The Sonos Era 300 in the Nau.ch test

2023-05-18 14:56:00

There is no question that the Sonos Era 300 is a stunning speaker. Even more exciting, however, is the promise that the speaker will do Dolby Atmos together.

With the Era 300, Sonos is starting a new chapter – a “new era”. – Nau.ch

the essentials in brief

• The Sonos Era 300 is the manufacturer’s flagship speaker – at least technically.
• Thanks to a total of six drivers, it delivers a rich sound including Dolby Atmos.
• For roughly CHF 500, Sonos is laying the foundation for tomorrow’s music industry here.

About two months ago, audio expert Sonos launched two new speakers. The smaller Sonos Era 100 was already able to prove itself as the new smart speaker benchmark in the Nau.ch test. The Sonos Era 300 dares a much bigger leap, a completely new speaker with a promise: Dolby Atmos.

What does the new «era» bring from Sonos?

Visually, this speaker clearly stands out from all the competition. Sonos speaks of an “hourglass design”, which is probably the most accurate description. The speaker can always look pretty.

The Sonos Era 300 is definitely a head turner. – Nau.ch

In its essence, the Era 300 shares many properties with the smaller Era 100. In other words: the new touch interface, networking with several speakers of the same species, language assistant, sound via USB-C analog connection and Bluetooth and new Trueplay tuning are all there.

The controls on the are the same as on the smaller Sonos Era 100. – Nau.ch

So if you want to get to grips with the technical features, you are welcome to read my test report on the Era 100 again.

For an additional charge of more than 200 francs, the question naturally arises as to what advantages the 300 offers. The unique selling point of the larger Sonos speaker is the sound, and this is not neglected.

Sonos Era 300 takes music to a new level

This smart speaker comes with a powerful, room-filling sound ex works. What is immediately noticeable is the bass performance, which never drowns out the remaining frequencies. In these lower wavelengths, it alone does not replace a subwoofer, but it does not have to hide from it either.

The Sonos Era 300 is a stunner not only in terms of sound, but also in terms of volume. – Nau.ch

The highs are also very convincing, which are crystal clear and acoustically cleanly separated. This results in a large sound stage with the Sonos Era 300, which ensures a high-quality sound experience. This is made possible by a total of six audio drivers, which can do much more than just “good sound”. Dolby Atmos.

Two side woofers, two side tweeters, a center front speaker and another upward-firing tweeter. – Sonos

Atmos is the new sound format from Dolby, the next step after stereo sound. This technology is probably known to most people from the cinema. Here, different sound sources are placed in a virtual space and reproduced with pinpoint accuracy in the real space. The Era 300 wants to do on its own what otherwise requires a large setup with a number of speakers.

Dolby Atmos is more than just pie in the sky

In the music world, individual instruments or soundtracks – so-called STEMS – can be shared separately via Atmos. With upward-firing and side tweeters, the Era 300 precisely distributes music around the room, rather than simply sonicating it. For example, in «GOLDWING», it seems as if Billie Eilish was whispering directly into his own ear while the choir filled the room. Alternatively, FINNEAS’ “A Concert Six Months From Now” gives the impression of a live concert in the living room.

The effect is also clearly audible in the new Atmos remaster of Daft Punk’s “Beyond”. Here several guitars suddenly become audible, which disappear into one another in the stereo mix. Atmos can either serve as a creative stylistic device or simply give the music more room to spread.

If you want to use the full potential of the Era 300, you have to use the app. – Nau.ch

Still, Atmos is still in its infancy. Many albums and songs are currently only produced in standard stereo. There are Atmos remaster versions of some older tracks. In the case of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” this works quite well; but not always.

It’s up to today’s musicians to record the new standard and produce in Atmos. Just as the Beatles and Pink Floyd once led the stereo era, today Atmos pioneers are Billie Eilish, FINNEAS and The Weeknd.

In addition, Atmos is still a limited format. Spotify – the world’s largest music streamer – still does not support Atmos. If you want to experience the stereo successor yourself, you need Apple Music, Amazon Music or Tidal.

The Sonos Era 300 delivers on its promise

Enough music theory and back to the actual product. Unfortunately, the Era 300 not only shares its positive but also its negative sides with the Era 100.

Namely the still confusing and somewhat cumbersome app. If you want to listen to Atmos music, you have to start it with this app. Sound is only transmitted in stereo directly from Apple Music via Airplay or Bluetooth.

With the Era 300, Sonos is taking an important step in the right direction. – Nau.ch

Those deductions aside, however, the Sonos Era 300 is a really well-done product. The sound is fun and Atmos allows for a completely new listening experience. The starting price of 499 francs is not without, but in my opinion consistent.

With the Era 300, Sonos is actually paving the way a bit for a new era, the era of Atmos. Now the music industry is on the ball.

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