Comparing Amazon’s New Echo Studio to Other Smart Speakers
Echo Speakers have great features that make them great for setting up an Alexa-powered smart home, but they’re not necessarily known for stellar audio quality, especially Amazon’s more affordable options.
Considering how much sound is coming out of Echo speakers, including Amazon’s new Amazon Music HD, we can sympathize with users who prefer other brands with better sound quality, but Amazon’s recently announced Echo Studio smart speaker claims to overcome the performance limitations of its predecessors (and even some of its competitors).
The Echo Studio will retail for $ 199 and is slated to launch on November 7th, but if you’re in the least bit like me, you’re probably wondering if it’s worth spending a couple of Benjamins on it. To that end, let’s see how the recently announced Echo Studio stacks up with both its older Echo siblings and high-end models from Amazon’s competitors.
Sound quality
Echo Studio seems like a major upgrade over its predecessors in terms of audio output. The Echo Studio features a 1-inch tweeter, three 2-inch mid-range drivers and a 5.25-inch woofer, which is slightly larger than the 0.8-inch tweeter and 3-inch woofer used in the third generation Echo (which was also recently announced and will replace previous Echo models when it goes on sale October 16 for $ 99).
The Echo Studio is also the first Echo with automatic room adjustment that adjusts the speaker’s sound output to better match your room acoustics (measured using the seven microphones at the top of the unit). Many other smart speakers have had this feature for a while now, and it’s good to see Amazon finally include it.
The real question is whether the Echo Studio is better than the high-end speaker options from Amazon’s competitors, especially the Apple HomePod and Google Home Max. We ourselves have not heard of Echo Studio, so we cannot comment on its quality; On paper, that’s not much of a difference between most other smart speakers in the $ 200 to $ 400 range.
However, the Echo Studio will retail for $ 199, which is $ 100 less than the Home Max or HomePod. If it can come close to comparing to its competitors in sonic performance, it will be a big plus for the Echo Studio, especially when you consider all the additional features that Amazon has managed to bring into its new high-end smart speaker.
Additional features and device support
As with other smart speakers, users can link two Echo Studios together to create a dual-speaker stereo system, but Studio Plus can also connect wirelessly to Fire TV devices to act as a stand-alone home audio solution. Some might not like the idea of using a smart speaker instead of, say, a soundbar or even a 5.1 speaker system, many of which cost a little more and probably have much better sound, but the Studio Echo at least can match some of these products. when it comes to 3D audio and device connectivity (at least on paper).
Echo Studio is the first smart speaker to offer 3D sound via Dolby Atmos or Sony 360 Reality audio. You can also connect Echo Studio with a wide range of playback devices and other smart home products via 3.5mm and mini-optical Toslink ports, or wirelessly via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Zigbee. That’s a much wider choice of inputs compared to the AirDrop-only connectivity on HomePod or 3.5mm, Bluetooth, or Google Cast on Google Home Max.
As an Echo device, Echo Studio runs on Alexa … and Alexa only. This isn’t all that different from the way Apple HomePod works with Siri, and Google Home Max uses Google Assistant – which makes sense considering they’re all third-party devices – but many third-party speakers support two or more. This is an understandable limitation, but a limitation nonetheless.
Should you buy the Echo Studio?
For Amazon users who need a smart speaker from Amazon to listen to Amazon Music HD, the Echo Studio is the best Echo device for the job. Conversely, if you are confused about Apple or Google ecosystems, then there is no point in investing in an Alexa-only device like the Echo Studio.
Finally, we have those people who either have yet to choose which smart home platform to use, or who use a variety of devices from different brands. I would advise multiplatform users to check out some of the capabilities of brands like Sonos or Paradigm first, but keep Echo Studio in mind; Its $ 199 price tag makes it not only one of the most affordable high-end smart speakers currently available, but it also gives you some interesting additional features that we haven’t seen from most other brands yet.