Best Smart Speakers for Home Automation
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What Redditors are SayingBest Smart Speakers for Home Automation
Sonos Speakers
Sonos speakers are highly recommended for their sound quality and integration capabilities. They support both Alexa and Google Assistant, making them versatile for various smart home setups 
[1:3], [2:4]. Sonos speakers can be integrated into a multi-room audio system, providing seamless audio sync across different rooms [2:3]. While they do not support Siri directly, they can be used with Apple devices via AirPlay [5:1]. The Sonos Move and Sonos Roam are popular choices for portable use, with the Move offering more powerful sound [1:4].
Amazon Echo Devices
Amazon Echo devices, such as the Echo Dot (5th Gen), are favored for their affordability and functionality in managing smart home devices through Alexa [1:2], [2:7]. They are suitable for smaller spaces and can be linked together for synchronized music playback [3:3]. Echo devices are also appreciated for their ability to handle multiple named timers and alarms [2:7].
Google Nest Speakers
Google Nest speakers are another option for those looking for a smart assistant with good integration capabilities. They work well with Sonos systems when connected, although some users find the setup process awkward [3:3]. Google Assistant is known for its compatibility with a wide range of smart home devices.
HomePod and HomeKit Integration
For those invested in the Apple ecosystem, the HomePod and HomePod Mini offer excellent sound quality and native integration with HomeKit [5:2]. A stereo pair of full-size HomePods can provide a robust audio experience in larger rooms [5:2]. However, users should be aware that Sonos speakers do not support Siri directly, although they can function as AirPlay targets [5:1].
Bluesound Speakers
Bluesound speakers are praised for their Roon Ready design, making them an excellent choice for high-quality audio streaming [4:2]. They are compatible with Roon and offer reliable performance over Ethernet connections, which is beneficial for areas with poor Wi-Fi coverage [4:1].
In summary, the best smart speaker for your home automation needs will depend on your preferred smart assistant, existing ecosystem, and specific use cases. Sonos offers flexibility with multiple assistants, Amazon Echo devices provide cost-effective solutions, and HomePods are ideal for Apple-centric homes.
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Google Nest Mini 2nd Generation Smart Speaker with Google Assistant - Charcoal
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Source Threads
POST SUMMARY • [1]Summarize
Best Bluetooth Speakers with Built-in Smart Assistants (Alexa, Google)
Posted by denis_chang · in r/BestBluetoothSpeaker · 5 months ago
ORIGINAL POSTLately, I had the chance to review more than 20 different Bluetooth speakers with smart assistants, and I thought it would be helpful to share this and offer my support to anyone looking for a new speaker. If you enjoy music and want hands free control, these smart speakers are a great fit.
Here are my top 3 picks for Bluetooth speakers with built-in smart assistants:
Sonos Roam 2 (Best Smart Speaker for Overall Use)- The Sonos Roam 2 is a compact, portable speaker with excellent sound quality, IP67 waterproof rating, and hands-free voice control. Great for both indoor and outdoor use.
Amazon Echo Spot (Best Smart Speaker for Nightstand) - With a small footprint, the Echo Spot offers voice control via Alexa, a screen for visual feedback, and Bluetooth capabilities, making it ideal for your bedside table.
Beats Pill (2024 release) – Great Compact Bluetooth Speaker from Apple with USB-C and Microphone , the Beats Pill is a sleek, compact speaker with up to 24 hours of battery life, water and dust resistance, and the ability to pair with other devices for a stereo experience.
I recommend checking out more options on the page I’ve linked, where you can easily filter results by features, budget, and more.
Good luck:)
I need something small but still reliable for taking calls and using voice commands. would the Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) work for that?
Yes, the Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) would be perfect for what you're looking for! It's compact, supports Bluetooth, and has a built in microphone, making it great for hands free calls and voice commands with Alexa. While it might not have the same robust sound as larger speakers, it’s a solid choice for managing smart home devices and using voice assistants in smaller spaces. Plus, it works seamlessly with other Alexa enabled devices
That’s exactly what I need! Can it also control other smart devices in my house, like lights or a thermostat?
What's the best option if I want a Bluetooth speaker with good bass and a compact design for outdoor activities?
I'd recommend the Sonos Roam. It’s mini, portable, and has great sound quality, especially for outdoor use. With its IP67 waterproof rating, it's built to handle the elements, making it perfect for hiking, skiing, or beach trips. Plus, it supports both Google Assistant and Alexa, so you get voice control wherever you go
That sounds great! But, is it easy to carry around, or does it feel bulky?
How does the Sonos Move 2 compare to the Sonos Roam for outdoor use?
The Sonos Move 2 is a bit larger and has more power behind its sound, offering better stereo sound with its two tweeters and a precision tuned woofer. It also has a 24 hour battery life, which is longer than the Sonos Roam.
However, it’s a bit heavier, and the Sonos Roam is more portable and easier to carry around for shorter trips. If you're after powerful sound and extra battery, Move 2 is a great choice, but for ultimate portability, Roam is your go-to.
So if I wanted to use the speaker for a party or get together, would the Move 2 be a better choice?
r/homeassistant • [2]Summarize
What smart speakers do you guy use?
Posted by homewithplants · in r/homeassistant · 2 years agoJust starting my journey with HA, but I'm using it because I'm a cranky, contrary person. I didn't want to be locked into one ecosystem or give up my privacy, and this seemed like the best bet. So... now I'd like to have a smart speaker in every room so I can play music and podcasts and answer calls when I have my hands full or turn out the lights when I'm too lazy to get up. Siri is awful, the Home Pods are expensive, and Apple's ecosystem works with about two other things. Alexa and Google have atrocious privacy policies. Our family uses a hodgepodge of different Amazon/Google/Apple devices and accounts too.
What do you guys do? I feel like this is SUCH a basic question that I never see it addressed on forums.
The HomeKit controller for HA works fantastically, so anything that isn’t compatible with Apple is easily solved by using HA to coordinate everything. I’m a fan of the HomePod Mini for voice assistant, and I’m not really convinced that Siri is worse than the others. They all kinda suck in their own way but I just need them to set timers and play music I request.
I went with a Siri one as well. Out of Amazon, Google, and Apple I trust Apple the most to keep my data private.
I’m a big fan of my Sonos stuff. It integrates just fine into HA.
Is it really worth that money? They aren't cheap. I am also looking for buy a 2.1 atleast.. 🙂
It is worth the money for multi-room audio. For a one-off, not so much.
I’ve tried Google, Alexa, and Airplay and none are as seamless or as capable for multi-room audio. The audio sync is absolutely flawless and they have a wide array of devices from small speakers to amps and connect interfaces for existing receivers or where you need more versatility. Their software works with nearly every streaming service out there and you can add your own Internet radio stations as well for easy access.
It’s not cheap, but it’s very capable and still cheaper than traditional hardwired multi-room audio systems that require wires to every room and speakers in walls and ceilings.
This. ⬆️
I just wanted a speaker for door “dings”, smoke detectors, and alarm. Bout a Sonos One on eBay, used, pretty reasonable. It’s the right price, based on the ease of integration.
Another vote for Sonos. I have 6 Sonos amps in a network closet that feeds to in-ceiling/in-wall speakers throughout the house. I have Sonos Ports for the speakers connected to my home theater AV receiver and my computer speakers. And then I have a pair of Sonos Moves for portable play by the pool.
A recent update has also allowed playing audio announcements while music is playing. It'll automatically reduce the volume of the music and then play the audio notification. The only drawback is that the audio notifications can't sync with other Sonos speakers while music is playing so you might hear some echoes in your house if you are playing the notification on several speakers.
six Sonos amps.. fmd.. that's six thousand Aussie dollaroos
I've got Sonos, because at that time it was the only system.Currently running HomeAssistant + MusicAssistant (BETA) add-on, which future proofs my multi-room audio as it can handle mixed brand providers.For example my JBL Charge 2 bluetooth speaker can be configured as part of the same speaker-group as my Sonos speakers and thus play the same music at more or less the same time. For perfect sync you do need a single brand system as technical limitations prevent that from working.
If I had to invest again I am not sure if I wanted them again as I don't like the integrated microphone in the current Play:One speakers.
Then there is the fact that Sonos would brick your old speaker when you upgraded a new one through their webshop.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51768574
They have stopped doing that ... but the option remains open to them and we all know how trustworthy corporations are in keeping their promises.As such I find myself looking at open-source alternatives like the ESP Muse Luxe.
-- edit --
If you do want Sonos then may I suggest the Ikea Symfonysk instead ?It's cheaper and is effectively an Ikea branded version of the Sonos:1 in a slightly uglier format. They also do a few other variants, but I only have the Symfonysk
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/new/symfonisk-wifi-speakers-pub87002410
For open source alternative I'd recommend the raspberry pi platform.There is a straight-of-the-shelf version if you don't like DIY solutions :https://raspiaudio.com/produit/esp-muse-luxe
Last but not least the link for Music Assistant add-on for HA :
https://github.com/music-assistant/hass-music-assistant
I use Yamaha Musicast as I had a Yamaha receiver long before I had an H-A setup. I also have an Obihai IP phone (ObiTalk200) to provide my land line. One of early and still favorite automations is to pause/play the Musiccast audio whenever I "pickup" the phone.
Thanks for the pointer to Music Assistant. I will investigate further. The Musiccast player is a bit awkward. (but my user community has adapted to it)
I have mostly given in and accepted there isn’t a perfect solution. I use echos for (home assistant) announcements, alarms and timers and my family uses Alexa mostly cause Siri is a crapshoot. We are an apple device house but echos are cheap, have clocks and screens, and support multiple named timers. And they just seam to work. We use HomePods and Sonos for music.
r/smarthome • [3]Summarize
Best Smart Speakers for Home
Posted by myinvitelink · in r/smarthome · 3 months agoI'm looking for a smart speaker for my home. It should have good sound quality and be loud enough for a room. I want it to come with a smart assistant like Alexa or Google Assistant, and support both app and voice control.
Since I have Wi-Fi, it should stay connected all the time without issues. I also prefer something that's compact and not bulky. It must be from a trusted brand, and price is not a problem for me — I just want something that works really well.
If you use or know a great smart speaker, please suggest it. I'm open to recommendations.
Just get some sort of Bluetooth receiver for your amp and connect an echo dot to it, (I have a loxjie a30 which has Bluetooth in) that way you can use any speakers you want, works a treat for me on my current zensor 1s (and will also work as well on my upcoming magnepan lrs and morduant short pagent2)
so with this setup, i can still control everything with Alexa, right?
I am running my whole house audio as Sonos amps with both Alexa and Google devices for voice input. I also have Alexas linked together in a few areas for music.
The linked together alexas are nice in that I can say "play music in the bedroom", and all 3 of my Alexa devices synchronize to play the same music. Even though the speakers are small, it sounds pretty good. Amazon makes larger speakers if you need, though I have not tried them.
My Google devices work a little better when connected to Sonos. It was awkward to get Google's YouTube music to play well with the Sonos app, but I eventually got it. Once working, I find Google to be a slightly better experience for two reasons:
The first is that YouTube music has playlists and music for just about anything you can imagine, and it understands what you are asking for, even if what you are asking for is weird. For example, "play Ramen restaurant music".
The second is that you can set it up so that each Google device in your home is paired with a specific zone, so you don't have to specify the zone with each request. So, if you say, "hey Google, play music" and you are in the living room, it knows to play through the amp that runs your living room speakers, where with Alexa if you do it it will play through the tiny Alexa speaker instead of the amp unless you add the extra phrase "...in the living room group".
Maybe Alexa supports this capability as well but I have not seen it. If you only have a small setup, though, it probably does not matter, but if you have different zones such as individual bedrooms, living area, outside, etc, then it is really nice not to have to constantly remember to tell ot which zone to play.
Both Alexa and Google have bad days where they just get finicky, and then magically fix themselves for reasons unknown, maybe software updates got pushed.
I find Alexa better for making automations "routines", as it recognizes way more of my smarthome devices.
Based on your original posting of looking for compact, and what seems like the desire for the most simple solution, I would recommend Alexa for its ease of use and perhaps slightly better sound quality through the built in speakers, and the ease of which you can synchronize with future Alexa devices if you want to expand without making this into a bigger project. If your needs were grander, I might recommend differently.
Yeah I use Deezer set as my music app, I just yell "Alexa play xxxxx playlist on my echo dot" and boom it blasts out the speakers, it even has a basic EQ
Some of those amps are very power hungry. Leaving a home theater receiver on all the time doing nothing is not free. Those amps use power even when not playing any music.
didn’t think about that, is there a way to auto shut them off when not in use?
Just curious… what problem does a smart speaker seem to solve for you?
mainly for hands-free music and easy control of my smart lights
It’s interesting… since my iPhone feels like such a part of me, using it for these things is not a hassle. I’m guessing that you don’t carry your phone with you all the time while at home? I’m genuinely trying to better understand the use case in order to advise others.
Yep, I'm on Android, do you think iOS is better for smart home stuff?
I only asked because a HomePod is a great sounding speaker
Not personally but I have always hated iOS and I'm actually a mobile technician so I can take my pick of devices, in recent years it's always been a Sony Xperia but it's all down to your preference I guess
I have tons of stuff linked in, my TV, switchbot air purifier, blink cams and doorbell, simpled lock, hive heating, hue lights, my washer, speakers, roborock vaccum and a few other bits like universal ir remote to control my Aircon and amp, it all works seamlessly through alexa
r/roonlabs • [4]Summarize
Recommended "smart" speaker with Roon
Posted by IT-Banker · in r/roonlabs · 4 months agoI want to add a single speaker to my kitchen to include in the whole-home audio group. I have an ethernet port in the kitchen that I want to use, wireless signal is not great there. I bought a JBL Authentics 500 but it is doing weird things on Ethernet. Support said "some things don't work on ethernet, we recommend using wifi." Lol then why include an ehternet port? Anyway, I'm looking for another speaker that would be a good fit.
What speakers are people using with Roon that work on Ethernet? I've heard the Elac Discovery Z3 would work, but it doesn't have any smarthome assistants...Alexa or Google would be great in the kitchen. Maybe I should just go super basic and buy a Homepod lol. Sonos is out because I heard you cannot group Sonos speakers with non-Sonos speakers. Please educate me if I am wrong. The Denon Home line looks interesting. Anyone running a wired smarthome speaker that works great with Roon?
Bluesound speakers should all work with Roon, as BluOS devices are Roon Ready by design. My brother has two Bluesound Pulse 2i speakers and loves them.
Don’t give up on the Authentics just yet — it’s a nice speaker. I’ve got its smaller sibling, the 200, and I really enjoy both the sound and the aesthetics. If there’s a way to get the 500 working smoothly, it’s worth exploring.
Ethernet should absolutely be more reliable than Wi-Fi when using RAAT. We actually recommend using wired connections whenever possible.
Do you mind sharing what the weird behavior is with the 500 on Ethernet? Happy to help spot what’s going wrong or at least point you in the right direction.
Yes, I would love to get it working as well. The Internet behaves like it has a really terrible connection. Google/Alexa take forever to respond, or sometimes don’t light up at all when speaking the wake word. When I try to airplay from my phone, it takes maybe 15-30 seconds just to connect to the speaker, or sometimes fails to connect entirely. When I actually try to play a song from my phone via airplay, it plays about 1 second then stops. My phone thinks it is still playing, the progress bar keeps moving forward, but no sound comes out. I can even skip tricks using physical controls on the Authentics, and Apple Music correctly skips to the next song, but still no sound comes out. Finally, the speaker does not show up as an endpoint in Roon at all.
Disconnecting Ethernet and turning on WiFi (after moving it closer to my access point) removes all these problems.
It behaves like the Ethernet port is bad. I installed the Ethernet jack in the wall myself and know it’s good - tested full speed my ISP offers with latency under 20ms and no dropped packets. I suspect the port in the speaker itself has a poor soldered connection.
Thanks for all the detail - that really helps. From what you’ve described (perfect Wi‑Fi, terrible wired performance, no Roon endpoint, AirPlay and Alexa stalls), it definitely points to an issue in the Ethernet chain. It could be mechanical, software‑related.
You mentioned testing the wall socket, but let’s isolate the speaker by bypassing as much of the network path as possible:
- Unplug the Authentics 500 from the wall jack.
- Connect it directly to a LAN port on your router using a couple of different Ethernet cable (go ahead and unplug a device you know works reliably and use its cable to be extra sure)
Once it’s plugged in, power the speaker on and test Alexa, AirPlay, and Roon again. Let me know what you observe.
Most Sonos speakers will work with Roon, though you mostly can’t group them with other speakers in your system. Bluesound’s speaker systems also work well.
Alternative solution since you already have the know how. How about installing a wireless access point closer to the kitchen? Gets the speaker to work and improves the WiFi for an overall better experience.
Why not buy the speakers you like and then connect them to a wiim as roon endpoint? The speakers you group over the factor preferred method.
NEVER thought about it. Good thinking! Wish my Zeppelins could have an audio input for this.
But you want a lan cable so could connect them through HDMI, coax or what required to make them work. The wim also is not required to be close to the loudspeaker(s)
Good choice and what I would have recommended- not crazy about a lot of their speakers but I love the Pulse. I have a 10 year old Pulse mini that’s beat up but still sounds incredible.
r/smarthome • [5]Summarize
Transition from Amazon(Alexa) to Apple(HomeKit)
Posted by Thenewlew · in r/smarthome · 2 months agoI need some detailed but dumbed down advice, please:
We want to create a smart home that is as secure as possible using Apple rather than Amazon products.
We have been using Alexa devices for years and have lights/plug in sockets/vacuums/Ring Cameras hooked up through Alexa. We want to completely switch over to Apple and HomeKit but I have many questions.
Here is what we currently have with apple:
2 Apple TVs
Phones
Computers
Here is what I want:
2 - Very Good speakers that can work together in large rooms in the house and that I can "talk" to Siri to control music and smart home devices.
2-3 OK Speakers for bedrooms (don't need to "sync" with the better house speakers but need to be able to utilize Siri for music.
2-3 simple speakers or maybe just microphones that can pick up voices to control smart home devices (these would go in places like the garage where I don't need a speaker (we currently use a small "disc" from Amazon that allows us to speak to Alexa.
Questions:
Do I need to use a third party (Matter/Homebridge, etc?). I don't even know what these are. P.S. I am willing to purchase all new smart lights/sockets, etc if they are not compatible with HomeKit.
Do I need to replace my Ring cameras with something else to: 1. To connect to apple and 2. To escape Amazon? If so, what products work well with HomeKit.
What "good" speakers work best...Sonos? and if I chose Sonos for in the house, would they work with a cheaper option in the garage? (I already have a Sonos Arc on one TV with Apple TV)
What cheaper options would be good for the bedrooms? (Or is is best to just pay more for more Sonos or HomePods?
People have mentioned that Apple TVs can be a "hub". Is that what I would use if I choose Sonos over HomePod?
If my spouse has a different Apple Account that is not connected to mine via Family Share, will she be able to control everything from her phone? I want us both to have full control.
Is there a limit to how many AppleTVs, Speakers, etc. can work nicely together on one setup?
THANK YOU!
And lastly....what is ApplePlay?
If you want speakers that have Siri built in, Sonos unfortunately isn’t an option. There is an API for third-party smart devices to use Siri but IIRC the only speakers that support this are from Denon, and you also need a HomePod somewhere in the house for it to work. I’d recommend just going with HomePods unless you have a super specific use case that the Denon speakers are perfect for.
A stereo pair of full-size HomePods can be your very good speakers in the living room. Highly recommend connecting them to your Apple TV, they sound really great. A single HomePod might fit the role of a very good speaker elsewhere in your house.
A single HomePod mini or a pair of minis will be your okay speakers. They sound really good for the size but they aren’t quite as impressive as the full-size HomePods.
There’s no option for a standalone Siri microphone right now, so you’ll either have to rely on your iPhone or buy a HomePod mini for the rooms where the Alexa discs are now.
Now to answer the other questions:
Matter isn’t a third party thing you set up, it’s a standard for communication with smart home devices that’s natively supported by HomeKit. Anything labeled as Matter compatible is directly compatible with HomeKit.
On the other hand, HomeBridge is a third party thing. But you won’t need to mess with it unless you want to use a device that’s not compatible with HomeKit or Matter.
Ring cameras are not compatible with HomeKit. There are workarounds, but I wouldn’t bother with them if you can afford to replace the cameras. Look for something with HomeKit Secure Video (HKSV) support.
Sonos will work as just a music speaker, i.e. it doesn’t have Siri built in and can’t control your home, but you can stream music to it from your iPhone. If you want something with Siri, get a HomePod.
Again, anything AirPlay compatible will work in the bedrooms for music only. If you need Siri built in, get a HomePod mini.
Your Apple TV will work as a hub. What that means is that it’s always connected at home and it’ll run anything that needs to happen when you’re away from home. For example, if you have the lights set to turn on at 6pm but you’re not at home, the Apple TV will tell the lights to turn on. It also allows you to directly control your devices from your iPhone when you’re away from home.
You or your spouse will need to be the “owner” that sets up the home, but you can add another Apple account to the home with permissions to control and add devices. Only the owner can add HomePods and Apple TVs, but anyone invited in the Home app can control them once they’re added.
I don’t think there’s a hard limit of how many Apple TVs and speakers can work in one home. I’ve seen people on here with like 18 HomePods and they say it all works perfectly, so if there’s a limit I don’t think I’ve heard of it being reached.
ApplePlay isn’t a thing, you’re probably thinking of AirPlay. It operates through wifi, but it’s easiest to think of it like a Bluetooth speaker. Any music that’s playing on your iPhone can be streamed to an AirPlay speaker. No pairing needed as long as you’re on the same network. You can also use AirPlay to play a video on your iPhone and have it show up on your Apple TV.
Thank you to all who have weighed in. However, I am confused about the Sonos speakers. It sounds like they work great in one post and then another says that they don't (or I'm confused...which is very possible). Please let me know what I am missing. I do like the sound of the Sonos but it sounds like they don't have the ability to "hear" my commands? Right now I use the Alexa Echo and it is both a speaker and a microphone and I also have a JBL speaker that is connected to a small Alexa disk that acts as the microphone. I can purchase all HomePod products if that is easier. Thanks!
Sonos doesn’t have Siri voice assistant. So unfortunately you cannot summon Siri to do things for you on the Sonos speakers. You can choose from Google, Alexa, or Sonos for voice assistants from the Sonos app. With Google and Alexa voice assistant, you can expose smart devices to their respective Home app and control the devices by voice. This does not preclude you from using HomeKit devices on your phone with Siri. I don’t think the Sonos voice assistant can do anything beyond basic playback controls.
Sonos can present itself as AirPlay target. So you can summon Siri from your phone and AirPlay to them. In each room, Sonos can do stereo pairing, all the way up to Atmos if you have the last ear and best speakers. You can also sync music across multiple rooms for whole house or zone specific music playback.
I’m inclined to think Sonos is still the leader in the space of computational sound bouncing off the wall kind of setup. So if you want a no fuss simple speaker setup that sounds great, high end Sonos are the way to go.
I moved everything to HomeKit and had a similar situation to you. I’ve got Sonos speakers and I’d definitely recommend adding them to your Arc. They sound great, easily play throughout the house (which I love), and play pretty well with HomeKit via Airplay. We use a Sonos Arc in the living room and a few Sonos Ones (new model is Era100) and a Move that we carry around and bring outside. For bedrooms, you could go with HomePod or minis if you want something more budget-friendly and native to Apple (otherwise stick with the Era 100). For less important spots (like a garage), a cheap HomePod mini or even just using an iPhone or Apple Watch to trigger scenes might be enough.
Lutron Caseta is a great call for lighting -- super solid with HomeKit and easy to install. As for Ring, yes, you’ll probably want to swap that out if you’re aiming to fully cut Amazon out. We’ve had good luck with Eufy and Eve cameras that support HomeKit Secure Video, but I still have the old Ring setup at our house.
I wrote a guide that covers exactly this kind of transition and breaks down Matter, HomeKit hubs, compatibility, and smart device recommendations without getting too technical: Matter Smart Home Protocol: A Comprehensive Guide 2025
Also, if you’re starting fresh with plugs, lights, and speakers, I put together a $500 smart home starter build that might help you prioritize where to spend: Smart Home Setup for Complete Beginners: Your $500 Starter Guide
And quick answers to your questions:
- Apple TVs can act as HomeKit hubs, especially useful if you’re using third-party accessories or want remote access.
- Your spouse can control everything as long as you invite her to the Home in the Home app (doesn’t require Family Share).
- No hard limit on number of Apple TVs or speakers that I know of, Apple handles this well.
- “ApplePlay” isn’t a real thing -- probably a mix-up of AirPlay (streaming media to speakers/TVs) and CarPlay (Apple’s in-car system).
Thank you for the info! I will definitely try to do the mix of Sonos and HomePod Minis. I tried to open the $500 Starter Guide but the page did not work. Please let me know if there is another link. I will read the Matter article.
Sorry about that... user error linking! Try this: Starter Guide
I actually run HomeKit and Alexa pretty much in parallel, with home bridge and homey/a bit of other home automation things going on, and really enjoy that set up, because I have complete control over every part of it and how things work with each other, what I want certain routines/automations to do from certain platforms to other ones etc. Homebridge can be really powerful to open up certain devices/automations that wouldn't be possible without it, if you're techie and want to play around a little bit. I also have Sonos throughout the house and Apple TV etc. I'd be happy to help you through some of this and answer some of the above questions for you, if you want to integrate both together or just completely get rid of Amazon stuff. The first two comments here gave a really thorough explanation of above but just thought I'd add my voice to the chorus :-) I'd be happy to help you set things up or answer any questions along the way if needed. Feel free to message me
An Alexa Home to An Apple Home with Incompatible Devices https://youtu.be/IbW4-Q4GBqk
and then also…
Smart Home Day 1 in 2025 with Apple Home https://youtu.be/xM7eF04vlDM
r/homeassistant • [6]Summarize
Multi room audio system
Posted by Frequent-Limit3706 · in r/homeassistant · 8 months ago
Hi! I am building a new home and I am looking for the best multi room audio system. I should have between 6 to 8 rooms connect. I want everything wired and preferably rack mounted. I need it to be AirPlay2 capable and home assistant compatible. I was looking at Soundavo 6 room system and monoprice but they seem to lack AirPlay compatibility. Other solution was Wiim but they don’t have multi room so it would take 6 to 8 Wiim Amp and custom rack mount… What system do you advice?
Thank you!
I use Sonos, it's meh. I do have some really old devices that hate their controller, but I can see it and control them via HA. When it works, it's fantastic. 5 different rooms.
What device do you use for multi room? Or do you have to use one amp/room?
The Sonos system is Multi-room. Each room has at least one speaker and it's on WiFi.
Yeah +1 for Sonos.
It works well with home assistant (all mine are s2 so I think that helps).
Streaming from Plex is occasionally a bit finicky but it usually works seamlessly.
The latest Sonos card is good for controlling groups
I use a mix of moves, symfonisks and a port (to integrate my living room home cinema 5.1 setup) and they are all impressive for the plug and playness of them.
I have Sonos in 5 rooms, over 7 years.
I'm generally happy with the system from a sound perspective and the HA integration is great.
But I'd be slow to recommend them since they dropped support on older models and basically told people they could upgrade them to new hardware with a $100 discount but the old kit would be remotely disabled and would need to be binned.
That was a bullshit move they pulled, but to be fair, they completely walked it back and no longer brick old speakers when you use the upgrade discount code. There are plenty of other boneheaded business decisions that Sonos has made, but bricking old speakers hasn’t been a thing for about four years.
As far as the current state of Sonos, it’s the best multi-room audio product on the market, but it is held hostage by a dumbass CEO who has burned up yeas of hard-earned customer goodwill to chase after quarterly profits. The hardware/software combination is excellent when the app isn’t having issues, but it has been having issues constantly for the last 9 months. There is a decent chance that with all brand new gear and a solid home network that you would never encounter trouble, but it’s hard to recommend a company that has squandered its loyal base’s trust the way Sonos has over the last year in particular.
I also use Sonos, but they're incredibly expensive
We built our house with a wired whole house audio system. We moved to Sonos a few years ago, and I would never go back. Like you said, when it works it's awesome. Have one of the battery powered speakers to take to the garage/deck/patio.
MA is great and you can ad AirPlay devices as Players.
I'm probably just misunderstanding but it seemed to me like MA is ideal for people streaming music from their own catalogue/a server vs people that use spotify/apple music/yt music. Is that correct?
Edit: I guess to add - what's the benefit over say having a homepod/homepod mini in each desired room or google home group instead?
Am I the only one finding the UI kind of weird just for regular use? Selecting speakers, sources etc seems very cumbersome, but maybe its meant for more of a backend for other integrations.
I have this same experience. I feel like I am missing something. I use Owntone instead, but would like to use MA if I could ever figure out how to easily select speakers
r/homeassistant • [7]Summarize
Multiroom audio
Posted by Fair-Pain9994 · in r/homeassistant · 1 month agoHi folks,
Looking to set up a multiroom audio system — mainly for the kitchen and bathroom. Any speaker setups you’d recommend?
Ideally, it should play nice with Home Assistant so I can set up dumb-but-awesome automations like: walk into the bathroom → instant ocean vibes, mother-in-law arrives → Darth Vader theme intensifies
What’s worked (or totally failed) for you?
Snapcast is the full DIY solution, but it’s not pretty or “easy” like off-the-shelf products are.
- Install Snapcast Server somewhere on your home network.
- Flash one SFF device (RaspberryPi or otherwise) with Debian and install Snapcast Client onto it.
- Connect this device to your favourite combination of DAC, amp, and speakers.
- Load your media onto Home Assistant.
- Install the Snapcast integration and get to work on your automations.
You’ll notice I left out the Snapcast configuration instructions. It can be… tricky depending on the client, audio source, etc.
So we installed snapclient on the wall tablets(with bluetooth speakers), and some pis that were running displays at work, installed music assistant and snapcast server in home assistant...
On each client we put the server ip in config, and boom, o e of our staffs home assistant does whole office audio at the office...speakers take a few seconds to sync and line up latency. We do have to power on the Bluetooth soundboard occasionally.
I use Sonos
I picked up a bunch of used Sonos gear. So far I'm liking it quite a bit, though getting the networking to work was a bit of a pain (Sonos devices on a different VLAN/Subnet than HASS, so had to do some upnp/multicast voodoo on the firewall)
Please tell me more about that voodoo you speak of! I run HA on Unraid using a custom docker network (for reasons of swag, letsencrypt, subdomain access externally). I have not been able to get my Symfonisk (Sonos compatible) speaker to 'play nice'. From memory I think I suspected some multicast discovery protocol that does not traverse subnets/networks. I have their ip-addresses hardcoded in my HA config and can control the Spotify playlist etc., but can't use them to play media files directly form HA.
+1 for Sonos. Spent some time engineering something custom; it was frustrating and Sonos just does was it says it does. I don’t know that you can beat it. But agree that it is an expensive solution.
Lyrion Media Server (formerly Logitech Media server) over here. We have 8 Pi3b+ running picoreplayer paired with our analog speaker sets and the sound is incredible.
I use 6 linkplay/wiim speakers since a few years and I tried other systems including Sonos before. If you mainly care about a system that just works and is simple, I would definitely choose Sonos, especially if it's cheaper. Wiim has pretty specific advantages, but it doesn't seem like they would matter in your case. And the HA integrations still kind of suck compared to Sonos.
I’m doing this currently. Super sweet. If I want to add a zone, just add a pi. I also have amp hats to power passive speakers. I love it.
As a different option to Sonos, which I've never used, I'd suggest Wiim. I've got 4 setup throughout the house. They work well and you can use whatever dumb speakers you have with them.
I've also got GoogleHome Nest Audios mixed in which work when they want to. These speakers are mainly used for voice control of HA, for the rare occasion an automation isn't handling everything.
I also recommend Wiim!
I got 7 pros and they worl perfectly with Music assistant
I have a Denon receiver and 1 home 250 I use for the kitchen and bring outside. Been thinking of getting some extra 150's for around the house.
r/smarthome • [8]Summarize
Looking for any recommended complete home automation
Posted by [deleted] · in r/smarthome · 6 years agoHello all!
I have recently moved into a new home and all of the lighting, thermostats, electronics etc are all very outdated so I'm gutting everything and looking for the best complete home automation.
For now I have purchased:
Nest Thermostats
Nest Doorbell
Nest Exterior Cameras
Nest Smoke Detectors
I'm now looking for anything else that will allow me complete control of the home from a phone or tablet. I'm also interested in getting in ceiling speakers so if you have any suggestions on that it would be greatly appreciated as well! Basically I'm just looking for a bunch of awesome in home automation gadgets!
We are an all Google/Nest home and we really like our Lutron Caseta dimmer switches. The whole home audio is run by 5 Chromecast audios plugged into a 6-zone amp.
You should mention what you want to automate as in what do you want to accomplish with what you want to gut and replace.
Thats the thing, nothing in particular. I'm looking for any ideas. I'm for sure looking to automate Light switches, audio, blinds/shades and any other ideas.
Lights are nice to have automated. I got Phillips hue everywhere, but am changing everything but the controllers to yeelight. Cheaper and better than my first generation hues.
Xiaomi sensors are great and cheap.
I control everything with home assistant on April raspberry pi 3j
I've been very happy with my nest thermostats, doorbell, and exterior cameras.
Here's my additional experience:
- Nest products work great with Google Home. Not so well with Amazon or Apple.
- They work great with Google Home Hub (or Lenovo Smart Dispaly) "Hey Google, show me the front door."
- I added temperature sensors for some of my rooms. They're a nice touch, especially as I was tuning the dampers to get the temperatures balanced. $35 each seems a bit ridiculous, but they work well.
- I added Leviton decora smart switches. Not cheap at $45 per switch -- and 3- and 4-ways switches are considerably more complicated -- but they integrate very well with Google Home. "Hey Google, set the house to evening mode."
- I have the Nest-compatible Yale smart lock. I'm mostly happy. I wish they had a model with physical push buttons and keys that had good reviews. With the current lock, I feel like it's hard to explain to non-nerd guests how to use the Yale, since (it seems simple, but) the keypad isn't lit-up for them when they approach until they press the "Yale" button, and they need to push a green check mark after entering the code. Personally, I also don't like not having a physical key backup, though Yale at least has a 9-volt backup plan.
- If you have a lot of lamps, Phillips Hue is also a great addition. Works great with Google Home.
​
I got the Yale push button lock for the exact reason you are having issues with the touch. I got the Zwave push button with key lock for under $100. It can be managed remotely through SmartThings, I can set codes and get notifications of who unlocked the door. My 8 year old had no trouble using it from day one. It's been great.
Newb advice from me always starts with "get a hub"
You can hack and jury rig together a bunch of mis-matched WiFi things, but you're gonna have a bad time.
Once you have a hub get Zwave stuff. You can get just about anything automation that uses the Zwave standard (switches, outlets, sensors, locks, plugs, bulbs, etc). Because Zwave is a standard, and a mature one at that, you can mix and match brands without any issue. They are not dependent on company servers for functionality, so they cannot be dropped from support like any WiFi device can be at any time.
Get switches, skip smart bulbs unless you really want color changing abilities. Switches will be cheaper. And guests will know how to operate them. They still look and work like switches everyone is familiar with.
I've had Nest products, and they're okay, but I felt overpriced. I think the Ecobee is a better thermostat for the same money. But make sure you have a C wire for your thermostat. If you are rewiring the house, put in a new bundle from the thermostat to the furnace.
If you are rewiring I would also skip WiFi cameras, and go PoE over Cat6 and have an NVR. They can be run on a battery backup from a UPS and you don't have to pay cloud fees. If you don't want to run wiring I would look at other camera solutions. I love my Yi home cams. They look like they are Nest cams modded to have a SD slot. They have all the same features and for the same cost you could get 3 or 4 times as many cameras for your home. I use the outdoor cam instead of a doorbell cam, it gives me the same 2 way audio, IR, motion alerts, and gave me flexibility of where to place it.
You can get Zwave smoke detectors instead of the protect. I really got excited for the protect when they were announced. I had a Nest at the time and they seemed so cool. But if your system is hardwired the protect cannot work with an existing system. So it would actually cripple your system to only replace one or two, as it won't talk to the rest of them. I would have bought one pre-order if they would have co-existed. But 12 protects to replace my whole home at once was too rich for my blood. Plus I want to say that I read somewhere they will actually deactivate or stop working after so many years. I'm all for keeping them current, but I don't want to be forced to replace them when Nest thinks I should. So far I have just kept using Kiddie CO/Smoke alarms as needed.
I have a Yale push button lock. It's been great so far. With SmartThings I can manage the codes remote. So if I wanted to unlock the door for someone at my house right then I could, or I can generate a new code that can only be used once to give them. I get notifications on my phone when the kids unlock the door, telling me who did it. The push button lock doesn't need to be woken up like a touch lock does. The Zwave devices would be better on battery use too, last longer, compared to WiFi.
Here is my home: Home Automation Topology
Consider skipping the hard-wired speakers. Try just using Google devices. They will be a lot cheaper than wiring home speakers, and will give you a ton of flexibility.
​
Here's what I use in different rooms:
- The Google Home has fairly decent sound quality for playing music. I use them in rooms that can be noisy (like kitchens) and places where I appreciate more bass.
- Google Home Hub and Lenovo Smart Display have okay sound. Not great, though. Very lacking in bass compared to Google Home.
- Google Minis are okay in places where sound quality doesn't have to be stellar. I use them in hallways and secondary rooms where it's nice to have continuity as you move through the house. Also great in kids' rooms.
- My personal favorite thing is hooking up vintage stereos to use Google Chromecast Audio (about $25). The sound quality can be very good (depending on the stereo) and it's fun to breathe new life into those vintage stereos. In rooms with Google Home Minis (or Hub, etc), I can configure the mini to play through the nearby chromecast instead of the mini, so it's a good setup.
- Google makes a "Max" device that is supposed to be the top tier of sound quality. Lots of other manufacturers have Google Home and Chromecast built-in.
​
With these all setup, I basically have a whole house audio solution, which I can control from any room in the house with my voice or phone. It's been rock solid in my last 18 months of daily use.
​
For each google home device, you can also decide what group it plays to by default -- such as just that room, or the whole home. You can still override this at anytime with commands like "Hey Google, play George Ezra in the Kitchen."
​
With this setup, you also get a basic intercom system. "Hey Google, Broadcast 'We're leaving for school. Back door in five minutes."
r/homeassistant • [9]Summarize
Best smart speaker to integrate with HA?
Posted by dr_raymond_k_hessel · in r/homeassistant · 3 years agoI'm in the market for a few smart speakers to distribute throughout my house. I went through the arduous task of setting up the Nest integration to pull in a couple cameras and thermostats, and I see the Google Nest speakers are pretty affordable. But I see there are breaking changes with HA updates and the Nest integration, so I'm not sure I want to invest any more into the Nest ecosystem. That said, I'm looking for recommendations for smart speakers and here are our criteria:
- we don't plan to ever use a voice assistant (we're introverts so we speak as little as possible)
- whole house audio is an interest, not sure of theses system's capabilities
- microphone disconnect switch is a must, per my partner
- will mostly be used for TTS and sounds (i.e. door chime, alarm siren, etc.)
Thanks in advance!
You could look into setting up a Snapcast server, although it may be more hassle than it’s worth if you’re not really going to use it for music.
I have a Raspberry Pi 4 as a server and a bunch of satellite Pi Zeros as the receivers. The OS I’m running on everything is DietPi, so any hardware that can run that should work fine.
The server runs librespot (Spotify) and shairport sync (Airplay). It’s also got a USB sound card that has a turntable connected to the inputs, so three sources in total. It runs Snapcast server to broadcast the stream to my network, Snapcast stream switch to automatically switch between inputs based on whatever’s playing, and Snapcast client (so it can stream to itself and be used as a speaker endpoint too).
The satellites all run Snapcast client and have USB DACs / powered mini amps and wired speakers. Everything is controlled via Home Assistant.
If you do go this route, I’d recommend standardizing the equipment you use across the board, and hardwiring (Ethernet) the satellites if you can. Theoretically, everything should play in sync for multi room, but my system isn’t there yet - not sure if it’s equipment related (I’m using different DACS/Amps throughout the house) or WI-FI related (all of the satellites are connected via WIFI), so I use it room by room at the moment (or in rooms where you don’t need exact sync - inside/outside, etc.).
It’s been a labor of (love? insanity?) to set up, but it’s pretty rad being able to listen to the turntable on the porch. Until you have to get up to flip the record over.
What dacs, amps, and speakers are you using?
Behringer UCA222 is attached to the Pi4 purely for the ADC turntable capture, optical out into a Monoprice Spark DAC, analog out to Dayton HT1000BT for the main setup. One of the satellites has a Nobsound NS-10P tube preamp into a Douk Audio One Little Bear, the other satellites are small Nobsound NS-20Gs. All of the amps are plugged into Sonoff zigbee smart switches. Speakers are an assortment of finds from Facebook marketplace, but I’m probably going to look at standardizing them to make the sound more consistent across the house.
The Nobsounds pop up used for $30 or so on Amazon, and I like to buy stuff used whenever I can.
I haven't tried it yet but the new ESPHome options look very promising.
A bit pricey perhaps but have you checked the speakers from Ikea?
Afaik they basically are Sonos speakers, so not expensive for what you get.
They are Sonos speakers rebranded.
IKEA Symfonisk is pretty decent for the price. They’re literally just Sonos speakers and use the Sonos app. I’d get those for the rooms you use the least, the lamps for bedrooms and living rooms and then the big boy Sonos stuff for main room. The lamps can be used as surrounds in conjunction with the mainline Sonos stuff.
Can you wire speakers? maybe through an attic or basement?
I have a similar setup with HTD and oh how I wish there was an integration.
r/homeautomation • [10]Summarize
Do you think smart speakers and their counterparts will/have won the battle?
Posted by rufunky · in r/homeautomation · 6 years agoThis is not to ruffle feathers or attract fanboys from either side but are smart homes going in a different direction than we had anticipated pre-smart speaker ..What I mean is, do you think smart speakers and their counterparts will/have won the battle due to ease of use / more options or any other reason? Or do you think they are too limited to ever become as great as we would like?
For myself, I know I held off from buying anything cloud-based or that required an internet connection to work.
Earlier this year I got over it and bought into both the Google, broadlink and hue systems. For the most part, I am pleased with the direction these smart devices are going. I am still unsure though if this is the future or if something more standardized is on its way.
I think in their current state, "smart" speakers are a completely separate market than home automation. People that just want to turn a few things on with their voice and have some simplistic time based automations will be fine with products like Google Home and Amazon Echo.
For people that want more complex automations and different device control options, there will always be other products for that. It certainly is possible that the smart speakers will continue to evolve and someday include this advanced functionality... but then they wouldn't be as inexpensive and user friendly as they are today.
Honestly, I think smart speakers have really helped the home automation market because it's allowed some people to get their feet wet, and then they realize they want to do more, so they go add on stuff like SmartThings, Wink, etc.
I've personally turned two close friends on to using SmartThings. They were all proud of their smart speaker setups, and then I showed them what my system could do and that it was all DIY and they knew they had to have it.
I like smart speakers. They are convenient UIs. There's no reason to make them the heart of your HA system though. It's like confusing the keyboard and monitor with the computer.
​
Many home automation controllers can operate fully independently of the internet. But not having a dependency on the internet doesn't mean it can't take advantage of the internet. Many fully local controllers have a cloud connector that can treat smart speaker as an input. You could do it off the shelf with Homeseer/Hubitat/ISY/Vera.
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To be honest, your Hue Hub is like this. You can unplug it from the internet and it will run your schedules. It's pretty limited compared to the full featured HA controllers above, but it's useful. All the controllers listed above can interact with the Hue hub to leverage your zigbee LL devices. (Hue bulbs are the primary reason Zigbee LightLink is a popular standard)
​
If you add in a full blown HA controller, you could have additional technologies (Insteon, Zwave, Zigbee HA) for switches, outlets, sensors, locks, thermostats, etc.
​
I really don't see what Alexa or Google Home or Cortana or Bixby does differently than your smartphone. They're not changing home automation, they're just a different UI to access it from. They don't provide any sort of automation or control in and of themselves, just how you interface with them is different.
​
It's not really a battle to be won, at least as far as HA is concerned: the more interface options the better, but they don't change the game in any measurable way.
> They don't provide any sort of automation or control in and of themselves
I agree with most of what you said including the UI to access it from, but disagree with the above statement. They do offer automation. Unless we have different interpretations of automation. But both Alexa and GH have 'routines' you can use. For example, one routine you can have is to say "Goodmorning" and your routine can turn on your coffee pot(through a smartplug) and turn on your lights (through hue or another smart bulb). For control, you can go right into the Alexa/GH apps and turn off those same devices.
Many people consider "automation" to be when the house reacts to situations without a person being required to explicitly trigger it. What would be "automation" in this scenario is if your "good morning" routine triggers the first time the bedroom light turns on between 6-8am weekdays.
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A Google/Alexa routine is what would be called a "scene" in HA. A classic scene is "movie time" where the lights dim, all speakers turn on, screen lowers, projector powers up and the DVD player is made the input. There are remotes that can do this with one button.
Routines are little more than remote light switches - just a UI where you've mapped multiple things to a similar command, but *you* still have to issue that command. I could do the same with a Logitech Pop switch, for instance. Or with some romex and gang boxes and willingness to rip out drywall, I can do the same thing with regular old fashioned light switches. Now, sometimes it should be you that issues a command because you want the human interaction in the decision tree, but they can't react of their own accord to other stimuli besides you.
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For instance: your garage door opening so turning on lights and changing the thermostat; or the smoke alarms go off and so it powers on all of the lights, and shuts off the heat system; or of the CO alarm goes off it turns off the burners but runs air circulation fans on full power. Or even one I'm fond of - my switch and keypad backlight brightness changes according to time of day and outside brightness levels. Anything that involves an If:then is beyond what they can do.
For our house, our Echo/Dots work well for an intercom and I like being able to turn on music on all of them and clean the entire house without dragging around my phone.
When the kids all have smartphones, then it probably won't seem as important.
My fiancee finds them a hell of a lot eaiser to use. She doesn't care for the app on her phone, but if she can ask Alexa to turn the lights on/off she does it a lot more.
I think it's like comparing a Gaming PC to a Games Console. The later has brought more people into the videogames market but PC Gaming still exists and is going strong.
I think that they compliment each other nicely and offer a new and accessible gateway for people to find their way into what many people consider "True" home automation.
I don't think it is about winners and losers, personally I think everyone wins. There will be benefits from the forays by the tech giants into this space that the tinkerers will be able to leverage to create something even more amazing.
this is right on. There is a big tent for all of us.
Personally, I don't feel like smart speakers are "there yet" for me. It's easier to pull out my phone and tap a widget than it is to "Hey Google... HEY GOOGLE! ... Turn off the lights... Turn off the LIGHTS." My lights stay on and I hear my wife from across the house: "What just happened to my lights?"
We've also had a few instances where the speaker was triggered by accident and started chiming in to our conversation. That's still a little bit creepy to me. The cynical part of me says, "The FBI doesn't even need to bug my house. I installed it for them and paid for it myself!" Of course, I do realize that I'm carrying around a bug and tracking device in my pocket, but I guess the smart speaker revolution is a little too fresh for me, still.
So my automation system, which I've just started in on, doesn't have a smart speaker. We use our phones like it's 2012 all over again.
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best smart speakers for home automation
Key Considerations for Smart Speakers in Home Automation
Compatibility: Ensure the smart speaker is compatible with your existing smart home devices (lights, thermostats, cameras, etc.). Popular ecosystems include Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit.
Voice Assistant: Choose a speaker with a voice assistant that suits your needs. Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are widely used, while Apple HomePod uses Siri.
Sound Quality: If you enjoy music, consider the sound quality of the speaker. Models like the Sonos One and Apple HomePod Mini offer excellent audio performance.
Multi-Room Audio: If you plan to use multiple speakers throughout your home, look for options that support multi-room audio for seamless music playback.
Privacy Features: Check for privacy controls, such as microphone mute buttons or options to delete voice recordings, to ensure your comfort with data security.
Recommendations:
Amazon Echo (4th Gen): Great for Alexa integration, solid sound quality, and a built-in smart home hub for Zigbee devices.
Google Nest Audio: Excellent for Google Assistant users, offers good sound quality, and integrates well with Google services and smart devices.
Apple HomePod Mini: Best for Apple ecosystem users, provides great sound quality, and integrates seamlessly with HomeKit devices.
Sonos One: Offers superior audio quality, supports both Alexa and Google Assistant, and is ideal for multi-room setups.
Takeaway: Choose a smart speaker that aligns with your existing devices and preferences, ensuring it can serve as a central hub for your home automation needs.
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