The Amazon Echo Studio promises to be not only the best-sounding Echo speaker yet, but also a smart speaker that’s truly for audiophiles. Not only does the Echo Studio have an upgraded interior capable of CD-quality and Hi-Res audio, both of which are now available through Amazon Music Unlimited – the latest incarnation of the company’s music streaming service – but it also supports 3D audio via tracks encoded in Sony’s 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos.
The Echo Studio continues the design language of previous Echo speakers: it’s cylindrically shaped and covered in an anthracite fabric fabric. It is significantly larger than any previous Echo and dwarfs the Sonos One and Apple Home Pod. Its souped-up exterior helps drive 330W of power to two 5cm midrange drivers positioned on the left and right, a 25mm tweeter in the middle and a 5cm midrange radiating upward. Bass is provided by a downward-firing 5.25-inch woofer.
There are volume buttons on the top, as well as a button to mute the microphone and wake up Alexa. And yes, the blue light ring remains so you know when Alexa is listening. The location of the drivers allows the Echo Studio to use a feature of Amazon Music Unlimited, which is the library of “hundreds” of songs available in Dolby Atmos Music. This uses the audio format to mix tracks with greater control over different elements and the positioning of different elements in the sound field.
If you want to make your home smarter but don’t know where to start, consider installing a Sengled Smart Wi-Fi LED. This affordable smart bulb can be installed in any standard E26 socket and connects directly to your home Wi-Fi without the need for a hub. It displays 16 million colors, supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, and can interact with other smart home devices via IFTTT applets. It also has an easy-to-use mobile app that lets you create lighting schedules and scenes, and shows you how much power the bulb is using. All of this makes it one of the best deals on the market and our new Editors’ Choice for affordable smart light bulbs.
The Sengled Smart Wi-Fi LED is a dimmable A19 bulb with an E26 base that can be used with any standard lamp socket. It measures 2.3 inches in diameter, is 4.2 inches long and has a maximum light output of 800 lumens, which is roughly equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb. It is a 16-million-color bulb with a white temperature range of 2000K to 6500K and a rated life of 25,000 hours. The Smart Wi-Fi LED has a built-in 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio that allows it to connect to your home network. Therefore, no hub is required for remote control, as is the case with Philips Hue bulbs.
The bulb is accessed via the Sengled mobile app for Android and iOS devices. A home screen opens, displaying all installed Sengled bulbs by room name. At the top of the screen are three buttons: All On, All Off, and Setting.
The All On/All Off buttons allow you to control all of your lamps at once, and the Setting button takes you to a screen that displays scene shortcuts. Here you can create scenes to turn lamps on and off and display specific colors and brightness levels by simply tapping a shortcut button. Each room also has its own “All On” and “All Off” buttons that allow you to control only the lamps assigned to that room.