00:04I spent the last few weeks testing the new Echo Studio, Amazon's top-of-the-range smart speaker
00:10designed to offer its best audio performance. Whilst the previous generation studio from 2019
00:15was a little more clunky in terms of its design, it was pretty well received, much to the surprise
00:21of many who'd long bemoaned the audio quality of Amazon's Echo speakers. So, has lightning struck
00:26twice with the new Echo Studio? Well, not quite, but it's still an impressively capable speaker,
00:32especially at its size. It's Alexa Plus and Amazon Home Theater compatible, 40% smaller
00:37than the first generation, and packs a bunch of clever sensors for smart home functionality.
00:42Plus, the audio is still decent enough. Everything we've discussed today, including the best prices
00:47we've found for the Echo Studio, will be linked in the description box below, so make sure
00:52to check those out after the video, and subscribe for more tech reviews.
00:58The original Echo Studio launched way back in 2019, and the fact that it's taken this
01:02long for a second generation model to arrive makes the studio an outlier in Amazon's smart
01:07speaker range, with other Echos receiving far more regular updates. It makes sense then
01:11that this is a fairly major overhaul. Like the Echo Dot Max, which I tested a few months
01:16ago and is linked in the description box below, the Echo Studio has a new, more sophisticated look
01:21and feel, featuring this chunky knit fabric exterior, front-facing controls, and a 40%
01:27smaller frame than the previous models. There are volume controls, as well as a physical mute
01:31button on the plastic control panel, and if you give the studio a gentle pat on the top,
01:36you can stop or start tracks, stop timers or alarms, and end calls or drop-ins. The base
01:40is flat and slightly rubberised, housing a screw mount for any users who might wish to warm
01:44out their speakers. Now, there is an inevitable trade-off between the speaker's size and its audio
01:49quality. In its smaller form factor, the second generation studio is certainly more appealing,
01:54but it comes at the expense of the first generation's cut-out spaces, which allowed for airflow to enable
01:59a powerful and deep bass. Connectivity is another area where the new Echo Studio has taken a hit.
02:05On the rear, you'll find a single power port. That's right, no more 3.5mm combo port for standard
02:10audio cable input and mini optical, and no micro USB port for service or ethernet adapters. For most,
02:16these inputs will be no great loss, but the inflexibility of these speakers will be disappointing
02:20to some, and especially those who know a bit about home theatre. Objectively, I can't say I dislike the
02:26look and feel of the new Echo Studio. It's a lot more pleasing to the eye, and a lot easier
02:30to find a
02:30home for at its smaller size. However, these changes do have a wider impact when it comes to audio quality.
02:38The latest studio packs Amazon's new AZ-3 Pro chip, and offers Alexa Plus compatibility,
02:44and some great smart home compatibility too. There's a lot to love, but having tried both
02:49newer and older models, I don't think the new audio hardware quite lives up to its predecessor.
02:54The new Echo Studio trades its predecessors three 2-inch side-mounted mid-range speakers,
02:592-inch upward-firing mid-range speaker, 1-inch front-facing tweeter, and 5.25-inch downward-firing
03:05sealed woofer for just three full-range drivers, and a single high-excursion woofer. With Amazon also removing
03:12audio-first design features like the aforementioned sound-carrying cutouts, and squeezing the device
03:17into a far smaller form factor, the new Echo Studio ultimately loses a lot of its oomph.
03:22It also downmixes stereo content to mono, and compresses the mix more aggressively at higher
03:26volumes than the original model, but you do benefit from spatial audio, lossless high definition,
03:31and Dolby Atmos support. So what differences do these hardware changes actually make in practice?
03:36Well, it's a tale of trade-offs. On the one hand, the soundstage is well-balanced overall,
03:40producing beautifully clear layers, and expressing texture in tracks well.
03:44Hans Zimmer's Cornfield Chase was rendered with beautiful depth and clarity, especially at louder
03:48volumes, as was Jeff Buckley's Last Goodbye, with the Echo Studio proving amply capable of rendering
03:53Buckley's quivering vocals beautifully, while preserving the layered rhythmic guitars and mounting
03:57tension. Dynamic songs like Glory Box by Portishead offer well-rounded bass, with every detail
04:03of the track right down to its final crackle represented with impressive clarity. However,
04:07the Echo Studio lacks the powerful bass and overall volume of older models, and certain tracks suffer
04:13as a result. Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush plays much more faithfully than on the Echo Dot Max,
04:18but the Echo Studio still lacks that pummeling bass I so adore. Similarly Fleetwood Max The Chain,
04:23especially at lower volumes, fails to fully deliver the track's signature thunderous driving bass.
04:28That said, when I was testing the speaker in my apartment, the bass was broadly suitably present for
04:33my living space, and for my neighbours. This is aided by some of the studio's enhanced smarts.
04:38Under the hood, the new AZ3 Pro chip does a lot of legwork, working in tandem with the onboard
04:43far-filled microphones to deliver automatic room adaptation. That means it's fine-tuning the audio
04:48experience based on the room's acoustics. Of course, the Echo Studio can do far more than just play your
04:53music. For example, you can connect up to five Echo Dot Max or Echo Studio speakers, plus an optional Echo
04:59subwoofer to a Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, Fire TV 4K Stick Max, or Fire TV
05:07Cube to use
05:07Amazon's new home theatre features. Now I gave this a quick try, albeit with just one Echo Studio,
05:13watching a few scenes from movies like Red Sonja, The Batman and Oppenheimer to put it through its paces.
05:18I was pretty happy with how much depth and clarity the Echo Studio provided. It's all handled over
05:22Bluetooth, so I did notice a bit of delay with lip-syncing initially, but thankfully you can adjust
05:27this in the settings. I can imagine with a full set of studios and a sub, the sound would be
05:32really
05:32quite impressive. That being said, the dynamic range was pushed to its limit during my testing,
05:37and I ultimately found myself toggling the volume fairly often. Plus, its down-mixed mono playback
05:42makes it a hard sell for a singophile. Of course, you can opt to spend $1,000,
05:46£1,000, or $2,000 on a full Amazon home theatre setup, but for that price I'd wager there are
05:52far superior
05:52surround sound systems. Really, it's only if you're specifically going to benefit from the Echo
05:57Studio's place in Amazon's Fire TV Prime Alexa Plus ecosystem that I can see this being the best
06:03option for you. Much like the Echo Dot Max, the Echo Studio is locked and loaded with clever sensors
06:11and smarts to help run your smart home, including the same temperature sensor and ultrasound motion
06:15sensors as the Echo Dot 4th generation, plus a new WiFi sensing capability. I set these up at home for
06:22even smarter Alexa routines. When I enter a room, an automation turns on my smart lights,
06:26and when the temperature drops, my electric heater turns on to keep me toasty during the bitter winter
06:31months in the UK. Everything works as expected on test, and it's great to see the Echo Studio keeping
06:36pace with other smart speakers here. The new AZ3 Pro chipset delivers super speedy Alexa responses,
06:41though you probably won't notice the difference unless you've been using an Alexa-enabled device from
06:46quite a few years ago. Where you will feel the difference is if you have access to Alexa Plus,
06:51as that's the real driver between the additional computing power. Unfortunately, I'm testing this
06:55speaker in the UK, where we don't currently have access to Amazon's full organic AI platform. But
07:00my US-based colleague Lance Yulonoff shared his first impressions of the service overall,
07:05which you can read over on techradar.com.
07:09The new Echo Studio is available in black graphite and white glacial white, and costs $20 or
07:1640 pounds more than the original Studio at $219 or pounds. The price hike is explained in part by
07:22the rising cost of hardware, but it's worth noting nonetheless. It's also Alexa Plus compatible,
07:27meaning US Prime subscribers have immediate access to the currently in beta service at the time of
07:33recording. We've got a video explaining everything Alexa Plus linked in the description box below,
07:37so make sure to check that out. My main issue with the value proposition here is that when it comes
07:42to
07:42raw audio performance, the Echo Studio just doesn't live up to a studio moniker. And yet, allowing for
07:48inflation, it costs roughly the same as the last generation. Had Amazon skipped some of the smart
07:53features and delivered a stronger all-round audio performance, I'd have less of an issue. As it is,
07:58and as is the case with almost every new Echo device I've reviewed in the past few years, this is
08:03one
08:03I'd only go for during a sale like Prime Day, and I'd be looking for somewhere in the range of
08:0730-40% discount.
08:12If you want room-filling audio, or have never sampled the delights of the first generation Echo
08:16Studio, this newer model will make for a great upgrade to your older hardware. It's faster,
08:21more high fidelity than any other speaker in Amazon's current lineup, and the added home theatre options
08:26make it a pretty good all-rounder. It is not, however, the best of the best overall. And fundamentally,
08:32most audiophiles will find too many trade-offs in the Echo Studio. Especially if you owned and loved
08:37one of the first generation models, you're likely better off heading to your local trade-in store
08:41and shopping for a pre-loved Echo Studio first-gen. We'll be keeping an eye out for the best Echo
08:46Studio
08:46deals over on techradar.com, because when the price drops, it will be a far better value proposition.
08:52So make sure to follow us here, there, and everywhere to keep up to date.
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