The Echo Sub is an odd but evident addition to Amazon’s current lineup of new Echo devices.
Since you can not talk to it like you can with your Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Plus, it is not a smart speaker. Additionally, an existing 2.0 audio system cannot be made smarter by adding an Echo Sub.
The Echo Sub’s sole function is to enhance Echo speakers’ bass. Even if it accomplishes this goal, there are a few things to be mindful of.
While the Echo Sub does add bass to Echo speakers, it doesn’t really compare to full-fledged woofers on similarly-priced audio systems. That said, if you’re satisfied with the audio quality of Echo speakers, you are not likely to complain about the bass response you get from the Sub.
When you first set it up though, you will have to spend some time finding the bass levels and Amazon provides no control for this. The Sub doesn’t have knobs or buttons for this and the app doesn’t have an equaliser. All you have is the voice command, “Alexa, turn down/up the bass”.
Because of this, if the bass is too high, the Sub can often bring attention to itself; if it is too low, it can be neutralized. If the necessary bass levels are not established, your Sub can become completely inconsequential because your Echo Plus or Echo do have some bass qualities of their own. Additionally, this will vary from song to song. Generally speaking, rock music is the perfect fit for the Sub.
To put it simply, the Echo Sub does its intended function. But it is unclear if Amazon’s initial attempt to create an Alexa-enabled subwoofer was successful.
The company told us that the Sub can’t function as a stand-alone Alexa device, which means it can’t turn dumb devices smart, something Echo devices have often been used for. Further, you will have to play music directly from the Echo speakers (voice commands) when they’re connected to the Sub. This is a major downside, because then you are stuck with only Amazon Music and Saavn’s collection. Though vast, they do miss song requests more often than would be ideal. You can’t connect a phone or TV to the speakers to enjoy better bass when the sub is connected. That feels like a big miss, because it makes the Sub significantly less useful.
