Which Amazon Echo or Alexa Speaker Is Best for You?

Posted 2022-05-12 23:29:57

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AMAZON'S FAMILY OF Alexa-enabled devices keeps growing. From the spherical Echo to the swiveling Echo Show 10, you can get Alexa into your home in many ways. These devices can answer your questions, help you order essentials, set timers, play all sorts of audio content, and even function as the control hub for your growing smart home. These are our favorite Echo- and Alexa-compatible speakers for every home and budget.

The best time to buy any Amazon speaker is during a major sale event like Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day, as the company usually has steep discounts. If you're trying to decide which smart devices might be best for you, be sure to check out WIRED's picks in our roundups: Best Smart Speakers, Best Bluetooth Speakers, and Best Google Speakers. We also have guides on setting up your Echo speaker, creating Alexa routines, and Alexa skills that are actually fun and useful to help you get started.

Updated April 2022: We've added the second generation Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1.

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Echo Orb

PHOTOGRAPH: AMAZON

Best Overall

Amazon Echo (4th Gen)

Amazon's fourth-generation Echo (8/10, WIRED Recommends) notably changed the shape of the cylindrical speaker into a speaker ball. Unless you have a personal vendetta against Amazon (you might), this is the best smart speaker you can get for around $100. Amazon has dialed in its digital signal processing and sound quality over the previous three Echos, and the rounded edges here help fidelity. The new Echo comes with Amazon's AZI Neural Edge processor too, which helps Alexa recognize speech better than ever.

It works in any room in the house. Use it in the kitchen for recipes and timers, in the bedroom for news and weather, or in the bathroom for shower sing-alongs. It's compact, sounds decent, and is well-suited to everything you'd want a smart speaker to do. If music quality is your top priority, scroll down to the Echo Studio and Sonos One, which are our favorite Alexa speakers for listening to music.

$100 AT AMAZON

$100 AT TARGET

Sonos one SL

PHOTOGRAPH: SONOS

Best Non-Amazon Speaker

Sonos One (Gen 2)

The Sonos One is the WIRED Gear team’s favorite smart speaker and multiroom speaker. (We gave the first generation 8/10 and our WIRED Recommends seal of approval.) If you’re going to buy one (or two) speakers for your home, the One is a smart bet thanks to its Wi-Fi networking, which lets you string any Sonos speakers together, and its robust support for nearly every music and audio app you can imagine. It also features Google Assistant, if you want to betray Alexa for its biggest rival (and you just might).

$219 AT SONOS

$220 AT BEST BUY

Amazon Echo Dot

PHOTOGRAPH: AMAZON

Best for the Bedroom

Amazon Echo Dot With Clock (4th Gen)

I (Parker) have had an Echo Dot with Clock on my bedside table for years, and it's the greatest alarm clock ever. You can easily check the time in the middle of the night, thanks to the forward-facing digital clock, and it wakes me up with my favorite seasonal playlists. I have it tell me the weather as I'm getting dressed too. Alternatively, it's also great in the kitchen, where the display can show the status of a timer.

The fourth-gen Dot is the latest and comes in two models—one with a clock and one without. It looks very similar and round, like the standard Echo (our top pick), which means the Dot projects sound even farther. But you'll probably need a bigger speaker if you want to enjoy anything other than background music while you dress or cook.

$60 AT AMAZON

$60 AT TARGET

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sonos roam

PHOTOGRAPH: SONOS

Best Portable Speaker

Sonos Roam

This portable speaker from Sonos (9/10, WIRED Recommends) works great in Bluetooth mode, but if you hook it up to your home's or vacation spot's Wi-Fi, you can use it as a portable Alexa speaker. I like to use it to set timers in the kitchen and check the weather on trips to the Oregon coast, and it saw lots of cabin time in the Cascades this past winter. This little speaker fits easily in a car cupholder, and it comes with an IP67 dust- and water-resistance rating, so you won't need to worry about dropping it in the mud.

$179 AT SONOS

$180 AT BEST BUY

Image may contain Electronics Speaker and Audio Speaker

PHOTOGRAPH: BANG & OLUFSEN

Another Good Portable Speaker

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen)

I've really enjoyed my time with the Beosound A1. It's a durable, beautiful, and great-sounding listening companion that I've taken everywhere from ski trips to backyard barbecues with barely a scratch on its metal grille. The second-generation A1 adds Alexa integration, which makes it easy to use your voice to change songs if it's connected to the internet. An IP67 rating means you won't have to worry about taking it anywhere, and with 18 hours of play time, you won't be reaching for the charger often. The nifty strap lets you attach it to your backpack or wrist, too. I still prefer the Sonos Roam (it's cheaper), but if you've got the cash and want a bit more bass, the A1 is great.

$208 AT AMAZON

$279 AT BANG & OLUFSEN

Image may contain Electronics Computer and Tablet Computer

PHOTOGRAPH: AMAZON

Best Display

Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen)

The Echo Show 8 has been our favorite smart display for Alexa for two generations in a row for good reason. We like this size more than the 5- and 10-inch versions, the smaller of which felt like a weird smartphone, the larger like a weird tablet that spins around everywhere. This one's like Goldilocks' perfect porridge; it's just big enough that weather updates, video chats, and recipes show up clearly, but compact enough that it doesn't take up too much valuable countertop space. The 2021 model is nearly identical to the old one but has a much better camera and the ability to use it as a security or baby monitor.

$130 AT AMAZON

$130 AT BEST BUY

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Amazon Echo Buds

PHOTOGRAPH: AMAZON

Best Buds

Amazon Echo Buds (2021)

We liked the old Echo Buds, but we're even bigger fans of the 2021 update (8/10, WIRED Recommends). Amazon's new earbuds come with wireless charging, noise-canceling tech, and a surprisingly ergonomic fit. Better microphones mean that Alexa voice controls work even in loud environments. The overall experience of using the headphones feels like a future we've seen in sci-fi movies. Need to set a timer, check the weather, or see what happened with your favorite sports team? Just ask these earbuds. Best of all, these usually cost $120, but the price has recently dipped to as low as $50, making them a steal.

$120 AT AMAZON

$120 AT TARGET

amazon echo studio

PHOTOGRAPH: AMAZON

Best Sound

Amazon Echo Studio

Amazon's Echo Studio is for anyone who wants the biggest, boldest sound they can get from an Alexa device. It's got 350 watts of power and a downward-firing subwoofer that pumps out more low end than most other speakers this size, and it even listens and adjusts the sound to fit your space. There's an upward-firing midrange speaker in addition to two side-facing ones, which makes the Echo Studio capable of playing 3D audio codecs like Dolby Atmos. In fact, the speaker automatically "upmixes" your music from standard stereo to better fill your space.

You can buy two and pair them to create a soundbar-like Dolby Atmos experience, though I'd probably stick with a standard Atmos soundbar.

$200 AT AMAZON

$200 AT TARGET

Yamaha YAS 209 Soundbar in black with subwoofer

PHOTOGRAPH: YAMAHA

Best Alexa Soundbar

Yamaha ATS-2090

The Yamaha YAS-209, also called the ATS-2090, is a soundbar/wireless subwoofer combo that doubles as a smart speaker for your living room. Alexa is inside, as well as two virtual sound modes, two HDMI ports, Wi-Fi, Spotify Connect, and Bluetooth, which makes it exceptionally easy to use. It also sounds quite good for the price, which is why it's one of our favorite soundbars.

$239 AT AMAZON

$350 AT ADORAMA