For years, Amazon has conquered millions of homes with its Amazon Echo smart speakers. From the smallest Echo Dot, through the Echo “without a last name” to the top of the line, the Echo Studio, the company has managed to position its devices as the “ideal companion” for all kinds of needs and user profiles. , it is played with two winning cards: quality and prices lower than what its direct competitors offer in the same market segments.

In this case, Amazon’s most advanced speaker directly competes with the now defunct Apple HomePod and the Sonos One in the field of smart speakers at a price of 200 euros; and with a varied number of “non-smart” speakers that range from 150 to 400 euros. Its first generation, introduced in 2019, quickly positioned itself as one of the best alternatives for “audiophiles” who also wanted to have the features that Amazon’s smart assistant could offer.

Its second generation now arrives in our editorial office with all the features that made it an excellent speaker in 2019 and with some new features, the most interesting of which in this case is its compatibility with Dolby Atmos and the update of ultra HD surround sound technology, which according to the manufacturer it gives us “a more direct sound, with greater amplitude, clarity and presence, for an immersive experience”.

Available for the first time in white, it is worth noting its combined 3.5mm input and Toslink mini-optics, which we can connect, for example, to our smartphone, CD player or even a record player. It’s something that was already included in the previous generation, and if we asked it to offer RCA connectivity as an additional option, we’d find it more than interesting for those who are more and more users who are abandoning traditional audio brands. they started looking, for example, in more and more competing Chinese companies. But perhaps even more interesting is what this device allows us to do when we combine it.

If we get a second Amazon Echo Studio, we can pair them with each other and create really high-quality stereo sound in our living room at a really reasonable price. If we also have a Fire TV device, we can similarly set up a home theater system that we will have very little to complain about. There are few soundbars with such a price-quality ratio. Quite the opposite.

In home automation, it maintains its ZigBee compatibility as a hub from which everything from the thermostat to the smart lock or surveillance cameras in our home can be controlled. However, a few days ago, the company announced in a statement that a large part of its Amazon Echo line (which includes this Studio) will be updated to support Matter, which will increase its compatibility with all types of devices known as the Internet of Things.

hardware and more

Amazon’s revision of the speaker actually retains most of the features the original model had: if something works, don’t overdo it. In this sense, both the dimensions (206 x 175 mm) and the weight (3.5 Kg) are the same. We would have liked Amazon to increase the size and weight somewhat to further reduce vibration, and why not the diameter of some components? For me not to stay.

The fact that the design basis is the same actually justifies that the internal components have not changed either. That means we still have three 51mm (2”) mid-range drivers, 1 25mm (1”) tweeter and 1,133mm (5.25”) woofer with a bass hole. The truth is, considering the size of the box, we can’t ask for much more from Amazon in this regard, and indeed from any other manufacturer in this price range. Amazon Echo Studio Pro speaker for 500 euros in 2024? We wrote it in our letter to the kings.

On the other hand, we find an improvement in the DAC, which has grown in the ability to process sound without loss. In this sense, the novelty from Amazon is compatible with FLAC, MP3, AAC, Opus, Vorbis, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos, Sony 360 Reality Audio/MPEG-H; and CD-quality (16-bit) and high-definition formats up to 24-bit. This means that it supports the highest quality formats that platforms such as Amazon Music itself and Apple Music already offer. On the other hand, in this new review, we would like Jeff Bezos’ company to work with partners like Qbuz or Tidal, who are committed to offering their users the highest quality sound. Solution for anyone? Ability to connect a multimedia server or audio NAS to its input port.

No less interesting is that the Echo Studio has bluetooth support both for receiving sound from other devices (eg from our computer) and for sending it to other bluetooth speakers, so the possibilities of listening to sound in this sense are multiplied.

Sound quality and Alexa

As one would expect, considering what we already knew about this device, what we find in the latest from Amazon is a detailed, dynamic and undistorted midrange and treble sound, very much in line with what we can find with more expensive speakers. ..

With a maximum power of 330 W, we will have no problem “filling the sound” of relatively large spaces, ideal for use in rooms up to 40 square meters. It’s true that at maximum volume the deepest bass tends to show some distortion on certain tracks, but it’s a situation that really shouldn’t concern most potential audiences with a product like this. In any case, and if this might be a problem for some people, Amazon sells it Echo Sub, which can be paired with one or two Amazon Echo Studios for an extra 100W of power to access deeper, full-quality bass.

From the Alexa application on our phone, Amazon also offers us the option of adjusting the sound of the Echo Studio with a small equalizer, in which we can “work” with low, medium and high tones. And while it’s certainly interesting, it’s perhaps too basic for the amateur. It would be interesting to be able to work with different pre-configured profiles in a future update of the application.

As for its compatibility with Dolby Atmos, so far a lot depends on the offer, but in reality it is not much, if we take into account the huge catalog of songs that services such as Amazon Music have. Likewise, we believe that surround sound is a characteristic that you will enjoy when watching a movie than when listening to music, which creates a feeling of a certain “unreality” on some occasions. Let’s not forget that the original recording will be in stereo 90% of the time (when not in Mono on the oldest ones) and the surround sound is still a synthetic post-processing layer.

If we talk about its compatibility with Alexa, the micro has a much higher sensitivity than other smart speakers of the brand, so even when the music is loud, it detects the magic word without any problem. There’s little to add in this area other than the fact that, in reality, most users who buy Amazon’s latest will do so for its music player aspect rather than its ability to hold long conversations with Assistant or try out another skills.

conclusions

With the new generation Echo Studio, Amazon shows that it still has one of the best speakers (smart or not) in its price range. It is true that although the main novelties of this review are primarily aesthetic, we will find greater compatibility with formats lossless and updating connection options.

It’s by no means enough to justify a change if you already have an Echo Studio 2019, but it’s certainly a highly recommended purchase for those who want to enjoy their music without complications and at the highest quality.