Alexa Home Theater surround sound for Echo speakers is rolling out now

One of the more intriguing prospects Amazon revealed at its devices and services event back in September was Alexa Home Theater, a surround sound mode for select Echo speakers. Amazon has now confirmed to Engadget that it’s rolling out Alexa Home Theater “broadly” starting today.

This could make Echo speakers a more budget-friendly, entry-level alternative to a Sonos setup in some consumers’ eyes — though a good soundbar may be actually a better bet for those just starting to put together a home theater system. You can connect up to five of the company’s new Echo Studio or Echo Dot Max speakers plus a subwoofer to a Fire TV Stick 4K or 4K Max (the original Echo Studio isn’t compatible).

Amazon said that, after you plug in several Echo devices in the same room as your TV and link them to the same Wi-Fi network, the Alexa app can walk you through the setup process. Alexa will automatically tune the speakers for your space.

As it happens, the latest Echo Studio and the Echo Dot Max are both on sale for Black Friday, along with other Amazon devices. The Echo Studio is $30 off at $190 and the Echo Dot Max has dropped by $10 to $90.