Editors' Note: This is still the most recent version of the Echo Input. Read our original review from December 13, 2018 below.

Need a little more Alexa in your life? Amazon's Echo Input ($34.99) is basically the microphone portion scooped out of the top of an Echo Dot, for $15 less than an actual Dot costs. It's an easy way to Alexa-enable third-party speakers, and it helps fill microphone-free gaps in your always-listening smart home. It's a niche product to be sure, but it works for that niche.

Design and Setup

The Input is a 3.1-inch wide, 2.75-ounce matte black disc with a soft rubber bottom. It has two buttons, to launch Alexa and turn off the mic; a micro USB port solely for power (there's no battery); and a 3.5mm output. A small LED in the center glows blue when Alexa is listening or red when the mic is muted. Unlike, say, the rattley Echo Buttons, this looks and feels like a quality product.

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The Input sets up just like an Echo speaker. You need to use the Alexa smartphone app or web interface, making sure to connect the Input to the same Wi-Fi network as other Echos in your home. It has dual-band Wi-Fi, and the Alexa app will prompt you with known networks for it to connect to. I found setup to be very easy.

Once the Input is online, you're supposed to connect it to your speaker. You can use an included 3.5mm cable to do so, or go for Bluetooth, which is done through the Alexa app. I didn't have a problem with either. The 3.5mm cable connection is more solid, of course, but Bluetooth gives you more flexibility in placing the device farther from the speaker.

Features

As a first-party Amazon product, the Echo Input has all of Amazon's Alexa features, including answering questions, controlling your smart home devices, streaming music, making phone calls, and using Drop In. That immediately makes it superior, feature-wise, to third-party Alexa speakers, which sometimes trail behind as Amazon introduces new features.

There's an asterisk on that, though. If you connect via Bluetooth, you give up the ability to make phone calls or Drop In calls. But if you connect via 3.5mm, your speaker might go to sleep after a while and be unresponsive when you say "Alexa," something I found with a Bose SoundLink Revolve. The best solution is to connect via 3.5mm (which also leaves your speaker's Bluetooth available to stream from your phone) but use a speaker where you can turn that sleep behavior off.

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The Input also has an independent volume control from your primary speaker, and it will not control your primary speaker's volume. It controls its own volume, as a source. If you want just one volume control, get a speaker with built-in Alexa.

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The Echo Input doesn't really need to be connected to a speaker. If you use Alexa as a smart home control or a multi-room audio system, the Input can also be a 'silent' Alexa mic, controlling things secretly and remotely, and it's small enough to hide. If you think this idea is creepy, this product isn't for you. But I know people whose entire houses are kitted out with multiple Alexa speakers, smart lights, smart locks, smart thermostats, and such. An Echo Input is small enough to stick to the underside of a desk or side table completely out of sight, although it does need to be powered. So one hidden near your door could trigger your "I'm home" routine, for instance.

The Input's noise rejection is about as good as the Echo Dot's, if the Dot is connected to a third-party speaker. It isn't as good as the Dot's if the Dot is playing music itself. I tested this with Grimes' new single "We Appreciate Power," which is basically a wall of sound. Put the Input or a Dot next to a larger speaker playing that song at maximum volume, and you'll have to shout "Alexa" to be heard, which isn't the case if the music is playing on the Echo speaker itself. Separating the Input from the speaker by about a foot, using Bluetooth or a 3.5mm cable, significantly improves voice recognition at a distance.

Comparisons and Conclusions

Compared with a Chromecast Audio, the Echo Input supports Bluetooth and takes voice commands, but needs to be powered. That said, it's unlikely you're going to mix Alexa and Google Assistant in your home, so the two products don't really compete.

Compared with the Echo Dot, you save $15 and some space, and I don't see how you're losing anything if you're just buying the Input to connect to a separate speaker system. So you might as well save the cash if don't intend to use the Dot's built-in speaker at all. On the other hand, you might want to consider getting an $89.99 Echo Show 5, which also has a 3.5mm output and adds a touch screen to the mix.

The Amazon Echo Input does what it promises to do: It Alexa-enables any speaker, or any room, for a low price. I think it's a niche product, as most people will just want the convenience of a single-piece Alexa device that doesn't require managing two physical objects. But if you're the right person for this, product you'll probably know by this point in the review, and you'll probably enjoy using the Echo Input.