Amazon Echo Studio
The Echo Studio is Amazon’s best-sounding smart speaker, and it’s one of the better values in the category. It offers premium sound and features you won’t find anywhere else in its price range, and that hold even more true with today’s discount.
Not all smart speakers are created equally. There are small ones, like theAmazon Echo Dot, that are inexpensive, but don’t sound that great. Then there are larger ones, like the Apple HomePod, that sound great, but cost $300. TheAmazon Echo Studiohits a nice sweet spot between these two categories, in that it offers premium sound, for quite a bit less than other premium speakers. We liked it enough to include it in our roundup of thebest smart speakers, and we like it even more at $40 off.
Why you should buy the Amazon Echo Studio
On a micro level, you should buy the Echo Studioright nowbecause it’s on sale. While Amazon notoriously discounts its products, on a fairly regular basis, this is the first deal we’ve seen on the Studio in 2023. On a macro level, you should buy the Studio because you want a smart speaker that is as good at being a speaker as it is at beingsmart. The Studio stands nearly 9 inches tall, and it’s packed to the brim with woofers and tweeters. It also features an array of 7 microphones, which it uses for far-field voice commands, and measuring the acoustics of a room for optimal sound. We rated the Studio an 8.5 out of 10 in our review, in large part because of its crisp sound quality, as well as its compatibility with Dolby Atmos, HD audio, and spatial audio.
On the software side of things, the Studio supports a variety of HD audio sources, including Deezer, Apple Music, and Amazon’s own HD Music. And of course, all the usual Alexa tricks are here: you can ask for real-time news and weather information, pair with other Alexa devices for stereo sound, and control smart devices with voice commands. In fact, the Studio actually doubles as a Zigbee smart home hub, so if you have a Zigbee-enabled device, such as a Philips Hue bulb, it should pair immediately, without the need for any extra equipment. Rounding out the features is a 3.5mm/mini-optical combo jack, which gives you a wired connection option for your phone, TV, and more.
The bottom line here is if you want a smart speaker that’s capable of filling an entire room with sound, you won’t be disappointed with the Echo Studio. It’s a little big for a nightstand, but it’s perfect for a den, living room, or other large space. Heck, at this price, get two of them and pair them with your Fire TV for the ultimate movie night experience. Amazon even makes an Echo Sub, so you can build a full 2.1 sound system. Just don’t wait too long to make your move — as mentioned, these deals don’t come around very often.
