The announcement and release of Yandex Station took place in 2022 and, reading reviews of those years, I can say with confidence that Yandex has greatly improved the capabilities of its voice assistant - corrected errors, improved various aspects of interaction with the device, added radio, made integration with smart devices houses from various manufacturers, the ability to order a taxi and many other minor improvements. And new opportunities are constantly appearing thanks to the Yandex Dialogues platform. In general, the functionality is constantly expanding, which is good news. Although in 2021 the number of updates was noticeably less than in previous years.
Due to the abundance of different functions, I decided to split the review into two parts. The first will be a general overview of Yandex Station, its functions and capabilities, the second will be an analysis of integration with the Xiaomi smart home system.
Yandex Station only works if there is Internet access. She can't do anything without him. Nothing at all.
Specifications
| Sound | |
| Frequency range | 50 Hz - 20 kHz |
| Total power | 50 W |
| Woofers | 1 piece, 30 W, 85 mm |
| Tweeters | 2 pcs, 10 W, 20 mm |
| Passive radiators | 2 pcs, 95 mm |
| Signal to noise ratio | 96 dB |
| Number of microphones | 7 |
| Connection | |
| Video output | HDMI 1.4 |
| Video resolution | 1080p |
| WiFi | 802.11 b/g/n/ac, 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz |
| Bluetooth | 4.1/BLE |
| Other | |
| CPU | Allwinner R18 Quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, 1 GHz |
| GPU | Mali-400 MP2 |
| Persistent memory | 8 GB eMMC |
| RAM | 1 GB DDR3 |
| Nutrition | from power supply (20V DC) |
| Available casing colors | purple, black, gray, red |
| Dimensions | 141x231x141 mm |
| Weight | 2.9 kg |
Delivery set, appearance
The kit includes everything you need to operate the device: HDMI cable, instructions, power supply and Yandex Station.
The Station casing can have several color options - silver-gray, purple and black. I have the silver-gray model. If desired, you can always change it by searching for a new one on Avito or printing it on a 3D printer.
There is also a Red Station. Unlike regular ones, the red one comes with a monthly subscription. It cannot be repaid ahead of schedule, and if you do not pay for the month, the device is blocked. It is also tied to only one account, which cannot be changed until the end of the subscription. So be careful when buying second hand.
The station has a rectangular appearance, its dimensions are 141x231x141 mm. On the side there is a heatsink and connectors for HDMI and power. At the top are the controls: volume rocker, voice assistant launch button and microphone mute button. During operation, the radiator can heat up to approximately 50 degrees. This is normal, no need to worry.
There is also an LED backlight at the top that lights up both during Alice’s answers and during various problems (for example, lack of Internet) or while adjusting the volume, showing its current level.
Is it possible to connect speakers to Yandex Station? Unfortunately, there is no audio output for connecting external speakers. Alice outputs all sound only to her own speakers. However, an audio output for external speakers can be found in the Mini and Max versions.
The manufacturer also decided not to install a LAN port in the device, so the Station only supports wireless connections via Wi-Fi according to IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac standards, that is, it can operate in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
Everything runs on a quad-core Allwinner R18 Quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor clocked at 1 GHz. GPU – Mali-400 MP2. RAM – 1 GB DDR3, permanent memory – 8 GB.
The device also does not have a built-in battery. Yandex positions the Station as a home voice assistant.
6.Sound quality
Yandex.Station sounds pretty average . At the level of portable speakers, it is 2-3 times cheaper. You can listen, especially in the background, but if you are looking for a music device, it is better to watch something without “smart functions”.
The speaker does not have mid-frequency radiators, there are only tweeters and a subwoofer with passive radiators . It's easy to guess that the main problems here are in the midrange. In many tracks, the midrange is simply overwhelmed and “pushed behind the bass.”
Yandex.Dynamics Station
The sound of Yandex Station is focused on low frequencies . There is a lot of bass, it most often prevails. However, its quality is not the highest, nor is its speed. No, this is not the “cotton hooting” of some Chinese crafts. But the bass is quite loose and slow.
The upper frequencies are not very natural, sometimes you feel their lack . The resolution is low. The overall style is quite dark, with a bias toward a V-shaped frequency response, so to speak. Suitable for simple synthetic music and background listening (as well as for watching movies).
The sound of Yandex.Station is unidirectional , there is no talk of any “surround” here, the speaker must be oriented based on this. She “listens” from all sides, but only plays one.
Yandex.Station tweeters
Considering the specific sound profile, it is disappointing that an equalizer is not implemented . At least a couple of presets (to “brush up” the bass, mainly) wouldn’t hurt. There is hope for a similar update in the future.
Interestingly, the manufacturer claims that the speaker sounds better without the casing than with it . Many people actually like this sound better. It’s just not clear why it was necessary to make a casing that worsens the sound? Because another would lead to a strong rise in price?
Yandex.Station “wheezes” at high volume on many tracks . But the low volume is not as quiet as we would like. For example, in order to work and listen to music in the background, you need to place the speaker a meter away from you, even with minimal volume. Otherwise it won't be comfortable.
Yandex.Station without casing
The overall impression of the sound is contradictory: did I pay $152 for this? No, not for that. For Alice and smart functions. And subscriptions, by the way.
