Wireless SpeakerHiFiNetworkNewsSmart AppliancesSpeaker

Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300 - Smart speakers for an immersive listening experience

It is the next generation of smart speakers, Sonos Inc. is convinced of this at the presentation of the new Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300 solutions. The new Sonos Era Series ushers in a new era of sound and design innovation.

Story Highlights
  • With the new Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300 solutions, Sonos Inc. wants to present smart spakers for an immersive listening experience.

Sonos Inc. wants to usher in a new era of sound and design innovation, first and foremost with the new Sonos Era 300, but also with its little brother Sonos Era 100, thus the new Sonos Era Series. While the Sonos Era 100 is the successor to the Sonos One and presents itself as the next generation of smart speakers in terms of acoustics and design, the Sonos Era 300 is the first compact speaker from Sonos Inc. to feature six drivers that emit sound to the left, right, front and top and are thus suitable for Dolby Atmos playback, according to Sonos Inc.

Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300 – A new generation of smart speakers

The Sonos Era 300 is said to be an innovative, forward-thinking speaker that offers the best surround sound experience with Dolby Atmos, while the Sonos Era 100, as just mentioned, is a reimagining of the Sonos One.

The Sonos Era Series is said to offer a new dimension of immersive listening thanks to enhanced connectivity and Sonos Trueplay Technology, Sonos Inc. is confident. Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 100 are also the first speakers built to the manufacturer’s new standards for responsible design. These include long-term serviceability, energy-efficient technologies and the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials.

“In this age of constant background noise, high-quality hearing is more important than ever. Our vision is to make listening an experience charged with emotion and help our customers feel joy and vitality through their favourite music and audio content. The Era family is the next generation of smart speakers and embodies our commitment to sound innovation, responsible design and a deep connection with the creative community.”

Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos Inc.

Sonos Era 300 – Ready for Dolby Atmos

The Sonos Era 300 is designed to deliver a spatial sound experience with Dolby Atmos. To achieve this, it is equipped with six powerful drivers that radiate to the left, right, front and top. The Sonos Era 300 puts the listener directly into the sound event, according to the manufacturer’s promise.

In fact, it is about four tweeter and two woofer, which are fired by amplifier modules in Class D. The technical specifications are not disclosed by the manufacturer. Once again, the manufacturer does not disclose more precise technical data.

The special design of the Sonos Era 300 cabinet, which the manufacturer compares to an hourglass and weighs 4.47 kg with dimensions of 160 x 260 x 185 mm, is also supposed to ensure optimal radiation into the room. In the proven manner, it is made of plastic and is optionally available in matt black or matt white.

The Sonos Era 300 is equipped with a Far-field Microphone Array, which uses Advanced Beamforming and Multichannel Echo Cancellation in order to be optimally equipped for the room calibration and optimisation function Sonos Trueplay, but also for speech recognition.

The new Sonos Era 300 is now connected to the network via WiFi according to IEEE 802.11ax, and this speaker is also equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 for the first time.

It is interesting that the Sonos Era 300 has a USB-C port, which can be used for additional audio sources via the Sonos Line-In Adapter or as a network interface via the Sonos Combo Adapter.

The Sonos Era 300, like all solutions from Sonos Inc., is controlled either with buttons directly on the device or, above all, with the corresponding Sonos Control App, which is available for all relevant platforms. This allows access to own content in the network as well as to all relevant streaming services, internet radio and podcasts. In addition, the Sonos Era 300 is compatible with Apple AirPlay 2.

The Sonos Control App is also used to control various devices from Sonos Inc. in the house in the Multiroom network, whereby you can of course also form groups.

With the new Sonos Era 300, for example, it is particularly interesting that it can be used in combination with a Sonos Arc or Sonos Beam Gen 2 as a rear speaker for multi-channel surround and also supports Dolby Atmos.

“Just like the shift from mono to stereo, Spatial Audio is the next evolution of listening – a sound experience that envelops the listener in the music. With both music creators and major streaming platforms embracing Spatial Audio for music, it’s time to create a loud listening experience that delivers on the promise of this exciting and creative format.”

Giles Martin, VP, Sound Experience at Sonos Inc.

Sonos Era 100 – The new edition of a classic

Sonos Inc. considers the Sonos One to be a true classic, even speaks of an icon, which seems to be a bit exaggerated. Anyway, the new Sonos Era 100 is supposed to be the successor of the Sonos One, but due to the new design, it has turned out a bit bigger. The new Sonos Era 100 measures 182.5 x 120 x 130.5 mm and weighs 2.02 kg with its plastic housing in matt black or matt white.

The new Sonos Era 100 is now a stereo speaker because it uses two tweeters and a woofer, which are driven by a Class D amplifier and DSP-based signal processing.

Using Sonos Trueplay, the playback can always be adapted to the respective room or the speaker’s position in the room, whereby a far-field microphone array with beamforming technology and multichannel echo cancellation forms the basis for this. Of course, this microphone array also serves to turn the Sonos Era 100 into a Smart Speaker and to equip it for voice control.

Another new feature is the reliance on WiFi according to IEEE 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.0 for the direct integration of smartphones as a source. The Sonos Line-in Adapter can be used via USB-C, as can the Sonos Combo Adapter for integration into the network via cable.

In addition to content in its own network, the Sonos Era 100 can play music from all conceivable streaming offers, as well as internet radio and podcasts, which has been the strength of Sonos Inc. for years. For control, all important buttons are located directly on the device, but primarily the Sonos Control App will be used, which is available for all relevant platforms and also takes over the control in the multi-room audio streaming network with other systems from Sonos Inc.

Prices and availability

The new Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 100 will be available from the end of March 2023, first and foremost from Sonos Inc. itself in its web shop, as the company has already discontinued cooperation with specialist retailers some time ago.

The recommended retail price of the Sonos Era 300 is € 499,-, that of the Sonos Era 100 € 279,-.

Getting to the point

The latest generation of Smart Speakers from Sonos Inc. is supposed to usher in a completely new era. Accordingly, the company not only describes these solutions with exuberant words, but also gave them an appropriate name with the Sonos Era Series, whereby two solutions are presented at once, the Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300.

The Sonos Era 100 is the successor of the Sonos One and is supposed to deliver stereo despite its compact dimensions. Sonos Inc. calls the new Sonos Era 300 revolutionary, because it is supposed to deliver immersive surround sound based on Dolby Atmos from a single source. To be honest, what Sonos Inc. used to call stereo was no longer mono, much more interesting is that the new systems of the Sonos Era Series now rely on a new WiFi module and are equipped with Bluetooth.

PRODUCTSONOS ERA 100 AND SONOS ERA 300
PreisSonos Era 100 € 279,-
Sonos Era 300 € 499,-
BrandSONOS
ManufacturerSonos Inc.
DistributionSonos Inc.
More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG
Show More

Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button