Sonos Era 300 Review: Game Changer reviews

March 29, 2023



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In this video we review the all-new Sonos Era 300, their first Dolby Atmos speaker! We give our verdict on whether this speaker is worth the hype and how it performs as a standalone speaker, stereo pair and as upwards-firing surround sound rears to a Sonos Arc and Sonos Beam (Gen 2).

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:22 Design
2:24 Internals
3:01 Trueplay for iOS & Android
3:28 Ideal Placement
3:53 Energy Efficiency Vs Five
4:39 Features & Connections
6:18 Line-in connectivity
7:23 Sound Performance
7:45 Spatial Audio
9:28 Sound Test
11:02 Era 300 Stereo Pair
11:45 Era 300 for TV Audio
12:26 Era 300 upwards-firing rears test
15:41 Era 300 Vs Five
16:30 Our Verdict

Interested in the Sonos Era 100? Check out our full review here – https://youtu.be/rSTmt3osr-I

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42 Comments
  1. Wow wow. I just received my ERA300 to go with the ARC and Sub Gen 2. Amazing!!! I then tuned into my Brilliant Home 2 Panel which has Sonos Music and I played some musics No No No It’s Insane with a volume at 12 people at volume at 12. Worth every dollar spent. Now I’m selling my pair of Sonos ones with the floor stands..😂Lol I

  2. Who gives a damn about the power draw when idle. Just woke climate alarmist.

  3. Why do you need two if the atmos is supposed to push the music around you anyways?

  4. I am thinking about getting one of these as a do-it-all speaker in a room for music via wifi and hopefully with a TV as well. Would I be able to use just one Era 300 with a TV using bluetooth?

  5. I listened to it. I wasn’t quite impressed with the sound signature to be honest with you. Sounded a bit boxy flat to me.

  6. Era300 vs homepod 2

  7. Hi, sonos arc + 2 era 300 for front left & right. 2 era 300 for rear left & right. And sonos sub.

    how is this setup sound like? Is this doable?

  8. If they had added Bluetooth sooner I might have bought into Sonos as I like to take a few speakers to the summer house and the WiFi is weak out there. So I in the end went with Harmon Kardon citation which is very similar to how Sonos works but with Google assistant and the option to stream music via both WiFi and Bluetooth

  9. Excellent review

  10. Could someone please confirm if you are able to play music from a phone via Bluetooth or WiFi if you have a set up consisting of 2x Era 300’s, an Arc sound bar and a Sub connecting to a TV?

    Would appreciate any help!

  11. Reply
    Viernes Social Video Podcast March 29, 2023 at 2:33 pm

    Great review, can’t wait to see the surround vid coming soon

  12. looks like a VR headset without the head strap. ugly.

  13. I have the Beam – is it worth it to have 2 of these as rear surrounds ?? Would have loved to hear more about your experience with that setup

  14. Is there a chance you could compare 2xE300 +Beam against an apple TV connected via eARC + 2x homepods? I expect the Sonos to be superior but it would be cool to see if it’s worth twice the price

  15. 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.

  16. This or five?

  17. Reply
    Andy Summers THX Cinema and my Cats March 29, 2023 at 2:33 pm

    don't just hate shill videos of woke audio speaker garbage . man invents and waiting for man come alone thinking he wants to buy it
    i wouldn't put sonos garbage into a dog cat rescue shelter

  18. *Increased energy efficiency* 🙂 Great review.

  19. When listening to an atmos track what would be better to enjoy immersion – going to a room with a single era 300 or going to a room with beam (gen 2) + sub + 2x one surrounds? Thanks

  20. Reply
    Юрий Полищук March 29, 2023 at 2:33 pm

    How about pairing five with era 300? Does it work for studio appartment music setup? Is it possible at all? Thank you!

  21. Hi don't we need the DTS SUPPORT?

  22. Awesome in-depth review! Looking forward to the comparison with Apple HomePod

  23. Had a demo of these. You get the effect but I won't be changing my Sony HT-A9 system anytime soon. The 4 spatial speakers just give way more atmosphere.

  24. Hi I will receive mines in a few days. Before ordering them , I was reading/whatching a ton of reviews : you have been the only one pointing out that they haven't Sonosnet onboard. Congratulations !

  25. Unless I am missing something, why doesn’t the Sonos logo run horizontally rather than vertically, just seems really odd 🤔

  26. Can this go outside on a patio maybe if covered?

  27. Get mine tomorrow. Soooo excired

  28. Looking forward to the 7.2.4 set up review. Currently have the arc, one sub and two era300 7.1.4 set up and it is amazing. Gret review!

  29. Sonos should enable the HDMI e-arc via the usb c input,

  30. Amp owners feel so left out.

  31. Thank you for the Bluetooth review and covered the laptop setup. Mine will get delivered this week, and has been debating how to connect this with my Mac.

    Is the BT connection reliable, and no lags for zoom calls? Or better to use USB C to audio in?

  32. Until they start supporting Chromecast Built in and stop treating Android users like second class citizens I'm not interested!

  33. Great review. Would a single 300 work for background music (atmos) for dinner parties? Or would you go for the 5? I have two Sonos One and they feel a little weak. On a low volume you can't really hear the music when people are talking, and with higher volume it becomes annoying. Small-ish room, perhaps a little bigger than the one you have in your vid.

  34. With all due respect, why would i trust a review from a company that sells the products they are reviewing?

  35. Great review. How does the era 300 and drive paired together sound? Can you get the best of both in that setup? Cheers.

  36. At the price of the 300 as rears I think the Nakamishi dragon might be a better option for full Atmos soundbar system.

  37. Got the Era 300 the sonic signature is not that really good compared to the hype. Nothing special for this unit. The sonos one gen 2 sounds better. But will see i’ve only have this unit for the past hour playing spotify.

  38. i recommend using headphones to get a much better understanding of the live sound. Great content, think I will be adding this to my list of sound products to buy

  39. What's the thoughts on placement as a pair of rear's? Wall mouny up high or floor stands? I currently have 1's up high a wall mounted…. Did I read / hear that 8in is the minimum recommended space clearance upwards and sideways?

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

  41. Can I rent the room for a movie night with my friends?

  42. Reply
    💰 Earn $635 Daily March 29, 2023 at 2:33 pm

    "If you are not willing to risk the usual you will have to settle for the ordinary." *Jim Rohn

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