If you’ve ever wished your TV’s audio could match its 4K picture without spending thousands on a receiver and speakers, Amazon may have the solution. Its new Alexa Home Theater feature will utilize the Echo speakers announced earlier this week – the Echo Studio ($219.99) and Echo Dot Max ($99.99) – to create a wireless surround sound system that can be set up in minutes.
Alexa Home Theater works with compatible Fire TV sticks to create a surround setup without complicated calibration. Once the speakers are plugged in, Alexa automatically syncs them, tunes the sound to your space, and optimizes audio based on their placement. It’s the kind of setup that used to take hours (and maybe a call to an installer), but now happens almost instantly.
I had a chance to hear Alexa Home Theater in action at Amazon’s New York event, where five Echo Studio speakers were arranged in a 5.0 surround setup. The results were impressive. During a demo of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” the sound bounced around the room and even seemed to come from overhead thanks to the Echo Studio’s upward-firing drivers. Watching a clip of Ready Player One, I could clearly hear the surround effects and spatial imaging, even in a crowded demo space.
In a typical living room without people standing in the middle of the sound field, I think it would sound even better. The experience wasn’t quite as enveloping as a high-end dedicated wired system, but for most people, the convenience, wireless design, and Alexa integration will make that a worthwhile tradeoff.
Another smart bonus: if you use Echo Studio or Echo Dot Max speakers in different rooms, you can pull them together in the living room when it’s movie night. They’ll still work as standalone smart speakers elsewhere, but when you want that big-screen sound, they can do double duty as part of a surround setup.
At launch, you’ll need to use either all Echo Studios or all Echo Dot Max speakers, though Amazon says you’ll eventually be able to mix and match. So, which should you start with?
The first-ever Echo Dot Max ($99.99) is a big upgrade from the 5th-gen Echo Dot, with nearly three times the bass and room-filling sound that automatically adapts to your space. In my side-by-side listening test, the deeper bass, higher volume, and fuller overall sound were immediately noticeable.
Switching to the latest-generation Echo Studio ($219.99), the scale and sense of space instantly increased. It’s about 40% smaller than the original model but still delivers big, room-filling sound. With support for spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, the Studio adds height and depth to both music and movies.
What I like most about Alexa Home Theater is how easy it is to use. There are no complicated menus or calibration steps, yet the surround effects are convincing and immersive, even if they don’t quite match the depth of a traditional wired setup.
The one thing to keep in mind is cost. A five-speaker system with Echo Studios will run over $1,100, which is similar to entry-level systems from brands like Sonos or Bose. Those may offer slightly better audio fidelity and dedicated center channels, but they’re often more expensive, harder to expand, and far less flexible. With Alexa Home Theater, your speakers aren’t locked in the living room. They can move around the house and serve as standalone smart speakers when it’s not movie night.
Both the Echo Dot Max ($99.99) and Echo Studio ($219.99) are available for pre-order now and will start shipping on October 29. Amazon also plans to offer Alexa Home Theater bundles.
[Image credit:Josh Kirschner/Techlicious]
