Sonos has announced theEra 100and Era 300 speakers, with the former set to replace the popular Sonos One and the latter designed to be a standalone spatial audio speaker supportingDolby Atmos content.
While the Sonos Era 100 will replace the Sonos One andOne SL, the Era 300 simply slots into thecompany’s existing portfolio, alongside theSonos Five speaker, Ray, Beam and Arc soundbars and portable speakers Roam andMove.
Sonos Era 100
The Sonos Era 100 takes everything it learnt from the Sonos One that it replaces and has given it a make-over, both internally and externally for one seriously impressive little speaker.
Sonos Era 300
TheSonos Era 300features an interesting design to say the least, offering a cinched in middle with an oval front and rear, while the Era 100 is a more classic cylindrical shape.
Both feature capacitive controls on the top - like all the company’s latest products - but there is also a new volume trough for a more intuitive user experience. Elsewhere, the Era 100 and Era 300 both have a microphone off button on their tops, as well as a hardware switch on their rears to turn the microphone off entirely, and there’s a toggle to move between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth too.
Yes, you did read that right. Both the Era 100 and Era 300 have Bluetooth on board, which is a first for the company’s non-portable speakers.
The two speakers also have smart functionality, withSonos Voice ControlandAmazon Alexa- no Google Assistant this time - and they also both feature all thestandard Sonos features, like compatibility with over 100 music streaming services, the ability to adjust EQ and the ability to group with other Sonos speakers for a great multi-room experience.
In terms of hardware, the Era 300 has six custom drivers on board, along with four tweeters, one of which is positioned within a directional horn to reflect sound off the ceiling when playing Dolby Atmos tracks, though you’ll need a subscription toAmazon Music Unlimited. There are also two woofers on board. Two Era 300 speakers can be stereo paired and hooked up as surrounds to theSonos Arcfor a 7.1.4 multi-channel setup.
The Era 100 meanwhile is a smaller offering and while it doesn’t offer spatial audio, it does offer stereo sound, which is an upgrade from theSonos One’s mono offering. There are three drivers, two angled tweeters and one mid-woofer on board. you’re able to also stereo pair two Era 100 speakers together too, though you can’t stereo pair a Sonos One and Era 100 so keep that in mind.
Both the Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 will be available from 28 March. The Era 100 will cost$249 in the US,£249 in the UKand €279 in Europe. The Era 300 will cost$449 in the US,£449 in the UKand €499 in Europe.
