After four years of loyal service, the Google Home is giving way to the Nest Audio, which is already seen as the new benchmark for Google Assistant speakers below the € 100 mark.
Presentation
Google is slowly but surely pursuing the rejuvenation of its range of “smart” speakers. Four years after the introduction of its iconic Google Home, the American giant is giving it a makeover by replacing it with Nest Audio. On the menu: a completely redesigned design and, above all, sound performance theoretically much superior to those of its predecessor.
Nest Audio sits between Nest Mini and Home Max in Google's range of connected and "smart" speakers. Its price is identical to that of Google at the time of its release, namely € 99,99. Only two colors are available on the market for the enclosure (pebble or charcoal).
Ergonomics
Unlike the Nest Mini, Google has obviously been racking its brains when it comes to designing its Nest Audio. This model no longer has much to do with its predecessor, the Google Home. The loudspeaker opts for a slim profile combined with a design that is as minimalist as possible. It is covered almost entirely in a mesh fabric covering, the same as on the top of the Nest Mini. The whole thing seems quite robust, even if no particular resistance is indicated (no IP certification), and the finish is clearly very satisfactory. This search for maximum discretion facilitates its integration into the house so much that it becomes difficult to identify it as a speaker at first glance.
Nest Audio doesn't have a battery, so it needs to stay on AC power to work. A Google account and a Wi-Fi connection are also essential.
However, the manufacturer did not see fit to expand the connection possibilities offered by its speaker. Wireless to your fingertips, or almost, Nest Audio skips any wired audio connection. After having configured it to the local network via Wi-Fi using the Google Home application - an operation which is still so simple and intuitive - it is still possible to connect a source device directly via Bluetooth ... Particularly high latency which makes it difficult to monitor a video. In addition to access to Google Assistant, Nest Audio benefits from connected features linked to Chromecast, including multiroom (creation and management of speaker groups, stereo configuration, etc.) and access to a restricted list of streaming services. (Spotify, Deezer, Youtube Music, Google Play Music, webradios via TuneIn…).
Impulse response measurement: communication latency in Bluetooth
In addition to voice commands via Google Assistant, interaction with the speaker is via three small sensitive tactile surfaces placed on the upper face. Sometimes you have to fumble around to find the exact location of each of its surfaces during the first few sessions of use. On the other hand, they are shown to be sufficiently sensitive and responsive, and each interaction is validated by an audible or visual indication which makes the use relatively intuitive. The controls are nevertheless reduced to what is strictly necessary, namely the management of the listening volume and the management of reading (pause / play).
The Nest Audio is more than twice as heavy as its predecessor (1,1 kg compared to 477 g). Its non-slip pad ensures very good stability when placed on a piece of furniture.
The Google Home application that you mentioned above has not undergone any transformation for the arrival of Nest Audio. The interface is still as clean and navigation as smooth as ever. The same settings are available on all of the manufacturer's speakers (night mode, volume adjustment for the timers, 2-band equalizer, etc.).
Speech Recognition
Voice recognition has always been very successful on Google speakers so far, and it still is with Nest Audio. The three on-board microphones do a great job of picking up the voice and distinguishing it from surrounding sounds.
The assistant manages to detect the trigger word and understand our requests in both quiet and relatively noisy environments. We just have to adapt the volume of our voice or the distance, depending on the situation, as we would when addressing another person. Under ideal conditions, we were able to interact easily with the assistant in a large room (25 m²) and even in a neighboring room without particularly raising the volume of our voice (environment with very little noise). When the noise is much more present, it is still possible to address the assistant by speaking loudly and intelligibly when the speaker is in the same room. In "extreme" conditions, and even when the speaker itself is playing music, it will suffice to come within a meter of the Nest Audio to be understood without difficulty, and without having to break. the voice.
Audio
Google has placed great emphasis on the new sound capabilities of Nest Audio and is committed to delivering "incredible sound", "exceptional", "rich, enveloping and clear".
The Nest Audio, unlike the Google Home, is based for this on a more "conventional" acoustic architecture, with two dedicated channels: a 75 mm woofer and a 19 mm tweeter (accompanied by a waveguide) are housed on the front of the speaker in an aluminum box, all covered with a fabric promised as acoustically "neutral".
Frequency response measurement: Google Nest Audio (black), Google Home (pink).
Even if it is not as stunning as advertised, the result is more than honorable for a speaker of this size. Some progress has clearly been made since the Google Home: the sound reproduction has significantly gained in musicality, the sound is richer, more balanced, cleaner and also more powerful. The speaker shows good extension in the lower frequencies, without overdoing it. We therefore benefit from deep bass and a solid base. The impact is well transcribed, again for a speaker of this size, creating a pleasant feeling of sitting and immersion. However, all is not perfect since we feel some unsightly resonances in the bass, especially when pushing the speaker to its limits: the bass is a little "snoring", there are masking effects on the bass. mediums and therefore a loss of readability. Very subtly reducing the bass with the application's equalizer brings balance and attenuates the phenomenon, without eradicating it. You should also not place the loudspeaker in a corner or on a piece of furniture that can act as a sound box.
Google Nest Audio frequency response measurement only.
A small passage on the equalizer side is also possible to revive the second part of the spectrum, a little too shy by default. Here again, it will be necessary to be particularly delicate with the adjustment, under penalty of amplifying the precision concerns of the speaker in this region of the spectrum, which materialize among other things by rather unpleasant flickering. Depending on the type of song listened to, these problems related to the lack of precision of the speaker may be more or less present. It will therefore be necessary to find the right balance of adjustment: in general, the loudspeaker has more difficulty with songs rich in harmonics and very low dynamics. Apart from this lack of finesse, we once again appreciate the good extension this time in higher frequencies. The scene is airy and we can detect some subtleties such as room effects and reverberations. Overall, Nest Audio offers good timbre respect. The voices always stand out very well and they are always perfectly intelligible.
Measurement of the Harmonic Distortion Rate.
Google's "smart" speaker handles distortion well across the entire audible spectrum. It has a nice size / power ratio, however, its lack of precision plays tricks on it when pushed to its limits (beyond about 75% of maximum volume, depending on the song listened to). Better not to cross this threshold to preserve good listening quality.
Highlights
Overall well-balanced sound reproduction, and much more musical than that of the Google Home.
Solid size / power / sonic performance ratio
Very neat design, flawless finishes.
High performance voice recognition.
Weak points
Not a model of sonic precision (some unsightly resonances in the bass, some treble lacking hairline).
No wired audio connection.
Power supply via proprietary connector.
Conclusion
Note globaleNew look for a new life: with a much more polished construction, more discreet and above all significantly higher performance, the Nest Audio undoubtedly supplants the Google Home. The conditions are now ripe to enjoy his music properly. Compared to the rest of the smart speaker market, this model isn't flawless, but it definitely offers excellent value for money.
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