Sonos ushers in a new ‘Era’ of speakers with the new Era 300 and Era 100

Sonos has taken the wraps off their latest speakers, with the new Era 300 and Era 100.

“In an age of constant background noise, quality listening matters more than ever. Our vision is to make listening an experience that is charged with feeling, and help our customers feel joy and vitality through their favourite music and audio content,” said Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos. “The Era family is the next generation of smart speakers, epitomizing our commitment to sound innovation, responsible design and a deep connection to the creator community.”

Era 300

Starting out the new Era speaker lineup is the Era 300. The speaker has six class-D amplifiers, four tweeters and two woofers.

These six drivers combined can push sound, left, right, forward and upward to produce Dolby Atmos sound.

The speaker also has a far-field mic array for voice control of Alexa, Google Assistant or “Hey, Sonos”.

Previously, Sonos’ Trueplay feature was limited to iOS devices but with the new Era speakers, the company is making the feature available on Android devices.

How Trueplay works on Android is that it’ll use the mics on the speaker instead of your phone.

“Dolby Atmos created a new way for music and audio entertainment to be experienced. Sounds and music come alive with unparalleled clarity and depth,,” said Kevin J. Yeaman, CEO of Dolby. ““Era 300’s sound innovation with Dolby Atmos creates a completely immersive music experience.”

The Era 300 features a cinched hourglass design that produces great sound no matter which angle it’s facing.

If you pair two Era 300 speakers with a Sonos Arc or Beam (Gen 2), then you can create an immersive Dolby Atmos experience.

“Just like the shift from mono to stereo, spatial audio is the next evolution in listening – creating a sound experience that wraps you in music,” said Giles Martin, VP, Sound Experience at Sonos. “As both creators and major streaming platforms embrace spatial audio for music, the time is right to create an out loud listening experience that delivers against the promise of this thrilling and creative format.”

Other specs of the Era 300 include Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 6, AirPlay 2 and a USB-C port to connect an aux cable or Ethernet cable (via an adapter sold separately).

The Sonos Era 300 speaker is launching on March 28th for $559 CAD ($449 USD / 449 GBP / 499 EUR/ $749 AUD).

The speaker comes in two colours, black and white.

Era 100

Sonos’ other new speaker is the Era 100, which has a footprint similar to the outgoing Sonos One but slightly larger.

The company did say that the Era 100 is replacing the Sonos One. But they’ll continue to sell the Sonso One and One SL speakers while stock lasts.

The Era 100 has three class-D amplifiers, two angled tweeters and one mid-woofer.

The drivers combined produce a “rich stereo experience” according to Sonos.

Like the Era 300, the Era 100 has a far-field mic array for voice control. There’s also Trueplay support on both iOS and Android.

Other specs of the Era 100 include Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 6, AirPlay 2 and a USB-C port to connect an aux cable or Ethernet cable (via an adapter sold separately).

The Sonos Era 100 speaker is launching on March 28th for $319 CAD ($249 USD / 249 GBP / 279 EUR/ $399 AUD).

The speaker comes in two colours, black and white.

Look out for more coverage on the Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 in the coming weeks.

Source: Sonos