AddOn Apollo Voice Alexa Built-In Bluetooth Speaker, Push to Talk, Showerproof, 8hr Battery Life (Blue)

Product Information

When not at work he can be found playing hockey, practising the piano or forcing himself to go long-distance running. We have state-of-the-art testing facilities in London, Reading and Bath, where our team of experienced, in-house reviewers test the majority of hi-fi and AV kit that passes through our door.

If a product has noteworthy features (including smart skills via Alexa voice control) we'll ensure part of our testing involves trialling the claims made by its makers. The Dot's cybernetic assistant is more helpful than ever before, stuffed with so many tricks and quirks that you will often find yourself falling into the trap of speaking to Alexa as though it, or rather she, were a real person.

With its unique, “cinched hourglass” shape, there’s no question that the Era 300 is a bit more of an acquired taste than most of the brand’s rather more conservative designs, but what isn't up for debate is how superbly the five-star Era 300 manages to perform. Big choral numbers feel broad and immersive thanks to spatial audio, but the Era 300 excels seemingly with all genres; hip-hop, classic rock, movie soundtracks, it’s all covered with ease.

The app is excellent to use, the number of streaming features is, frankly, vast, and it's as well-made and reliable as you might expect.

We are always impartial and do our best to make sure we're hearing every product at its very best, so we'll try plenty of different types of music and give each one extensive listening time – including time to run in. It's expensive, sure, but if you have money to spend, the smart Beosound A1 is a rather remarkable all-rounder. Released alongside the superb Era 300 (below), the Era 100 keeps up with its bigger, more expensive brother by delivering a host of streaming playback features within another excellent-sounding speaker.

You might not even realise it, but the hugely impressive Beosound A1 qualifies as a smart speaker thanks to its built-in Alexa compatibility.Ever since Apple's HomePod 2 landedearly in 2023 with the ability to deliver spatial audio, the race has been on to see who could challenge the biggest dog on the block when it came to integrating the much-vaunted tech into their own speaker designs. The main question is this: do you want something small and unassuming to kick-start a smart system, or do you want a substantial wireless speaker with built-in brains that sounds good to boot? Music-wise, throw whatever you like at the Era 300, chances are it has it covered, filling our testing rooms with cohesive, spacious sound without a hint of a struggle. Sound quality is solid considering what it is, even if the Echo Show 5 can be beaten by more audio-focused rivals at this level. He studied law and history at university before working as a freelance journalist covering TV and gaming for numerous platforms both online and in print.

With that same Award-winning sound and Audio Pro's unerring commitment to dynamic sound presentation in a neat package, the C5A is the ideal combination for those who want an alternative to the usual suspects but still desire an excellent Alexa wireless speaker that can be expanded into a full-blown multi-room system.On top of that, based on our experience testing them, not every Alexa speaker is worth your hard-earned cash. There's no input from PR companies or our sales team when it comes to the verdicts or star ratings in our reviews. Where most Alexa-enabled kit on the market is audio based, the Echo Show 5 embraces both sound and video to communicate across various mediums.