Technology
Amazon’s smart-speaker reboot packs sonic punch and compatibility bonuses.
Amazon’s smart-speaker reboot packs sonic punch and compatibility bonuses.
If you already own a smart speaker, there’s a good chance it is an Amazon Echo device. With Google and Apple choosing not to sell their smart speakers locally, Amazon has had the market to itself, and it has paid off for the online retailer, which also makes the Kindle ebook readers and Amazon Fire TV stick.
The Echo, which comes in several formats – from the Dot, a small puck-shaped device, to the Echo Show, which has a screen to display messages and videos – has apparently sold well in New Zealand.
Its key feature is Alexa, the smooth-talking voicecontrolled personal assistant that lets you play music, check your calendar appointments, get a news briefing and pull down factoids from the web, all by simply speaking to it.
The problem, until now, is that the Echo devices have delivered mediocre audio quality, which sort of defeats the purpose of using them to play music. That changes with the Echo Studio, Amazon’s debut of a smart speaker that packs a surprising punch in the audio department.
The Studio has a slightly bigger footprint than its Google and Apple rivals, to accommodate a 5.25inch downward-facing subwoofer, three two-inch midrange speakers that send audio left, right and up, and a one-inch tweeter for the high frequencies.
It is powered by a 330W amp and a 24-bit DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) that deliver decent bass and clear, well-balanced tones. There’s a gap near the Studio’s base, like a gaping mouth, that allows the bass speaker to vibrate.
The whole thing is wrapped in a stylish fabric and has a minimalist design. It has just four buttons, and the familiar blue ring lights up on top when you utter the trigger word “Alexa”.
In my apartment lounge, the Studio filled the air with rich, thumping music. I turned off my Samsung TV soundbar and subwoofer and positioned the Echo
Studio behind the screen. The speaker provides louder, fuller sound than I was getting before. You can also wirelessly pair with other Echo Studio speakers for a bigger soundscape if you want it.
Like many smart speakers, the Studio has built-in microphones to detect your voice and map the shape of the room, tuning the sound to suit it. It delivers impressive stereo sound, but also has sonic capabilities you are unlikely to make the most of until the entertainment world catches up.
It supports the Dolby Atmos surround-sound format, as well as a new audio format from Sony – 360 Reality Audio. The latter adds a sort of spherical sound where you hear instruments playing around you. It definitely adds a more immersive element, but there are only a handful of tracks encoded in this format available on the Amazon Unlimited music service.
Dolby Atmos is similarly nascent, but is renowned for accentuating the subtleties in music and soundtracks. You’ll need to use the Studio in conjunction with the Amazon Fire TV stick to play Atmos-enabled music, movies and TV shows.
Those features will eventually come into their own. In the meantime, good old stereo sound is more than enough for me. With the Studio, you call up tunes from most of the major music streaming services, from Apple Music to Spotify. The key one missing is the one I use – YouTube Music. Still, you can Bluetooth music to it from your phone and line-in, and optical connections give you good options.
There is a lot more capability here than you’ll probably need. For instance, a ZigBee hub gives you voice control of Philips lightbulbs and Nest cameras.
Smart-assistant products continue to go on sale and pose questions about privacy and data collection. But when it comes to calling up and playing audio, or adding an evocative soundtrack to your viewing, the Studio could be the best compact speaker option around for the money.
There is a lot more capability here than you’ll probably need until the entertainment world catches up.
Price: $359