Amazon Echo Studio

Alexa, get the party started

Smart speaker for party animals

Amazon’s third-generation Echo smart speaker (£90 from www.snipca. com/33680) offers better sound quality than the basic Echo Dot (£50 from www. snipca.com/33681), and either can be paired for stereo. At twice the price, the Echo Studio promises even more refined audio with a 360° effect that’s meant to give you a sense of space wherever you are in the room, not just in the ‘sweet spot’ between stereo speakers. The same Alexa voice control features are built in.

An obvious rival is Apple’s Homepod, which costs £90 more (£279 from www. snipca.com/33682), although we’ve seen

SPECIFICATIONS

802.11ac Wi-fi • Bluetooth 4.0 • Far-field microphones • 1in tweeter • 3x 2in drivers • 5¼in woofer • Mains power cable • Requires Android 5.1 or IOS 11 or Fire OS 5.3.3 or higher device • 206x175x175mm (HXWXD) • 3.5kg • One-year warranty www.snipca.com/33673 that discounted by as much as £50. We found the Echo Studio’s output less impressive: midtones were slightly boomy and lacked crispness by comparison, and the Dolby Atmos 3D tech is less effective than Apple’s, though both constantly monitor and adjust their output. But Amazon’s fabric-covered chassis is bigger and includes a bass-enhancing void, producing a big, chest-thumping sound without distortion. In fact, it sounds best loud.

You might be swayed towards Apple if you have iphones, ipads or Macs and want something that’s effortless to use with them, but for most people the Echo is more likely to cover everything you need. Google’s Home Max (£299 from www.snipca.com/33674, see our review, Issue 538, page 28) is left as the priciest and least appealing option. Expect a Nest-branded replacement soon.