Echo speakers are optimized for music streaming from Amazon Music or Spotify. But you can also play music files from your PC on the smart boxes. Here’s how it works.
As a smart speaker, the Amazon Echo is mainly a contact point for users of streaming services such as Spotify. The combination of Alexa voice control and music streaming makes it possible to conveniently call up songs and playlists without even having to touch the smartphone or other playback device.
Locally stored music collections are meanwhile more likely to be played back via classic PC speakers or wired sound systems. But even if the Echo was not primarily designed for this, the smart Amazon speaker can also be used to output sound from computers. There are these options:
Overlooked by many users, the AUX connection leads a shadowy existence next to the power supply socket on the back of many Echo models. After all, most Amazon speakers are wireless and iPhones have not had an AUX output for the 3.5mm jack for a long time.
However, the AUX connection of the Amazon Echo even fulfills two functions at the same time: As a line-out, it enables the Echo to be used as a sound source for stereo systems and wired speaker systems.
However, if you use the AUX port of the Echo as a line-in, you can feed the smart Amazon speaker with music from the PC and other playback devices in the classic way using a cable. How it works:
Connect PC and Echo via Bluetooth
Pairing a PC or Mac with Alexa is not yet possible. This means that the WLAN-based loudspeaker network of the Amazon AI cannot be used from a computer. If you still want to connect your PC wirelessly to an Echo, this is possible via a simple Bluetooth pairing of the devices.
Netzwelt explains how you can establish such a Bluetooth connection to the echo in the linked detailed instructions.
Playback via third-party Alexa Skills
If you don’t want to do without the voice-controlled playback of music files on the PC, you can try your luck with third-party Alexa skills such as “Plex” or “My Media for Alexa”.
Although this only allows playback on a single Echo as in Bluetooth or AUX mode, you can at least call up pieces of music or playlists hands-free via Alexa. However, the user feedback on the functionality of these workarounds is less than excellent – so a direct recommendation for the skills cannot be made at this point.
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