Best speakers to use with Alexa | Comparison Guide (2022)
“What are the best speakers to use with Alexa?” – Here is our full round-up of the best Alexa speakers available in 2022.
It is no secret that voice recognition is the way of the future. Voice assistant software such as Alexa, Siri and Google Home has made incredible technological strides in the last decade, and continues to improve every year.
If you’re deciding on the best speakers to use with Alexa, you’ll find there are a wide range of Alexa-enabled smart speakers out there, of all shapes and sizes. When choosing the best Alexa speakers for you, it’s important to know which features are important to you. For example, do you want the speaker to function only as a voice assistant, such as the Amazon Echo Dot? Or do you want a built-in smart-display, like the Echo Show 8.
There is an impressive range of official Amazon Alexa-enabled products, and also a great selection of third-party Alexa smart speakers. Some of the third-party examples are incredibly high quality. However, it’s important to note they may not include some great Amazon features such as voice calling or “drop in”.
We’ve tried more than enough smart speakers to know what’s the best choice right now, for any budget. So here are the best speakers to use with Alexa, ranked from best to worst.
The best speakers to use with Alexa – Our Top Picks
1. Amazon Echo Dot (3rd generation)
SPECIFICATIONS:
Voice assistant: Alexa only | Colours: Charcoal, Heather Gray, Plum, Sandstone | Features: LED clock display | Wi-fi: Yes | Bluetooth: 4.0 | Outputs: 3.5mm | Dimensions(cm): 4.3 x 9.9 x 9.9
Sound Quality
Value for Money
Price
$49.99 / £29.99
The 3rd generation of Amazon’s “Echo Dot” is a vast improvement on previous models. The sound quality is noticeably better, and the cloth-covered exterior give it much smarter and more attractive feel.
For an Alexa speaker as small and compact as this, you get a strong bass-y feel and a surprisingly full, loud sound output.
It’s also still one of the cheapest smart speakers on the market, so it’s perfect if you’re looking for a budget speakers for background music or voice activation functions.
The “sandstone” version also comes with an LCD clock display on the front of the speaker. This is ideal for setting cooking timers or morning alarms.
2. Sonos One
SPECIFICATIONS:
Voice assistant: Alexa, Google Assistant | Colours: Black, White| Wi-fi: Yes | Bluetooth: 4.0 | Outputs: n/a | Dimensions(cm): 16.1 x 11.7 x 12
Sound Quality
Value for Money
Price
$199.99 / £179.99
Out of all the Alexa-enabled speakers out there, the Sonos One is our favourite when it comes to the quality and richness of the sound. The audio output is unrivalled, creating a beautiful, room-filling stereo sound.
The device has a sleek, simple design that comes in either black or white.
The Sonos One’s Alexa functionality is superb, and can also connect to Google Assistant. The device can also connect to a massive amount of streaming services, such as Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, Google Play and Napster.
This is arguably, the best voice assistant speaker out there.
3. Amazon Echo Plus (2nd Generation)
SPECIFICATIONS:
Voice assistant: Alexa | Colours: Charcoal, Heather Gray, Sandstone | Wi-fi: Yes | Bluetooth: 4.0 | Inputs: 3.5mm stereo | Dimensions(cm): 14.8 x 9.9 x 9.9
Sound Quality
Value for Money
Price
$149.99 / £139.99
The First Generation of Amazon’s “Echo Plus” devices was an incredible sounding smart speaker, but with a glossy, slightly plastic-ky feel. The new, 2nd generation release has the same modern, cloth-covered exterior as the Echo Dot. Compared to the previous version is looks superb.
The build quality feels lightweight, but sturdy and professional. The sound has brilliant depth and quality. However, let’s not get carried away, it’s not going to take over your main Hi-Fi system. It would be fantastic for parties, or background music, but even for those situations, the Sonos One is definitely superior.
So if you’re looking for a smart speaker with full, comprehensive Alexa control at a mid-range budget, this is definitely a speaker worth checking out.
4. Amazon Echo Show 8
SPECIFICATIONS:
Voice assistant: Alexa | Colours: Charcoal, Sandstone | Features: 8inch Screen, front facing camera | Wi-fi: Yes | Bluetooth: 4.0 | Outputs: 3.5mm stereo | Dimensions(cm): 20 x 13.5 x 9.9
Sound Quality
Value for Money
Price
$129.99 / £79.99
Amazon is clearly looking for ways to overtake their customers entire households, from Alexa-enabled ovens to full smart security systems. If you’re looking for a little more than just voice assistance, but don’t want an entire Amazon home invasion just yet, the Echo Show 8 might be for you.
Given it’s shape and size, the speaker’s output doesn’t have the richness and quality of some other devices on this list. We found the mid-range frequencies in particular were slightly lacking.
However, the integration of the screen display is genuinely useful and intuitive. The screen is tilted, highly responsive and very easy to use, and is ideal for a range of uses. There is a small camera on the front of the device, which isn’t great quality, but is more than enough for video calls.
Something we found very cool about this device is it has a physical camera closer, that is vital for security and privacy concerns.
The one (rather annoying) downside of this smart device is you can’t ask it to play Youtube videos just yet. Whether this is a future update is unclear, but at the moment is a rather large drawback of this otherwise fantastic product.
5. Ultimate Ears Megablast
SPECIFICATIONS:
Voice assistant: Alexa | Colours: Black, White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Red | Wi-fi: Yes | Bluetooth: 4.0 | Inputs: Micro USB | Dimensions(cm): 23.7 x 8.8
Sound Quality
Value for Money
Price
$125 / £118
The Megablast from Ultimate Ears does exactly what it says on the tin, as this Alexa-enabled device is loud.
The amount of volume this thing can produce at such a compact size is outstanding. The sound is also bass-y and dynamic, and will fill your room with high quality, booming music without distortion or harsh frequencies.
The build feels very durable and feels like a speaker you could definitely take outside and not worry too much about damaging it. Not to mention the fact it’s waterproof.
While the Alexa integration is not fully featured just yet, it is a great addition to this excellent smart speaker.
6. Echo Studio
SPECIFICATIONS:
Voice assistant: Alexa | Colours: Charcoal only | Wi-fi: Yes | Bluetooth: 4.0 | Inputs: 3.5mm stereo | Dimensions(cm): 21 x 18 x 18
Sound Quality
Value for Money
Price
$199.99 / £189.99
The Echo Studio is definitely the best sounding Amazon smart speaker so far. The output is lush, spacious and even has compatibility with 3-D audio tracks.
This speaker is definitely a direct competitor with the Sonos One, but while it does have tremendous sound quality, the Sonos One comes out slightly on top when it comes to the crispness and fullness of the sound output.
The design comes with the same cloth-covered design as other Amazon products, and has a very smooth, modern, attractive look. This is definitely one of the best speakers to use with Alexa if you want fantastic sound quality with full Alexa capabilities.
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