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Audio quality
From a features perspective, the Nest Audio is basically identical to the Nest Mini and other Google Assistant speakers, so what I really wanted to know was how it sounds. My initial impression was not overwhelmingly positive. Right out of the box it sounded a bit muddy, especially at lower volumes. Specifically, the mids and highs were mixed, although the bass performance was clearly better than what you would get from the original Google Home or Nest Mini. That’s thanks to its dedicated 75mm woofer and 19mm tweeter; Google Home and Nest Mini get by with just one controller.
For context, I spend most of my days listening to a single Apple HomePod ($ 300), a pair of Google Home Max speakers ($ 600), or a pair of Sonos Play: 1 speakers (Play: 1 is no longer available, but two of the sonosly identical Sonos One SL cost $ 360). Expecting a similar sound from a $ 100 speaker that’s much smaller than those isn’t really fair.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
After spending some time with Nest Audio, I liked to appreciate its sound quality. For a single relatively small speaker, it manages to deliver drastically better audio than what you’ll get with options like the original Google Home, Nest Mini, or older Amazon Echo Dots (I haven’t heard the new one yet). As a speaker meant to be affordable while still delivering good music quality, I think Google hit the mark.
Turning the volume up to 50-80 percent gave a noticeable punch and clarity to electro-pop like Chvrches or The Japanese House, and did a good job of reproducing the various layered guitars from Metallica’s black album, though not it is a stereo speaker. A delicate song like “Beatrice” by Dizzy built in a wonderful crescendo with strong and clear vocals. The unusual instrumentation of Gustavo Santaololla’s score for The Last of Us Part II It was another good test case, as the baritone and bass guitars used throughout had enough bass to come through with power. In general, the presence of bass does not massive, but it shows.
That said, Nest Audio can’t compete with a single Sonos One. When properly tuned to the company’s TruePlay algorithm, the One is much louder and offers a fuller, more distinctive sound. But again, we are talking about a speaker that costs twice as much. What Google achieves here for $ 100 in a compact space is impressive and far exceeds what it did in 2016 with the Google Home. But if you’re an avid music listener, you could benefit from a bigger speaker.
Google’s Home Max and Apple’s HomePod dynamically listen and tune their sound, preventing the bass from getting too loud when a speaker is against a wall, for example. The Nest Audio, on the other hand, doesn’t continuously tune in. Instead, Google tuned the speaker in its labs and test homes using data from more than 2,500 simulated speaker locations.
However, the speaker does have some adaptive software. Media EQ analyzes what you’re listening to (music versus podcasts, for example) and tailors the audio to better fit the content. Ambient IQ, meanwhile, adapts the Assistant’s output based on background noise so you can hear it better in a noisier environment. I can’t say I noticed much of a difference, but I mostly used the speakers for music.
Probably the biggest problem I had with Nest Audio was simply that its three-microphone array wasn’t as sensitive as the ones on the HomePod or Home Max. I often had to repeat myself several times to get the speaker’s attention while playing music. And once, the speaker made the serious mistake of thinking that he wanted the volume at 100 percent when he was only asking him to turn it down. In case you were wondering, the Nest Audio can be painfully loud at full volume.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
That’s doubly true when pairing two Nest Audio speakers in stereo. Basically all smart speakers let you do this now, so it’s not an unexpected feature, but it enhances the entire Nest Audio experience in a remarkable way. Obviously, stereo separation is important for serious music listeners, but having two speakers working simultaneously means everything just sounds better, with greatly improved presence, bass response, and overall volume. If you have a larger living room that you want to fill with sound, I recommend spending two of these speakers and using them as a stereo pair.
Competition
At this point, the market for smart speakers is pretty crowded, but there aren’t many speakers in the $ 100 range that have Nest Audio’s focus on sound quality. A natural point of comparison is Amazon’s new Spherical Echo, but we haven’t had a chance to test it yet. That said, I have been quite impressed by the audio enhancements Amazon has made to its Echo products over the years; If you prefer Alexa over the Google Assistant, the new Echo is likely to be the better option.
However, if you increase your budget to $ 200, speakers like Amazon’s Echo Studio and Sonos One provide even better sound quality. Not surprising, given that they cost twice as much and are significantly larger than the Nest Audio. But if you’re looking to spend that much, two Nest Audio speakers give you the flexibility to run in stereo or set up a multi-room system.
