This post may contain affiliate links and/or codes. You won’t pay anything extra, but I might make a commission.
New Post: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Banana Muffins
Echo Dots are great, but did you ever wish that yours had a louder speaker? Or that you could unplug your Dot and use it somewhere else for a while? I’ve got a great solution for both of those problems that’s way cheaper than buying a full-sized Echo! This is the best speaker for Echo Dot.
Echo Dots are great, but…
I love my Echo Dots. When I bought my first one I wasn’t quite ready to jump into a full-sized Echo, so the Dot was a good way to try out Alexa, Amazon’s digital assistant. I figured I’d get an Echo next, but Dots were going cheap on the last Prime Day, so I bought two more! (Don’t have a Dot yet? Here are 10 reasons why you need one!)
While Dots are great on their own, I did end up wanting a bigger speaker for my downstairs Dot. It lives in my kitchen, which is next to the dining room, separated only by a counter. But the Dot wasn’t quite loud enough to listen to music in the dining room while I worked. So, I was ready to finally pull the trigger on an Echo, when my Parenting Bytes co-host recommended the VAUX Cordless Home Speaker. I bought one, and I’m thrilled with it!
Design
The design for this Echo Dot speaker is genius. It comes in gray for the white Dots and black for the black Dots, and once you put your Dot in there, it looks like it’s all one unit. It looks great sitting on my counter! (Note that the VAUX only works with 2nd generation Dots.)
There are two connections in the back, hidden by an access panel. One connection supplies power to the Dot, and the other connects the Dot to the bigger speaker. Your Dot is still available to connect to your phone or other devices via Bluetooth, since the bigger speaker is connected with an actual wired connection. And all of the buttons on the Dot are still accessible. Everything works as it did before you connected the VAUX.
Usage
Once you’ve connected the Dot to the speaker, you use the cord and plug that came with your Dot to plug the speaker into an outlet and push the power button, which is on the back of the VAUX. While supplying power to you Dot, the VAUX is also charging its own internal battery, which the company says can last for up to six hours on a charge if music is playing (more if it’s just on standby). So, you can just leave the VAUX plugged in and charging, or unplug it and take it with you. Sure, you can take a Dot anywhere too, but you have to plug it in in the new location, and wait for it to boot up again. With the VAUX it just stays on while you walk around with it.
The power button on the back of the VAUX lights up to let you know if it needs charging. Amber means the power is off, but it’s plugged in and charging. Green means the power is off, but the battery is fully charged. Blue means the power is on. And flashing blue/amber means the battery’s power is low and you should plug the VAUX in.
Between the power button and the micro USB power jack, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, in case you want to connect a device wirelessly right to the speaker, instead of to the Dot via Bluetooth. Just like you would for the Dot alone, you’ll need a cord with a headphone plug on both ends if you want to do this.It’s great for using older devices that don’t have Bluetooth.
I often grab mine and bring it to where I’m working, but honestly, the VAUX is so much louder than the Dot on its own that sometimes, if there’s nobody else around to bother, I just play music from the kitchen. In the video at the bottom of this post you can hear the difference in sound.
Issues
None. Seriously. I’ve been using mine for two weeks and have had absolutely no problems.
Recommendation
I highly recommend the VAUX speaker. Adding a VAUX to a Dot that you already have is way cheaper than buying an Echo, and if you buy a VAUX and a Dot together you save even more! Plus, an Echo has to stay plugged in, which gives the VAUX a big advantage! A VAUX speaker would also make a great gift for someone who already has a Dot.