A well-designed speaker can take your audio experience from easily paltry background music to an immersive journey. The Sonos Era 300 is the latest smart speaker to prove its worth in the sub-€500 market, with new features such as spatial audio support to enhance the Vienna Philharmonic listening experience , The Beatles or your favorite song and artist.
I’ve spent the past few weeks testing the Era 300 and can safely say that the experience has been near euphoric. No matter what I was playing or what room in the house I was playing from, I felt like I was in a live studio and witnessing the birth of the song I was listening to.
That said, while the Era 300’s audio quality is exceptional, there’s more to the latest flagship speaker than just its raw sound, and Sonos still has a few imperfections to iron out.
Advantages of the Sonos Era 300 speaker
- Outstanding loudspeaker for medium to large rooms
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 6 and USB-C port for versatile use
- Outstanding Spatial Sound
- Amazon Alexa voice control
Cons of the Sonos Era 300 speaker
- No Chromecast or Google Voice Assistant support
- Requires separate adapter for line-in and Ethernet
- Outer coating makes dust highly visible
- The Sonos app can be very slow
Sonos Era 300 speaker specs
Dimensions : 16cm x 26cm x 18.5cm
Weight : 4.47kg
Speaker Setup : stereo
Speakers : 4x tweeters and 2x woofers
Amplifier class : 6x Class-D
Connectivity : Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, AirPlay 2, line-in, Ethernet
Price : 500 €
New in the Sonos Era 300 speaker
The Sonos Era 300 is a sizable, hourglass-shaped smart speaker that integrates both Sonos Voice Control and Amazon Alexa, and sits squarely between the existing Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 300, although it nothing mid-range. Here are the new features of the latest Era speaker.
1. Touch controls and improved connectivity
The Sonos Era 300 does away with physical controls in favor of touch controls. Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Doing away with control buttons, the Era speaker features touch controls for volume and for play, pause, skip and replay. There’s also a Bluetooth button on the back to pair a new device, and a switch to mute the speaker’s microphone.
The touch controls modernize the design of the Era 300, but I wouldn’t say they totally convinced me to ditch the physical buttons. Are the touch sensors responsive? Sure, but nothing beats the tactility and instant feedback that buttons provide.
Speaking of modernization, the Era 300 supports Wi-Fi 6, and it also has a USB-C port for connecting a line-in or Ethernet adapter. While Apple AirPlay 2 support is maintained from previous Sonos smart speakers, the Era lineup still doesn’t support Chromecast…
2. Truly immersive spatial sound
The Sonos Era 300 weighs just under 5.5 kg. Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Sonos uses Trueplay, software that harnesses the far-field microphones built into the speaker to measure the acoustics of your room, in order to fine-tune the EQ. Essentially, once you place your Sonos speaker where you want it, it plays a series of sounds and listens for each sound to echo through the furniture, walls, and ceiling of the room, to optimize the audio experience while driving.
The speaker’s architecture is designed to put you at the heart of your music, and it does just that. The hourglass-shaped enclosure houses two left and right-firing woofers for the ultimate stereo experience and balanced bass. They’re widely spaced and designed to minimize vibration and rumble, though the houseplant that was right next to the Era 300 while I was testing higher volume levels probably wouldn’t agree. .
Along with the plant-smashing woofers, the speaker is also equipped with four tweeters that radiate high and mid frequencies in different directions, including an upward-firing tweeter to bounce sound off the ceiling. This is essential for a truly enveloping spatial audio experience.
The Sonos Era 300 is not only the company’s first speaker to support Spatial Audio from Apple Music, but also the first third-party speaker to do so. Apple Music’s Spatial Audio Library is also supported, but note that this feature is only available for music played from the Sonos app, not from Bluetooth or Apple. AirPlay 2.
The hourglass shape allows the speaker to achieve its spatial audio experience. Maria Diaz/ZDNET
I note that high-quality spatial audio tracks are scarce on streaming services. So support for this feature shouldn’t be the main reason you get the Era 300.
Still, I like that the Era 300 delivers on its promise of spatial audio, with radiant, powerful sound that keeps vocals on the track front and center at any volume. As a video (and sometimes audio) editor, closing my eyes and listening to the ethereal clarity of a song allows me to visualize the various audio tracks layered together to create the final work.
Wherever I was in my living room, the music sounded rich and clear. The speaker projects spatial sounds so convincingly that it is sometimes impossible to know where they are coming from.
3. The home theater experience
You can even pair the Sonos Era 300 with an Arc soundbar and a Sonos Sub. His bone
I enjoy a good home theater. It’s something I’ve come to appreciate during the pandemic and continues to be a safe haven for my family. And after watching a few too many movies at home, I can’t imagine how important a competent sound system is for movie immersion. A system capable of reproducing punchy sound effects, rich melodies and clear dialogue can make the experience even better, and that’s exactly what the Era 300 manages to do.
For example, two Sonos Era 300 speakers can be paired and used with one or for the ultimate Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 entertainment experience – no overhead speakers needed. In fact, even if you only invest in a single Era 300, I found its audio performance to be more than reliable for all genres of content.
What I’d like to see in Sonos’ next smart speaker model
The Sonos Era 300 is a fantastic all-around speaker, but it does have a few quirks that should be ironed out for the next generation.
1. Better Android/Google compatibility
The Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 do not support Google Voice or Chromecast. Maria Diaz/ZDNET
As noted above, the Era speaker range does not support Google’s voice assistant; the speakers are only compatible with Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control, although older Sonos smart speakers on the market that already supported Google voice control will continue to do so.
Besides ditching Google’s voice assistant, I was hoping Sonos would add Chromecast support to this line of smart speakers, but that’s not the case with the Era 300. experience for Android users, as they cannot stream to the speaker like iPhone users can with AirPlay, although Bluetooth and the Sonos app are still available.
2. Improved user experience with the Sonos app
The Sonos app has never been a strong point, which is unfortunate given the need for effective digital interactions. The mobile app is neither intuitive nor user-friendly, which sometimes makes it difficult to access certain features and settings. Even searching for music can be frustrating.
The biggest issue I have with the app, however, is how slow it is. It’s slow for setup, charging, speaker control, etc. Luckily, this is an issue with the app, not the speaker itself. With a few software fixes here and there, Sonos can easily tidy up the experience. Just act accordingly.
3. A more dust-resistant coating
A dusty Sonos Era 300 and it hasn’t been there for a week yet. Maria Diaz/ZDNET
As soon as I took the speaker out and started testing it, I realized that the matte black finish wasn’t the best choice for me. The material is very susceptible to fingerprints and dust, especially on the capacitive touch controls at the top.
It is, admittedly, one of my pet peeves at home, and I often have to wipe down the Era 300. If you don’t want your speaker to look dusty, I recommend the matt white option.
To conclude on the Sonos Era 300 connected speaker
The Era 300 retails for €500, which, despite being €150 cheaper than the older Sonos Five, is still a hefty price tag. But even as a miserly consumer, I consider the Era 300 to be the best standalone Dolby Atmos speaker available, which justifies its price. Audio quality, including support for spatial audio, sets the Era 300 apart from any other speaker I’ve tested in its price range.
With this speaker, Sonos has created a device that elevates the immersive listening experience, meeting a growing demand for support for wider audio formats.
Should I buy one?
The Era 300 is recommended for those who want an all-in-one speaker, especially if they can do without Google’s voice assistant and Chromecast functionality. The speaker is also future-proof, with Wi-Fi 6 and support for spatial audio, so the investment pays off. On the other hand, if you’re counting your pennies or expecting to listen to music through Google’s wireless services, you’re better off looking elsewhere.
Source: “ZDNet.com”