Era 100 and Era 300 are the new smart speakers from Sonos
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After much anticipation, two new Sonos speakers officially debut today: Era 300 and Era 100. In terms of design, sound and functions, the new smart speakers open a new chapter for the American company, as observed by CEO Patrick Spence: The Era family represents Sonos’ commitment to innovate in audio technologies, create responsible designs and establish a deep connection with the creator community.
The best
Era 300 is the first compact speaker with 6 drivers that project sound left, right, forward and upward for immersive audio thanks to Dolby Atmos, which puts the listener at the center of movies and music. “Dolby Atmos has created a new way to experience music and audio entertainment. Sound and music come to life with unprecedented clarity and depth,” said Kevin J. Yeaman, CEO of Dolby. “The Era 300 sound innovation with Dolby Atmos creates a fully immersive music experience.”
The design is also all new, an elegant hourglass-shaped casing narrower in the central part, proportioned, oriented and perforated to improve the direction and diffusion of sound. As always with Sonos, the speaker can be used alone or in various configurations, both stereo and surround: you can combine two, with Arc or Beam (Gen 2) to create an even more realistic Dolby Atmos experience.
But it’s not just home theater: “Now that content creators and major streaming platforms are adopting spatial audio, the time is right to create an intense listening experience that delivers on the promises of this exciting new format full of creative possibilities”.
Small but versatile
Era 100 is slightly larger than its predecessor Sonos One, but the software and hardware are all-new, with next-generation acoustic architecture and a design that delivers deep bass and nuanced stereo sound. Thanks also to two lateral tweeters that reproduce the high frequencies for the left and right channels separately (there was only one on the Sonos One), while a large midwoofer generates unexpected bass for such a compact speaker.
The Era 100 can also be used in stereo or in conjunction with a Sonos soundbar to create a surround sound system. Like the larger model, Era 100 has a revamped user interface, with a capacitive slider for adjusting volume and controls; otherwise Sonos Voice Control and the Sonos app have also been revised and corrected. There is always AirPlay 2 to connect with Apple devices, there is also the possibility to choose between two voice assistants, that of Google and Alexa. And finally, Bluetooth is also available on Sonos devices designed for the home. For analog devices, such as the turntable, you can use an auxiliary cable and the line-in adapter (only on Era 300). Those who use Android (but also those who have an iPhone) will be pleased to know that Trueplay technology to optimize audio based on the acoustics of the environment now no longer uses the phone’s microphone, but those integrated into the speaker.
Responsible design
“With the Era family of speakers, we have taken a significant step forward in creating products that last longer than expected, are more energy efficient and are made with safer materials, obtained from a circular economy,” says Kitty Suidman, Design Director Product Sustainability
The two new speakers are made of post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR), the paper used for packaging is obtained only from sustainable sources. They are designed to minimize electricity consumption, thanks to a power consumption of only 2W when idle and a new advanced sleep feature. Both speakers have been designed so that they can be used for a long time, using screws and not adhesives, to facilitate maintenance and make it easier to disassemble and repair. Era 300 (€499) and Era 100 (€279) will be available from March 28, 2023.
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