Sonos Announces New 'Era' Speakers and Apple Music Spatial Audio Support

[CarlJ]

It really depends on the album. There are a lot that are not mixed well.... most likely auto-generated Spatial or something. But there are some albums that sound absolutely amazing. Some of my favorites:

• Rumors - Fleetwood Mac
• Thriller - Michael Jackson
• Pyromania - Def Leppard
• Various Beatles albums

Would love to see Apple come up with spatial audio mixes of some of the albums that originally had quadrophonic releases, like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and Wish You Were Here.

 

[enc0re]

Would love to see Apple come up with spatial audio mixes of some of the albums that originally had quadrophonic releases, like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and Wish You Were Here.

Here I thought I was the only weirdo thinking the same thing about quadraphonic. Pair it with announcing new HomePod functionality that lets you pair four in the corners of your room as "quadraphonic". *Chef's kiss*

 

[pup]

Concerning spatial audio, this quote from an article on What HiFi is revealing:

...I’m excited because of a comment Giles Martin, Head of Audio at Universal Music Group, at the Era launch event attended by Kashfia. Specifically, when he said:

“We have Era 300 in studios that are being used as reference speakers for producers and mix engineers, as they're creating Atmos tracks. They're listening to them back on Era 300 to make sure that it sounds the way it should.

“Right now about 90 of the top 100 albums of all time are available in immersive formats. But there hasn't been any really, really good way of listening out loud. [That's why we] developed a standalone product that does spatial audio that's better than stereo - so it's not a gimmick, so you actually want to listen to it [spatial audio]."

In other words, they think that all the spatial tracks to date are kind of BS, since they haven't had good speakers to work with (which would include the HomePod 2, one assumes). Now they're redoing them, with Sonos 300s as their reference.

That simultaneously explains the questionable quality of existing spatial tracks, while offering some hope for the future of the format. And it's also quite an endorsement of the Era 300, since having the same speaker at home that the studio used as their reference monitor means that what you'll hear is as close to what the studio wants you to hear as is possible.

The question is whether the other labels doing the same - my guess would have to be yes, since really, what other choices are available?

 

[darthbane2k]

Concerning spatial audio, this quote from an article on What HiFi is revealing:


In other words, they think that all the spatial tracks to date are kind of BS, since they haven't had good speakers to work with (which would include the HomePod 2, one assumes). Now they're redoing them, with Sonos 300s as their reference.

That simultaneously explains the questionable quality of existing spatial tracks, while offering some hope for the future of the format. And it's also quite an endorsement of the Era 300, since having the same speaker at home that the studio used as their reference monitor means that what you'll hear is as close to what the studio wants you to hear as is possible.

The question is whether the other labels doing the same - my guess would have to be yes, since really, what other choices are available?

I found that comment hilarious. Like a recording artist is going to play back on a freaking Sonos. lol, they’ll be using state of the art studio monitors and nothing else.
Thats as ridiculous a notion as filmmakers using an Arc to play back atmos lol

 

[Kimmo]

Audio Science Review is a good source for information on audio gear.

Articles, Reviews and Measurements of Audio Products

Audio Hifi Equipment Reviews Stereo

www.audiosciencereview.com

They haven't reviewed the Sonos Era, but there is a thread in their forum about it.

Sonos Era

Era 300 and 100 comprehensively leaked: https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/20/23606369/sonos-era-300-100-speakers-leak-features-price-photos

www.audiosciencereview.com

I agree that, if you can swing the cost, a good DAC and studio monitors (Genelec, Neumann, KEF, JBL and Focal are a few well regarded brands) will get you to a really nice place.

 

[pup]

I found that comment hilarious. Like a recording artist is going to play back on a freaking Sonos. lol, they’ll be using state of the art studio monitors and nothing else.

I agree that they would want to use the state of the art atmos speaker as their reference. And so I guess the Head of Audio at Universal is saying that at the moment, the state of the art speaker is Sonos. I assume he knows what he's talking about. And really, why would that be surprising? There's not much out there apart from the HomePod.

 

[darthbane2k]

I agree that they would want to use the state of the art atmos speaker as their reference. And so I guess the Head of Audio at Universal is saying that at the moment, the state of the art speaker is Sonos. I assume he knows what he's talking about. And really, why would that be surprising? There's not much out there apart from the HomePod.

Trust me - no one uses a Sonos in a recording studio. It’s studio monitors or bust for accuracy. And yes if they want to test stereo / spatial they’d have an array of carefully positioned studio monitors.
The Sonos is a consumer product, not a professional one. It’s absurd to suggest otherwise.

 

[pup]

Trust me

Hmm. Trust the head of audio at Universal, or some rando whos posting history is literally page after page of bashing Sonos for some reason. Really tough one there.

 

[B/D]

Here is the official Sonos press release:

Sonos becomes Apple Music’s first partner to bring spatial audio to the home

Sonos Website

www.sonos.com

 

[darthbane2k]

Hmm. Trust the head of audio at Universal, or some rando whos posting history is literally page after page of bashing Sonos for some reason. Really tough one there.

Go speak to any RECORDING ARTIST or PRODUCER and tell me their reaction when you propose using Sonos (or HomePod, or Echo or whatever consumer product) as a reference speaker.

Jackass.

 

[logib]

Does it mean we’ll get Apple Music Ultra HD/HD on the legacy Sonos speakers like Amazon Music come 28th March?

 

[ZenEagle]

I found that comment hilarious. Like a recording artist is going to play back on a freaking Sonos. lol, they’ll be using state of the art studio monitors and nothing else.
Thats as ridiculous a notion as filmmakers using an Arc to play back atmos lol

Of course they won’t produce or mix on Sonos, but it’s common for mixes to be played back on different types of consumer gear before mastering, in order to hear how well it translates.

 

[ZenEagle]

Audio Science Review is a good source for information on audio gear.

Articles, Reviews and Measurements of Audio Products

Audio Hifi Equipment Reviews Stereo

www.audiosciencereview.com

They haven't reviewed the Sonos Era, but there is a thread in their forum about it.

Sonos Era

Era 300 and 100 comprehensively leaked: https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/20/23606369/sonos-era-300-100-speakers-leak-features-price-photos

www.audiosciencereview.com

I agree that, if you can swing the cost, a good DAC and studio monitors (Genelec, Neumann, KEF, JBL and Focal are a few well regarded brands) will get you to a really nice place.

Do KEF even make studio monitors? I’ve long lusted for their flagship LS50, some of the best mid/high end consumer hi-fi speakers in their price range. Couldn’t quite afford em, so I settled for a pair of Adam A7X, which I use for both music production and listening enjoyment—which they excel at both. Thinking about adding an 8 inch Adam sub soon.

Also recently added a pair of Homepod 2 in the same room, using as a home theatre audio w/ my LG C1/Apple TV. I enjoy listening to music on those nearly as much as my monitors — they’re less tiring for prolonged sessions, so my goto for chill time.

 

[seadragon]

I just picked up a pair of 300s and the sub mini for my largish living room. Wow, what amazing sound and it easily fills the room. Very happy with this setup. I use it for music listening only.