Amazon Alexa Echo Studio 2022 – a heavyweight Alexa speaker (AV review)

You really need two of the $329 Amazon Alexa Echo Studio 2022 speakers to unleash the power of stereo pairing in the best-sounding Echo speaker yet. It is worth listening to.

The power not only comes from the 330W but the 1” tweeter, 3 x 2” midrange and a 5.25” woofer but in its BT, Wi-Fi, and combo 3.5mm/Optical inputs.

Now we need to position this speaker. Basically, it is a mono Alexa speaker with better sound. There is no equivalent in the Google Nest range (it would have been the Max, now discontinued). Any of the Sonos range of speakers and soundbars supports either Google or Alexa. The $319 Sonos One is closest in stature, the $699 Sonos Move – big and bold BT/Wi-Fi portable speaker (review) but the $799 Sonos Five – superb Hi-Fi over Wi-Fi (sound review) (especially when stereo paired) is way ahead on music quality. Bose has the $599.95 Home Speaker 500 with superior audio.

But it is not just about the music quality (which is pretty good for what it is).

The Amazon Alexa Echo Studio 2022 has

• Zigbee hub (useful for IoT control, but you will already have an IoT hub if you use these devices.
• Spatial audio processing requires a subscription to the appropriate content – so don’t buy it for that.
• Supports spatial and Ultra HD music from Amazon Music Unlimited (subscription service)
• Supports Dolby Atmos but does not have a decoder relying (we understand) on being Bluetooth connected to Fire TV 4K or Fire TV Cube 4K.
• Room tuning
• Charcoal or Glacier White
• $329
• Website
• Warranty 12-months
• CyberShack Amazon Alexa news and reviews

Note: This is the 2022 model, and there are many poor reviews for the earlier model, including no Hi-Res availability here (Amazon HD), Dolby Atmos only via Fire TV devices, constant dropouts and more. Our week of testing reveals no such issues, so only pay attention to reviews from November 2022 onwards.

First impression – squat – Pass

It is a 175mm round x 206mm high x 3.5kg mains powered speaker. Most images tend to show it front on, and it can be disconcerting to see it in the flesh.

There is a woofer port (slit) front and back of the fabric-covered cylinder with seven mics, four push buttons and a glowing ring on top.

Setup is via the Alexa App – you can read more about that Amazon Alexa Echo Dot 5th Gen 2022 – talkative little chap.

Sound – why you paid more for this speaker – Pass+

I want to preface this by saying it is fit for purpose. It sounds way better than any other Amazon Alexa Echo speaker. But it won’t please an audiophile the way Sonos or Bose may.

And it has a three-band EQ in the App that does allow you to recess bass, mid or treble (you cannot accentuate what is not there).

Its native sound signature verges on Balanced: (bass-boosted, mid-recessed, treble-boosted), also called V-shaped and the default on many devices – despised by audiophiles. The EQ allows you to

• Back off the bass a little, making it closer to Analytical (bass/mid-recessed; treble-boosted) – crisp but not pleasant for most music)
• Back off bass and treble a little, bringing it closer to Neutral: The audiophile standard is a flat (good) response that neither adds nor subtracts from the original music! The only issue here is garbage-in, garbage-out – the better the music quality, the better it sounds.

Maximum volume is great at 90dB with minimal distortion. It does clip the treble highs a little.

Soundstage – Pass+

The 3 x 2” midrange are at 90° to each other (the centre one is forward-facing, and the others are side-facing). That gives it a wider sound stage. The Tweeter is up-facing, but it is really only there to reinforce the top notes that the midrange cannot handle—ditto for the down-facing woofer.

It should be placed face forward and not too far from a wall (it is not an omnidirectional speaker) and should be placed at desk height (not on the floor or carpet that tends to absorb the bass).

Amazon says its room-filling sound. But the disclaimer is ‘Only works if you have an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription and you set Amazon Music as your default provider*’

 I say that is in reference to volume, not sound quality – after all, it is only a mono speaker.

Pairing with Fire TV – Passable

We discovered that it does not have a Dolby Atmos decoder per se. If you BT pair it to a Fire TV 4K or Cube 4K, you can get faux Dolby Atmos. It does not do 3D height, but the side-firing speakers do provide a sense of a wider sound stage. This is where a pair would provide decent TV speaker replacement.

Frankly, you would be far better off with an Alexa-compatible Sonos Beam Gen 2 soundbar.

Microphone – 7 is overkill – Exceed

Typically far-field mics are only effective to about 5m and less with audio content playing. This was good to about 10m, even with music playing.

Hidden feature – micro-USB/Ethernet – Pass+

You can’t use this to play audio content, but you can get a micro-USB to Ethernet adapter and cable this to the router. Otherwise, it is Wi-Fi 5 AC 2.4 or 5Ghz (half-duplex), which limits its placement to home areas with good Wi-Fi signals.

CyberShack’s take – Amazon Alexa Echo Studio 2022 is a good Alexa speaker but an average Hi-Fi device

This is a case of so much promise, but it is let down in the delivery of Dolby Atmos, Spatial sound, and music quality. If you accept it for what it is a mono Alexa speaker with benefits, then we have done our job.

Would I buy it?

As for all Alexa products, if I was invested in the Amazon and Alexa ecosystem, then yes. If you use Google Assistant, then no.

If you are in the Alexa ecosystem, then there is no better Echo speaker for loud, room-filling mono that, to most, sounds good.

Rating Explanation

Features 80

It is a mono Alexa speaker with 330W over five speakers that will provide good room-filling sound. It is the best Alexa Echo speaker for sound.

Value: 90

At $329, it represents pretty good value. The only price competitor is the Sonos One, and it has superior mid and treble but lacks room tuning smarts and the lower bass. Getting value as a spatial or Dolby Atmos speaker is questionable.

Performance: 85

It does everything you expect from Alexa with a pleasant, enjoyable sound signature (albeit that you may have to tweak the EQ to your tastes)

Ease of Use: 85

Set-up is easy via the App, but it nags you to set up a profile, and you need to look at the default privacy settings.

Design: 80

It is not attractive, just practical.