Will Amazon launch a better-sounding Echo speaker this week?

Is Amazon launching a hi-res Echo speaker this week?

(Image credit: Amazon)

When Amazon announced its CD-quality and hi-res music streaming service, Amazon Music HD, last week, the first question on our lips was "will a better-sounding, hi-res-capable Echo speaker follow?"

Well, Amazon is "working on a bulkier Echo device with better sound quality", a person involved in the project told CNBC. The new, rumoured speaker reportedly "comes with a woofer and better speakers than the original version".

There was once a time when Amazon's Echo speakers focused on smart, voice control features over performance, but the latest Echo Plus, which we heralded for its "splendid sonic performance", was a clear sign that those priorities have changed. Fingers crossed we'll soon – perhaps very soon – have an Echo speaker good enough to trouble the sonically class-leading Apple HomePod and Sonos One, then.

Rumour has it Amazon is also working on fitness-tracking earbuds with Alexa, which would see the company enter the health device market for the first time. According to the CNBC source, the sport headphones – expected to cost less than $100, undercutting the Apple AirPods – feature a built-in accelerometer that allows them to monitor, for example, the distance and pace of a run and the calories burned.

Amazon declined to comment on its plans so we'll just have to wait patiently for tomorrow's hardware event to roll around.

Becky is a hi-fi, AV and technology journalist, formerly the Managing Editor at What Hi-Fi? and Editor of Australian Hi-Fi and Audio Esoterica magazines. With over twelve years of journalism experience in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices.

In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.