon devices, so I waited until the Prime days earlier this month... No such luck. Echo Dots, which can be used to provide voice control were down to £19.99 IIRC but nothing off the Link. But it's still a pretty inexpensive option.

 

[JonRA]

A quick update on this thread... after a few months more critical listening to music streamed via Amazon link, I decided that its quality wasn't quite as good as my CDs after all - close, but I think the CDs had the edge. I presumed this was because of the DAC in the Link. After a bit of research it appears that connecting the Link to my amplifier via an optical cable would bypass the Link's DAC and the amp's one would come into play. Now I am confident that each route is as good as the other, so my CDs are tucked away in some drawers for now. I also bought an Echo Flex - a simple voice control device and connecting it couldn't have been simpler. I'm very pleased (though now agonising over whether to buy new speakers!