Echo Studio | Our best-sounding smart speaker ever – With Dolby Atmos, spatial audio processing technology, and Alexa | Charcoal
- ENJOY AN IMMERSIVE AUDIO EXPERIENCE – Echo Studio now features spatial audio processing technology for a wider and more immersive audio experience. For stereo formats, Spatial audio processing technology creates a wider and more enveloping sound stage. Its 5 speakers produce powerful bass with improved clarity, dynamic midrange, and crisp highs. Dolby Atmos technology adds space, clarity, and depth.
- VOICE CONTROL YOUR MUSIC – Stream songs from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Tidal, and more. With Amazon Music HD, enjoy access to 90 million songs in lossless audio formats, like HD or Ultra HD, and select songs in spatial audio formats like Dolby Atmos.
- ADAPTS TO ANY ROOM – Automatically senses the acoustics of your space, fine-tuning playback for optimal sound.
- BUILT-IN SMART HOME HUB – Ask Alexa to control Zigbee and Matter-compatible devices.
- READY TO HELP – Ask Alexa to play music, read the news, and answer questions.
- KEEP YOUR FAMILY IN SYNC – Use your Alexa devices like an intercom and talk to any room in the house with Drop In and Announcements.
- DESIGNED TO PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY – Amazon is not in the business of selling your personal information to others. Built with multiple layers of privacy controls, including a mic off button.
2 reviews for Echo Studio | Our best-sounding smart speaker ever – With Dolby Atmos, spatial audio processing technology, and Alexa | Charcoal
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Echo Studio | Our best-sounding smart speaker ever – With Dolby Atmos, spatial audio processing technology, and Alexa | Charcoal
$199.99
Steve Pugliese –
There will be plenty of reviews for the Studio in stand alone, single speaker use. It does sound excellent that way. But if you pair two Studios and throw in the Echo Sub, that is an extraordinary composition! That is the way to do the Echo Studio! That is how I’ll review it here.
I decided I must pair two Studios since I had two Echo Plus’s stereo paired with an Echo Sub and it sounded pretty darn good. So I had to try the Studio paired in stereo, and since I had the Sub, I threw that in too. What else am I going to do with it? The Sub added a lot to the two Plus’s. I wondered would you even notice it with the two Studios? I’m here to say that you definitely notice it. You notice it’s not there, I can tell you.
The sound of this whole system (two Echo Studios and the Echo Sub) is quite exceptional. I would have to say it’s thrilling! Yes, it costs $530 but that is bound to come down and did I tell you that it sounds incredible? It commands a respect, it really does. There is such a depth to this. The bass is deliberate and authoritative. Very punchy. It has exceptional dynamic range (at high volumes this can be startling) and the stereo image is just stunning. An enormous stage. Those 6 midrange speakers sound sweet indeed. Be sure to turn everything up in the equalizer in Audio Settings of the device in the Alexa App. This thing likes loud! It can easily handle max volume for extensive listening.
You crank this up to ten and it literally takes over the room. If you can listen at that volume for awhile with this system (you must live without neighbors) you will be found with a huge smile on your face.
All of Amazon’s music library is now available in lossless CD quality streaming or better, which shines on this. The new celebrated 3D formats also sound excellent, though I thought there’d be more to them (Abbey Road sounded great but I didn’t think it was transformed). But anything you play on this will sound exceptional. I really can’t believe Amazon has taken it this far from the original Echo. Bravo! I notice that the Apple Homepod is now down to $200 at Best Buy. Would two of them paired sound better than this setup? I truly doubt it. They’d need a subwoofer and none, as far as I know, are available for it.
A few things. The circling Alexa lights are now on top of the speaker. You can no longer really see them from the side, which is unfortunate. I love those lights! And two, the Studio comes with this “spatial” setting set. I recommend turning it off. In the Alexa app, go to the device and then Audio Settings and below the equalizer is that on off button for the spatial effect. I don’t find it adds anything even though it really changes the acoustics. But if you want to hear music as it was recorded, leave this off.
Oh, and I have to say that Amazon still does not make it super easy to set this all up. You have to start with a new or deregistered speaker. Set up each separately and then pair them. But it’s anything but obvious or close to foolproof. Come on, Amazon!
And I feel I must tell you that you can’t connect to the Studio by Bluetooth when stereo paired. It will only play through one Studio, the first one you set up. To use the Studios in stereo pair with the Echo Sub, you can only stream. And you can only stream if you pay.
Finally, then, these things are big. Really quite large. And seemingly only available now in black, though there’s a gray one in Amazon’s web site ads. This is not a speaker that sits demurely upon a table. It’s almost as big as the Echo Sub, if that helps visualize it. But you will definitely be challenged as to its home, because that is where this will stay, like forever. Especially if you go for the whole magilla. But I urge you to at least try it (the whole magilla!). But be prepared, I guarantee you won’t send them back!
UPDATE: After a software update, the Spatial effect is now the preferred way, so leave it on. Turning it off now makes the music too flat. I think it may even turn off one of the mid range speakers. But something’s missing!
ADDENDUM:
After two years, these still shine as brightly as ever. But the thing that must be emphasized is that this system of two Echo Studios and the Echo Sub is designed to take full advantage of Amazon Music’s HD streaming service, since these can work together only with streamed audio. Using that enables you to get at least CD quality audio recorded in lossless FLAC files (what Amazon calls HD, 16-bit/44.1kHz) for everything in the catalog, and Ultra HD (up to 24-bit/192kHz) available on an ever-growing list of recordings. In addition, it is also capable of playing Amazon’s (admittedly still in limited quantity) so called 3D Audio recordings (Amazon Music supports Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio spatial audio formats). If you don’t get the Amazon Music HD package ($12.99 monthly with Prime / $14.99 without), then you will be missing out on what these speakers are designed to deliver. Amazon’s Ultra HD music must be heard on a system that supports it to be appreciated. It truly is something else in audio quality, significantly better sounding than any CD or LP. And Amazon Music’s catalog is growing by leaps and bounds every month. It is currently quite vast, even its Classical Music selection which has exploded in the two years since the Echo Studio was introduced.
Using the Amazon Echo Link ($140), you could get this same quality streaming audio (or even better depending on your amp and speakers) for an existing Hi-Fi setup (at least I think you can- there seems to be some confusion about whether it supports the full 24-bit/192kHz Ultra HD), although you could not get 3D Audio with the Link. You could also use the Echo Link to attach any other sub-woofer to your Echo Studio pair but that would also require an additional amplifier thrown in. However, if you don’t have that Hi-Fi system already, these (2 paired Echo Studios and the Echo Sub) are the way to go to take full advantage of Amazon Music HD at a very favorable price. Just compare their cost to that of a good Hi-Fi system consisting of amplifier, pre-amp, two speakers and a sub-woofer as well as the Echo Link you’d need. The Echo speakers here are a definite bargain for getting excellent audio with minimal wires or fuss!
Cam –
TL;DR for the Echo Studio is that the speaker, whether paired with the Echo Sub or not, running hi-fi music (I’m on Amazon HD) sounds fantastic, but there are so many glitches with it that I’m hard pressed to give it a full recommendation.
I love music, but don’t consider myself an audiophile. I’m a family man and don’t have the luxury of a dedicated “listening room,” and I’m certainly not going to spend thousands on a home sound system. I like listening to music while having my morning tea, relaxing in my bedroom, and when in my car. I have so far been using a pair of Sony XB-43 bluetooth speakers at home and they have been adequate.
I decided to look at upgrade options when I went over to Amazon HD for my streaming service (I also tried Tidal, but that’s for another review). I wanted something convenient, plug & play, and as a parent, relatively childproof. Bluetooth was not an option, as one loses most of the hi-fi benefits over bluetooth. Enter the Echo Studio. I already have a few Echo Dots, Fire TV, and as mentioned, Amazon HD Music, so it seemed like a natural fit. It should be noted however, that although Alexa Cast only works with Amazon Music, you can stream music with the other major services, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and others.
So I bought an Echo Studio for the breakfast area where I have my tea, and where I had previously been moving a bluetooth speaker every morning. Setup was quick and painless and I was immediately impressed with the sound. It’s not a high-end home stereo system, but it’s the best single-unit speaker system I have ever had and heard. And it’s $200.
I used the Alexa app to set the EQ, but you can simply tell Alexa to “increase bass” or “reduce treble” or make any other adjustments on the fly, mid-song or whenever you like. I see some reviewers complaining about the sound profile and wonder if they made EQ adjustments for their personal preferences or to suit the type of music being played.
Impressed, I ordered a second Studio and an Echo Sub for my bedroom. Setup and pairing the Sub was equally simple. At first I thought the Sub was defective, or not set up correctly, because I could barely hear anything coming from it. Turns out that for me anyway, it needs to be at a certain volume and playing certain music for it to really be felt. But feel it you will, as the Sub makes the music fill the room in a way that the Studio by itself doesn’t. Make sure you put the Sub on the floor.
The glitches started here, with the bedroom Studio. The music would randomly stop playing, whether during a playlist or simply when I had asked it to play music from a certain artist or genre. When I say that, I mean every single time I used it. Two or three songs and then nothing. Extremely frustrating. My wifi setup is solid, so I looked at suggestions online, and several people recommended putting your Studio on your 5GHz and cordoning it off there (everything else in the house on your 2.4GHz). I tried this, but it did not solve the problem (I ended up leaving the Studios on 2.4GHz and it has been the best option). I unplugged and went through setup on the Studio again and the problem, for the most part, seemed resolved. I took the opportunity to bump my internet tier up to improve my overall household speeds. The music on both my Studios will still stop playing occasionally though, for no apparent reason, with a strong internet connection. And they will go into “red ring” mode too, which is extremely frustrating.
Fast forward to now. Sound quality is noticeably better than my bluetooth speakers, and I mean noticeably. I am hearing guitar strings and cymbal crashes on music that I don’t remember ever hearing before. I used my bluetooth speaker last night for a bit and it was painful. There is no way I can ever go back to standard definition music streaming and bluetooth speakers. Think SD television versus HD television.
Now for the drawbacks. These things are glitchy. Music will stop playing for no reason. Voice recognition of the music or the playlist you asked for is hit and miss. The Studio itself will go into “Sorry, I’m having trouble right now” mode (red ring mode) and won’t play any music for you. At all. For five minutes or for an hour. I have to remind myself that it is a somewhat data-intensive streaming service and think back to the earlier days of Netflix and the like.
Also, while it is convenient to just tell Alexa what you want to listen to, at times I miss having the control of just playing music from my phone, and the Alexa casting is frustrating. Bring up the Amazon Music app, start playing your music (which you have to do before you get the casting button), wait for it to connect, then finally get the music going. Yes, it’s probably only seven seconds, but trust me, it feels cumbersome. Again, even Netflix needs to load up.
If you happen to use a voice command directly to the Studio while casting (because when casting, you lose the Alexa voice control function from your Amazon Music app) it reverts back to Alexa app control and you’re out of casting mode (and phone control). Even if you don’t, the casting drops after a bit and you have to go through the connection process again. I’m not going to pair the Studio over bluetooth to get phone control, if I wanted bluetooth quality sound I wouldn’t have bought the Studio. (I did pair it once to check it out, and the music was at a super low volume).
It would be nice to be able to browse the music app and tap a song or playlist at any time and just have it play on the Studio as with a bluetooth connection. As it is, I have to tell Alexa to play it while I’m looking at music choices on the app and hope she gets it right. While on the Alexa app and controlling from there, sometimes it will show me the playlist I’m listening to, sometimes it doesn’t.
I also have Apple Music, as other family members are on Apple Music, and other than one time at the outset, it will play the Apple Music when requested without any problems (Amazon Music is my default setting).
As I sit writing this review, my Studio has played my music flawlessly the entire time and sounds fantastic, and this is what keeps me in the Echo Studio game and considering a third Studio to stereo pair in the bedroom with the Echo Sub (Prime Days?). If it performed this way consistently and the Alexa and Amazon Music apps integrated more smoothly, I would give the Echo Studio a 100% recommendation. I am holding out hope that future software updates will smooth out the rough edges. Until then, know what you’re getting. A sweet-sounding, self-contained hi-fi smart speaker system that will both delight and frustrate you.