Origin Hoping Dot-Ready Amp Brings Voice Control Profit Opportunity to Installers

Origin Acoustics is bringing to the CEDIA show this week a voice-controlled amplifier, the Valet, that works with Amazon’s $49 Echo Dot. The four-zone amp, with eight 75-watt channels, can access Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio and TuneIn libraries via the Dot, and external sources also can be played through the system, said the company. Each of the four stereo zones, equipped with an RJ45 connector, sends power to the Dot over a CAT 5 cable, which returns the audio signal to the amplifier via a proprietary balun. The Dot’s audio output allows music and Alexa’s voice to play through the room’s loudspeakers, giving an audio upgrade to the Dot’s internal speaker, said the company. The Dot can be ceiling mounted behind a perforated 3-inch speaker grille “making it virtually invisible in the room but easily voice activated,” said the company. Up to four Dots can be incorporated into the amplifier. The Valet ($1,500, including baluns) allows the Dot and other voice-controlled products to be incorporated into the custom channel while creating profit opportunity for installers, said the company.