Best Smart Speaker

The best smart speaker space is as modest as ever. The technology devices Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant lead the way.

Apple has been selling its HomePod with Siri in the first place with sound quality. However, our HomePod review showed that listening to entry-level smart speakers like Amazon’s entry-level Echo is better.

But Amazon has stepped up its game since then, with the Echo Studio showing excellent value for money.

Our 6 pick for the best premium smart speaker

1. Amazon Echo Studio

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  • Amazon’s Echo speakers have gotten better and better in sound quality in recent years, but it’s taken a big step onward with the new Echo Studio.
  • It is an adequate, high-fidelity sound performance, with 3D audio more than a nickname for an overvalued feature. If you pair the Studio with a lossless tune, you’ll hear how well-tuned this speaker is.
  • It comes at a small price point, but it still beats the HomePod by a significant margin, and quite frankly, it takes it out of the park.
  • Additionally, you get Alexa’s relative competence, compared to Siri, which is often paralyzing.
  • With five smart speakers housed within the unit, you get stable sound from all angles, bass with some real oomph, and a great all-around experience. The Echo Studio will take a beating.

2. Google Home Max

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  • The Google Home Max isn’t exactly an inexpensive option given its price, and with such a large footprint, it’s an entirely different take than the easy-to-fit Household and Homebased.
  • It’s a smart speaker for those married to Google and its ecosystem, who want Google Assistant, not Amazon Alexa, and need premium sound. This last point offers an apparent reason to opt for it over an Echo device.
  • But can Google command Sonos-level pricing on its first full-scale outing? Sounds decent sure, but we think it would take a price cut to be a dedicated rush-buy-now speaker.
  • The good news is that you can often find the speaker for decent discounts a couple of years after its launch.

3. Sonos one

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  • Sonos entered the Alexa-enabled smart speaker market with the excellent Sonos One.
  • Unsurprisingly, it sounds fantastic and looks just as good, too. And it’s another one on this list priced significantly lower than the Apple HomePod.
  • It has the same layout as Play: 1 except for the top, where there is a new switch panel in place of the volume button in Play: 1.
  • Look no further for one of the best-sounding speakers, with the multi-room capability and built-in Alexa.
  • For music fans looking for a speaker with the excellent sound quality for its size, the One is one of a kind.

4. Apple HomePod

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  • If we were rating the HomePod on its sound performance alone, it would fail. Apple has produced a miniature smart speaker that produces sound well above your height, in a way that it is pleasant to listen to whatever music you like.
  • It’s a natural sound that’s very well balanced rather than one that’s too tinny or too heavy, and the extra we listen to it, the more we realize how decent it sounds, given its size.
  • But the Siri addition isn’t that powerful, and the lack of support for services like Spotify hurts.

5. Libratone Zipp 2

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  • The Libratone Zipp 2 is a great-sounding portable speaker with interchangeable covers, a design that stands out from the competition.
  • Considering its price, the physical size lends itself well to the powerful bass and audio output.
  • In addition, the 360-degree sound is emitting everywhere, and the overall profile can be adjusted with the companion app.
  • The new version is also compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant, which means you can talk to it, whether to change the music playing or turn off the kitchen lights.
  • It is portable also means that you can take Alexa with you wherever you go using a good handle.

6. Sonos moves

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  • Sonos has stepped up its game recently, launching new products on the left, right, and centre. Perhaps its latest jewel in the crown is the magnificent Move, a speaker that combines the best of intelligent home speaker setups with total portability and booming sound.
  • The Move has a charging base to sit on when using it every day indoors, but whenever you need it, you can pick it up and take it for up to 10 hours of Bluetooth playtime.
  • It has Alexa and Google Assistant support, and it sounds sublime, with automatic adaptation of sound profiles based on your environment.
  • For just a little more than Apple’s HomePod, Move does so much more, and you can do it on the go. That is a persuasive package.