Nabu Casa launched the Home Assistant Connect AUX-2 on November 11 for $69. The small box streams lossless 16-bit/48kHz audio to any amp with an aux or optical input, controls TVs and receivers over RS-232, works as a Bluetooth proxy and runs on Power over Ethernet. It needs a Home Assistant server and has no audio input.
Nabu Casa, the company that makes official Home Assistant hardware, launched the Home Assistant Connect AUX-2 on November 11 for $69. It is a small network box that turns a stereo, receiver or pair of powered speakers into a synced multi-room player, and it controls older TVs and AV gear over a serial cable. It is only worth buying if you already run Home Assistant, or plan to.
What it does
Nabu Casa calls it a smart home multi-tool in its launch post. The product page lists four jobs:
- Audio streamer. One 3.5 mm port carries either analog or optical digital output, and the box detects which cable is plugged in. Output is 16-bit/48kHz stereo, lossless on the digital side. The free Music Assistant software feeds it from streaming services and local files.
- Synced playback. Using Music Assistant’s Sendspin protocol, several AUX-2 units can play in sync with each other and with other brands. Nabu Casa names HomePod and Sonos; the product FAQ narrows that to AirPlay and “some Sonos speakers.”
- Serial control. Two RS-232 ports switch a receiver’s power, input and volume, even from standby, or control a TV without the TV being online. RS-485 and Modbus gear such as solar inverters needs a USB adapter that Nabu Casa prices at about $15.
- Radio hub. It works as a Bluetooth proxy for Home Assistant with a dedicated antenna, and its USB-A port lets you place a Connect ZWA-2 Z-Wave adapter anywhere you have a network cable.
Power comes from Power over Ethernet (802.3af) or a 5 V, 2 A USB-C supply. Wi-Fi is 2.4 GHz only, and Nabu Casa recommends wired. The firmware is ESPHome with an unlocked bootloader, and the case opens with four Phillips screws.
What it costs
- US: $69 MSRP, before tax, from Home Assistant’s listed retailers as of November 11, 2026.
- Europe: €59, tax included.
- Canada: Nabu Casa lists no Canadian price. It says prices vary by region and retailer.
Cables are not in the box. Budget for a 3.5 mm, RCA or optical cable, plus a serial cable or converter for your specific receiver or TV.
What it does not do
The product FAQ is direct about the limits:
- It needs Home Assistant 2026.9 or later. There is no standalone app. Without a Home Assistant server on your network, it does nothing.
- No audio input. It plays music out. It cannot capture a turntable or TV and send that around the house.
- No Bluetooth audio, in or out.
- No amplifier. Passive speakers still need an amp.
- No Thread. Nabu Casa says Thread is too latency-sensitive to run over a network link and is not planned.
- Zigbee is experimental. A Connect ZBT-2 works through it with ZHA on Home Assistant 2026.11, but Nabu Casa is not advertising that yet.
- Serial control only works with gear that has a Home Assistant integration.
Who should buy it
- You run Home Assistant and own a good amp or powered speakers: yes. $69 for a lossless streamer that syncs with the speakers you already have is cheap, and you get a Bluetooth proxy with it.
- You want to take a smart TV off the internet: worth a look, if your TV has an RS-232 port and an integration. Nabu Casa names LG as one example. You keep power, input and volume control and lose the built-in streaming apps.
- Your Z-Wave adapter sits in a basement rack: this is the tidy fix. One PoE cable powers the AUX-2 and the ZWA-2 wherever coverage is best.
- You do not run Home Assistant: skip it. A WiiM Mini or an AirPlay receiver does the audio job with its own app and no server.
A $69 box is a bet that old amps outlast smart speakers
Smart speakers age on the maker’s schedule. Roku stopped selling smart home hardware this week, and Fitbit owners are losing third-party apps on November 28. An amplifier from 2005 with an optical input has no cloud to shut down. The AUX-2 puts the part that goes out of date, the streaming software, in a $69 box that runs open firmware and talks only to a server in your house.
The trade is setup time. You need a Home Assistant install, Music Assistant on top of it and the right cables. For a home office with decent bookshelf speakers and a receiver nobody uses, that is an afternoon of work for multi-room audio that no vendor can switch off. If you are choosing between that and a new smart speaker, our HomeView and HomePod mini 2 comparison covers the buy-new option.