The Era 300 finally arrives on the market. The new wireless speaker from Sonos opens a new era of sound for the American brand, that of spatial audio with a product “designed for immersion from its inception,” specifies Patrick Spence, the head of the company.
older sister of the Era 100 also introduced in early March Replacing the Sonos One (279 euros), the Era 300 comes with serious goodies including support for Dolby Atmos for greater immersion, native stereo sound, the addition of Bluetooth for easier and faster music streaming. But all this at a higher price (499 euros), in a market that is beginning to become competitive, with renowned rivals such as the Apple HomePod (2nd generation) or the Amazon Echo Studio 2.
Its advantages
audio quality
The Era 300 sounds really great with its six built-in speakers. Until now, only the Sonos Beam 2 and Sonos Arc soundbars were showing off their support for Dolby Atmos to immerse the living room in a much more immersive 3D audio environment. Now the new speaker can boast of being stereo and also support it.
The Era 300 produces truly spatial sound that enhances compatible audio tracks (on Apple Music and Amazon Music HD at the moment). Most artists are starting to mix their titles in Dolby Atmos and the quality suffers, even with just one speaker. The music is more detailed, more powerful and immersive, whatever the musical style that is played. Sound travels vertically and laterally. Even for non-Dolby Atmos tracks, the Era 300 delivers high-quality listening.
By pairing the speaker with another Era 300, the soundstage becomes truly immersive and wide. No need to turn up the volume. However, if you are sensitive to bass, you will find it a little more present than usual, but not annoying either.
original design
Available in black or white, the Era 300 has the merit of originality with its curved format in matt plastic (which absorbs fingerprints well) and its large front grille to allow sound to spread in all directions. It looks like a possible reclining stool, but the enclosure only sits like this. It is quite bulky (maximum 26 cm wide x 18.5 cm deep x 16 cm high) and heavy (4.5 kg). But this is explained by the quality of the components and the power on board.
On the back, there are the buttons to pair any external device via Bluetooth, to mute the microphone of the voice assistant, the power socket, but also a USB-C port to connect an auxiliary, Ethernet or other socket.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection
The name change comes not only from the arrival of Dolby Atmos in a Sonos speaker, but also, more philosophically, from the addition of Bluetooth connectivity. The American brand has always insisted that it only wanted to connect home speakers via Wi-Fi for more stability or AirPlay for Apple product owners. But it ended up “caving in to customer requests” on a non-nomadic speaker (until then, only the battery-powered Roam and Move offered Bluetooth). So the Era 300 is set to Wi-Fi 6 for ease and options from the companion app (iOS and Android). But now it also accepts pairing via Bluetooth with any device without having to go through the app.
In case of internet failure or if you take the speaker to a place where there is no connection, it can still be used.
The USB-C port on the back will allow you to connect an analog audio source or a possible computer, vinyl record player, headphones. The cable is optional (25 euros).
Easy setup and installation
The installation of the speaker goes through the application. Everything is simple and intuitive. Just plug in the speaker and hold your smartphone or tablet close to it to recognize the device and share your internet settings with the Era 300. It’s extremely fast and everything is ready to use in a few minutes. Then it will be enough to indicate the room in which the speaker is installed, choose your voice assistant, possibly your audio streaming services (Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal…) or the Sonos Radio offered ( many stations around the world and stations designed by Sonos).
The TruePlay function, now compatible with iOS and Android, allows you to adjust the quality of the sound output according to the position of the speaker in the room. A simple signal allows rapid adaptation to the characteristics of the room so that the sound knows how to adapt (it also learns after multiple uses). As you walk around the room, the Era 300 can make even more personalized and accurate measurements, depending on the architecture and speaker position (adjusted spacing and balance).
It is possible to combine the Era 300 with another identical speaker such as the Sonos Hub mini or a sound bar to create a home theater system, but also other Sonos products in other rooms for multi-room use to continue your audio playback in home.
Voice assistant Voice control
The Era 300 has a microphone to use voice commands. If you don’t want to use Amazon Alexa to play the music, lower the volume or control the connected devices in the house (lighting, heating, plugs, blinds, etc.), you can choose to configure the voice assistant of the house, Sonos Voice. Control.
It won’t help you light up the house or manage home automation, but it’s particularly good at driving music and proves to be very responsive at runtime, even if you’re playing the music a bit loud. And also, shit! It is a made in France assistant that we owe to the startup Snips, acquired by Sonos in 2019. No data comes out of your device.
our reservations
The price
The Sonos Era 300 is offered at 499 euros. It is significantly more expensive than the 349 euros of Apple’s HomePod that offers a little more services, but is not natively stereo (you need two), or the Amazon Echo Studio 2 (299 euros) that does the same, too Alexa. on board to do everything.
Dolby Atmos, yes, but…
To enjoy sound in Dolby Atmos, there is a small limitation: you have to think about going through the Sonos S2 app and setting up your favorite music service. From Amazon Music HD or Apple Music, even if it says Dolby Atmos on your chosen track, it won’t sound as melodious as if you were streaming it from the app. Also, don’t forget that you need to be connected to Wi-Fi to enjoy Dolby Atmos. On Bluetooth, it doesn’t work. The Era 300 won’t miss out on the best of Dolby Atmos either if you pair it with a soundbar that doesn’t support Dolby Atmos. Damage.
Conclusion
The Sonos Era 300 hits the burgeoning Dolby Atmos speaker market alongside serious sizes like the HomePod or Echo Studio. And she clearly has no reason to be ashamed of the comparison, quite the contrary. The audio promise is largely held and even using just one already stereo speaker. The 3D sound is very immersive, detailed and powerful, perfectly filling the room. Too bad you can’t add it to, for example, a Sonos Beam (1st generation) or Sonos Ray sound bar to take advantage of its spatial audio benefits in Home Cinema. It will only give the fullness of its Dolby Atmos qualities with compatible home soundbars, which are also more expensive.
Source: BFM TV
