The Sonos Era 300 is almost a perfect smart speaker. But it has one big drawback

advantages and disadvantages

pros

• Outstanding speaker for medium to large rooms
• Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 6 and USB-C ports make it versatile
• Special spatial sound
• Amazon Alexa Voice Control

Defect

• Does not support Chromecast or Google Voice Assistant
• Requires a separate adapter for input and ethernet
• The outer coating makes the dust very visible
• Sonos apps can be very slow

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A well-designed speaker can take your audio experience from easily dismissed background music to an immersive journey that stimulates the senses. The Sonos Era 300 is the latest smart speaker to prove its worth in the sub-$500 market, with new features like spatial audio support to enhance the listening experience of the Vienna Philharmonic, The Beatles, or insert your favorite songs and artists .

I’ve spent the past few weeks testing the Era 300 and can safely say it’s been an almost fantastic experience. No matter what I play, or what room in the house I play from, I feel like I’m in a live studio witnessing the birth of the music I’m listening to.

That said, while the sound quality of the Era 300 is exceptional, the latest flagship speaker has a lot more to offer than its raw sound, and Sonos still has some raw edges to smooth out.

specifications

What’s new with this model

The Sonos Era 300 is a large, hourglass-shaped smart speaker that has both Sonos Voice Control and Amazon Alexa built-in and fits like a divider between new era 100 and currently available Sonos Year, though there’s nothing about it being mid-range. This is a new feature of the latest Era speakers.

1. Touch controls and improved connectivity

Get rid of the controls, the Era speakers have touch controls for volume and play, pause, skip, and playback. There’s also a Bluetooth button on the back for pairing a new device and a mic switch to mute the speaker’s microphone.

The touch controls modernize the Era 300’s design, but I’m not saying they completely convinced me to ditch the physical buttons. Are touch sensors sensitive? Sure. But nothing compares to the versatility and instant response that pushable buttons offer.

Also: 6 best Wi-Fi speakers

Speaking of modernization, the Era 300 supports Wi-Fi 6 and it also has a USB-C port for connecting a Sonos input or an ethernet adapter. Although Apple AirPlay 2 support is still maintained from the previous version Sonos . smart speakerEra product line still does not support Chromecast.

2. Truly immersive spatial sound

Sonos uses Trueplay, a piece of software that leverages the speaker’s built-in far-field microphone to measure the acoustics in your room, in order to fine-tune the equalizer. Basically, once you place your Sonos speaker where you want it, it plays a series of laser sounds and listens to how each sound echoes through the furniture, walls and ceiling in the room, optimizing the experience. sound during the process.

The speaker’s construction is built to get you in the middle of your track, and it resonates successfully. In the hourglass case, there are two woofers positioned on the left and right corners to deliver a top-notch stereo experience and balanced bass. They’re well-spaced and designed to minimize vibrations and rumbles, though houseplants placed next to the Era 300 while I experimented with higher volume levels might disagree.

Also: The best stereo speakers you can buy

In addition to the plant-fighting woofers, the speaker features four tweeters to blast the highs and mids in different directions, including an upward-facing tweeter to bounce sound off the ceiling. It’s essential for a truly immersive spatial audio experience.

The Sonos Era 300 is not only the company’s first speaker to support spatial audio from Apple Music, but it’s also the first third-party speaker to do so. Unlimited Amazon MusicSpatial audio library is also supported, but it’s worth noting that the feature is only available for music played from the Sonos app, not Bluetooth or Apple AirPlay 2.

I will note that the high quality spatial audio tracks are few and far between streaming serviceso feature support shouldn’t be the main reason you buy the Era 300.

However, I like that the Era 300 delivers on the promise of spatial sound, with a powerful, radiant sound that helps keep the track’s vocals from glaring and on top, no matter the volume. As a video (and sometimes audio) editor, closing my eyes and listening to the sublime clarity of a song allows me to visualize different audio tracks stacked to create last track.

Also: Hear me out: Sonos Era 100 is the best smart speaker under $300

No matter where I stand in the living room, the music feels rich and clear. The speakers project spatial sound so convincing that sometimes you can’t tell where it’s coming from.

3. Home theater experience

I like a good home theater. It’s something that I appreciate during this pandemic and continues to be a safe haven experience for my family. And after watching so many movies at home, I can’t understand how important a good sound system is to movie immersion. A device that can reproduce explosive sound effects, rich melodies and clear dialogue can make the experience much better, and that’s exactly what the Era 300 achieves.

Also: The best soundbars you can buy right now

For example, two Sonos Era 300 speakers can be paired together and used with one Sonos . arc or Second Generation Beam Soundbar for the ultimate Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 entertainment experience — no overhead speakers required. In fact, even if you only invest in one 300 . era speakerI found its audio performance to be very reliable for all types of content.

What I want to see in the next model

The Sonos Era 300 is a great, all-round speaker, but there are some quirks that could use some fixes in the next generation.

1. Better Android/Google compatibility

As mentioned above, the Era series speakers do not have Google Voice Assistant; The speaker is only compatible with Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control, although older Sonos smart speakers on the market that already support Google voice control will continue to do so.

Aside from the Google Voice Assistant kicking in, I was hoping that Sonos would add Chromecast support to this line of smart speakers, but that’s not the case with the Era 300. This detracts from the experience for Android users because of them. cannot cast to the speaker as iPhone users can with AirPlay, although Bluetooth and the Sonos app are still available.

2. Improve User Experience with Sonos . App

The Sonos app has never been a strong point with its smart speakers, which is unfortunate because of the need for seamless, digital interactions. Mobile apps are not intuitive or user-friendly, making figuring out where to access certain features and settings sometimes confusing. Even finding music can be frustrating.

Also: Sonos Era smart speaker now available for purchase: Here’s what’s new

However, the biggest problem I have with the app is that it’s too slow. You can name it slow when setting up, loading, controlling the speaker. Fortunately, this is purely an issue with the app, not the speaker itself. With some software patches here and there, Sonos can easily clean up the experience. It just needs to act on it.

3. Better anti-dust coating

As soon as I took out the speakers and started testing, I could tell that matte black wasn’t the best choice for me. The material is prone to dust and fingerprints, especially on the capacitive touch controls at the top.

Admittedly this is a pet I have with things around my house, and I find myself regularly wiping down the Era 300. If you don’t want your speakers to look dusty, I recommend it. matte white option instead of.

bottom line

The Sonos Era 300 . speaker retails at $449, while $100 cheaper than the older one Sonos Year, is still a high asking price. But even as a tight consumer, I still consider the Era 300 to be the best standalone Dolby Atmos speaker available, making its price reasonable. Sound quality, including spatial audio support, sets the Era 300 apart from all the other speakers I’ve tested in its price range.

And with this speaker, Sonos has created a device that enhances immersive listening experiences, responding to the growing need for wider audio format support.

Should I buy one?

The Era 300 is recommended for those who want a one-stop speaker, especially if they can live without the Google Voice Assistant and Chromecast capabilities. The speaker is also future-proof, with Wi-Fi 6 and spatial audio support, so the investment will go a long way. But if you’re shopping for a dime or want to play music over Google’s wireless connectivity services, look elsewhere.

Alternatives to consider

BEST ALTERNATIVE SONOS

Sonos Year

The more expensive, higher-end Sonos Five is a great alternative to high-fidelity stereo and if you’re not looking for spatial audio capabilities.

BEST GOOGLE ASSISTANCE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION

Denon Home 250

The Denon Home 250 is a great wireless speaker with AirPlay 2 and Google Assistant, although there’s no support for Amazon Alexa.

APPLY BEST ALTERNATIVE

Apple HomePod (2023)

While not as powerful as the Era 300, the Apple HomePod supports multi-speaker pairing and fits perfectly into the Apple Home ecosystem.