[tubemonkey]

Amazon Echo (2nd Gen) Review

When the 2nd Generation Amazon Echo was announced, I (somewhat reluctantly) placed my order, even though I had more Alexa devices than I have rooms in my house. Here are my thoughts on the new smart speaker, what you need to know about it, and how it compares to the original Echo.

The Echo still has a 2.5-inch woofer inside, but the new model has a smaller 0.6-inch tweeter, while the old one had a 2-inch tweeter. More on that later when I discuss audio quality. Another difference is the new Echo now has a pair of volume buttons on top, instead of a volume ring that turns, like on the old Echo. While I hardly ever control the volume through the physical controls, since it can be done by voice, I do prefer the ring to the buttons.

While multiple ways to get audio out of the new Echo is great, I suspect most people will use the Echo’s built-in speakers. The new 2nd generation Echo’s speakers aren’t going to blow you away, but they sound good. If I had to choose between the 1st and 2nd generation Echo based on sound quality alone, I would easily choose the 2nd generation Echo.

The new Echo has a richer and fuller sound with noticeably more base. However, that’s not to say that it outperforms the original Echo in every way. To my ear, the original Echo sounds better with spoken words and a cappella vocals, likely thanks to its larger tweeter, but once the beat drops on a track, the new Echo sounds much better. I still consider the Echo Show to be the best sounding Echo device, but the new Echo 2 is a close second with the Echo 1 a very close third.

Based on the genre of music you listen to, it’s certainly possible that you’d prefer the crisper sound of the Echo 1 over the richer sound of the Echo 2. The difference is really only noticeable when the two devices are listened to back-to-back, so I wouldn’t say its enough of a difference to make or break the device.