Sonos Era 100 and 300 tested

This is the era of 300

Era 300 comes in new packaging. The speaker is locked left and right for safe transportation. Once opened, you can lift the lid beautifully, like raising a dinner bell (dramatically) from a meal at a fancy restaurant.

Optics / touch

Even if that sounds strange now: At first, I could barely keep my hands off the hourglass-like speaker housing. Not only is the surface of high quality, but it also feels incredibly good. Not only the different surfaces, but also the front end with its many omissions is a sensory feast for the senses.

What I particularly liked about the physical controls: Although you can still tap the device itself to decrease or increase the volume, you can now also do so with a swipe motion. I really loved it.

Playback is as usual via the Sonos app (S2 version) and there was no reason to complain.

Dolby Atmos (3D audio / spatial audio)

For the first time, six powerful drivers are installed under the hood in a compact speaker, directing sound left, right, forward and up. This will provide audio performance with Dolby Atmos (3D sound, spatial sound). To get a 3D audio experience, you must be connected to WiFi and stream Dolby Atmos music from a supported service. Sonos is currently supported via Amazon Music, and 3D Space Audio will be available via Apple Music officially on March 28, 2023.

For a spatial audio music experience, you must be connected to WiFi and stream Dolby Atmos music from a supported service. Sonos currently supports Dolby Atmos Music through Amazon Music. Spatial audio support will be available via Apple Music on March 28, 2023. Unfortunately, anyone using Spotify (Premium) is out of luck.

You can learn more about the audio experience during testing on the next page.

Multichannel surround sound

The Era 300 is also the first Sonos speaker to offer multi-channel surround sound when used as surround speakers in a home theater setup. That means: You can connect two (similar) speakers to a Sonos Arc or Beam (Gen. 2) to create a Dolby Atmos experience. We only have Era 300 available, so can’t test that.

There is also a new AUX-IN connection. However, to connect the turntable directly to the Era 300, you’ll need a Sonos line-in adapter and an extra cable (both sold separately). There is also a special wall mount or bracket for the Era 300 to hide the cables in the latter. For example, you can set up the feet in your home TV setup next to or behind the sofa to really enjoy the 3D sound of a movie. While this can’t be tried at home, I tried it at the press event. Let’s put it this way: if you are not a fan of space or aircraft action movies, then with a setup like this you will be cinematically “absorbed” by spatial (3D) sound.

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