If there’s one thing you have to give Sonos a thumbs up for, it’s that they didn’t throw out too many products when the hat dropped. No, they took their time, and while there have been some minor changes and upgrades to their roster over the years, the One and Five have long been the core.
But that era is now over, replaced by us now…well, Era. More specifically, we have the replacement for the Five, which is named the Era 300. Looking ahead, it’s its slightly larger cousin in the range, and you can pick it up for just under £450, the same price as the Five launched.
The bizarre shape is the first thing you will undoubtedly be drawn to, to say the least. It’s designed to promote the whole spatial audio angle, which we’ll cover, but it looks…well, special. Don’t worry; you still get the signature perforated grille, the same materials, and even more connectivity in the form of a rear USB-C port that easily converts to a simple line-in. This means you can hook up a mixer, for example, if things get interesting.
It’s a bass-heavy 4.4kg, with six drivers that each fire sound forward, left, right and up, in the same way that the Sonos Arc works in principle. More specifically, that’s four tweeters and two woofers. The sound is the same relative warmth and balance we’re familiar with from the latest Five, and of course TruePlay and the relatively seamless setup via the Sonos app we’re also familiar with from the last few product launches.
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This isn’t a revolution in user experience, appearance or operation, it’s Sonos’ first foray into what they call “true spatial audio,” which is easy to hear once you sit down. However, it should be said that it is limited to which services actually offer real music playback with spatial audio. Apple Music now offers Dolby Atmos, but it has to be specifically enabled in settings, but Spotify, for example, doesn’t.
We primarily tested through Apple Music, and the difference was huge. The sound has a more immersive dimension due to the Era 300’s design and sound profiles, if you’ve ever sat in a true Dolby Atmos home theater with the physical equipment placed in the correct pattern A similar feel to that achieved with a single speaker. Of course, the effect isn’t that noticeable, and even though the speaker is partially omnidirectional, it clearly affects how the listener is placed or where you are.
But the effect is there, it’s not a gimmick, and there’s no doubt that spatial audio, whatever the various companies end up calling it, is a technology we can count on to take off by combining meaningful implementations with better backwards compatibility , in the form of line-in and direct Bluetooth, the Era 300 is part of a pivotal new era for Sonos.
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By the way, you’ll have to pay £20 for the adapter required to use the USB-C to Ethernet and jack. Pooh.
