Web User - UK (2019-12-11)

22 11 -26December2019

T

here’snodoubting the

usefulnessofAmazon’s

existingrange of smart

speakers but, sofar, they

haven’t been the bestfor

listeningto music.Compared

to the Apple HomePod,for

example,whichfocuses

moreonthe speaker element

than thesmart artificial

intelligence, the sound

quality of Amazon’sspeakers

has beendisappointing.

TheEcho Studio addresses

this. It’s nearly £100 cheaper

than the £279 HomePod and,

while itstillcan’t matchthe

superior audio,itd eliv ers a

bigger and moreimmersive

sound than anyEcho speaker

to date,while offering many

features thatApple’sdeviceis

crying outfor.

Build andfunctionality

As with anyEcho speaker,

the Studio is poweredby

Amazon’sAlexa smart

assistant and iscontrolled

primarilyby issuingvoice

commands. Aswell as using

it to stream music from

Spotify,Amazon Musicand

Apple Music,youcan ask it

to playaudiobooks andradio,

set timers andreminders,

and call friends andfamily.

It’s also aimedat people

who mightwant to upgrade

their TV audio.Itc onnects

wirelesslyto both the FireTV

Stick 4K and FireTVCube,

Amazon

Echo Studio

and its 3.5mm jack doubles

as amini-opticalconnection,

so youcan hookit up to

practicallyany TV.Failing

that,youcan connect itto

anythingelse vi aBluetooth.

As well as beingcompatible

withawide range of music

formats, theEcho Studio can

handle DolbyAtmosand Sony

at 206 x175mm,the Echo

speakerisaround 20% taller

and 25% wider.

As with otherEcho

speakers, youcan control it

usingvoicecommands, but

the devicealso hasanarray

of buttons around thetop

thatlet youchangethe

volume,mutethe microphone

and givecommands without

needingto saythe “Alexa”

wake word.

Surrounding theseisa

multi-colour LED ringthat

indicateswhen the speakeris

respondingto requests and

alertsyouabout messages

TheEchoStudiosmart speaker offers unique features and

apowerful soundthatbelies its relativ elysmall size

360 RealityAudio forakind

of pseudo-surround sound.

If youwant even morevolume

and bass, it can be paired

withasecondEcho Studio

and theEcho Sub.

TheEcho Studio bears more

thanaslightresemblanceto

Apple’sHomePod but it’s

considerably larger.Indeed,

ProductTest

We testand comparethe latest products

No othersmart speakercancompete

with the Echo Studiofor itscombination of

sound quality, featuresandconnectivity