Amazon Echo versus Echo Dot and Echo Plus
The Amazon Echo is one of the most popular smart speakers on the market. But it is by far not the only one that the manufacturer has on offer. For many, the Echo Dot or the Echo Plus, for example, should also be considered.
The Amazon Echo and Echo Dot in comparison
Most of you are probably considering the Amazon Echo and the smaller, cheaper Echo Dot. The latter is the manufacturer's entry-level model. For around £60 you get the same functions as the larger Echo, for which Amazon regularly charges just under £100. So why should you choose the more expensive model? This offers a more powerful speaker (63 mm woofer and 16 mm tweeter), which is a little better suited for playing music. However, the Echo cannot keep up with a music system either.
If you only want to reproduce speech via your smart speaker anyway, the extra charge for the larger model is not worth it and you can confidently use the Echo Dot (41 mm speaker). You can improve the sound quality by connecting the smart speaker to a stereo system. A connection with the Echo Sub only gives you a richer bass. The subwoofer does not amplify the midrange or treble.
The Echo Plus
At a regular price of just under £150, the Amazon Echo Plus is the most expensive smart speaker in this comparison. Among other things, it offers an even more powerful speaker (76 mm woofer and 20 mm tweeter) as well as an audio input and output. But what sets it apart from the two cheaper models is the integrated Zigbee module.
This makes it possible to use the Amazon Echo as a hub or control centre for smart home devices that support the Zigbee wireless standard . In view of this, the price is relativized. Among other things, you can control smart lights from Philips Hue directly with the Echo Plus - without the manufacturer's bridge.
However, not all possible functions are available to you when connecting to smart home devices. The Echo Plus does not completely replace a traditional hub. In addition, some devices cannot be controlled without a bridge from the respective manufacturer despite Zigbee support.The only other smart speaker from Amazon that offers an integrated hub is currently the Echo Show.
Which speaker is the right one?
Which speaker you should use depends on what you want to do with it. The most complete package is without a doubt the Amazon Echo Plus. However, this only really makes sense to you if you want to use it to control smart home devices. Incidentally, this is also possible to a limited extent with the Echo and the Echo Dot. To do this, you must create routines in the Alexa app. In this case, the connection is made via your WiFi and not via Zigbee.
If you are primarily looking for a smart speaker and only rarely want to play music through it, the Amazon Echo Dot is enough. It offers almost all the features of the other two models and can be connected to a system via the 3 mm jack socket. This is also possible with the second-generation Echo, which also offers "dual speakers with Dolby sound".