The 5 Best Alexa Speakers - Winter 2023 Reviews

The best Alexa speaker that we've tested is the Denon Home 350. This premium home speaker has built-in support for Amazon Alexa, meaning you can control its functions with your voice. Whether you're in the midst of a noisy party or calling out to the speaker from the other side of the room, it can hear your commands clearly and without issue. Its sleek design blends easily into your home decor, and you simply need to plug it into a power outlet to get it to work. When you don't want it to listen to you anymore, you can mute Alexa's microphone, which is handy for privacy-conscious users.

This speaker is a solid choice for listening to many different types of audio content, from music to podcasts to audiobooks. It reproduces voices and lead instruments with clarity and detail, and there's even a little extra punch in the bass range to bring genres like hip-hop and EDM to life, making it the best Alexa speaker for music we've tested. If you prefer a different sound, you can adjust its bass and treble performance using the sliders in the HEOS app. Handily enough, you can even pair multiple speakers together to create a stereo pair or connect the speaker to a Denon soundbar for 5.1 sound. Of course, with its wired design, it's not very portable, but if you want a premium setup for home use, it's a great choice.

If you're looking for a more affordable Alexa speaker, check out the Sonos Move. It's another premium pick with a great voice assistant performance, so you can control it using either Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Like the Denon Home 350, it can understand you clearly, even if you're further away from the speaker or talking to it in a noisy room. Since it's battery-powered, this speaker is much more suitable to bring on the go. It's even rated IP56 for dust and water resistance, meaning it's certified to be protected against direct contact with water for up to three minutes, so you can take it out to the pool without worrying about long-term damage.

This speaker offers good sound quality, so your favorite songs are reproduced with clarity and detail, and you don't have any trouble following along with your favorite podcasts and audiobooks. That said, it doesn't reproduce quite as much low-bass as the Denon. As a result, you don't feel as much rumble, which is especially noticeable with bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop. If you don't listen to audio with a lot of bass mixed in, it's not a big issue, and you even may find that its portability is worth the lesser bass performance. Overall, it's a great pick that can please lots of different types of listeners.

If you're on a tighter budget, consider the Amazon Echo Studio, another excellent voice assistant speaker available at a more affordable price than the Sonos Move. This stylish home speaker has built-in Alexa support and performs well, so you don't have to worry about it understanding your commands clearly. Also, it serves as a Zigbee hub, so you can connect other smart home devices like light bulbs and thermostats to the speaker to control them with your voice. You can also use the microphone mute tool to stop it from listening to you when you're done, which is nice.

This speaker offers a clear and balanced sound right out of the box, so voices and instruments in your favorite tracks sound pleasant. With the Amazon Alexa app, you can adjust its bass and treble performance, too. However, it doesn't bring as much rumble as the more premium Sonos Move. Also, it's a wired speaker, so you can't use it outdoors, and it isn't rated for dust or water resistance, so it's not a good idea to use it in your kitchen or bathroom. That said, if you prefer a wired home speaker, it's still a great pick.

The Amazon Echo Gen 4 is the best Bluetooth speaker with Alexa built-in that we've tested for those on a budget. It's a rather unique-looking device with a spherical design that's available in several colors to match your home decor. Alexa lets you control the device right from the comfort of your couch, using only your voice to command its functions. There's a Zigbee hub built in, so you can access other compatible smart devices through the speaker. Alexa understands you with ease, too, so you can still use the voice assistant capabilities in the middle of a noisy environment like a party.

This speaker is compatible with the Amazon Alexa app, which gives you access to some extra features. Its bass and treble adjustment tools let you customize its sound more to your liking, which is handy for audiophiles. Plus, you can pair multiple Echo devices together to make a stereo pair or spread audio to different rooms in your home. Naturally, this smaller device doesn't get as loud as the larger Amazon Echo Studio, but if you just plan to use it in an average-sized room, it'll still get the job done.

The Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4 is a great wallet-friendly pick. It's the smaller and more affordable twin to the Amazon Echo Gen 4, and it has the same spherical design to blend in with your home accessories. Despite the price difference, both speakers offer a similar voice assistant performance, with built-in Alexa capabilities that do an excellent job picking up your commands, even if you're further away from the device. Unfortunately, you won't find a Zigbee hub built into this speaker, but if you don't have other smart home devices, you won't need this feature, so you may find it a better value overall.

Similar to its larger, more premium sibling, this speaker connects to the Amazon Alexa app, allowing you to adjust its bass and treble or connect it with other Echo devices to spread your favorite tunes throughout your home. Whether you're listening to music, podcasts, or audiobooks, the speaker does a good job reproducing voices and other instruments with clarity. That said, it's not quite as loud as the bigger Echo, which is especially disappointing if you want to fill larger and more open spaces with sound. Still, for the price, this small speaker is a solid addition to any home setup.