Amazon Echo Dot
It would appear that Amazon designs draw their inspiration for the echo Dot series from sports. First we had a hockey puck sized speaker and now we have one that measures and looks like a softball with a small segment chopped off.
It came as a total surprise when the Amazonians unveiled their new Echo dot product which was a complete turnaround of design concept and form. Don’t let the small pint size of this little smart speaker fool you though because it packs quite the punch and may just surprise you with its real worth in sound and fidelity. It does share the oblate spheroid form of the larger sibling but assumes a miniature scale.
The Dot is offered in two iterations, one with a built in Led clock that will set you back and extra $10 from the set price of $49.99 for the one without the clock. You may have to get the best sellers online to get it for this much reduced price as it can run pretty gamut on other platforms.
Rather than a downgrade in sound quality, the dot is surprisingly crisp and will amaze listener in terms of the projection minus the heaviness of bass. On a few points like the bass output you expect a regression from the prior model because of the obvious lack of sheer mass to move air. Because of its size, design and price, the 4th gen Echo Dot is one of the best buys for a budget smart speaker today even without factoring in the Amazon flash sales frenzy where you can get it for only a fraction of the value.
We will also note that there are several iteration of the Echo Dot and the 4th generation is considerably (actually twice) larger than the previous 3rd gen Echo Dot speaker. We have mentioned that it takes after the new Echo Dot’s shape of a deflated ball with the flat side resting on the bench for stability. It also comes meshed with a soft attractive fabric and an even cuter matte finished plastic material at the bottom. Out with the old hockey puck design and in with the new softball size and measuring about 3.5 inches overall.
JBL GO 2
The JBL GO measures a mere 71x86x31 mm but is capable of surprisingly loud volume even though at such it will struggle with bass response and clean sounding mids and highs. It is portable with a 5 hour battery life which is very underwhelming for a speaker of this caliber. On the flipside, it costs only $40 and comes waterproof for outdoor use which is pretty enticing an offer compared to the Echo dot if money is of primary concern.
The speaker has a boring box shape with a rubberized in place of the typical cloth mesh used in high end speakers but is water proof so there is that. On the plus side, the Go 2 does come in a plethora of colors so that you can pick one that says am unique.
The exteriors of this make are pretty boring with a large JBL logo etched on the front grille and no back end grille for bass projection. All the basic controls are clustered on top so there is nothing fancy about it. To make matters worse, it comes with a lousy voice assistant for which you have to long press the multi-function button and speak really loudly to get it to hear you correctly.
Design
JBL and Amazon are a world apart in terms of resources they can afford to pour into research and development yet it is not always a straight line graph for quality of design versus costs poured into the process. Here are some distinctions between these two speakers based on their design.
Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen
The new and interesting design of the Echo Dot is a two pronged approach to making the speaker a more worthy adversary in the smart speaker arena with a more aesthetic look and still retaining the uniqueness of what an Amazon smart speaker should look like. As expected, it packs a better punch than the puck design which was looked down upon by larger speakers in the market because size does matter.
This new model comes with a 1.6 inch speaker but also some notable compromises such as the inability or difficulty in mounting on walls compared to the flat puck. It is less disguised and will stand out more on a shelf than the previous speaker. Fortunately the 3rd gen speaker is still in circulation so if you still plan on mounting then you can go with it.
The Dot is also offered in three new colors the dark grey, light grey and the light blue options. It is a bit frustrating when you order the darker version and get a white power cord which makes it more visible. We found that you can still use the power cord and adapter from the 3rd generation if you already own one.
JBL GO 2
It measures just 2.8×1.3×3.4 inches which makes it comparable in size to the coveted Amazon Echo Dot minus the thoughtful design. It weighs a couple of ounces and will be your small road warrior if you need a small inexpensive speaker to enhance listening on your phone. The range of colors makes it better even though the company chose to go with more muted colors like coral orange, champagne and cyan.
Rated IXP7 the JBL is happy with water environment and for whatever reason you want to wash it in your sink or jump with it in the pool, it will appreciate the chill.
The controls are very obvious and boring for the JBL. Even more disturbing are the dominant JBL labels on the front and back unless you actually like the acronym with not much character to it. It feels cheap and rubbery compared to every other smart speaker you can think of and is only a souped-up Bluetooth speaker come to think of it.
Smart Features
The JBL as we have mentioned severally does not have much in the way of smart features and the little that it has is limited. So if you are buying for smart home hub or something related to the current trend in speakers that can control other smart devices and things like that then you can default to the Amazon Echo.
Verdict
For the smart speaker category you want to buy a speaker that is actually smart enough then the Amazon Echo Dot is the obvious choice here. It is a smarter more elegant design and shakes of the presumptions of what smart speakers should look like. It worth the bucks especially with the effectiveness of Alexa and the countless opportunities that open up with access to her.
On the other hand, JBL is resilient brand with some surprising sound, quality for the price. It may be boring on exterior design but JBL with its single driver is comparable to the refined sound of the Amazon speaker array. The Clip 2 speaker from JBL is the GO 2’s immediate competition.
That said, the JBL platform is a go to small speaker choice especially for its price point. You will be inevitably hamstrung by its physical limits and boring look but you will be pleased with the loudness and equalization.
