Sonos unveils Era 100 and Era 300 speakers with Bluetooth and spatial audio

Sonos has unveiled its latest range of wireless speakers, called Era, which includes a replacement for the Sonos One and a spatial audio tabletop model.

The two speakers — the Sonos Era 100 ($249) and the Sonos Era 300 $449 — now include both Bluetooth and Sonos’ own multi-room system.

The Sonos Era 100 replaces the ever-popular Sonos One in the company’s lineup, with the main improvements being stereo sound and a new touch control bar. The Era 100 also offers support for auxiliary inputs at this level for the first time with the optional $20 Sonos Line-In Adapter.

Next up: The spiritual successor to the old Sonos Play:3, the Sonos Era 300 is a completely redesigned speaker that is now Dolby Atmos support. The 300 is a much larger speaker than the 100 and includes dedicated stereo drivers and height speakers. The 300 also now includes a built-in calibration routine called Quick Tune – which uses the built-in “smart” microphones – in addition to the existing iOS Trueplay system.

The two smart speakers will support Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice at launch, with Google Assistant coming later.

Both Era speakers can be used as a stereo pair or as rear speakers in a Sonos home theater setup, and the Sonos Era 300 also enables rear height options for a full 5.2.4 setup (if you have two matching subs).

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Given the increased availability of spatial music there are only a handful of tabletop Atmos speakers left, including the $249 Amazon Echo Studio and $300 Apple HomePod. There are now a number of Atmos soundbars with models from Vizio, Bose and Sonos.

I heard the speakers at a Sonos event in midtown Manhattan and found that the Sonos Era 100 offered surprisingly full bass for a small speaker. However, being a small – and crowded – room, it was difficult to hear stereo effects. But there were no such problems with the Era 300 with a wide, expansive sound reminiscent of the Sonos Beam.

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The Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 will be available from March 28. Look out for reviews on CNET for both speakers later this month!