Sonos Era 100 Review: More than a refresh! reviews

March 29, 2023



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In this video we review the all-new Sonos Era 100, the replacement of the Sonos One (Gen 2) but… is it worth the upgrade?

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:59 Design
2:07 Features & Connections
4:16 Energy Efficiency
5:15 Trueplay Tuning
6:03 Sound Performance
6:12 Era 100 Internals
6:38 Sound Test
8:28 Vs Sonos One G2
9:54 Vs Sonos Move
10:20 Stereo Pair Testing
10:55 As Surround Sound Rears
13:30 Line-in Connection
14:57 Our Verdict

Interested in the Sonos Era 300? Check out our full review here – https://youtu.be/JXdlEjX7VC8

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49 Comments
  1. Some third party USB C ethernet adapters do work with the Era speakers btw

  2. Personally I am really annoyed by the removal of the ethernet port, and the 45 euro price tag for the adapter is heavy. Ethernet no doubt is the most reliable way to connect your speaker and it's the easiest way integrate with advanced secure network.

  3. The Sonos One was completely bass heavy … dunno why you wanted much more bass from it – if you have no treble you have no clarity – that's why people appreciate a flat EQ response. I sold my One, but I will buy an Era 100 just to see what it's like. I bought and returned the 'Sonos Roam' – boy that was a terrible speaker.

  4. Is it as good as the bang and olufsen beosound a1 second generation.

  5. 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.

  6. Are the current Sonos One Stands (the ones that cost €279) compatible with the Sonos Era 100?

  7. The moment when you purchased 4 Sonos One Gen 2's 6 month ago for a new house, they are new in box and unopened but past the point you can return… and Sonos launch a new range to replace them… classic!

  8. When you say it has Alexa voice assistant, does this mean the speaker itself can respond when you say ‘Alexa’ or is it able to be played through a separate Alexa device?

  9. I dont get this “we want Bluetooth”. Especially when its not a portable, it seems like they just did it because they can, not because they actually meant it needed it.. If you want a bluetooth speaker, buy the Roam or Move.

  10. I have UK 2x Sonos one (gen 1) hard wired into a wall, does the 100 have the same power cord connector as the gen 1?

  11. If I pair 2 Era 100 in stereo and have a line in to a turntable from one of the speakers, will the audio output play on both or just the single speaker with the connected line in?

  12. The normal USB dongles has a digital to analogue converter, but the Sonos USB dongle has an analogue to digital converter.

  13. Thanks for this. It was good to hear what it massively outperforms the Sonos One and where it's quite close. My question is… Is it worth a £90 difference (Sonos One currently on sale)?

  14. Reply
    💰 Earn $635 Daily March 29, 2023 at 8:31 am

    "Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life*think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success." *Swami Vivekananda

  15. Hi Guys, can you use a dongle for line out to hardwire a sub

  16. Sonos one gen 2 is heavily discounted due to the release of the Era 100 and Era 300 down to £150/£160. At this price are the Era 100 £90-£100 better than a Sonos One SL/Gen 2? I've just purchased a pair of One's for surround and better music for my Playbase and don't think I regret the decision given the price difference.

  17. 2x 100 speakers is way better than Arc, tested it myself. Stereo pair is so good.

  18. I’d to see a comparison to the Move

  19. Wow some of these collections are INCREDIBLE!!! Jealous level 10!!!

  20. Call me when they add up firing and I’ll swap out my ones for surrounds. Also as someone who’s spend thousands and thousands of dollars on my living room setup they need to do us right and make dedicated surrounds with up firing speakers. Come on Sonos!!! Take care of us home theater folks. Don’t come at me with “use 300’s”. I want dedicated atmos surrounds not something that will “work”.

  21. Reply
    craig wolstenholme March 29, 2023 at 8:31 am

    Please could you tell me What the 3rd song called?

  22. Received a pair of these today to add to ARC. And was impressed by immersive music experience. However one thing that I was still not able to experience was Dolby Atmos with Apple Music. Tried all possible options. Sonos support says it is possible in real life l couldn't get it working.

    Am I the only one to experience this?

  23. Great video! I was looking for a 2.1 setup for multi use, would you guys still say a pair of 100's with a sub mini would be worth the extra 100 quid over a pair of one's with a sub mini? From the review my takeaway is that the 100's bass is the biggest performance increase over the one's so would a sub mini mitigate that?

  24. 100 vs 300 vs move pls

  25. Great review. Thanks for putting this together

  26. nice review! would also be great to see how they would do as TV speakers

  27. +1 for Era 100 vs Move

  28. Thanks for the video guys! You're still my most trusted Sonos review channel !
    I have a weird question, when you get a dongle, can you test the line in latency?

    I want to be able to use this as a bedroom/PC Sonos (Currently using a Roam), but i would love to plug in my guitar in as a little practice amp.

    i have a Fender Mustang Micro plug in amp, which handles the connection out of the guitar, and applies effects etc. It also has a USB C output, but as you said it needs to be the specific Sonos, dongle, i can still use a 3.5mm jack, as that is also supported by the Mustang Micro.

    Bit weird, but i have reasons for my madness!

    If there's any way you can test this when you do the video, that would be great (or send me one and i'll test it for you😉🤣)

    Thanks guys!

  29. Sonos 7.1. A really good configuration for music,
    Beam a sub mini and 2 Ikea picture frames as surrounds, or Era 100
    Then an additional 2 Ikea or Era 100 in stereo pair, as support for front channels. Less volume on these.
    Run both systems at the same time. Easy to do in the app.
    Position a lot of volume on the surrounds, to get a very spacy sound in the room.

  30. how is this with the sub mini and beam gen 2 , what would you suggest to add

  31. How do they compare with homepod 2? In stereo

  32. Take my money

  33. Good stuff!
    I wouldn’t have a collection of 10 Sonos speakers in my home if it wasn’t for Peter Pee!

  34. I wonder if you could go directly from a computer via USB-C without a dongle?!

  35. Watching this review with my Sonos Arc, gen 2 subwoofer, and a pair of Ones…the Era 100's sound much better. The sound is more with the bass and vocals increased. I'm sold and will be upgrading soon…great video

  36. Thanks for the review! Is it possible to connect a Sonos Era 100 to a tv with the line in? While paired in stereo with another Era 100?

  37. This is such a good review! I was waiting to see if you answered my Q about coming in fresh to add to a gen 1 Beam, if it was worth getting these or the Ones and you answered it!

  38. Great review, love the channel – I'm looking forward to the video review with the inline for a turntable setup, to see if it is any good, especially compared to the Fives. I have a small sitting room and want to add a second turntable and set it up in there. I would prefer the fives but they might be too big in the room (in my wife's opinion) and I am very curious about how the Era 100's as a pair sound for vinyl.

  39. "I can't deny that there wasn't a notable upgrade" – that's a lot of negatives! Was there an upgrade or wasn't there?

  40. Reply
    Lars Grissell Christensen March 29, 2023 at 8:31 am

    Great review or first look 👏😊

    Does it require two dongles for stereo pair connecting to a turntable? Or is it enough to connect one to the turntable and just expand the audio to the other Era100?

  41. This video is awesome thank you

  42. Great review. Would you recommend 2 100s or 1 300?

  43. Reply
    Christian Holmberg March 29, 2023 at 8:31 am

    Super curious about a video testing these as PC speakers. Was pretty sure there would be a delay trying to read up on it online but since bluetooth seems to work for a lag free experience on a macbook there might be hope! Thanks for the review.

  44. Hi. Can Bluetooth works with stereo pair? Possible for Bluetooth connection with stereo pair + submini?

  45. Can I use the Sonos One's power cable with the Era 100?

  46. Reply
    Coen van der Zijden March 29, 2023 at 8:31 am

    I would love a move vs era 100 comparison! I want to get one of those and I'm still doubting wether the portability is worth the extra cost!

  47. How did you keep this so quiet.. been waiting for you to drop the Era.. reviews ^__^=

  48. Great Video. The only place I really use a One for Music is the kitchen – the rest are for surrounds, so I might consider an Era 100 for the kitchen..

    I do find it slightly annoying that the $ price is the same as the £ price. Seems us UK customers are not getting the best deal from Sonos.

  49. Great review as always, definitely like how you understand what the everyday consumer would want to know and interactive to know the questions we want answering. Looking forward to the video for different Sonos options with a sound bar as that is what I am currently looking at doing. Glad to see Sonos have listened to feedback and managed to improve on an already great product in the Sonos One.

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