Sonos Era 100 Speaker Review
Can the Sonos Era 100 justify its price hike over the beloved Sonos One?
The Sonos Era 100 is a versatile and easy-to-place speaker that delivers big, open sound with impressive bass for its compact size. However, it lacks Google Assistant support, limiting its functionality as a smart speaker.
Sonos is updating its lineup of smart speakers, and the latest addition is the compact Era 100. As the successor to the popular Sonos One, which has been a cornerstone of Sonos’ range for years, the Era 100 has high expectations to meet.
The size has increased, as has the price by over 20%. The question is, has Sonos improved the quality enough to maintain its favorite status in the compact class?
One thing is certain: like its predecessor, this is a capable and versatile speaker for various situations. The Era 100 can be used alone or as part of a stereo pair. If you have a Sonos soundbar, you can use a pair of Era 100s as rear speakers for surround sound. We tested all these configurations!
What is Sonos Era 100?
We have already conducted an extensive test of the larger Era 300, which we find the most exciting of the two newcomers. However, it is quite expensive, relatively large, and has a somewhat unusual appearance. Especially if you need multiple speakers for stereo, surround, or multi-room setups, the cost can add up.
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This makes the smaller Era 100 interesting for many. It closely resembles its predecessors One and Play:1 but is entirely new both inside and out.
The cabinet has a slightly rounder, more cylindrical shape and has grown about a shoe size in volume, accommodating more and slightly larger speaker elements.
Voice Control – But Not Google Assistant
The Sonos Era 100 has a built-in microphone for voice control. It supports Alexa and Sonos Voice Control, but not Google Assistant, which is common and popular in the Nordics. This is puzzling, especially since the predecessor One supports Google Assistant. Sonos claims that changes in Google’s hardware requirements and microphone placement for certified products are the reason.
This lack of Google Assistant support is a clear drawback compared to other smart speakers. Amazon’s Alexa is less widespread in Sweden, and Sonos Voice Control is mainly limited to music control. We hope Sonos and Google resolve this issue with a future update.
Era 100: Simple and Useful
On the positive side, the Sonos S2 app for Android and iOS is one of the best for user-friendliness. The system is stable, easy to navigate, and makes it simple to control music throughout the house.
It’s easy to install and configure one or multiple speakers and assign them to specific rooms. You can add various streaming services, including Tidal, Apple Music, and Spotify.
Wi-Fi or AirPlay is recommended for the best sound, but you can also connect the speaker to your mobile via Bluetooth.
In addition to wireless connections, there is a USB-C input for external sources. With an adapter, this can be used as a line-in or Ethernet connection, though it will cost a few hundred kronor.
Built-in Trueplay
With its compact dimensions, the Era 100 is easy to place. It fits well on a bookshelf, kitchen counter, desk, or nightstand.
Once you’ve found a suitable spot, you can perform a Trueplay room correction. The speakers emit test signals captured by the microphone to measure the room’s frequency response. New to the Era 100 is the ability to use the built-in microphones for this, instead of an iPhone.
We tested with and without Trueplay activated, and the corrected mode clearly provides a more open and balanced sound with firmer bass.
Sound Quality
The Era 100 is a traditional compact stereo speaker. Despite its size, it creates an impressive soundstage. In our 32-square-meter listening room, the Era 100 produced a notably large sound.
The Era 100 reproduces music with more distinct overtones than the Sonos One. With two tweeters angled about 45 degrees outwards, the sound achieves a broader, airier stereo perspective. String and wind instruments sound fresher, and voices have greater clarity and presence.
The bass response is also bigger, with more impact on drums and a fuller bass guitar. Heavy rock, pop, and electronic music sound more engaging through the Era 100 than many other speakers in its class.
The Sonos speaker, for example, has a fuller and more relaxed sound than Apple’s popular HomePod Mini. However, it lacks the grandeur of the larger and more expensive Apple HomePod, which has five built-in tweeters for better sound dispersion. The Apple speaker also supports Dolby Atmos and “Spatial Audio,” available only with the larger Era 300 in the Sonos family.
Two Era 100s as a Stereo Pair
Adding an extra Era 100 to your system allows you to configure the two speakers as a stereo pair (left and right channels). The soundstage expands significantly in this configuration, creating a greater sense of depth and more precise instrument placement.
For larger rooms, this setup is preferable. We prefer two Era 100s over a single Era 300, even if we lose the Atmos effect in favor of true stereo. Even though the larger model disperses sound in all directions, two physically separated speakers are hard to beat.
Era 100 in Home Theater
Many will consider the Era 100 as wireless rear speakers in a larger Sonos system. Sonos offers floor stands and wall mounts, making the speakers suitable for this purpose.
We tested the Sonos speakers in a home theater setup with a Beam soundbar (Gen 2) and a Sub Mini. The Era 100 enhances the sound in movies, providing more dynamic pressure and focused sound effects.
The surround channels sound more dynamic, and sound effects become more focused. When bullets fly in the movie “The Irishman,” the Era 100 creates a clear sense of shattered glass and whizzing projectiles. In the prison scene with Al Pacino, the speakers add noticeable reverb compared to the Sonos One.
However, the differences between the One and the Era 100 are not night and day. Aside from a fuller bass and livelier overtones, the overall sound experience is very similar to the predecessor – just a bit bigger.
Specs
Type: Wireless speaker with multi-room capability
Wireless: Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 6, AirPlay 2
Connection: USB-C (3.5 mm analog and Ethernet via adapter)
Drivers: 2 x tweeter, 1 x woofer/midrange
Amplifier: 3 x Class D
Power Output: Not specified
Sound Pressure Level: Not specified
Frequency Range: Not specified
Dimensions/Weight: 183 x 120 x 131 mm / 2.02 kg
Voice Control: Alexa, Sonos Voice Control
Additional Features: Trueplay room correction
Color Options: Black or White
Website: sonos.com
Conclusion
As the successor to the best-selling Sonos One, the Era 100 has big shoes to fill, which it does well with a broad and full soundstage. The differences are clear enough for us to choose the Era 100 over the One.
The Era 100 can be used alone as a standalone speaker or as part of a larger Sonos system for multi-room, stereo, or surround sound. It works brilliantly in all scenarios.
However, current One owners need not fear the “upgrade ghost.” The One is still a good speaker, and the Era 100 is more of an evolution than a revolution. For many, the lack of Google Assistant support is a step back compared to its predecessor.
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Sonos Era 100 Review - 6 Months Later
We'll take you through the best features, downsides and our recommendation on who should purchase a Sonos Era 100.
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