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The new Amazon Echo Studio leaves no doubt.
His 3.5 kilograms say: I have oomph.
And in fact, the Echo Studio is by far the most ambitious Amazon loudspeaker that has built in the digital voice assistant Alexa.
The test shows that hardly any other loudspeaker is as versatile.
After the Echo Studio has been connected to the mains, like any other Echo speaker, it gives the user instructions on how to proceed.
First, the Alexa app must be installed on the smartphone and connected to the Amazon account.
The app then recognizes the studio straight away and also connects it to the user's Amazon account.
The music services with which the Echo Studio is to be operated are also activated in the app.
This works with Amazon Music, but also with providers such as Spotify, Deezer and Apple.
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The Echo Studio optimizes itself during operation.
He should continuously analyze the room in order to adapt his sound.
Apple's HomePod and the new Sonos Move can do the same, and it's very convenient because every room has different reflective surfaces.
As soon as the Echo Studio plays music, you notice that it is able to deliver a differentiated sound image - and not just oomph.
With a woofer, a tweeter and three mid-range speakers, a total of five drivers are housed in the housing.
And you can really do a lot with it.
Unlike its competitors, the Echo Studio supports 3-D audio formats such as Dolby Atmosphere and Sony 360 Reality Audio.
Music for this is rare, however.
With Amazon Music HD, Amazon itself offers a streaming service that offers around 1000 songs to choose from.
It's not much, but it's a start.
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Amazon Echo Studio: Some 3-D songs lack the necessary effect
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After listening to some of the 3-D playlists that are available, we can see that it all depends on the mix.
With some 3-D songs we didn't notice a 3-D effect at all, with others it was more.
But the fact that music hits the ears from all sides is more like wishful thinking.
A clear stereo effect can, however, be heard.
In any case, the sound got better when we paired two Echo Studios, which is possible in the Alexa app.
The studios can also be connected to a Fire TV (3rd generation), Fire TV Stick 4K and the new Fire TV Cube (2nd generation).
Then they become home theater speakers.
The setting can even be combined with the Echo Sub subwoover.
But that's not necessary because the studios already deliver decent bass.
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Incidentally, all of this can be done wirelessly.
The studios only have to be plugged in.
But there is also a combined 3.5 mm jack and optical input.
The studio is also a smart home hub based on the Zigbee standard.
For example, he can control networked Hue lamps on demand.
Alexa also answers all other questions, for example about the weather or TV program.
Conclusion:
No other Amazon speaker sounds as good as the Echo Studio.
It can also compete with competing products like the Sonos One and Apple's HomePod.
The HomePod, however, is significantly more expensive at 329 euros than the Studio, which costs 200 euros.
The studio also has a built-in smart home hub and can be used as a soundbar replacement in conjunction with a Fire TV.
HD music sounds great in the studio because of its higher bit rate, as does 3-D music, of course.
But normal music, such as that provided by Spotify, also sounds very good from the speaker.
Amazon should improve a bit when using two speakers.
If these are not supplied wirelessly by a music player or Alexa, but connected with a cable, only one plays.
That's why Alexa is really not a good idea in the bedroom
Amazon lets employees listen to and type in recorded commands from users to the Alexa assistance software.
The group confirms the procedure, the whole thing serves to improve speech recognition.
Source: WORLD
This article was first published in January 2020.