Create a home theater system by linking up your Fire TV and Amazon Echo speakers
Amazon’s Alexa and Echo speakers are capable of plenty, but did you know you can create a home cinema speaker system, controlled by Alexa, by linking up your Fire TV and your Amazon Echo speakers?
Officially known as Alexa Home Theater or Alexa Home Cinema depending on where you live, this feature allows for simultaneous wireless audio output from a Fire TV stick to synced Echo smart speakers. Effectively, it will deliver a better sound experience than your TV is likely to manage on its own, and it means you don’t have to invest in a soundbar.
Wondering how to set up your Alexa Home Theater / Alexa Home Cinema system? We have you covered below with step by step guidance, and an overview on what Echo speakers and Five TV devices are compatible, as well as what setups you can achieve.
Essential reading: Complete guide to Alexa
- A compatible Echo speaker
- A compatible Fire TV device
- The Alexa app
- Your smartphone or tablet
- Make sure your Fire TV device and Echo speakers are setup using the same Amazon account and on the same Wi-Fi network.
- Open the Alexa app.
- Tap on ‘Devices‘.
- Tap on the ‘+’ in the top right corner.
- Tap on ‘Combine speakers’ from the pop up menu.
- Tap on ‘Home theater’.
- Select a Five TV to connect from the list.
- Choose ‘Continue’ to Enable Alexa Anytime.
- Choose up to two Echo speakers and subwoofer, or select an existing stereo pair.
- Choose a name for your Alexa Home Theater setup.
- Put your home cinema into a group, such as Living Room.
- Press ‘Save’.
Alexa Home Theater, or Alexa Home Cinema allows you to combine up to two Echo speakers for 1.0 or 2.0 configurations, or an Echo Sub for 1.1 or 2.1 set ups. At its most basic, a 1.0 system, is a single Echo speaker pumping out the audio from what the Fire TV is showing, which to be honest is probably still a better sound that your TV’s basic speaker, especially with one of the 4th-gen Echo speakers, or an Echo Studio.
A 2.1 system on the other hand, would allow a pair of Echo speakers to work in tandem with an Echo Sub for a truly immersive Alexa cinema setup.
You can check out the full list of compatible devices below, but, for those of you with the latest generation of Amazon Echo, this feature means you can stream Dolby Audio wirelessly. It also means that those with the Echo Studio can stream Dolby Atmos sound. However, note that you can only connect a maximum of two speakers, plus an optional Echo Sub to a compatible Fire TV.
That’s it! Once set up, sound will play from your Echo speakers. If you are using one of Amazon’s own televisions, all the content you play will come through the connected Echo speakers. If you are using a Fire TV device plugged into your TV, like the Fire TV Stick, only the content you stream through that device will come through the Echo speakers.
Fire TV devices that can be connected:
- Fire TV 4-Series
- Fire TV Omni Series
- Fire TV Omni QLED Series
- Fire TV Stick 4K Max
- Fire TV Cube (3rd Generation)
Echo devices that can be connected:
- Echo Dot (4th Generation) or newer
- Echo Dot (4th Generation) with clock or newer
- Echo (3rd Generation) or newer
- Echo Plus (2nd Generation) or newer
- Echo Studio
- Echo Pop
As mentioned, you can’t pair more than two speakers in the official Alexa Home Theater arrangement but it is still possible to get surround sound action with Alexa front and center.
That’s because there are a number of third-party soundbars with Alexa built in, from the likes of Sonos, Polk and JBL that not only pack a great sound themselves, but allow you to pair with other speakers for complete surround sound systems.
Some of these brands also play nicely with the Alexa Multi-Room Music (MRM) initiative, which means you can use your Alexa-powered speakers as part of a multi-room audio setup.
