Until recently, the one criticism you could level at the Amazon Echo range was that, for all its superb home automation smarts, there wasn’t really anything in the line-up for people who appreciated decent audio quality. With the Amazon Echo Studio, that criticism can now be put to bed. The Echo Studio is a proper – in the audiophile sense – home speaker first, and Alexa-facilitating voice controller second. In this article we’ve rounded up some of the best Amazon Echo Studio deals on the web, so you can get a slice of the action for less than ever.
We’re not short of tech nowadays that aims to bring voice control to your various smart devices, but combining that with a centrepiece audio speaker used to mean splashing big bucks on Sonos or Apple gear. The Echo Studio, on the other hand, combines all of these features at a price that brings superb audio and smart control to the masses. You can take a closer look below.
The best Amazon Echo Studio deals
The first thing you’ll notice when you unbox an Amazon Echo Studio is the weight of the thing. Coming in at 3.5kg, this is very clearly a serious speaker and definitely not one of the cheapo voice control pucks you may associate with the Echo line. Standing around 20cm tall, it’s not so big that it will dominate a table or work surface, however inside this unassuming black cylinder sits a host of different speakers which pump out an incredibly thick, detailed soundstage.
There are three 2” midrange speakers – one each for left and right stereo sound, and then another upwards firing speaker which gives the Echo Studio its Dolby Atmos tag. By firing audio upwards, and having it bounce off ceilings, the Echo Studio introduces a sense of verticality to your sound which is usually the preserve of higher-end home cinema setups. A 1” forward-firing tweeter and 5.25” woofer round things off, with a bass aperture at the bottom of the speaker to help with the low-end.
On the top of the unit is the familiar blue glow of the Alexa smart home hub; you’ll know by now what these are capable of but if your home has smart lights from Philips Hue, or robot vacuums, then you’ll be familiar with the concept of having a central hub device which tells all the others what to do. You can, of course, still fire random questions at Alexa in the same way you would do normally, only now asking her to play music is a much more rewarding experience because the sound quality you get is a huge step up from previous iterations of the Echo range.
Realistically, to get this functionality and audio quality elsewhere, you’re looking at much more expensive speakers like the Sonos Play:5 or the Apple HomePod which, as great as they are, can’t compete on price. So, if you’re looking to introduce smart control into your home, or build on an older existing system, but don’t want to sacrifice on audio quality, the Amazon Echo Studio delivers the best bang for buck in the price bracket. Throw in the brilliant Dolby Atmos capabilities, along with compatibility with every major streaming service, and you’ve got a serious smart home audio system here that will make a big difference to your music listening experience.
Best Amazon Echo Studio deals: Alternatives
For the price of an Amazon Echo Studio there isn’t much that can compete in terms of audio capabilities, but there are options out there to consider. The entry-level offers Alexa and Google Assistant control, and sounds fantastic. It is also ripe for adding to a wider network of Sonos’ speakers to create a true multi-room audio system.
For a touch more money you can get the which sounds as good as you’d expect, but is locked into Apple’s smart home ecosystem. Finally, if you’ve already got an Amazon Echo Dot, the may be an option. It lacks the internal voice control but can connect to the Echo Dot, and the speaker system internally was made in conjunction with Sonos so you can be sure it’ll sound great.
