Amazon’s Echo hardware served my household well enough over the years, but it’s time for us to part ways. I’m removing Amazon’s assistant from the home and replacing it with better speakers, more intuitive audio commands and processing, and full integration by putting Home Assistant front and center. Home Assistant is a completely free and open-source platform that will control everything within our home, including lights, audio, plugs, and all other smart equipment.
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Sonos sound system
Immersive audio for the entire house
Sonos is a household name when it comes to audio. The company is responsible for creating some epic sound experiences, so much so that flat-pack furniture giant Ikea even sells branded Sonos hardware. Amazon Echo speakers sound great, especially the range-topping models with all the fancy equipment, but they fall short of what’s available with a proper sound system like what you can buy from Sonos. Although Sonos speakers also have smart functions, they can be fully integrated into Home Assistant and play anything you desire.
I plan to purchase a couple of Era 100 speakers with a Sonos cinema set to transform our big screen entertainment. They will also be great for blasting out our favorite tunes of the day. Dedicated audio hardware can also be more versatile with subwoofers and soundbars that can all be positioned just right for the best sound delivery and experience. Just like some smart speakers, you can mix and match to create your ideal soundspace, which is great when everything can be routed through Home Assistant and available integrations.
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Home Assistant
Automating everything with full integration
Home Assistant is one of the greatest services you can self-host at home. It’s an impressive software suite connecting with hundreds of branded products, including Philips Hue bulbs, Ring security devices, Sonos speakers, and much more. Alexa is pretty cool at first, but Home Assistant can connect to so many more ecosystems and hardware, making it a vastly superior platform for managing a truly smart home. It doesn’t make much sense to use Alexa (or some other smart speaker) for a portion of hardware when Home Assistant can manage it all.
The package itself is easy to install as a Docker container, and configuring the platform to integrate with other devices is almost seamless. Adding users is also convenient, making it possible to create a household of accounts and adjust permissions for the dashboard and tabs. It’s pretty robust and well-documented for even beginners to get started with their first Docker deployment. With official apps for iOS and Android, you can take your Home Assistant around the home with you, and even control everything while away with a secure network configuration. It’s amazing.
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Home Assistant Voice
The open-source smart speaker replacer
Home Assistant is a great platform for controlling all smart hardware inside your home, but if you miss all those voice commands, there’s the Home Assistant Voice. This compact device has a few microphones, some smart audio processing, and full support for Home Assistant. Nabu Casa is the first (and only) smart assistant developed from the ground up for Home Assistant. Built by the same folks who maintain the software, it’s a perfect match in heaven and eliminates the big tech middleman.
All you need is a USB-C power adapter, and you’re good to go. Installation and management are handled through an active Home Assistant installation. Some of the advantages of using Home Assistant Voice include more accurate commands, full integration with everything running through Home Assistant, plans to support more languages than other smart speakers, visual and audible feedback, ESPHome support, and the fact that everything is open-source for anyone to check out the code.
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Smart speaker assistants are no longer for me
I was ecstatic when my first Amazon Echo device arrived. I always found earlier hardware to be gimmicky, but I thought I’d take the plunge to see what all the fuss was about. I was immediately playing music through the Echo Plus from Plex and connecting Philips Hue bridge so we could control all the lighting through voice, but the novelty wore off quicker than I hoped. Using Alexa commands became a chore over simply using an app on the phone. Then there’s the case of Alexa not working with absolutely everything, requiring skills to be developed.
