If you’re considering investing in the superb Sonos Era range of smart speakers, now might be the perfect time to make a purchase thanks to some attractive promotions.
Sonos Era 300
The Sonos Era 300 speaker is a hefty 4.4 kg device equipped with six speakers, including two woofers (one on each side to minimize vibrations) and four tweeters, some of which are directed upwards to enhance Dolby Atmos vertical effects. Thanks to this design, Sonos introduces the Era 300 as the world’s first smart speaker to deliver true three-dimensional listening with full compatibility for Dolby Atmos music and tracks. Thus, the Era 300 is compatible with Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos catalog.
The Era 300 can stream in stereo with just one speaker, supports Bluetooth with SBC and AAC codecs providing greater versatility (such as compared to the HomePod), includes Wi-Fi 6 and AirPlay 2, and also features a USB-C input to connect an external source via a mini-jack adapter (once again, a versatility missing from the HomePod). It’s possible to pair two Sonos Era 300 speakers to achieve a stereo setup, or to connect them to a Sonos Arc or Beam Gen2 soundbar as rear Dolby Atmos compatible speakers. This setup might interest fans of the Sonos ecosystem, although it requires a substantial financial commitment.
The speaker supports Google Assistant, Alexa, Sonos Voice Control for voice commands. The new touch interface on the top of the speaker allows for volume adjustment, playback control, track changes, microphone muting, and multi-room grouping. The Trueplay mode, which tailors the speaker’s output to the listening environment using built-in microphones, is available for both iOS and Android users (a first), and it’s possible to adjust the bass and treble levels through the dedicated app. With the Era 300, Sonos offers a more open and highly appealing alternative to the HomePod. You can also check out our complete review of the Sonos Era 300 speaker.
Sonos Era 100
The Sonos Era 100 reimagines the Sonos One, featuring a mid/bass speaker that is 25% larger than its predecessor, along with two side-oriented tweeters and a 47% faster chip supported by the new co-neural processor. This configuration allows the Era 100 to offer stereo diffusion with a single speaker (with a limited soundstage width, as with all mono-block stereo speakers), where the One was strictly mono. The Era 100 shares many features with the Era 300 (except for the Dolby Atmos and number of speakers) including Bluetooth connectivity with SBC and AAC codecs, Wi-Fi 6, AirPlay 2 compatibility, the ability to pair two speakers for a stereo set-up, Trueplay mode for adapting sound output to the room, touch controls, and a USB-C input for external sources (via an adapter).
Just like with the One, it will be possible to pair a set of Era 100 speakers with a manufacturer’s soundbar or the Sonos Amp as surround speakers, without Dolby Atmos compatibility, which makes sense since the speaker does not have an upward-facing speaker for vertical effects. Both new Sonos speakers are crafted from recycled plastic and offer improved repairability as well as better energy management, consuming less than 2W when not in use, coupled with a new standby function. If you’re interested in the speaker, you can find our review of the Sonos Era 100.