Tap First Impressions?

[Mattroid]

Now, I find I will not be able to use the stand, because I bought the Sling case for mine. and find that unless I want to remove the Tap from the protective and handy, very snug Sling too often, my choice is not to use the stand. I will be using the USB charging port in the rear of the Tap.  Not a problem for me, because the Sling case was a great idea for a portable device like the Tap.  It provides a better grip and helps keep the Tap cleaner, because cleaning the Sling will be a lot easier than cleaning the fabric cover of the Tap.  I think a few years from now, my Tap could still look brand new by being inside the Sling.

I got the case as well but keep taking it out to use the stand as mine (for now) will sit on the dock more than it will be taken out and about. As far as it keeping the Tap cleaner, I'm not so sure about that since most of the fabric is still expose (I mean of course...that's where the speakers are, lol). Only time will tell I guess. But if I'm taking it out someplace, of course I will throw it back in the sling. That rubbery stuff can be a pain to clean when it gets dusty, though, so again...only time will tell.

As it stands now, I actually have my Dot using the Tap as it's BT speaker, which is kinda funny when I think about it

[mike27oct]

I wiggled the Tap bottom out of the Sling to charge it on the charging stand to see if I was correct in what I said above; I was, because to get it back into Sling afterward took too much time and effort to get it all aligned in Sling again.  My Tap will be used mostly at home, but it still could get a bit roughed up as it joins me in garage, yard and all around the house (which could be more mistreatment than just taking it away from home).  So, I decided I will keep it in Sling all the time (except to remove Sling to clean it) and just charge it with the cable.  Cleaning Sling will not be hard, because I have a secret weapon called Fantastic; it's my all purpose mild, but super effective cleaner for many years.  Rinses off well, too.


>>  As it stands now, I actually have my Dot using the Tap as it's BT speaker, which is kinda funny when I think about it

Personally I would not admit to doing this, even if I was!  Why should this be done if the Tap has all the parts it needs to play alone?  It's not "kinda funny" it's ridiculous. LOL   

[DParker]

>>  As it stands now, I actually have my Dot using the Tap as it's BT speaker, which is kinda funny when I think about it

Personally I would not admit to doing this, even if I was!  Why should this be done if the Tap has all the parts it needs to play alone?  It's not "kinda funny" it's ridiculous. LOL   

If you take a moment to think instead of reflexively popping off yet another condescending crack the logic behind the combination is obvious, and makes perfect sense.  The Tap is taken and used for its portability when not inside the home.  But when inside, the Dot serves better as the primary Alexa interface because of its "always listening" mode of operation, and the Tap, rather than sitting idle, serves as the Dot's external speaker by virtue of its superior sound.

Not ridiculous at all.

[Halco]

As an early adopter of most things digital, I ordered the Tap before I read other reviews of the device. Before it arrived I read every review I could find and noted that they all panned the audio quality compared to other BT speakers. Now, I'm glad I didn't read those reviews since I might not have ordered this product. I find that its crisp high end response is better for me since I am somewhat tone deaf in the high end. It really shines when reading Audible books and the crisp frequency response of instrumental music is much better than my Echo.  Simple placement of the Tap can enhance the bass response for those who are complaining about that. The charging base is a nice feature but the optional sling cover (over priced imo)  is a must for me. The only problem I see is the complicated procedure for updating WIFI since I am not sure it remembers previous settings.  My verdict is still out as to its battery charge life.  Not sure it will make 9 hours as advertised.  Maybe someone can answer this question. What do they mean by dolby sound? I'm impressed and happy with it.

[DParker]

Maybe someone can answer this question. What do they mean by dolby sound?

It means that the Tap supports audio encoded using one of the Dolby Digital standards:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital

[Halco]

I understand dolby, but wondered if how it improves the audio in the Tap.

[DParker]

I understand dolby, but wondered if how it improves the audio in the Tap.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it does so the same way it does with any other stereo audio playback device.

[ScottinPollock]

I understand dolby, but wondered if how it improves the audio in the Tap.

The audio you are sending to your TAP will not be Dolby encoded, so no decoding is going on here. Instead, Amazon has licensed what is essentially an EQ curve and some additional signal processing designed by Dolby Labs. As to whether it is better or just different is up to you to decide. Given this is originating over Bluetooth, some tasteful EQ and a little expansion certainly can't hurt.

But it would be nice to have a little control over it. I wish both echoes had some form of adjustable EQ, or at least bass and treble controls. Placement of these devices is rarely ideal from an audio perspective and it'd be nice to be able to make some adjustments.

[DParker]

The audio you are sending to your TAP will not be Dolby encoded, so no decoding is going on here. Instead, Amazon has licensed what is essentially an EQ curve and some additional signal processing designed by Dolby Labs. As to whether it is better or just different is up to you to decide. Given this is originating over Bluetooth, some tasteful EQ and a little expansion certainly can't hurt.

Just out of curiosity, where were you able to find that info?  I'm having real trouble finding anything specific about the Tap's audio beyond regurgitation of Amazon's marketing verbiage.  I did find a couple that claimed that the Tap supported one of the Dolby Digital standards (hence my statement above), but that may well have been an unfounded assumption on the part of those sources (my fault for being so quick to accept it).

[dfine1966]

I understand dolby, but wondered if how it improves the audio in the Tap.

The audio you are sending to your TAP will not be Dolby encoded, so no decoding is going on here. Instead, Amazon has licensed what is essentially an EQ curve and some additional signal processing designed by Dolby Labs. As to whether it is better or just different is up to you to decide. Given this is originating over Bluetooth, some tasteful EQ and a little expansion certainly can't hurt.

But it would be nice to have a little control over it. I wish both echoes had some form of adjustable EQ, or at least bass and treble controls. Placement of these devices is rarely ideal from an audio perspective and it'd be nice to be able to make some adjustments.

You do know you can control bass, mid-range and treble by saying Alexa increase or decrease bass (or treble our mid-range). It doesn't just increase volume.  I tried it multiple times especially with bass and you can feel the vibrations on the side of Echo.  I even lowered the volume and the vibration was there.  The only problem is if you shut off, at least the Echo, the settings don't remain.  You have too do it each time.

[ScottinPollock]

Just out of curiosity, where were you able to find that info?

Just experience. Dolby Labs has a plethora of "standards". Some are based on encoded material (AC3, DD, THD, etc.), and others (PL, DS) that simply act on a non-encoded stereo or multi-ch source.

While the decoding of encoded material provides discrete additions to the audio signal, PL and DS type processing use a number of algorithms to "simulate/synthesize" signal improvements, which many hear as coloration and would prefer to do without. It can work well on some material, but since it is guessing, it can be "not so hot" on others. The better the audio system (source to speaker), the more apparent the guessing process will be.

As to what specific algorithms are being used with the Tap is anyone's guess, but given marginal quality sources (mp3's over Bluetooth), with highly compromised amp/speakers, you can bet they involve dynamic range enhancement (envelope modification) along with EQ.

Think of it as a very sophisticated way of turning up the bass and treble controls to address a flat sounding recording. (c;

[DParker]

Just experience. Dolby Labs has a plethora of "standards". Some are based on encoded material (AC3, DD, THD, etc.), and others (PL, DS) that simply act on a non-encoded stereo or multi-ch source.

While the decoding of encoded material provides discrete additions to the audio signal, PL and DS type processing use a number of algorithms to "simulate/synthesize" signal improvements, which many hear as coloration and would prefer to do without. It can work well on some material, but since it is guessing, it can be "not so hot" on others. The better the audio system (source to speaker), the more apparent the guessing process will be.

As to what specific algorithms are being used with the Tap is anyone's guess, but given marginal quality sources (mp3's over Bluetooth), with highly compromised amp/speakers, you can bet they involve dynamic range enhancement (envelope modification) along with EQ.

Think of it as a very sophisticated way of turning up the bass and treble controls to address a flat sounding recording. (c;

I see what you're saying.  Although the problem with the part I hilighted in bold is that MP3 and Bluetooth are only 2 of the standards supported by Tap for audio playback, and even with MP3 quality varies with bitrates.  You can also use it for streaming higher-quality sources over Wi-Fi (my primary source of music playback via my Echos), with providers like TuneIn - and possibly others as well - encoding their streams at rates of 320Kbps (MP3) and 256+Kbps (AAC).

[ScottinPollock]

You do know you can control bass, mid-range and treble by saying Alexa increase or decrease bass (or treble our mid-range). It doesn't just increase volume.

No, I didn't. I tried a number of terms to see if that was indeed possible, but they all fell on deaf ears. Are you sure you're not just hearing a placebo/"fletcher munson" effect. I am not hearing anything change but the level.

[ScottinPollock]

I see what you're saying.  Although the problem with the part I hilighted in bold is that MP3 and Bluetooth are only 2 of the standards supported by Tap for audio playback, and even with MP3 quality varies with bitrates.  You can also use it for streaming higher-quality sources over Wi-Fi (my primary source of music playback via my Echos), with providers like TuneIn - and possibly others as well - encoding their streams at rates of 320Kbps (MP3) and 256+Kbps (AAC).

Yes... but they are all lossy compression, and have the same types of flaws, albeit some more noticeable than others.

[DParker]

No, I didn't. I tried a number of terms to see if that was indeed possible, but they all fell on deaf ears. Are you sure you're not just hearing a placebo/"fletcher munson" effect. I am not hearing anything change but the level.

Oh, sure...next thing you'll be telling us that Quija boards don't really communicate with the dead, and making up fancy-sounding terms like "ideomotor phenomenon" to try to confuse us!