Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart Speaker

We've only had our Alexa devices setup for about two weeks now, so we're definitely still working out the kinks. With that said, this is a review of everything I've noticed of our entire Alexa ecosystem, which includes 2x Echo Dots, 2x Echo Spots, 2x refurbished Echos, and 1x Echo Sub: Pros: Individually, they all work exactly as they should ALMOST all the time (more on that in the cons section). They all look good, and aren't big, ugly hunks of metal and plastic taking up space in your house. They were all incredibly easy to get through initial setup (except the Echo Sub, more below). Music sounds good in all of them, to include the Echo Dots (but it sounds GREAT on the Echos, and fantastic on the Echo/Sub pair). Cons: The voice recognition is almost too good for its own good. We have a fairly open floor plan, with an Echo Spot in the living room and an Echo in the kitchen. Sometimes they both hear a demand, and the wrong device (meaning the one farther away) will respond. I find myself occasionally whispering to an Echo device so its friends don't butt in to the convo. The Echo Sub needed to be reset 3x when I first got it/went to set it up. I had to log in/out of the app a couple times as well before it was recognized and would actually pair to an Echo. Sometimes Alexa tells me she can't complete a request, then my wife (who uses Alexa far less often than I do) will ask the same request and it works...and vice versa. We haven't figured out what we're doing/saying or not doing/not saying for these discrepancies to happen, but hopefully that'll work itself out with time. The most irritating issue I have so far is getting music to play on the "Everywhere" group. Sometimes I say "Alexa play music everywhere" and it just doesn't do it. Sometimes it'll play on only some of the devices, and sometimes it'll only play on the device I was speaking to. Our house is two stories, and we have two kids and a dog, so we spend a ridiculous amount of our time cleaning/walking up and down the stairs. A big part of the reason I bought these was for the music to fill the house while cleaning, and it oftentimes requires me to spend some time arguing with Alexa to get that to happen. It's even gotten to the point where I've had to go into the app and manually select "Everywhere," because the voice command just won't work. Individual components: 2x Echo Dots (w/ separately purchased wall mounts): No complaints. They setup just fine, and work perfectly. They're actually bigger than I thought they would be, and look a little clunky mounted to the wall, but overall they don't mess up our aesthetic enough for me to dock them a star or anything. 5/5 would recommend. 2x Echo Spots: No complaints again. These were the first two devices we bought, and they worked so well I decided to buy the other devices. My favorite part of these is their ability to pull up security cam footage. My desk is in the basement, so it's nice to say "Alexa show me the driveway" and see who just pulled in, or to say "Alexa show me the front door" when the doorbell rings. I paired these will some web cam covers (also bought on Amazon, of course) so Jeffy and his crew can't record me all day long. 2x refurbished Echos (in charcoal): I bought these to play music, and they sound amazing. We'll see how they hold up, given that they're refurbished equipment, but I have my fingers crossed. They also look great, and are not an eye sore like other speakers. 1x Echo Sub: The only device that gave me an issue with the setup process. For that, I'd honestly give the Sub 4/5 stars because it really was a pain in the butt getting it properly hooked up. It gave me issues not just connecting to Wifi, but also when pairing with an Echo. Lots of logging in/out of the app, resetting the Sub. Irritating, to say the least. However, with that one star docked, I'd give it a SOLID 4/5 stars. This thing sounds GREAT. I'm a huge music lover, but hip hop/rap is really where my loyalty lies. And I NEED bass when I jam, and this thing delivers bass in spades. Even with the setup issue, I'm planning on buying another for in the basement. If Amazon ever makes a waterproof version, I'll buy one for outside for bbqs/parties too.