Sonos unveils new speakers, one also with spatial sound

Of the new Sonos speakers, the Era 300 is the most striking in form and function. The tweeter is oval when viewed from the front, but a funnel-like shape can be seen from the side and top. This design provides space for six speaker drivers, the largest yet in a single Sonos speaker.

Because of these speakers and the design, the Era 300 is well-suited for producing spacious, room-filling sound, as promised by Sonos. Spatial audio, for example, is Dolby Atmos, which is the standard by which music and audio are delivered on many different tracks. Unlike stereo, the sound comes not only from the left and right, but also directly from the front, or through the ceiling from above.

Musically, the Sonos Era 300 can play Dolby Atmos music from Tidal, Amazon Music, and Apple Music services. Spotify still doesn’t offer Dolby Atmos music. The Era 300 soundbar can also be paired to a TV, then play Dolby Atmos sound through most major streaming services: Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max.

Sonos One successor

The Sonos Era 100 is the successor to the Sonos One in form and function. This speaker is also upright, a little more cylindrical than the somewhat square one. The Era 100 has two tweeters and a tweeter, so they can produce stereo sound on their own, and more bass than before.

If you link two Era 100 speakers, you can create a stereo pair. The soundbar can also be linked to Sonos speakers for a surround system with Atmos support. However, unlike the Era 300, the Era 100 does not support Dolby Atmos audio either alone or in pair. This is unlike Apple HomePod Of approximately the same size.

Longer service life, easier to repair

Sonos promises that the Era speakers have been developed with “a prescient look at responsible design.” In practice, this means, among other things: more screws, less glue. Many consumer electronics today are glued together, making them difficult to repair. That should be different with these new Sonos speakers, as users can easily replace broken parts or repair them in the long run.

Also new is Android support for Sonos’ Trueplay functionality. Until now, this was only available for iPhones: Users would then walk across the room with their device, for the Sonos speakers to recognize the audio profile of that room. The Sonos app interface has also been updated for Era speaker users.

the prices

The new Sonos speakers will be available starting March 28th, in black and white. The Sonos Era 100 costs €279, while the Era 300 is available for €499.

Follow the Bright YouTube channel Learn more about these new speakers.