Spatial audio and radical new designs for the newest Sonos speaker duo
They’ve been leakier than a Manchester United defence but we’re now, officially, allowed to talk about the newest Sonos smart speakers… the Sonos Era 300 and the Sonos Era 100.
VERDICT: Sonos Era 300 review
Starting with the Era 300, because it’s the pick of the duo, and it comes with a radical new design that instantly sets it apart from any of the speakers in your existing Sonos system.
The design of the Era 300 isn’t just for the initial wow-factor though, it has been designed from the ground up with spatial audio in mind.
Spatial audio is the ‘big thing’ in music right now – at a briefing for the Era launches we were told by a Sonos executive that 80 of the top 100 Billboard tracks in the US are available in Dolby Atmos (one of the leading spatial audio technologies).
You can get spatial audio tracks streaming on Sonos using Amazon Music Unlimited and also, by the end of March, Apple Music will also offer spatial audio to Sonos users.
Designed to essentially replace the Sonos Play:3 (but, fiscally at least, behind the Sonos Five in the hierarchy), that hourglass form factor of the Era 300 allows for six class-D digital amplifiers working alongside four tweeters pinging off in all directions for Dolby Atmos action.
There’s also a pair of woofers to maximize the low-end output, which are angled left and right to support stereo playback.
Like the Sonos Roam or Sonos Move, the Sonos Era 300 is both a Bluetooth and a Wi-Fi (6E) speaker and it also supports line-in; although you will have to buy a separate adapter ($19 / £19) for 3.5mm aux in, as it’s a USB-C line in.
You’ll also need an adapter to get Ethernet involved too as it’s just that solitary USB-C port on the back. Sonos is actually offering up a combo adapter for 3.5mm and Ethernet for $25 / £25.
The adapters are a necessary evil to keep things streamlined but it is good news that there’s another speaker available in the Sonos setup to get your vinyl records playing.
Obviously, at $449 / £449, the Era 300 is a high-end Sonos speaker that is more than capable of filling a room on its own but you can also set it up as a Sonos stereo pair.
You can also, if you want to really go all out, also throw a couple of Era 300s together as the rear speakers of a true multi-channel 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos experience in a surround sound setup, when paired with an Arc and some Sonos Subs.
Both the Era 300 and the Era 100 feature a new touchbar volume control on top of the speakers, and both also offer Amazon Alexa voice controls (there’s no mention of Google Assistant, which may or may not be something to do with that messy lawsuit).
Sticking with the Era 100 and, at $249 / £249 it is designed to replace the Sonos One.
Sonos told us that it had taken the lessons learned from Move and its wide dispersion and so had added two tweeters to the side at 270 degrees for stereo imaging, as well as chucking in a load more bass.
Like the 300, the Era is both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 6E compatible and they are both Apple AirPlay 2 speakers, as well.
It too features just the USB-C around the back, so you’ll have to make use of that adapter for line-in or wired networking.
The big news for Android users is that they can finally get in on the Sonos Trueplay action, sort of. In the Sonos app on Android users will now see a Quick Tune option that optimises the sound of the Era duo with just a single button push.
Both the Sonos Era 300 and the Sonos Era 100 can be ordered now, shipping will start on 28 March. They both come in black or white.
We’ll be reviewing both speakers in the next few weeks, so check back in for our full verdicts.
