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May 10, 2023

How the Amazon Echo Link Can Bring Any Stereo System Into the Alexa Age

Breathe new life into your old stereo equipment with a big dose of smart home

Breathe new life into your old stereo equipment with a big dose of smart home technology.

Do you love your legacy stereo equipment but wish it could be part of your Alexa smart home system? Now it can. With the Amazon Echo Link or Echo Link Amp, you can bring your old audio equipment into the Alexa age. We'll show you how.

Some smart home products can integrate your existing legacy devices into the Internet age. For example, there is a product that can help you make a regular deadbolt smart one, adding voice control and remote monitoring to its capability.

And Amazon offers two devices that add similar smart features to your favorite legacy stereo equipment. The Echo Link and Echo Link Amp will give new life to your old stereo equipment and connect it to your Alexa smart home.

With these devices, you can stream high-fidelity music to your favorite stereo equipment or amplifier. You can control the music with your voice through an Echo device or the Alexa app on your smartphone via Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or Bluetooth.

For example, you could say "Alexa, play Perfect by Ed Sheeran on my Echo Link," and it will play on your old stereo. You can also say things like "Alexa, stop on my Echo Link."

The Echo Link devices have a professional look with a matte black finish. They have a simple design with a large volume knob and an action button on the back to be used during setup. They easily fit in next to any of the best Amazon Echo devices.

The Echo Link or Link Amp might be useful if, for example, your favorite receiver doesn't include Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capability. They provide that missing link to make the wireless connection between your Amazon ecosystem and your sound system.

The Echo Link Amp is more expensive and provides the same functionality as the Echo Link, but with the added power of amplified music. This would be useful in case you don't already have a receiver or amplifier to output your music. The Link Amp serves as an all-in-one device to both receive your streaming music and push it out to your speakers. It adds 60 watts of dual-channel amplification.

Here's the input and output breakdown for each device:

The Link Amp also adds Speaker Out (Left and Right) ports.

For the ability to connect your favorite stereo system to your smart home, the Echo Link and Echo Link Amp are reasonably priced. The Echo Link costs $199 and the Echo Link Amp costs $299.

Yes, and this is one of the great benefits. Say you're going to spend the weekend at your cabin which is located in the remote woods and out of internet range. That doesn't mean you can't listen to your latest and greatest playlist on your cabin's quality sound system.

There are specialized adapters that will connect your phone to your stereo equipment, but fidgeting with this kind of setup can be difficult and not worth the effort. The Echo Link and Link Amp devices can simplify the setup.

You can stream a downloaded playlist from your phone wirelessly to the Echo Link device via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The Link devices also include an Ethernet port, in case you want to try to hard-wire a laptop into your sound system using an Ethernet cable.

You’ll need to start with the basics. Ensure you have all the latest Alexa software updated.

The Echo Link and Link Amp provide Composite or RCA cable inputs and outputs. These connectors are common for most audio equipment.

Now you can check to see if your Echo Link device has automatically been recognized by Alexa.

If you don't see your Link device listed, you can manually add it.

You can also tie your audio output into the Echo ecosystem. For example, if you’re into vinyl, you can use the output jacks on your record player to tie into the Echo Link or Echo Link Amp device. You can then hear the music on any of your Echo speakers, including the optional Echo Sub subwoofer.

This might be useful, for example, if you use the Alexa house speakers setup. With the house speakers setup, every Echo device you have in any of your rooms can play simultaneously.

Here's how to set it up.

Now when you play music on your record player, it will output the audio to your Echo device speakers or the speakers you have physically connected to the Link Amp device. Obviously, you will still have to manually start the record player.

If it's not broke, why fix it? And just because your stereo system is old, why replace it with the latest slick gadgetry?

Having a smart home sometimes means turning a dumb device into a smart one. With the Echo Link devices, you can use what you already have and love, enhancing its capability.

Josh Dollaghan is passionate about home improvement, especially when it comes to next-gen, smart home products. He is a graduate of Colorado State University and has been writing professionally since 2011. He loves spending his spare time with his wife and their two kids. He also enjoys exploring the great outdoors, reading, and composing music.