All new Amazon Echo speakers reviewed

The good news that Amazon has largely succeeded in its ambitions. I've tried the new Echo Dot ($ 50) and Echo Plus ($ 150), both in mono-speaker and new stereo configurations, with and without the Echo Sub. In any case, I was surprised at the quality of the audio that I heard – there is no doubt that these are the best speakers in Amazon for music playback. But there are many different ways to configure all these speakers, and they have different prices. Hold on as I break down what you get for your money and how these new Echo speakers compare to options like Sonos One, Google Home Max and Apple HomePod.

Test n ° 1: echo point (s)

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The Echo Dot is the cheapest Echo speaker and the cheapest on the market. If the original model was a formidable entry drug into the Alexa world, it seemed whistling, distorted and generally unpleasant. But this year, Amazon has slightly expanded the device and rethought the internal speaker. Suddenly, the point has become a viable option for playing music in your bedroom or any other small space. It still does not have the power to compete with larger speakers such as Echo Plus or Sonos One, but the lack of distortion compared to the previous model makes a huge difference. It is also significantly stronger than the original and the new 1.6-inch driver does bring out a semblance of bass.

Even more surprising was the quality of the two-point stereo sound. The configuration via the Alexa application on my phone was quite simple: the application recognized that I had two active points on my network, I asked to choose the one that corresponds to the appropriate channel and finished pairing automatically. And if you want to separate the speakers, just tap a prompt to separate them.

The stereo pair adds more volume, of course, but the increase in clarity is even more impressive. My usual mix of guitar-driven albums (Soundgarden, Cutie, Death Cab, Cursive) sounded pretty good, as did the latest albums of synthetic indie-pop musicians such as Chvrches, Mø and Now, Now. The intricate details found in heavy film scores like Howard Shore's Rope the Lord of the Rings I got a little lost, but all in all, the points offer a good balance between correct audio quality and volume.