Amazon Echo (4th Gen) Review: A Sound Revolution in a Sphere?

The Amazon Echo (4th Gen) marked a radical departure from its predecessors. Gone was the familiar cylindrical design, replaced by a futuristic sphere that looked like it belonged on a sci-fi movie set. This wasn’t just a cosmetic change; Amazon promised a significant leap forward in audio quality, smarter home integration, and a more responsive Alexa experience. But did this bold redesign deliver on its promises?

This comprehensive Amazon Echo 4th Gen review will dissect every aspect of this popular smart speaker. We’ll examine its unique design, explore its sound performance, and see how it stacks up as the central hub of a modern smart home. By comparing it to its main rivals, the Google Nest Audio and Apple HomePod Mini, we’ll determine if this Echo is the best Alexa speaker for your needs and whether its spherical shape truly represents a revolution in smart audio.

Design and Build: A Crystal Ball for Your Home

The most striking aspect of the 4th generation Echo is its spherical design. Measuring 144mm wide and 133mm tall, it’s a substantial orb wrapped in a soft, recycled fabric mesh, available in colors like Charcoal, Glacier White, and Twilight Blue. The top of the sphere is made of matte plastic and houses four physical buttons: volume up, volume down, an action button to summon Alexa manually, and a microphone mute button for privacy.

Unlike the Echo Dot, which is a perfect sphere, the main Echo has a flat, angled base that tilts the speaker slightly upwards. This design choice is both aesthetic and functional, directing sound more effectively towards the listener. At the base, a vibrant LED light ring glows to indicate Alexa’s status—blue when listening, orange during setup, and red when the microphone is muted. This placement is a significant improvement over the top-ring light of previous generations, as the light now reflects off the surface the Echo sits on, making it more visible from across the room.

The back of the device features a power port and a 3.5mm audio jack. This jack is a versatile addition, configurable as either an input for wired audio sources or an output to connect the Echo to a larger, more powerful speaker system. The build quality feels solid and premium, and its modern, minimalist look allows it to blend into various home decor styles more seamlessly than the old cylindrical models.

Key Features: More Than Just a Speaker

The Amazon Echo (4th Gen) is packed with technology that extends its functionality far beyond just playing music and answering questions. It’s a full-fledged smart home controller, an audio powerhouse, and an ever-evolving assistant.

Integrated Smart Home Hub

One of the standout features of the 4th Gen Echo is its built-in Zigbee smart home hub, a feature previously reserved for the more expensive Echo Plus. This is a game-changer for anyone building a smart home. A Zigbee hub allows you to connect and control a wide range of compatible smart devices—like Philips Hue lightbulbs, smart plugs, and sensors—directly through the Echo, without needing a separate, dedicated hub for each brand.

Setting up devices is as simple as saying, “Alexa, discover my devices.” This streamlines the entire smart home experience, making the Echo a true central command center. It simplifies setup, reduces clutter, and makes expanding your smart home ecosystem more affordable and straightforward.

Advanced Audio Architecture

Beneath its fabric exterior, the Echo (4th Gen) houses a completely new speaker arrangement. It features a 3.0-inch neodymium woofer and two 0.8-inch front-firing tweeters. This setup is a significant upgrade from the 3rd Gen’s single-tweeter design. The spherical enclosure isn’t just for looks; it provides a larger internal volume, which is crucial for producing deeper and richer bass.

The Echo also supports Dolby Audio processing, which helps create a more immersive and detailed soundstage. Furthermore, it includes room-tuning technology that automatically analyzes the acoustics of its environment and adjusts audio playback accordingly. This means the speaker should sound its best whether it’s placed in a corner, on a bookshelf, or in the middle of a room.

All-Knowing Alexa and Privacy Controls

At its core, the Echo is powered by the Alexa voice assistant. Alexa’s capabilities are constantly expanding through “Skills,” which are essentially apps for the voice assistant. You can use Alexa to set timers, check the weather, get news briefings, create shopping lists, play games, and control your smart home devices.

Amazon has also made privacy a more visible feature. The physical microphone mute button electronically disconnects the microphones, and the glowing red light provides a clear visual confirmation that the device is not listening. The Alexa app also gives you granular control over your voice recording history, allowing you to review and delete recordings at any time.

Performance and Sound Quality

The most significant upgrade in the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) is its audio performance. The combination of a powerful woofer and dual tweeters delivers a sound that is surprisingly robust for its size.

A Bass-Forward Sound Profile

The first thing you’ll notice is the bass. The 3.0-inch woofer, aided by the spherical chassis, produces a punchy and present low end. This makes it particularly enjoyable for listening to bass-heavy genres like hip-hop, pop, and electronic music. Tracks feel energetic and full-bodied, a clear improvement over the flatter sound of previous Echo generations and the more mid-focused Google Nest Audio.

However, this bass emphasis can sometimes come at the expense of clarity in the mid-range. While vocals are generally clear, they can occasionally feel slightly recessed or “muddy” in complex tracks where the bass is competing for attention. The high frequencies are pleasant and not harsh, but they lack the crisp detail you might find in more expensive speakers. Cymbals and hi-hats are audible but don’t have the sparkle and decay of a high-fidelity system. Fortunately, the Alexa app includes simple bass, mid, and treble sliders, allowing you to tweak the EQ to better suit your preferences.

Soundstage and Room-Filling Audio

Thanks to its dual tweeters and Dolby processing, the Echo (4th Gen) creates an impressively wide soundstage for a single speaker. It can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, providing a sense of separation between the left and right channels. While it’s a front-firing speaker, the sound dispersion is quite good, and it does a commendable job of filling a small to medium-sized room with sound.

At maximum volume, the Echo gets loud enough for casual listening or a small gathering, but it’s not a party speaker. At higher volumes, some compression becomes noticeable as the speaker’s digital signal processing (DSP) works to prevent distortion, which can flatten the dynamics of the music.

Microphone Performance

The microphone array on the Echo is excellent. It consistently and accurately hears the “Alexa” wake word, even from across the room and with music playing at a moderate volume. In noisy environments, it still performs reliably, making it a dependable assistant for hands-free control.

The User Experience: Living with the Echo

Setting up the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) is incredibly simple. You plug it in, open the Alexa app on your smartphone, and follow a few on-screen prompts to connect it to your Wi-Fi network. Once set up, the experience is largely voice-driven.

Smart Speaker Comparison: Echo vs. Nest Audio vs. HomePod Mini

When placed alongside its primary competitors, the Echo’s strengths and weaknesses become clear.

• Amazon Echo (4th Gen): This is the best choice for anyone invested in the Alexa ecosystem or looking for a smart speaker that doubles as a powerful smart home hub. Its sound is bass-forward and energetic, and the inclusion of a 3.5mm jack adds valuable versatility.
• Google Nest Audio: The Nest Audio offers a more balanced, neutral sound profile that excels with vocals and podcasts. It’s the better choice for audio purists who prioritize mid-range clarity. Its integration with Google Assistant and services like YouTube Music is seamless. However, it lacks a Zigbee hub and a 3.5mm audio port.
• Apple HomePod Mini: The HomePod Mini is the obvious choice for those deep within the Apple ecosystem. It offers excellent sound for its tiny size and integrates flawlessly with Apple Music, Siri, and HomeKit. Its main drawback is its reliance on Apple’s ecosystem; it is less flexible for users with Android devices or a mix of smart home platforms.

Multi-Room Audio and Stereo Pairing

Like its competitors, the Echo supports multi-room audio, allowing you to group multiple Echo speakers to play the same music synchronized throughout your home. You can also pair two 4th Gen Echo speakers to create a true stereo pair. This significantly enhances the listening experience, creating a much wider and more immersive soundstage that is great for music and even for creating a budget-friendly home theater setup when paired with an Amazon Fire TV device.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Powerful Bass Response: Delivers a rich, full-bodied sound that’s great for popular music genres.
• Integrated Zigbee Hub: Simplifies smart home setup by eliminating the need for separate hubs.
• Versatile 3.5mm Audio Jack: Can be used for both wired input and output.
• Attractive, Modern Design: The spherical look is unique and blends well with home decor.
• Excellent Voice Recognition: Microphones reliably pick up commands, even in noisy environments.

Cons:

• Mids Can Sound Muddy: The strong bass can sometimes overshadow vocal clarity.
• Not Extremely Loud: It may not be powerful enough for large rooms or parties.
• Requires an Amazon Ecosystem: While it works with Spotify and Apple Music, the experience is most seamless with Amazon’s services.
• AC Powered Only: It’s not a portable speaker and must be plugged in at all times.

Conclusion

The Amazon Echo (4th Gen) is a resounding success and a significant step forward for the Echo line. It’s a feature-rich smart speaker that confidently balances impressive sound quality, cutting-edge smart home capabilities, and an affordable price point. The decision to integrate a Zigbee hub was a brilliant move, positioning it as the most capable and user-friendly smart home controller in its class.

While its bass-heavy sound may not appeal to audiophiles seeking perfect neutrality, it offers an exciting and engaging listening experience that most people will love. When you combine its audio performance with the ever-growing intelligence of Alexa and its sleek, futuristic design, the Echo (4th Gen) stands out as the best Alexa speaker for the vast majority of users. If you’re looking for a device to be the heart of your smart home, look no further.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: Do I need an Amazon Prime subscription to use the Amazon Echo?
No, you do not need an Amazon Prime subscription. The Echo works as a standalone device with a free Amazon account. However, a Prime subscription unlocks access to Amazon Prime Music, Prime Video, and other benefits.

Q2: Can the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) be used as a Bluetooth speaker?
Yes. You can pair your smartphone, tablet, or computer to the Echo via Bluetooth and use it as a standard Bluetooth speaker, even without a Wi-Fi connection.

Q3: Is the Echo (4th Gen) portable?
No, the Echo (4th Gen) is not portable. It does not have an internal battery and must be plugged into a wall outlet to function.

Q4: Can I turn off the microphone?
Yes. There is a physical button on top of the Echo that electronically disconnects the microphones. A red LED light ring at the base provides a clear visual indicator that the device is not listening.

Q5: What’s the difference between the Echo (4th Gen) and the Echo Dot (4th Gen)?
The main differences are size and sound quality. The standard Echo is larger and contains a dedicated woofer and dual tweeters, resulting in much better bass and overall audio performance. The smaller Echo Dot has a single front-firing speaker and is better suited for smaller rooms or as a secondary Alexa access point. The standard Echo also has the built-in Zigbee hub, which the Dot lacks.