Sonos Ships ‘Revolutionary’ Era 100 and Era 300 Speakers w Spatial Audio

Sonos Era 100 and 300

Sonoshas begun shipping two new smart wireless speakers, the first in what the companydescribes as "a whole new chapter in sound and design innovation." The SonosEra 100 ($249 each) is a reimagining of the brand's popular Sonos One, whilethe Era 300 ($449 each) is an all new design offering a "revolutionary"experience thanks to its support for spatial audio with Dolby Atmos. Bothmodels promise new levels of immersive listening along with expandedconnectivity and Sonos's proprietary Trueplay technology. On the connectivityfront, both speakers now offer Bluetooth in addition to WiFi for greater flexibility. The speakerscan also connect directly to legacy audio sources, such as a CD player orturntable, using an auxiliary cable and the Sonos Line-In Adapter. The SonosTrueplay room optimizer function, which uses the speakers’ built-in microphone arrays to adjust the sound for the uniqueacoustics of any listening room, is now available to Android users in addition to iOS users. Sonoshas also adopted new, more ecologically responsible design standards for thesenew speakers. These standards include the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR)materials and the assurance that the products will have long life spans with afocus on serviceability and energy-efficient technologies.

Inan age of constant background noise, quality listening matters more than ever.Our vision is to make listening an experience that is charged with feeling, andhelp our customers feel joy and vitality through their favorite music and audiocontent. The Era family is the next generation of smart speakers, epitomizingour commitment to sound innovation, responsible design and a deep connection tothe creator community.

—Patrick Spence,CEO of Sonos

Althoughit looks similar to the Sonos One,the new Era 100 is slightly larger and features all new hardware, including a pair of angled tweeters (the Sonos One has only one tweeter).This allows the speaker to better deliver an approximated stereo experiencewhen used in its standalone mode, though a stereo pair of Era 100 speakers willof course produce better results. The Era 100's mid-woofer is also larger thanthe one in its predecessor, providing deeper and more impactful bass, accordingto Sonos. (Sonos does not specify the exact sizes of the drivers.) A pair ofEra 100 speakers can play double duty as music speakers and as the rearspeakers in a home theater system when paired with a Sonos soundbar. Thehumidity resistant design makes the Era 100 perfect for use in a bathroom orspa, while the compact size makes it equally at home on a desk or nightstand,or tucked away next to the Vitamix on your kitchen counter. It measures 7.18inches high by 4.72 inches wide by 5.14 inches deep, and weighs 4.44pounds.

Whilethe Era 100 can be thought of as a remastered Sonos One, the Era 300 iscompletely new, featuring six drivers that direct sound "left, right, forward,and upward, delivering a breakthrough audio performance featuring Dolby Atmosthat places listeners at the very heart of their movies and music," accordingto Sonos. The Era 300 features four tweeters. There are two side-firingtweeters to create stereo separation, plus a forward-firing tweeter to provide a stable centerimage. A horn-loaded upward-firing tweeter reflects sound off the ceiling forDolby Atmos height effects. In addition to the four tweeters, the Era 300features a pair of mid-woofers and six Class-D amplifiers — one for eachdriver.

DolbyAtmos created a new way for music and audio entertainment to be experienced.Sounds and music come alive with unparalleled clarity and depth. Era 300's sound innovation with Dolby Atmoscreates a completely immersive music experience.

—Kevin Yeaman, President and CEO of Dolby Laboratories

TheEra 300 is immediately recognizable as new within the Sonos lineup, thanks toits cinched hourglass design, which was dictated by the speaker's "beautifullycomplex acoustic architecture," according to Sonos, "with every angle,proportion and perforation enhancing the direction and dispersion of sound totruly surround you." This design makes it uniquely capable when used as asurround speaker in a home theater setting, paired with Sonos's Atmos-capableArc or Beam (Gen 2) soundbars. While other Sonos speakers can be used to playback a single surround channel in this context, the Era 300 delivers "multi-channelsurround," as it can be used to reproduce signals that would require both asurround speaker and a height-channel speaker in a traditional Dolby Atmos hometheater. While Sonos promises a "supercharged Dolby Atmos experience," Audioholicsreaders know better than to expect miracles. That said, the Era 300 shoulddeliver a better Atmos experience than an older or less advanced Sonos speakerwhen used as surrounds. The Era 300 measures 6.30 inches high by 10.24 incheswide by 7.28 inches deep, and weighs 9.85 pounds.

Justlike the shift from mono to stereo, spatial audio is the next evolution inlistening – creating a sound experience that wraps you in music. As bothcreators and major streaming platforms embrace spatial audio for music, the timeis right to create an out loud listening experience that delivers against thepromise of this thrilling and creative format.

—Giles Martin, VP, Sound Experience at Sonos

Sonossays that these new speakers represent a new chapter for the company, both interms of sonic performance and in terms of sustainability. The Era 100 is madefrom 48% post consumer recycled (PCR) plastic; the Era 300 is 40% PCR plastic.Both the Era 100 and Era 300 are packaged in 100% sustainably-sourced paper(certified by the Forest Stewardship Council), and all interior and exteriorpackaging is 100% recyclable. Both speakers have also been engineered to reducepower consumption, with a new advanced sleep function that consumes less than 2watts when the speakers are idle. And unlike some previous Sonos speakers, theEra 100 and Era 300 are built with serviceability in mind; they use lessadhesive and more screws, making disassembly and repair much easier.

Webring the same forward-thinking mindset to responsible design as we do tocreating powerful new listening experiences. Our commitment to sustainabilityis embedded in our design process from the start, with the Era family marking amajor step forward in our journey to create products that last beyondexpectation, perform more efficiently, and use safer and circular materials.

—Kitty Suidman, Design Director, Product Sustainability

Finally,a new, intuitive user interface on both Era speakers includes a capacitive volumeslider on each speaker. Sonos VoiceControl and control via the Sonos app remainunchanged. Tapping the speech bubble on top of the speaker activates a privacymode that turns off voice assistants, but leaves the microphones active forother uses, such as Trueplay. For even more privacy, users can flip thephysical microphone switch on the back of each speaker. Toggling this switchdisconnects power to the microphone hardware. Like other Sonos speakers, theEra 100 and Era 300 are compatible with Apple AirPlay 2 (which also makes themwork as Roon endpoints). Unlike previous Sonos speakers, the new models can becontrolled by Bluetooth.

The Era 100 and Era 300 are offered in black or white,and are available now from the Sonos website and from authorized Sonosretailers, like our friends at Audio Advice.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.

Jacob is a music-lover and audiophile who enjoys convincing his friends to buy audio gear that they can't afford. He's also a freelance writer and editor based in Los Angeles.

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