CNET

I've had my eye on the Amazon Echo Studio, the new flagship of the Echo lineup, for the past several months, but Amazon has stubbornly kept the price locked at $200. Even the holidays failed to yield a discount. Thankfully, there's finally a sale: For a limited time, you can get the . (Pro tip: Cash-back service TopCashback is currently offering an 8% rebate on Amazon devices, which would bring your net price down to around $156.)

Delivering "the biggest, best Echo sound yet" (according to CNET's Echo Studio review), Amazon's newest smart speaker offers such high-falutin' features as Dolby Atmos and stereo pairing with another Echo. Its chief rivals are the $300 Apple HomePod and $200 Sonos One.

The reason I've been eyeballing this is that my kitchen Echo gets a lot of use, especially for music, but it's a five-year-old first-gen model. I've often wished for a better-sounding speaker in that coveted spot.

Interestingly, Amazon's Echo trade-in program would net me another 25% off the Studio and a $25 Amazon gift card, should I decide to relinquish that old-timer. If you have an Echo you might like to trade in, it's worth seeing what you can get for it.

Prime Day is still a few months away, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Echo Studio dip to around $150 during that event. For now, however, this is the best deal yet.

Your thoughts?

Video: Amazon Echo Studio and new Echo Dot are big on sound and time

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