Sonos Era 300 excels in spatial audio, raising standards.

Immersive music done right: powerful speaker, quality sound, find-worthy tracks.

The Era 300 represents the second installment in Sonos’s latest line of advanced wifi hi-fis, featuring a sleek box housing six speakers that can envelop listeners in high-quality sound.

Priced at £449 ($449/A$749), this speaker competes directly with Apple’s HomePod and other high-end speakers, offering premium audio at a premium cost. Positioned above the £249 Era 100, which is a compact bookshelf speaker, the Era 300 distinguishes itself with its unique design.

In contrast to the Era 100, the Era 300 is not a compact bookshelf speaker; rather, it’s designed to be placed openly to allow music to radiate from its front, sides, and top, creating a room-filling audio experience. The narrowed design enables a set of speakers to project sound outward from the back half of the Era 300, delivering full stereo and innovative spatial audio surround sound that envelops the listener from all directions.

The speaker establishes a connection to your Wi-Fi network to stream music, and you can manage it through the Sonos app on either your Android or iPhone. Additionally, it features Bluetooth 5 for connecting with other devices, and at the back, there’s a USB-C port to accommodate optional accessories like the £39 Sonos ethernet adapter or the £19 line-in adapters, if necessary. Equipped with microphones, the speaker supports Sonos’s local voice assistant for playback control, as well as Amazon’s Alexa; however, it does not support Google’s Assistant.

Specifications

• Size: 16 x 26 x 18.5cm
• Weight: 4.5kg
• Speaker Configuration: Four tweeters, two woofers
• Connectivity Options: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, USB-C, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect

Captivating, enveloping audio

Supply the Era 300 with standard tracks from Spotify, Bluetooth, or other services, and it will deliver outstanding stereo audio, creating a broad, expansive sound from a single box. Moreover, it is capable of playing Dolby Atmos tracks from Amazon or Apple Music, generating spatial audio that goes beyond the sensation of merely sitting in front of the music; instead, it makes you feel immersed inside and surrounded by the audio.

While Sonos is not the pioneer of spatial or 3D audio, the Era 300 stands out as the most impressive example I’ve encountered. It offers a genuinely transformative experience that enhances traditional stereo. Vocals seem to hover in front of you, while background tracks and individual instruments envelop you, even from above, all complemented by robust bass that washes over you like waves. The effect is akin to experiencing proper multispeaker surround sound in movies, but this time, it’s for music, all delivered through a single speaker.

While having more than one Era 300 in a room may not be necessary for many, you do have the option to create a stereo pair, enhance bass by adding one of Sonos’s subs, or utilize them as rear surround speakers when paired with the latest Beam (gen 2) or Arc soundbars.

Similar to the Era 100, this new speaker is compatible with Sonos’s “quick tune” Trueplay feature on both Android and iPhone, adjusting the sound to suit your room. Additionally, it supports the more comprehensive full tuning, a slightly more time-consuming process taking around five minutes, which necessitates an iPhone or iPad but only needs to be performed once.

Environmental Responsibility

The Era 300 is generally serviceable by Sonos. The company pledges a minimum of five years of software support for feature updates after discontinuing the sale of a product, but it has a history of providing support for much longer periods, addressing both bugs and security issues for its legacy products.

In terms of power consumption, the speaker uses approximately 1.5W when idle, even less during overnight sleep mode, and consumes between 9-13W at 50% volume, reaching a maximum of 38W at 100% volume. It incorporates 40% recycled plastic and is intentionally designed for easy disassembly, facilitating repair, refurbishment, and recycling efforts. Sonos also offers trade-in options and product recycling, along with the regular publication of annual responsibility and sustainability reports.

Price

Available in black or white, the Sonos Era 300 is priced at £449 ($449/A$749).

For reference, the Ikea Symfonsik series begins at £99, the Era 100 is priced at £249, the Sonos Five is available for £549, the Apple HomePod is listed at £299, the Amazon Echo Studio is priced at £219.99, and the Google Nest Audio is offered at £89.99.

Conclusion

The Sonos Era 300 stands out as one of the finest wifi speakers on the market, delivering a vibrant audio experience that allows you to uncover new nuances in familiar tracks.

While its stereo performance is impressive, the speaker truly shines when fed well-produced Dolby Atmos tracks, creating a spatial audio experience that fills the room and immerses the listener completely. However, the challenge lies in sourcing high-quality Dolby Atmos tracks, as only Amazon and Apple Music currently offer this technology, and the availability of well-mixed tracks can be limited.

For optimal sound quality, the speaker requires ample space around and above it, such as a clear tabletop or stand, as opposed to being placed on a shelf. Despite this, setup is straightforward, and the speaker supports virtually every music service available. It will also receive continuous updates over the years. With various voice assistant options, including Sonos’s proprietary assistant, and the ability to integrate and expand with other Sonos speakers for multiroom audio, it offers versatility.

However, recommending the Era 300 is not as straightforward as its counterpart, the Era 100. While the Era 300 is an outstanding, future-proofed speaker, its higher cost and the fact that spatial audio is still evolving, with limited support from services like Spotify, may make it a less immediate choice for those who are not already subscribed to compatible services. Waiting for broader support might be advisable for potential buyers.