Copenhagen/Sound & Image: Sonos is among the market leaders in speakers for multirooms and home cinemas. The American manufacturer is not one of those who replaces its product range every year, but likes to take its time before launching a new product, which then has a long life. But now it is time for a new “era” with Sonos speakers, starting with the Era 100 and Era 300 models.
Rumors and speculation have abounded about the new Sonos speakers, after much was “leaked” to the website The Verge in advance. And much of the information – including the model sketches – turns out to be correct.
Lyd & Bilde was present during the presentation of the new Sonos speakers at Moltke’s palace in Copenhagen, and can share some photos and impressions.
Sonos Era 100 and Era 300
The new Era series represents a new generation of smart speakers from Sonos. The compact Era 100 is a direct successor to the Sonos One, while its big brother Era 300 is a completely new model, designed to reproduce so-called room-adapted sound (Spatial Audio) and surround sound from both music and movies. Both models can be played individually, connected in stereo pairs – or included in a larger surround system with the Arc and Beam (Gen 2) soundbars.
Both new models support Wi-Fi 6e and Bluetooth, and use USB C input with adapter for ethernet or minijack line input. Before, you needed a Sonos Amp or Sonos Port (alt. Sonos Five) to connect to analogue sound sources such as record players etc, but now you can use the transition.
Sonos Era 300
Sonos users have long requested a speaker with upfiring speaker elements, in order to utilize the height information in Dolby Atmos soundtracks. And Era 300 is in many ways the answer. It can deliver multi-channel surround sound when used as a rear speaker for home cinema, and you can pair two speakers with the Sonos Arc or Beam (Gen. 2) “an enhanced Dolby Atmos experience” as they call it. With, for example, Sonos Arc, Sub and 2 x Era 300, you will achieve a 7.1.4 channel configuration.
The Era 300 is densely packed with speaker elements – a total of six pieces (four trebles and two bass/midranges – which play forwards, to the sides and upwards. The speaker has a special “hourglass shape” where the cabinet narrows towards the middle, and this is to give the speaker elements the desired angle.
Sonos Era 100
The little brother of the Era 300 is simply called the Era 100, and Sonos tells us that this will be an official replacement for the current Sonos One, which will now be sold out of the range.
The Era 100 is only slightly larger than its predecessor, but is new from the ground up both in terms of acoustic design, hardware and software. The biggest difference is that the Era 100 now comes with two angled tweeters (only one in the Sonos One), as well as a larger bass/midrange element (4.4 inches, up from 3.5 inches). The Era 100 is designed as an elegant speaker for the bookshelf, kitchen bench, desk or bedside table, but can also be used in pairs, in an extended stereo or surround system. With, for example, Sonos Beam (Gen 2), Sub Mini and 2 x Era 100, you will achieve a 5.1.4 channel configuration.
Sonos Era 100 in white. (Photo: Audun Hage)
Listening demo in Copenhagen
We got a small demo of both loudspeakers at Moltke’s palace in Copenhagen. We first got to hear a single Era 100 playing music. Among the selected songs was hip hop from Kendrick Lamar, with pumping bass rhythms that testified that the Era 100 delivers significantly more bass than the old Sonos One. There is also good clarity and openness in the voices. This will certainly be an interesting challenger to, among others, Apple when we get to test it more closely.
We also got a more extended demo of the Era 300, where the newcomer played stereo music from a simple speaker. And of course this sounded much tougher! The Era 300 has a markedly larger and more hard-hitting sound image than the Era 300, with fast, tight and precise bass – actually impressive in relation to its size.
The Sonos Era 300 can also be used in pairs, as stereo or surround speakers. (Photo: Audun Hage)
We also heard two Era 300 as rear speakers in a larger surround setup, with Sonos Arc and Sub in front. First with the thriller A Quiet Place, where the Era speakers helped to create a rather strange and enveloping soundscape. One could clearly sense the “movements” in the soundscape together with disturbing sound effects in the background. At the very end, we were treated to a raucous demo of Top Gun: Maverick, where we could actually hear jet fighters and missiles whizzing around our ears.
Now these were short demonstrations in an unfamiliar room, but the little we heard sounded promising, and we look forward to putting the Sonos speakers to the test when we get them on the test bench!
Trueplay tuning – now also for Android
Both Era 100 and Era 300 have “built-in” Quick Trueplay, which means that it uses the built-in microphones to measure and correct the sound reproduction in the room. Thus, you are not dependent on “waving your mobile” as you have to with older Sonos speakers – so-called Advanced Trueplay is still best, so it is recommended to use a compatible iPhone/iOS device if you have access to it.
Also supports Apple Music “Spatial Audio”
In connection with the launch of Era 100 and Era 300, Sonos also announces an official collaboration with Apple on the music front. The Sonos speakers get support for Spatial Audio (room-adapted sound) through the streaming service Apple Music. It will also be available via Sonos Arc and Beam (Gen 2.)
Price and availability
The Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 will be available at authorized dealers and on Sonos.com from 28 March 2023. The Era 100 will cost NOK 2,799 each, while the Era 300 will be priced at NOK 4,999 each. We also learn that the current Sonos One model will be discontinued from the range, while the largest Sonos Five model will still be on sale.
Rumors also say that there are some copies on their way to us for testing, so stay tuned to www.lydogbilde.no in the future!
Lyd & Bilde clarifies that the travel costs for this reportage were paid by the producer.
