Best Buys – Audio & AV – July 2019

If you’re lacking space or perhaps spousal consent for an audio

system, consider the VAIL (Voice Artificial Intelligence Link) Amp,

which combines an Alexa Dot with neat in-wall amplification.

http://www.avhub.com.au

I

s your house wired for voice control? If it

is, you probably have either Google Home

or Amazon Alexa devices. Or, maybe, Apple

Home. Each has their pros and cons, but one

good reason to go for Alexa is the rather strong

third-party eco-system that has grown up around

it. Which brings us to the Vanguard Dynamics

VAIL (‘Voice Artificial Intelligence Link’) Amp.

This device simultaneously manages an Amazon

Echo Dot physically, and turns it into a much

higher-performance music source.

EQUIPMENT

Amazon Alexa was the first in the voice control

field in the US, and while now being challenged

by Google globally, it remains very strong. Most

importantly, some Alexa devices have a modest

feature which the equivalent Google devices lack:

an analogue stereo output. If you want to integrate

these kinds of devices into new equipment, an

analogue output makes it easy and reliable.

That’s what the Vanguard Dynamics VAIL

Amp uses. It is an analogue stereo amplifier which

is built into a housing for a second-generation

Amazon Echo Dot. The Echo Dot is the smallest

of Amazon’s Echo range of smart speakers. It is

shaped like a puck, measuring 83mm in diameter

and 31mm tall. Clearly, that small size limits its

audio capabilities when reproducing music, but

that’s part of the point of the VAIL Amp.

Basically, it works like this. The VAIL Amp

has a round bay into which a second-generation

Echo Dot neatly slips. There are two plugs in the

housing. One is a Micro-B USB plug, with which

the Vail Amp provides power to the Echo Dot.

The other is a 3.5mm analogue stereo plug, which

plugs into the Echo Dot to take the audio signal

to the VAIL.

You bring your own speakers to provide the

sound. So the sound reproduction no longer

has anything to do with the diminutive powers

built into the Echo Dot. Instead you have an

amplifier rated at 30W per channel, supporting

both four-ohm and eight-ohm loudspeakers; the

impedance must be selected by means of a switch

within the housing.

Stated like that, why the VAIL Amp? Couldn’t

you just plug an Echo Dot into any stereo amp

or sound system for effectively the same results?

Well, yes. But the other function performed by the

VAIL Amp is managing the Echo Dot physically.

The amp and its housing are designed for in-wall

or in-ceiling installation. You can basically install

it anywhere a cavity provides a usable depth of

at least 66mm from the face of the wall. The

required round mounting hole needs to be

114mm in diameter.

The housing is secured by two swing-out lugs

which can be tightened and loosened from the

front. You’ll need to feed cables through the wall

cavity, but no rear access is required to install or

remove the VAIL amp itself. A lip on the housing

stands a millimetre or two out from the surface

AMPS/RECEIVERS

IN-WALL SMART AMPLIFIER

VANGUARD DYNAMICS

VAIL AMP

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