Already slightly unveiled through a few leaks here and there, the new Era 300 and Era 100 living room speakers from Sonos mark a new stage for the brand. If the Era 100 remains in a fairly traditional approach, with some very interesting novelties, the Era 300 jumps with both feet into the Atmos reproduction of sound.
For its part, the Era 300 seems to be a less powerful, but more immersive model than the Five, while the Era 100 is a much improved One.
Era 300: 6 speakers, and Atmos representation
Far from the fairly conventional design of the Five, the new Era 300 adopts a rather original hourglass shape. This form is not only aesthetic, it allows the particular placement of its many loudspeakers.
Thus, if the Five was above all a stereo speaker, the Era 300 announces itself as surround, and even Atmos. This does not adopt 360° sound dispersion, so there is only one possible placement of the product. Two bass speakers thus coexist with four tweeters (midrange and treble here), arranged as follows: 1 tweeter is placed on the front, to play the role of central channel; 2 tweeters are placed on the sides of the product, for the surround and extended stereo dimensions; 1 tweeter is placed vertically, and associated with a waveguide. The sound of the latter, by reflecting on the walls, brings a vertical/Atmos dimension to the sound. Everything is powered by six class D amplifiers, one per speaker.
In order to optimize the sound representation, the Era 300 works with Trueplay calibration technology. Small revolution, this function will finally be available on Android, and not only on iOS. However, it seems that we will only have a simplified version of the process on Android.
Regarding controls and connectivity, there are almost no surprises. The device includes a Wi-Fi 6 chip, and is part of the Sonos S2 ecosystem while remaining Airplay 2 compatible. The application gives access to numerous music services, to the multiroom ecosystem, but also to advanced pairings. If the Era 300 can be paired in stereo with a second model, it seems above all at ease as a surround/Atmos speaker in a home cinema configuration, as some photos show (combined with a soundbar and a box of the brand).
However, two novelties appear. The first is the integration of a Bluetooth module, which was usually reserved for portable devices. The second is the presence of a USB-C port. This allows you to connect analog sources, thanks to a jack-USB-C adapter (included), but also an Ethernet port, via a second adapter (optional).
Era 100: Sonos One better?
For its part, the Era 100 is more modest, but just as complete. In the stylistic waters of a One, it stands out thanks to a stereo architecture, composed of a single woofer, and two inclined tweeters, again in order to optimize the width of the image.
This speaker is compatible with the Sonos S2 environment, allows calibration via Trueplay, and also incorporates a Bluetooth chip, a new Wi-Fi 6 chip, and the same USB-C input system with adapter.
Both speakers will be available from March 28. The Era 300 is announced at 499 euros, and the Era 100 at 279 euros.
Source : His bone
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