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Amazon Echo Sub is $130, turns Echos into a 2.1 system

Amazon has taken the wraps off the Echo Sub, designed to supplement either a single or stereo pair of Echo speakers.

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Headshot of Ty Pendlebury
Ty Pendlebury Editor
TV and home video editor Ty Pendlebury joined CNET Australia in 2006, and moved to New York City to be a part of CNET in 2011. He tests, reviews and writes about the latest TVs and audio equipment. When he's not playing Call of Duty he's eating whatever cuisine he can get his hands on. He has a cat named after one of the best TVs ever made.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
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Amazon on Thursday unveiled its first subwoofer, the $130 (£120, AU$199) Echo Sub, which is designed to pair with the Echo line of smart speakers.

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The Sub has a cloth-covered grill and can be used in a multiroom audio environment, so you can stream the same song or podcast to multiple speakers in more than one room. The Sub can form a 2.1 system with a pair of Echo speakers -- the ability to pair was announced today. The sub works with the Echo or two Echo Pluses (both second-gen models).

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While Amazon was the first company to popularize speakers with an integrated voice assistant, its products have been eclipsed in terms of sound quality by brands such as Sonos. Competitors Google, Sonos and Apple can already do stereo pairing, but the only other sub in this space is the $699 Sonos Sub.

Specs include:

  • 100W amplifier 
  • 6-inch, down-firing woofer
  • 30 Hz (at -6 dB)
  • Crossover frequency 120-150 Hz
  • Wireless only, no analog input

The Echo Sub will be shipping on Oct. 11, with preorders available from today.

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