Amazon Echo 2Nd Generation. The Amazon Echo is a hands-free speaker you control with your voice. Echo connects to the Alexa Voice Service to play music, ask questions, make calls, send and receive messages, provide information, news, sports scores, weather, and more-instantly. All you have to do is ask. Echo is also an expertly tuned speaker that can fill any room with immersive sound. It has seven microphones and beamforming technology so it can hear you from across the room-even while music is playing. When you want to use Echo, just say the wake word "Alexa" and Echo responds instantly.