Google Nest Audio Speaker Review

[lewdish]

It would be great if it had a subwoofer or enabled one.

It seemed like google had a ton of things going for this speaker but their debacle w/ Sonos lawsuit, it put a lot of firmware changes on hold and they never seemed to come about. There was supposed to be so many new features and addon functions but Google hasn't put out a firmware update in a long time otherwise.

Anyone seen a passive speaker that performed like this and was in this price bracket?
I think it would make an excellent height or surround speaker in a multi channel setup while being cheap as chips.

Crazy you can find this speaker regularly for peanuts, I'm the one who sent it in and I purchased it a while back for like $30

 

[lewdish]

I suppose it is mono.

If you buy two, can you assign "left and right"?

I've used two paired as stereo before but you cant use it for anything other than music streaming unfortunately. There's audio latency streaming over both wifi & bluetooth. It works but its not great for video or TV. Its a setup once and forget kinda situation, anything more and sometimes it un-pairs.

 

[JSmith]

It was kindly drop shipped to me by a member.

Thanks to this member and for your testing of this Amir. Surprisingly good for the size and price... some more teardown pics;

More detailed;

Google Nest Audio Teardown

www.ifixit.com

JSmith

 

[lewdish]

Thanks to this member and for your testing of this Amir. Surprisingly good for the size and price... some more teardown pics;

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More detailed;

Google Nest Audio Teardown

www.ifixit.com

JSmith

Thanks, That was me! Crazy how good the construction is for the price, all cast metal, Its like a super budget Genelec!

 

[Georgrig]

I suppose it is mono.

If you buy two, can you assign "left and right"?

Indeed you can! That's how I set up my pair.

Also, the volume is controlled from two touch areas at the top front half of the speaker. Other than the setup, there's no need to interact with the Home app.

 

[Georgrig]

Yes, but apparently it's unreliable. Quick Google suggests that they had a solid implementation, but it was too close to Sonos', they threatened a lawsuit, and the new implementation is bad.

Not my experience. It works flawlessly.

 

[KSTR]

Shouldn't there be an explicit category for these wireless mono lifestyle gimmick "speakers"? They cannot be used like conventional (active or passive) speakers.

You still need a power cable so what does that single-use-case-only wireless stuff brings to the table? Why didn't they include a battery to make it really stand-alone?

The construction looks nice but there is one thing I came to detest from experience, the foam wraps around the cables. The foam tends to disintegrate after a few years and the residuals will make funny noises... but by then the speaker will likely have become obsolete or broken for other reasons.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Shouldn't there be an explicit category for these wireless mono lifestyle gimmick "speakers"? They cannot be used like conventional (active or passive) speakers.

You still need a power cable so what does that single-use-case-only wireless stuff brings to the table? Why didn't they include a battery to make it really stand-alone?

The construction looks nice but there is one thing I came to detest from experience, the foam wraps around the cables. The foam tends to disintegrate after a few years and the residuals will make funny noises... but by then the speaker will likely have become obsolete or broken for other reasons.

You can set it up like a soundbar or stereo system connected to your TV over Bluetooth. We have one of those "gimmick" speakers connected to our living room TV this way. When we turn on the TV, it automatically connects to the speaker. Our TV sits on a wall-mounted shelf with enough space behind it to fit the speaker. It’s not a HiFi setup in this configuration, but it’s a hundred times better than the TV’s built-in speakers.

 

[jae]

Wonder if a version 2 is on the horizon soon as this has been out for a number of years. They seemingly put a lot of r&d into this and got good results. If they were able to squeeze out a little bit more performance and actually made it usable with an analogue and/or digital input, or with at least minimal latency when used wirelessly, this would be a top product.

 

[restorer-john]

Ideally, the switch should physically disconnect the microphone so no hack could reactivate it.

It will be a proper switch that physically cuts the electret mic feed.

 

[johnnyx]

Some kind of cast metal (aluminum?) contains the drivers

The metal is more likely to be a zinc alloy, such as Zamak, which can be cast into complex shapes, like the toy cars of my youth.

 

[vkvedam]

Excellent review @amirm, we have this in our bedroom and it never disappointed me

 

[Soniclife]

Well, maybe I work for Google. Have you thought of that???

Maybe we all work for Google, they just don't pay us.

 

[Soniclife]

Vertical directivity is astonishingly smooth for a 2-way, non coax design.

A brick wall filter in the crossover?

 

[oceansize]

Yes, but apparently it's unreliable. Quick Google suggests that they had a solid implementation, but it was too close to Sonos', they threatened a lawsuit, and the new implementation is bad.

That's a shame... I had fleeting dreams of a cheap surround system with 5 of these and a chromecast connected sub for an entry into surround music, but if connecting two is iffy, I can't imagine that a surround system is going to work. Still, it can't be too far away...

 

[BDWoody]

Not my experience. It works flawlessly.

I've had no issues with my pair of these working perfectly as a stereo pair as well. I was shocked with how decent these were when I got them up and running.

 

[thewas]

As known already from other measurements they are great performers with also fantastic cabinet material, kind of little bargain Genelecs.
Would be interesting to find the reason of those interferences in the tweeter region, maybe diffraction from the screw holes?
I would like to see some measurements with those covered with some tape.

 

[Doctors11]

Anyone seen a passive speaker that performed like this and was in this price bracket?
I think it would make an excellent height or surround speaker in a multi channel setup while being cheap as chips.

This might be about as close as you can get.

Monolith by Monoprice THX Certified Satellite Speaker Review

Monolith by Monoprice THX Certified Satellite Speakers

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

 

[Old_School_Brad]

This might be about as close as you can get.

Monolith by Monoprice THX Certified Satellite Speaker Review

Monolith by Monoprice THX Certified Satellite Speakers

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Its -3 dB point is 85 Hz whereas the Google Nest Audio is 60 Hz. That would make a considerable difference in the perceived audio quality.

 

[Doctors11]

Its -3 dB point is 85 Hz whereas the Google Nest Audio is 60 Hz. That would make a considerable difference in the perceived audio quality.

Trying to come up with something in that price bracket. So far that's all I can think of that has pretty solid measurements.