Room Speakers

A speaker standing in a corner is doing a different job from a bar under the screen, and it gets chosen differently. The questions on this page are where it stands, what reaches it, and what its listing actually describes it as doing.

Stated and not stated

No listing here gives a power output or a physical dimension. Those are the two figures that would let one box be set against another, and without them there is no scale to draw. Shelf clearance in particular has to come from the manufacturer before anything is ordered.

Stated

What each one is: a compact speaker, a clock with a display, a larger speaker
Spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, on the one listing that names them
A bass comparison, on the one listing that makes one
That each is designed for the current assistant generation
Finish and color names

Not stated

Power output
Frequency range
Physical dimensions
Whether there is a line output of any kind
How any of them behaves alongside a soundbar

Core job

Put sound and a voice assistant somewhere in the room that is not the screen wall.

Subgroups

Compact voice speakers
Small boxes whose listings describe voice control and sound in general terms. Nothing about output appears in either one.
Larger sound
Listings that make a claim about the sound itself. Both claims are repeated here in the words the listing uses, without a reference figure, because none is given.
Made for kids
Listings describing content and routines for children. They are kept separate from the rest of the page and described in the listing’s own terms, with nothing added.

Buying order

Decide what the speaker is for. A speaker beside a bed and a speaker in the corner of a media room are different jobs, and neither serves the other well.
Measure the surface it will stand on, including room behind it for the plug.
Check the outlet from that spot. Every one of these needs a socket, and a shelf without one rules the position out before anything else does.
Compare on what the listings actually say, which is not much, rather than on figures that would have to be invented to fill the gap.
If any of these is meant to work with the screen, read what the return path page says before assuming it will.

Skip these

Any comparison of these on sound output. No listing states one, so a comparison would be manufactured rather than reported.
A speaker bought to replace a soundbar. No listing here describes it as doing that job.
A speaker for a shelf with no socket within reach of its cord.
The kids models chosen for anyone other than the person the listing describes them for. Nothing on this site recommends them for an age or claims a benefit.

Category cautions

Note

No output figure, frequency range, or dimension appears in any listing on this page. None is estimated here, and no typical value is substituted for a missing one.

Compact voice speakers

Amazon Echo Dot

Compact voice speakers

The listing states

Compact Alexa speaker
Designed for Alexa+
Charcoal

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Only one with a display stated

Amazon Echo Spot

Compact voice speakers

The listing states

Smart alarm clock with a display and sound
Designed for Alexa+
Black

The listing describes a smart alarm clock with a display as well as sound. No other listing on this page mentions a screen of any kind.

View on Amazon

Larger sound

Only stated bass comparison

Amazon Echo Dot Max

Larger sound

The listing states

Room-filling sound
Nearly 3x bass
Designed for Alexa+
Graphite

The listing states room-filling sound and nearly 3x bass. It does not say what that is measured against, and nothing here supplies a reference for it.

View on Amazon