Amazon Echo Studio, review with opinion and specifications

The Echo Studio includes the popular Alexa as a voice assistant, but takes the sound quality above the Amazon Echo 2019, even the Echo Plus, by including in its interior 5 speakers (for treble, midrange and bass) and support 24-bit audio (high resolution), although sources of music in this quality are rare.

We may be looking for a big speaker that sounds loud and good. The Amazon Echo Studio already anticipates that it meets the three requirements and, as an extra (for some users essential) it has the integration of the Alexa assistant.

Design that combines discretion with elegance

Amazon Echo Studio, review with opinion and specifications

The Echo Studio is one of the most iconic speakers in terms of design, as it has a groove on the bottom (where is the subwoofer) that distinguishes it. The Studio is the “star model” of the Echo family, so its finishes are really good.

Echo speakers already stand out for their careful design, almost a hallmark of the firm itself, and it is repeated here.

In this case, despite the fact that the recess for the soundboard is really characteristic, in general terms, the loudspeaker continues to have a design very similar to that of its "brothers"In the case of the Echo Studio, it is more flattened than the others, which adopt an elongated cylindrical shape.

In the top part, we find a midrange loudspeaker, surrounded by a circular LED, which indicates the status of the loudspeaker, in addition to 7 microphonesdistributed along the circumference.

The buttons for performing speaker control are all together. Specifically we have 4 buttons to invoke the assistant, increase the volume, decrease the volume and turn off the microphones.

The buttons are finished in a matte black color and have a good press. Its size is correct and according to the design of the speaker.

We would have liked the buttons to have backlighting so that locating them in night situations would be easier, even if turning off the listening of the microphonesboth the corresponding button and the top LED are displayed in red color

The Echo Studio is constructed of materials that offer a good feel, such as metal, rubber, or cloth covering which most Echo have.

The Echo Studio looks robust and resistant, although we already anticipate that its weight is quite elevated when transporting it for any circumstance, although it is not designed to be moved between rooms.

In a small slit are the ports that the loudspeaker has: power connector and the3.5mm jack , which only serves as an input for other devices, and also functions as Toslink optical input.

Amazon Echo Studio Specifications

Now that we know it externally, let's go further and see what this Echo Studio hides inside, which we already told you is not little. This is its complete technical sheet:

Audio: 1-inch tweeter, 5.25-inch woofer, 3 x 2-inch midrange (one on each side, and top one).
Microphones: 7-microphone array with noise cancellation.
Ports: 3.5mm jack and mini optical Toslink.
Connectivity: WiFi with support for 2.4/5 GHz, Bluetooth and Zigbee.
Controls: 4 physical buttons.
Alexa App Compatibility: Android 5.0 or higher and iOS 9 or higher.
Dimensions: 175 mm (diameter) x 206 mm (height).
Weight: 3.5 kg.
Price: 199.99 euros.

The sound, adapted to your home

If something is important in a loudspeaker, it is the sound quality it offers us. For the Echo Studio, when you set up, the speaker calibrates to match the acoustics of the room automatically.

The Amazon Echo Studio begins to emit sounds to adapt, thanks to its microphones, to the place where we have placed it. Once the audio tests have been carried out, the speaker itself adjusts the values to the acoustics of the room, to provide the best possible sound experience.

As expected, the speaker does not disappoint and has very good sound quality Supports Dolby Atmos technology, whose sound achieves that, no matter where it is located, it generates an immersive sound experience, in which the audio surrounds our environment, receiving music or other content everywhere by Same.

When we put the sound at a low volume, the speaker behaves correctly, just like at a medium volume. This is quite common, since where this type of equipment suffers the most is when we put it to the maximum. In this case, the Echo Studio offers a very good audio quality even at maximum volume, since it does not distort at all.

If the Echo Studio is at maximum volume and we lean into the bottom half slot, we see that it starts to vibrate when sound the bass The surface on which we have the speaker vibrates almost constantly and, if we have cabinets nearby, the glass will also begin to vibrate.

It should be noted that we notice a significant difference when we connect the speaker via Bluetoothto our phone, where it loses quality compared to whether we are directly playing content through Amazon Music.

Fire TV Stick 4K and Stereo Pair

As we have seen, the Amazon Echo Studio can be really interesting for sound lovers. The Echo Studio has the possibility of communicating between the different Amazon devices, being especially interesting together with the Fire TV Stick 4K.

To play the content we must say, for example, “Alexa, play Jack Ryan” once both devices are connected to each other yes through the Alexa app, and the Echo Studio will take care of the sound.

This is just one example of the entire catalog that we can find on Amazon Prime Video, which makes it possible to ask Alexa to play the content on the Fire TV Stick 4K (not previous versions), but the sound is provided by the Echo Studio

The combination between the Fire TV Stick 4K and the Echo Studio seems to us a great advantage, since we will be able to enjoy high-resolution content together with a speaker which allows us to almost enter inside the movie.

On the other hand, the Echo Studio can be synced with another Echo Studio for a more immersive listening experience. In the case of music, when creating the "stereo pair" one of the speakers is responsible for the left channel and the other for the right.

The Echo Studio has extensive compatibility in terms of formats, including Sony 360 Reality Audio, a recent sound format surround sound designed for music, and also plays 24-bit audio, though the speaker is not Hi-Res certified.

These formats are available on some songs on Amazon Music HD, which currently only works in the United States, a rather significant limitation for the most purists of audio.

Alexa, the assistant to our service

One thing we liked is that invoking Alexa when the Echo Studio is at full volume is easy andwe hardly have to raise our voices for the attendee to take notice, thanks to the 7 microphones that the speaker has.

If we are very jealous of our privacy we can always deactivate continuous listening and invoke the assistant through the physical button.

Alexa is a more than complete assistant, and it is a perfect complement to this Echo Studio. We can ask you all kinds of questions and even configure the different Skills that Amazon's virtual assistant has, to add compatibility with various apps, services and smart home devices.

It lets us manage connectivity via Bluetooth directing us directly to Alexa to connect or disconnect from our mobile. So we can send the content we want from our devices easily.

Of course, it is also possible to use various streaming music services natively, by default we are encouraged to use Amazon Music, and we also have Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Tidal.

Zigbee, the perfect complement for a connected home

Connectivity is one of the sections that we take for granted that will be complete in a smart speaker, since it needs WiFi to access the Internet, and they also have Bluetooth in all cases.

In addition, the Echo Studio includes Zigbee, an energy-efficient smart home protocol, present in devices such as light bulbs, sensors (presence, smoke, water…), alarms and many others.

While many smart home devices work via WiFi or Bluetooth, especially when connected to the electrical network, Zigbee is useful when it is not, and saves us from buying a separate controller.

For example, Philips Hue smart bulbs can be connected directly, without the Zigbee adapter, among other devices from different brands, to control them with voice commands through Alexa.

Echo Studio, the union of design, elegance and audio

If we are looking for a speaker whose main quality should be sound quality, this is possibly one of the options to assess. In addition to offering an outstanding hearing section, we must take into account everything that Alexa allows us to do and the connectivity that the Echo Studio has.

Al distributing the sound in 360º is not annoying even at maximum volume, so its location is indifferent. Due to the size of the speaker, we recommend that it be intended for a large room, since there are other cheaper options with good audio at a lower price for small rooms.

The Echo Studio is a product for demanding users whose primary concern is full audio definition, and who want to combine it with the advantages of an integrated voice assistant.

If our home is small, this speaker will be enough for the whole house, since we can invoke Alexa from really far away. It is also possible to bet on another more compact speaker and without as much connectivity, such as the Amazon Echo or the Echo Plus if we want extras such as Zigbee and the integrated thermometer.