What Sonos isn't telling you about the Era speakers 

How did you disable SonosNet? I will probably to the same and sell Sonos Boost ahead of the Era 300 arrival

@@giacintorenta7579 Unplug the Ethernet off whichever device has it plugged in. I had my Arc directly connected which enabled SonosNet.

Very cool! From the comments I am seeing here, there are quite a lot of upgraders to the Era 300s!

Thanks Nat!

Glad you enjoy it!

I ordered 300s to replace my one's that I am using as surrounds with the Arc and dual subs, excited! I moved my subs all around my living room and found the best sound was left front and right rear locations with the shape and size of my room(20x25). Definitely try different configs until you find what sounds best to you

@Sean Takacs thanks. Didn't think of left front right rear. Gonna try it. The best part in the living room I sit in the right rear of the room. So should be an experience. Just waiting for the sub to go down in price. I should've bought 2 when they had that sale in November

Hi David. When you are trying to position 2 subs, work on 1 first, leaving the other sub turned off. Find the best position which gives you the most bass, moving around until you are happy. Once you fix the first sub, lock in the position. Turn on the second sub, and then move that sub around to find where the best position is. The best for the second sub is not necessarily one that will make your bass sound louder or overwhelm you. It's the position that creates a LARGER sweetspot for your bass. The worst positions are those that creates a NULL in your listening position. Meaning to say the bass from the second sub cancels out the bass from your first sub in your listening position. Avoid at all costs. While you positioning the second sub. Do not move the first sub from the position that you have determined to be the best for single sub. Just work on the positioning for the second sub. Room layout and furnishing matters a lot so there is no best place for dual subs, or single subs for that matter. Common layouts are front left and front right. Another well loved config is diagonal corners of the room. But I would suggest that they don't end up in symmetrical corners where they look like a mirror image and at equal distance from you because that is likely to create nulls especially in a bigger room. Concerts are fond of deploying subs grouped together when they are in open air location. Because without wall and ceiling reinforcement and bounce, single waves from subs positioned far apart might not even have a chance of reaching some listening positions.

Yeah, I couldn't find out more information except for the mounting drawings (how to).

Nope ! The 300er Era is not really good for Dolby Atmos because they are on the backside !

Gilad, they should be good on the shelves so don't worry about it. In fact, if after you use them on the shelves and not satisfied, then you buy the wall mounts.

Welcome aboard! Full review coming up;

Thank you for your very generous kind words David!

They would replace the SL1's

@@alexbowden7524 So there's no way to include the existing SL's in the surround system? for even broader sound stage?

Not complicated. Only expensive. Haha. The Ones can go to the bathroom and kitchen. Or bedroom to play the news when you wake in the morning.

I have this exact same setup and was wondering the same thing. Really don’t want to have to go fully wireless, and trying to wire everything will be a bit of a pain.

In the bedroom, which I assume you are going to watch at lower volumes, seriously, keep the Beam, don't need Gen 2... But... I can say what I want, you know what you want. Haha. I personally think I am going to love the Era 300 but I can't say they represent the best value. The Era 100s seem to be the best value.

No. You should cancel the pre-order, if they will only be used for rears/surrounds. You will never hear the difference

Arc will work. Arc will still give lossy Atmos. But eARC can give lossless Atmos.

Off hand I can't remember. It's some 4 core CPU.

It plays the summed stereo from your roam setup. It will give the impression that the soundstage is wider. There are viewers suggesting that setup, with Ones, Fives, anything but really the effect is that the bass and left, right center, surround, are all playing through the Roams. So what happens is that while it widens the sound stage, it pulls the center image further apart such that dialogue seems to come from both sides, which is not ideal. And the surrounds are pulled to the front, which gives a shorter surround.

Peter, thanks for your time and expert opinion. It’s awesome that you respond to your viewers comments. Keep up the outstanding content, we are all behind you. Thanks again Mike from Germany

You can't. When they are paired as surrounds, the bluetooth is disabled.

@@PeterPee too bad, thank you for the answer!

Behind you. I find Sonos surrounds speakers work best when push further back. But note that I have not experimented with the Eras yet. I am basing it on what I know with the existing Ones, Play:3s and Fives.

What they should do is have an era 500, 700 and 900. The era 500 would be like an updated five, the 700 would be an updated beam and the 900 would be an updated arc.

Solid model naming nomenclature Andy! I love that!

Hi Ray, that's like the Phantom and what they did. They needed a separate controller though. But I agree that if they allow that... WOW. But the next thing is... how to get the HDMI connected. In a version of wireless audio protocol (maybe bluetooth 6,7,8....) they may have Atmos capable versions! Which .... can link everything up wirelessly!

Yes. That's correct.

Oh... good point!

Era 300 also adds better left-right sound with its side channels creating more impactful sound stage. (I've heard both setups suggested by you)

2 meters.

@@PeterPee thx

Yes, there will be a lag too. But when connected to a computer, the PC actually corrects for the delay over bluetooth. But that means that your video controls get a little laggy.

I hate to be recommending more expensive stuff just because but these are definitely going to add to your Atmos enjoyment. But really, it's expensive... 900 bucks... before stands....

@@PeterPee I mean they should be better without question right? Or what’s the point 😂. But I have to ask someone like yourself for a better opinion. Argh my mrs is going to kill me.

Most welcome!

Yes, Sonos recommends it for higher speaker positions.

Oh dear... The fives are still going to be superior for pure stereo music

😳

Very bass heavy even with one Five on the floor the bass is amazing I’m still looking for a second Five to complete a set.

I am doing the same, even though I have a non-flat high ceiling, taking the plunge with era 300 and selling fives.

@@PeterPee😂😂

It will play Atmos when using Apple Music app. The Sonos speaker is not getting the sounds via Airplay. It is being controlled over Airplay but the stream for Atmos is being streamed from Apple Music server direct. Now, before anyone quotes me on this, let me confirm this for sure when I get my hands on the speakers ok?

Hi Benny, thanks for being patient with this. I have the answer on this. Apple Music does not do Atmos over to Era 300 via Airplay. It doesn't work the same way as Apple Homepods. So the only way is for S2 App to pull the Atmos track from Apple Music.

@@PeterPee Thx Peter, I’ve bought them anyway as they are sounding incredible with my ARC setup.

I am going to have to figure that out! I will put my ears to it!

Hopefully anytime soon!

Yes

Yes it can.

Thanks!

You cannot add the sub mini. Sub mini cannot be used in a dual sub setup.

Replace OneSLs with two Era 300. Cheaper and much better surround sound then Fives.

Era 100 doesn't do atmos; era 300 does. You will need a pair of era 300 to work as surrounds. Can't use a single era 300 (or 100) as surround. Two era 300s will be a significant upgrade from play 3, and you'll pay for it. 💰

Yeah the stands are really a bit too pricey especially if you already have stands. Currently no adaptors from Sonos but I am sure there will be some third party ones coming up.

3,5mm line-in is a stereo connection. You can sent this audio to stereo-paired speaker or any other Sonos speaker in another room.

I think my video later will fry your brain. Haha. Sorry but the video is long.

@@PeterPee Thanks for the warning, lol!

Sub gen 1 won't work on Wifi 6. But you don't have to concern yourself with that. They will still work on the same system. Just not all speakers on Wifi 6.

@@PeterPee Thanks!

Thanks Cutty! And no, you won't run into issues. The SonosNet devices and the Era devices will see each other well. No issues with that. SonosNet devices presents itself to the network too as wired devices.

Thank you

If you have the Playbar, they can't connect... and even if they allowed it, it won't process atmos. If you are happy with the Playbar, probably keep it till it dies. :) Or deploy to a second screen in the house.

Yes, I will be testing them as music speakers. Keep a look out for my full review!

Be warned: you kinda need two Era 300s. I bought one and was disappointed. I bought another & made a stereo pair and was totally blown away.

The only music service streaming Atmos from sonos app is Amazon Music. Sonos customers will have access to spatial audio on Apple Music starting March 28, 2023.

Tough call! But I'd prioritise the Beam with sub mini and Era 100. Because you want the bass.

I'd go with the arc and Era 100. The arc already has plenty of bass

I did that for the Fives a few years back. Went out to get the second Five the next day. :D

Google “id me Sonos” for a military discount.

the " full" setting is used only for playing stereo music. With Dolby Atmos music it ignores this setting and use the back channels as with Dolby Atmos movies.

@@TomasHolcik thank you for your reply. So you're saying if I play Dolby Atmos spatial music, I don't need to change that setting? Just keep it on ambient.

@@pauld6860 yes.

You need a soundbar.

No.

Same thought... But I suspect my fears are unfounded. I am just being paranoid.

For music, they should do quite well. When I first heard them, I was like, "they are loud".

I am asking Nakamichi directly if they would like me to review it. Not sure if I will get a response. :D I really can't afford to buy it if I am not going to use it full time!

That's the neat part: You won't. Sorry. Using them as surrounds disables Bluetooth (and line-in) conectivity. And using any Bluetooth enabled Sonos speaker lets you connect any other speaker to it as a normal multiroom setup. So standalone Era 100 can fill all your speakers with its sound coming over Bluetooth.

@@TomasHolcik Thanks for the answer. ( So I could buy 3 * Era 100 speakers : 2 for surround and 1 for bluetooth input to share on all the others via "multiroom" :)))) )

Given that you have more than a couple of Sonos devices, I'd recommend that you keep the boost around. The signal range from the boost is a lot higher than most routers. Your Wifi 6 router also won't benefit the older speakers from Sonos without Wifi 6.

Hi Josh! No major issues and the sound is the same to my ears. I also think this update was for the Era 100/300 in preparation for the reviewers.

@@PeterPee Hey Peter! Great teaser for the Era line! Thanks for your time in response on 15.1.1.

Hi peter dropping that review video hopefully tomorrow. Hope that embargo gets lifted tonight🫣

That is correct. But they will still work with your wifi network. I believe your whole system will still show up together.

My suspicion is that it will just use Wifi 6 for the Eras. The rest of the speakers should still be connected on the Boost.

I have now a Wi-Fi 5 router so probably the Sonos Boost is now redundant anyway …

Cheers Chris!

It won’t work because the ERA speakers will always play the sounds that are designed to be heard from behind you in an atmos setup. With your setup you’ll be hearing these sound coming from up front which is against the creators intention. Just place them the best you can behind or to the side of your listening position.

@@epap1375 pitty, I was hoping that the speakers would do 'something smart' and create a virtual atmos effect to the back.

@@epap1375 additional question. Let's say I got the Arc end Era 300 as back speakers. If I just play some stereo track how will the sound stage be?

@@virtuosity1974 It’s a good question and I’m not sure. From what I’ve seen when using your home theater setup for music it’s always a “compromise” since the arc takes center stage and the surround become “accessory” speakers that are barely audible. The app has a setting where you can set the surrounds to play “full” which makes them play the same sound level as the arc but this never felt right. If your number one priority is music it seems like having a separate speaker pair always worked best I’m not sure how it’s going to work with atmos now.

@@epap1375 So for the music a pair of Era 100 and for surround an arc and two Era 300 in the back... Man, I feel a case of bankruptcy coming... 😅

definitely worth the knowledge gained

Oh my god Josh, you are really too kind. Thank you for the support all these time!

@@PeterPee Absolutely a pleasure Peter. Thank you for how much effort and intelligence you put into your channel, brand and the value we all receive. I got my first Arc 5.1."2" system in Oct. of '21. You've been instrumental in helping me get the most from it! Thank YOU!

The top driver is horn loaded. Very deep and higly directional. The front is wide and shallow, meant to disperse sound.

Never thought about the Era Arc and Era Sub but hey! Get a full system, Sonos retains value very well over time.

Thanks Peter

Oh sorry, not my intention. They work as surrounds, not just for atmos content.

That I am not very familiar. Let me experiment around with that.

This is a dissection of almost everything that Sonos has said or not said. Not a full review yet because I still don't have the unit on hand to test fully!

Same question here, Beam Gen2 and Sub Gen3 are connected via Ethernet, but for a movie theater setup the Eras need to be connected wireless. Will that work?

Yes that will work. To the controller app, everything will appear on your network to work together.

that's the first time I've heard that. I'm just about to get one for my little setup (two ones, plus soon two more 100s). If you go to the Sonos subReddit, there's nothing but praise for it…I haven't seen one person say it hasn't added a lot. Are you asking it to do too much? What part of your Sonos set up is it supplementing?

The sonos subreddit is mostly fanboys.

@@Yowzoe Not really. I placed it in a area of the room my other 3 larger sonos subs were not fully covering. I decided to go with a mini because it fits perfectly below a little table stand that I have one of my sonos 5’s sitting on. Ive just found that you need to turn the sub audio to at least plus 10 to even notice the sub mini is there. I run my other subs between plus 1 and plus 4. I suppose the mini would be decent in a bedroom or something.

@@videostar348 that's very true, it's very full of stans. But there's a fair number of people critical. They get voted down, but you do get a picture of where Sonos falls short after a while

@@diggergeensen860 whoa--that's a whole lotta subs! Let me say this: if you ever decide that Sonos isn't for you after all and you need divest yourself of one of those subs at a steep discount, please remember me (I have Champagne tastes on a decidedly beer budget)

Haha... Ok, I should have set it to 1 day instead of 2.

@@PeterPee dude, you are on fire, you can do whatever you want with your videos :-)

@@PeterPee easy fix, you could just release it now! I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.

Rumors are that once the 100 and 300 are past the Christmas time maybe next summer an Era 500 will be added to the lineup.

I suspect another year... Next release in H2 of 2023 should be headphones... That has been teased way too long.

@@PeterPee I agree. The release of an Era 500 will definitely hurt the sales of the Era 300 (unless it is really expensive), so Sonos would better wait for a while before releasing it.

Wifi 6.

They will be blown away by the Sonos setup. And they can also be suitably blown away by the Nakamichi setup. Not mutually exclusive la. I for one, will surely be blown away by the Nakamichi if ever I could get my hands on one. Haha.

I’m really looking forward to the Dragon, but haven’t received any updates yet from their mailing list. These Era 300 are really tempting though, but Sonos is still lack DTS:X support which sucks for me since a lot of films I enjoy make use of it. So far I’ve only ever seen my Arc decode those films into either 7.1 or 5.1 multichannel PCM.

Nakamichi’s are great when they decide to actually work and work consistently. Which is rare. Very rare.