Sonos is entering a new era of audio in more than one way with its new Era 100 and Era 300 speakers. The new line brings an immersive audio experience to a lineup of devices made for audiophiles. It also marries the simplicity of design that Sonos is known for with bold new features that have never been on Sonos’s mainline products.
Sonos Era 300: Immersive Audio for the Audiophile
The new Era 300 brings Dolby Atmos into a single speaker and ups the immersion when paired with other Sonos audio products like the Arc. The Sonos Era 300 comes with six powerful drivers that send the sound in all directions enveloping the space and listener in an immersive soundstage.
The speaker has been designed to deliver a crisp and immersive audio experience which is enhanced by its complex acoustic architecture. The six drivers are positioned to deliver audio in all directions with two tweeters positioned outwards, to the sides, a single forward firing mid tweeter and a sub. All of these are loaded into a sleek, clenched hourglass body. The hourglass body also comes with a revamped user interface which comes with a tactile strip for volume control.
The performance of the Sonos Era 300 is further enhanced when pairing the speaker with a Sonos Arc or Beam (Gen 2). The new setup allows Sonos to finally deliver a complete theatre experience with 7.4.2 sound. You’ll be taken into your content and placed in the middle of the action with the new Era 300’s Dolby Atmos audio.
Speaking of pairing, the Sonos Era 300 comes with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. Also along for the ride is a combo USB-C port which allows you to connect a USB-enabled storage or line in for playback and also for a direct line to your router. This comes, in addition, to support for Apple AirPlay 2 and WiFi 6.
Sonos Era 100: The Sonos One Remastered for Immersive Audio
Yes, Immersive audio is the word for the Sonos Era lineup. The Sonos Era 100 brings the best Sonos has to offer into the familiar form factor of the Sonos One. The sleek, compact cylindrical form factor packs a whole load more power than the Sonos One though.
The new Era 100 comes with stereo sound out of the box with two angled tweeters and a larger midwoofer. The combination delivers crisp high frequencies and a fuller bass for true sound immersion. Designed to be powerfully compact, the Era 100 will seamlessly blend into your home and deliver well-rounded, full audio.
Just like its bigger sibling, the Era 300, the Sonos Era 100 comes with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, support for Apple AirPlay 2 and WiFi 6 support. It also sports a USB-C port for ethernet, line-in and USB connectivity. It also shares the new revamped on-device user experience with the tactile strip for volume control.
Sonos TruePlay Comes to Android Devices
One of Sonos’s signature features has been locked to iOS for the longest time. TruePlay, the technology which customises your Sonos sound experience uniquely to fit your space is finally coming to Android. It does this by measuring how sound reflects off the walls and furnishings in your space and fine-tunes the Sonos speakers to deliver the best audio quality. Initially, this was only possible via the on-device mics of the iPhone.
However, with the new Era series, the capability is being built-in into the Sonos Era speakers themselves. The Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 come with mics which enable voice control via Sonos voice and Amazon Alexa. These mics are also being used by Sonos to enable TruePlay for Android devices. So, instead of relying on the on-device mics in Android devices, Sonos is bypassing the complexity of coding for hundreds of devices by relying on the built-in mic of the Sonos Era speakers.
If you’re worried about your privacy, both the Sonos Era 100 and the Sonos Era 300 come with physical kill switches to “disconnect” the mic.
Pricing & Availability
The Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 100 are available for pre-order starting 7th March 2023 at 10 p.m. In Malaysia and Singapore, you will be able to order them from the TC Acoustic website. Internationally, you’ll be able to place your orders at Sonos’s official website.
Both the 300 and 100 will be available in Black and White. The Era 300 will be priced at MYR2,799 while the Era 100 will be priced at MYR1,599. Both of them will be available on shelves starting 28th March 2023.
