Got mine this afternoon. My fiancee usually gets annoyed when I spend ridiculous amounts of money on speakers, but she's in love with my 300, and for that, I give this a 10/10-😅
For anyone interested here are my first impressions using a pair of Era300’s and Era100’s… The Era300’s are an easy sell for me if you are going to use them in a Sonos Home Theatre configuration. My immediate reaction to replacing Play5 rear speakers with Era300’s was how much better integrated they sound with the ARC sound bar. I come from a high end HiFi and cinema background but love Sonos for their fun club like room solutions and convenience around the home without speaker wires. Sound bars always sound like the sound is coming at me horizontally. Due to their design and often low down placement they never sound great to me for music. However with the Era300’s as rears it feels like the Sonos cinema sound stage is more cohesive front to back of the room. In this scenario the more horizontal 3D soundstage doesn’t bother me as it’s more like a well integrated 360 experience. Play Ed Sheeran’s ATMOS recordings and the sound stage is far better integrated than using Play5’s in a cinema configuration. It makes me feel like the Era300’s are what was missing from the Sonos home cinema package since the ARC was first released. Era300’s just compliment the ARC so much better than the Play5’s. To my ears they are the first truly well integrated rear speakers for Sonos home theatre. If I listen to the Era300’s as a stereo pair by themselves, then I am again hearing a more horizontal 3D sound stage a bit like turning the Play5’s horizontally instead of a more HiFi like soundstage when you listen to the Play5’s positioned vertically. So this is why some people may not like listening to Era300’s for music only. It’s not stereo HiFi, it’s just different. You’ll either like to get used to it or you won’t. Personally I am not a fan of the Era300’s in a stereo pair. I (currently at least) prefer a traditional stereo soundstage from a quality HiFi setup. But I think they are very good paired with the ARC in cinema configuration. IMO the Era100’s are NOT an upgrade from the One speaker. They are just different and depending on the environment you place them in, your preference to listen to Era100’s or One’s may differ. I had no wow factor comparing a stereo pair of Era100’s with a pair of One’s. It’s not like the sound stage was considerably deeper or more natural, which I was disappointed with for a slightly larger speaker/driver design. I expect a pair of “Move” speakers in stereo mode, will blow the Era100’s away. I can hear the Era100’s are a little richer than One’s because their sound profile is not as scooped. There is a richer midrange, but that may or may not be preferred by you, because the soundstage can be thicker to it’s detriment. For example when I tested in an open plan kitchen/diner, I thought ok I hear a difference but it’s not “better” as such, it’s just slightly different and not worth replacing One’s for in my opinion. Then I compared the Era100’s and One’s in my bedroom where the Era100’s thicker midrange was not as relaxing to listen to in that smaller space, despite my bedroom still being a decent size. It’s not a box room by any means. I used Advanced TruePlay during these listening tests and tried adjusting EQ, but I still preferred the sound signature of the One’s in my bedroom. So I think the more scooped sound profile in the One’s works better in smaller spaces where you want to reduce any bloated/flubby bass. The Era100’s are arguably preferable in a larger space due to the richer midrange. It’s not really HiFi rich to me, which means it can thicken in a marginal muddy manner. At no point did I feel a wow factor like I did swapping out Play5’s for Era300’s in a cinema configuration. I suspect in time there will be a group of customers who prefer the traditional One’s to the new Era100’s and there will remain a good market for the One’s because their sound profile turns out to be more desirable to some people in smaller environment use cases. Have fun testing for yourselves and finding your own preferences within your own homes. Cheers everyone.
Agree on the Era 300 in surround pair, works great with soundbar. But worth pointing out that you then lose the Bluetooth functionality in this set up, which is a bit of a downside. And the speakers themselves are much bulkier than surround 1s.
@Daniel Pauley I have the arc with sl1's and sub. I usually have them off and it still sound like they are on with the arc. But sl1 work really good and I'm sure way cheaper. I went with arc because I got an 80inch TV both mounted on the wall. The sub also has a wall mount wish I had, the sub barely vibrates when it's thumping, weird.
I was skeptical of Dolby Atmos until I bought the new airpods pro 2 and started using apple music. Wow. There has been dozens of times where a songs background noise legit made me turn around. It is so incredibly cool, especially when they remaster older albums using atmos as it makes you feel like youre in the room with some of the most famous bands of all time. I own a single Sonos 5 and use it for streaming and hooked up to a turntable. I love it, but being able to have spatial audio at all times at home sounds crazy cool
“Nothing like I’ve heard before” is right. I’ve had mine a few days and am stunned by the sounds coming out of this little wonder. It’s pricey but absolutely worth every penny…
The used sonos one market is going to explore with the Era’s. If you are getting Sonos for first time but have a small living space, go for used Ones - you’d grab a bargain for sure
Hello from Canada! Great review as always. I am heavily into the SONOS eco system and drool over the 300s. I would love it if SONOS would allow these to be front channel speakers for TV and not just rears. I get why, but I am sure we all have a scenario where a pair of these would greatly improve a TV watching experience while being a stereo pair for music first.
I’ve heard of using the arc, 2 play fives, and the 300s as surrounds. You have to set up the fives as stereo and then connect them to the main ecosystem and it should work. Heard of another guy doing that and he loves it
Hi I will receive mines in a few days. Before ordering them , I was reading/whatching a ton of reviews : you have been the only one pointing out that they haven't Sonosnet onboard. Congratulations !
Imagine if Sonos let us buy 4 Era speakers and set them up in 4 corners of the room, like the Sony H9 combo. That would make it great for playing all Dolby Atmos music + movie.
i recommend using headphones to get a much better understanding of the live sound. Great content, think I will be adding this to my list of sound products to buy
I didn't notice Spotify was this behind in Dolby Atmos sound and I would love to experience the difference between Dolby Atmos and the "regular" sound in person. When Spotify adds support for it it'll be my next speaker I guess!
Just switch music services.. Apple Music offers Lossless AND Dolby Atmos at no extra cost while Spotify has only been talking about it and I doubt it’ll be a free add on. Or find a trial or even just try it for a month, no sure why you have to wait when we have this now
Glad to see Sonos bringing back the class that the sonos 3 was in, definately. Can't wait to see an era 500, if that's gonna be a thing. Awesome review as always! Here's a tip, why not commission someone on fiver or otherwise, to mix a custom atmos sample track for your channel? Not sure if that's an option but :P
Very good explanation. Purchased a pair this weekend & I love the audio. Thanks for the clarity, the Era 300s are not part of Sonos Net. Somehow, I missed that. I did notice they were not showing up as a part of my boost.
Had a demo of these. You get the effect but I won't be changing my Sony HT-A9 system anytime soon. The 4 spatial speakers just give way more atmosphere.
Speaking of ruffling feathers in the audio market - how do you think a pair of Era 300s would compare to the KEF LSX 2? Curious if these would be the way to go rather than a stereo pair of fives or KEF's. Great review.
The design is controversial. However, I actually like it. I'm not a fan of the sideways logo, though. With that being said, I own many Sonos products and I'll just say that they are exceptionally well made. Super easy to setup & use, too!
If they had added Bluetooth sooner I might have bought into Sonos as I like to take a few speakers to the summer house and the WiFi is weak out there. So I in the end went with Harmon Kardon citation which is very similar to how Sonos works but with Google assistant and the option to stream music via both WiFi and Bluetooth
Wait have I heard correctly? if I am watching youtube on my tablet, I can connect to the ERA 300 via bluetooth and from there have all my sonos device playing the sound of my youtube (via wifi) ?? Is that the case? Because that would be the game changer feature for me. Can anyone test this pelase?
I scrapped my entire home audio 5.1 system for the ARC, when it came out. My only casualty was losing the ability to play vinyl records. Now, a couple patient years later, I am so excited to reconnect my turntable and be able to hear music through my ARC and 300 at the same time! BONUS QUESTIONS: If I have two rear 300's and connect a turntable to one of them, will the music come out of my ARC and both 300's? How about if I add a Sub mini? If I have only one 300 and place it behind me, do you think the ATMOS effect will come across at all?
@@Yowzoe I started with one Era 300 and played records every day and loved it. Eventually upgraded to two + a sub mini and didn't realize the line-in would get disabled! Broke me heart after breaking my wallet! Apparently, I need to now save up for a Port. Really wish a software update could unlock the line-in usage, tho.
Got an arc and looking to put a pair of these behind the couch. When people say theres a distinction between "music" and "movies" isnt it just the best of both worlds? When I'm watching a movie the rears/surround will be great and when Im walking around the room the music should be equally as good? Either way sounds like a solid setup, just wanted to double check my thinking is right here.
Only you can decide in your own home. What sounds good for one application doesn't necessarily sound great for another. A lot is just personal preference. Try/buy with a good returns policy to figure out what works for you in you own home.
@@djt6546 yeah I mean its a square enough living room. In theory it shouldnt matter if the ERA 300's are on one side of the room or the other. Definitely going to grab a pair and see how they sound.
HELP: I previously had the arc connected with two Sonos ones and the sound was great but I was sold on the Dolby atmos of the era 300s so I bought these. After setup, true play tuning, and messing with every setting I could read online for maximum sound I’m noticing the era 300s only fire sound out of the side speakers that are facing away from the set viewing spot. I put my ear against the speakers and it almost sounds like that part of the speakers is the only one that is firing sound. It makes for a less than ideal immersion and I even prefer my ones over this. I’ve set the music playback between full and ambient, turned surround audio up and down, and messed with EQ settings and nothing.. tried all kinds of content including Apple Music in spatial audio and normal, tv, movies, RU-vid test clips. It’s all the same. At this point I’d rather have two era 100s and a sub for just a few hundred more. I feel like these speakers would be better without the arc.
They performed very well for both movies & music, you won't be disappointed. Before you add them as rears, try them as a dedicated stereo pair as we were very impressed.
@@smarthomesounds this would be a great option in the sonos app ui. It always annoyed me having to separate rear sonos ones and move to another room for music when friends were over. I would like to be able to toggle using just 2 300s for music and then use the whole setup for movies
@@mudstuff Are you sure you aren't able to do this? Can you move Era 300s from a home theater (surround) grouping back and forth to an all-house music grouping when you're doing one or the other? In this review 15:25 and others it's been said or implied that you have to designate (permanently?) them to either one or the other -- how can this be? Can't I just open the Sonos app and toggle to re-group them on the fly?
I have one Era 300 paired with a beam 2 and sub mini in my bedroom and it’s fantastic. I have the Era set up as a rear and I’m planning on adding one more.
I am considering adding these are surround speaker. Because of the shape of my room one of them will be within 8 inches of a wall and both will be no more than 6 inches behind the seating area. Do you know/think TrueTune will be to compensate and adjust for these limtations?
When listening to an atmos track what would be better to enjoy immersion - going to a room with a single era 300 or going to a room with beam (gen 2) + sub + 2x one surrounds? Thanks
Maybe it is just me, but the hype around Sonos reminds me a lot of Bose in the 80's and 90's. That is, they are OK, but people buy them primarily for reasons other than how they sound.
Era 300s are okay as a pair, not so as standalone speaker. Goodness me. And when you use these paired with your arc and you wanted to listen to your turntable with era 300s alone, its painstaking trying to navigate these through their app. Ughhhgg, im on the edge of returning these. 😵💫
I live in a one bedroom apartment. Aka my living room is not huge. 77” tv with an Arc (no sub). Would 2 era 300’s suffice from a bass perspective? Or is it recommended I get a sub mini over 2 era 300’s?
Wow wow. I just received my ERA300 to go with the ARC and Sub Gen 2. Amazing!!! I then tuned into my Brilliant Home 2 Panel which has Sonos Music and I played some musics No No No It’s Insane with a volume at 12 people at volume at 12. Worth every dollar spent. Now I’m selling my pair of Sonos ones with the floor stands..😂Lol I
Fingers crossed for an Era 500! I’d prefer it be a sound bar speaker crossover. Something that can be used as a soundbar but you could also move from room to room if need be….
I'm using mine with a gen 2 sub and sonos arc. The stand is coming this week so i can place them begind my couch. Right now they are in odd locations. Found two open box deals at best buy was able to save a few bucks.
Is there a chance you could compare 2xE300 +Beam against an apple TV connected via eARC + 2x homepods? I expect the Sonos to be superior but it would be cool to see if it’s worth twice the price
I was thinking of a way to use the eras as tv speakers, the only solution that came to mind was with an Apple TV, just share the audio by airplay to your era stereo pair and done.
The Era300's excel as rears. I don't think anyone will argue that. Personally I was really pleased with mine today as a step up (maybe even game changer) with my ARC. I felt like Sonos should have brought them out the same time as their Atmos capable sound bars. But there will be some (including me) that aren't so fussed about music through Era300's outside of the cinema configuration. The spatial thing kinda works but not always so nice depending on the music, whereas a good stereo pair of speakers sound good regardless. It a personal preference thing rather than trying to determine if one setup is better than another.
You can but the process would be a bit cumbersome. You would have to unpair and re-pair from the HT setup every time you want to use them in standalone stereo mode, and of course you would need to (or should) re-run TruePlay every time it gets added to the HT (or even as stereo pair). So yes it can be done but are you willing to go through all of that every time you switch?
Just set "Music Playback" in the rear channel settings as "Full" for music instead of ambient. With the older none Era300 speakers I would tweak volume bias to back speakers for music playback, but the Era300's integrate so well with the ARC sound bar, I feel as though they are a missing link in the Sonos cinema setup. I'm not fussed about the Era300's as standalone music speakers. I hear them shine in the Sonos cinema setting.
So, I’m definitely going Era for my surround sound setup with a Arc and Sub. Now the only question remains, is it worth forking out the extra cash for the 300’s.
So I avoided getting a $30 Sonos USB-C line adaptor by using my USB-A external soundcard plugged into a USB-A hub with USB-C connector. Had them both lying around. Works fine for me with my cassette deck, turntable and minidisc. (Edit: btw the stereo jack has to be plugged into the mic input, not the line input of the usb soundcard for whatever reason.)
Would you recommend adding an Era 300 to an Arc + Sub Mini in the same room and grouping them together for music? The Arc & Mini are already good but would the improvement justify the cost of the Era 300??
Thank you for the Bluetooth review and covered the laptop setup. Mine will get delivered this week, and has been debating how to connect this with my Mac. Is the BT connection reliable, and no lags for zoom calls? Or better to use USB C to audio in?
15:25 Please help me understand something: why can't I move Era 300s from a home theater (surround) grouping back and forth to my all-house music grouping when I'm doing one or the other. What am I missing here? In this review and others it's been said that you have to designate (permanently?) them to either one or the other -- how can this be? Can't I just open the Sonos app and re-group them on the fly?
I’m looking to get a Sonos speaker for my garage for working out in there. I’m not in the Sonos ecosystem so I kind of dont know what to expect. but I want full sound and I’m torn about getting the era 300 or the five (also because the price point is so close between the 2). My wifi can be a little spotty in the garage and my ceiling are at least 20 ft tall. I hope the put the era 300 or five at costco haha
Try buying both on a credit card when your monthly billing rolls over, test at home to see which you prefer and return what you don't want. Also if you are happy to let the money really go out of your bank account when your month end billing comes around, if you buy directly from Sonos, (in the UK at least) you have 100 days testing and free return policy. Have fun trying them out.
I recently bought a Beam gen 2. Do you think it would be ok to get only one of these to add to my setup, for games and movies, or should i wait and save up for a pair? Thank you !
Great video, I have ordered two of the Era 300s to replace my Sonos One SLs as surround speakers with my Arc. Can I ask when you have them as surrounds, do the bass drivers work as well as the arc bass drivers, reason I ask is I did not buy the sub as I live in a semi detached house and the arc’s bass is enough on its own, but it would be nice of the era 300s bass drivers work as well when watching a film?
What's the thoughts on placement as a pair of rear's? Wall mouny up high or floor stands? I currently have 1's up high a wall mounted.... Did I read / hear that 8in is the minimum recommended space clearance upwards and sideways?
So I currently have the arc, big sub and two ONES. I just ordered two 300s. It’s obvious to replace them with the new 300s right? Haha and at what treble and bass levels do u recommend for great tv sound? Thanks 17:38
Hello! I was wondering if it is possible to split the audio out of a turntable into a Sonos era 300 and an old stereo/sub combo that has an audio in. I’m looking to fill the space with a bit more bass while also having atmos options
I purchased the era 300 for my sonos ARC setup. My couch is against the wall. Should I buy stands or wall mount? Do I face the era 300 towards the tv or the main listening position?
@@bpa602 I have simply taken my Play5’s off the Kanto SP32PL stands I use ~1.8m behind my couch in each corner of the room. So they are angled in towards my listening position. This means that there isn’t the suggested 8 inch gap between left/right walls and the outside speaker drivers. But it still sounds the most cohesive/integrated sound stage of any Sonos offering in cinema configuration thus far. It feels much closer to a proper separates cinema investment. Many would argue it flipping well should exceed many separates given the cost of all the individual components. But Sonos is a different ball game. This is where Sonos is sneaky. We customers get individual speakers in fits and starts. It’s very modular. You can build up and tear down room configs like it’s Lego. The customer gets flexibility between music, cinema and room configs while Sonos get’s loads of money and because most of us buy bits and bobs over the years, rather than all at once, we don’t notice the crazy costs so much 🤣
I have two Sonos Ones in the kitchen for music only. Would one of these give me a better sound overall or is it a case of using two in that area? I have another two Ones and a beam for my tv in the front room.
I have just bought 2 Sonos Era 300 to add to my Sonos Arc + Sub replacing 2 Play:3 as rears. I need some advice about the stands. How tall are the original Sonos stands for Era 300 from to base to base (ie excluding the speaker itself)? My couch + pillows are 83/84cm tall and the ear level is about 94cm. I am thinking whether I should go for the Sanus stands which are 82cm tall (+ speaker height) or the Sonos ones (not clear how tall but probably 96cm + speaker). Which one would be best?
What about backing tracks and music on youtube? Did i understand it correctly that these will not be supported in terms of quality sound that Sonos provide via other channels (eg. Apple music)?
Could you discuss more in a future video about Era 100 and Era 300 pairs for use with the desktop computer, especially after the connector arrives? I have always wanted to use Sonos speakers with my computer and it looks like the time has come. Of course, it would be awesome if we could have full Sonos surround set-ups with the Sub for the computer (maybe with a direct USB-C connection?).
Sadly, forget it bro. Unless something has changed with the Eras, the line-in lag which I guess you would use for connecting to the PC is just unbearable for anything other than plain listening to music.
Would u recommend era 300s at ear level or 12 inches over ear level? I currently have them wall mounted about 12 inches above ear level due to couch against the wall. Should I leave them or move them down to ear level?
My setup now is arc, two sonos one as rear and sub. Does it worth the upgrade to the era ? The sonos one are wall mounted so I have to do the same for the era, but I don’t know if the size is a problem compared to the one’s Thanks.
14:30 Why do you have the Era 300s not facing the couch? By facing them towards the TV you're not getting the front driver or upward driver towards the listener.
I have my HomePods stereo pair, and this is where I get all my TV sound from. Is it possible to add a Sonos Era 300 as a back speaker and play sound both from Apple TV with the 3 speakers (my two HomePods + 1 sonos) at the same time for movies / music?
So in a quandary. Need to update old play:5 (not Sonos app 2 compatible) so can utilise 30% discount. No tv in room so only music. Do I go for pair or era 300 or pair fives?