Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 Smart Speakers Revealed in Marketing Images

[mortenb]

USB-C line-in would be awesome - makes it at great computer attached speaker without wi-fi/bluetooth lag.

 

[obezcinnet]

Still think Sonos gear is massively overrated and overpriced, in the same way Bose is.

My parents got an LG sound bar (with bass unit and two satellite speakers, all wireless) for 1/3 of the cost of the Sonos equivalent offering. Excellent hardware quality and the sound is top-notch.

I find it ironic to see posts like this on macrumors. you can literally do the exact same type of comparison for most of the apple products. you can think sonos as the "apple" of connected sound systems.

 

[enc0re]

USB-C line-in would be awesome - makes it at great computer attached speaker without wi-fi/bluetooth lag.

Maybe. Current Sonos 3.5mm line in has huge lag, because it processes the sound to be shared out to the whole Sonos network.

Maybe they’ll address direct play applications with Era. Maybe not.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

I find it ironic to see posts like this on macrumors. you can literally do the exact same type of comparison for most of the apple products. you can think sonos as the "apple" of connected sound systems.

Most of Apple's gear is of good quality, and the nearest competitor is mostly comparable price-wise.

Sonos's gear is also of good quality, but it is wildly more expensive than a comparable setup from elsewhere. As I said in my original post, the LG setup sounded just as good, and wasn't anywhere near the same price.

 

[obezcinnet]

Most of Apple's gear is of good quality, and the nearest competitor is mostly comparable price-wise.

Sonos's gear is also of good quality, but it is wildly more expensive than a comparable setup from elsewhere. As I said in my original post, the LG setup sounded just as good, and wasn't anywhere near the same price.

I think you are missing the point of sonos, it's not just about how it sounds. sonos has some serious patents (they sued google and won for example), they specialize in synchronizing music with almost no latency over wireless network. I understand in your parents' use case, they are just plugging it in to their tv like any speaker would work, and they couldn't care less about wireless multi room audio. but that's not the main selling point of sonos vs lg, so I agree that it is over rated for your parents but I wouldn't call it overrated/overpriced for the technology itself.

just to go back to my apple example, you can say your parents got an amazon echo for $80 and it sounds great in their kitchen, and how you don't see the point of getting a homepod for $300 because they both sound "good" have the same timer functionality.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

I think you are missing the point of sonos, it's not just about how it sounds. sonos has some serious patents (they sued google and won for example), they specialize in synchronizing music with almost no latency over wireless network. I understand in your parents' use case, they are just plugging it in to their tv like any speaker would work, and they couldn't care less about wireless multi room audio. but that's not the main selling point of sonos vs lg, so I agree that it is over rated for your parents but I wouldn't call it overrated/overpriced for the technology itself.

just to go back to my apple example, you can say your parents got an amazon echo for $80 and it sounds great in their kitchen, and how you don't see the point of getting a homepod for $300 because they both sound "good" have the same timer functionality.

Not missing the point at all, and I am fully aware of the other ecosystem benefits and selling points Sonos have. However, most people I know with Sonos gear pretty much do as my parents have - plug it into their TV and don't use any of the other technologies. It's just a fancy speaker system that they like to talk about. AirPlay 2 is pretty solid for latency though, I can have my HomePods, MacBook, and iMac all playing music from Apple Music and there is zero perceptible latency or delay between them. They take a moment to start / pause / volume up or down, but the listening experience (the important bit to me) is perfect.

Not heard any recent Echos as good as the HomePod. The "Studio" one was probably going in the right direction, but the extra spend on the HomePods would be noticeable and justified (in my opinion), so I wouldn't say they were comparable in their performance vs cost. The Google Home Max was probably the only other decent smart speaker (note: speaker, not assistant) that would have went toe-to-toe with the HomePod in performance vs cost, it was an excellent product.

 

[Thomas Davie]

Looks like a bucket of KFC tipped over on it’s side.

But I mean….if it sounds good.

Tom

 

[iLog.Genius]

Not missing the point at all, and I am fully aware of the other ecosystem benefits and selling points Sonos have. However, most people I know with Sonos gear pretty much do as my parents have - plug it into their TV and don't use any of the other technologies. It's just a fancy speaker system that they like to talk about. AirPlay 2 is pretty solid for latency though, I can have my HomePods, MacBook, and iMac all playing music from Apple Music and there is zero perceptible latency or delay between them. They take a moment to start / pause / volume up or down, but the listening experience (the important bit to me) is perfect.

Not heard any recent Echos as good as the HomePod. The "Studio" one was probably going in the right direction, but the extra spend on the HomePods would be noticeable and justified (in my opinion), so I wouldn't say they were comparable in their performance vs cost. The Google Home Max was probably the only other decent smart speaker (note: speaker, not assistant) that would have went toe-to-toe with the HomePod in performance vs cost, it was an excellent product.

On that same token, the Apple argument still stands - not everyone is going to get an iPhone or Apple product and use all of its technologies. Some people will just use the iPhone as a phone. Some people will just use any Mac as a computer for just internet browsing and YouTube. You could apply the "overrated" argument to almost anything.

SONOS is not overrated. It's just priced in a certain area of the segment that not everyone cares for. You and your parents are one of them and that is absolutely ok. If you just need something to "plug/play", that's absolutely fine - there are hundreds of other speaker companies at almost every price point. But for everyone else who are looking for the full wireless audio experience, SONOS does it very well.

 

[UWF404]

Say what you will about Sonos, I'm slowly but surely digging their stuff.

In my home office (10x14 room) I have:

1. TV with a Sonos Beam Gen 2
2. AudioEngine A2+ Bluetooth Speakers
3. 2 HomePod Minis

I have rock solid WIFI throughout the house with a Unifi wifi unit connected via wire in the room. The Sonos speaker works flawlessly, even when I stream with my iPhone. The Bluetooth speakers also work flawlessly and through any device! I can stream to those speakers from my iPhone or MacBook Air. Which system is the least reliable? The HomePod Minis! They are both running the latest software, but they are flaky. They often lag or fail to connect. Once in a while they will randomly play music. I've always been an Apple fanboy, but their speakers have truly been dog water! and Apple Home software is pretty crappy IMO. I'm looking forward to tossing out the HomePod Minis and replacing them with the new Era series from Sonos

 

[DeepIn2U]

Bit annoyed that the Era 300 will be needed for Atmos surround functionality with the Arc. Pushes the cost of a 5.1.4 system through the roof!

Lol you’re getting the hint

FYI selling my mint condition, never maxed out volume black Sonos One for $200 CA.

These Sonos Era 100 and 300 look Ya-UuuuUUUUgliiiieeeee!

Benefits:
Wireless Airplay2 music broadcast from phone or vinyl (via Sonos’ or a competitor) plus Sonos’ AMP (long out of production) and 2 other products.
Most enjoyable is ability to play music via an app and service. Your phone doesn’t need to stop remain in proximity to the Sonia speaker nor on same Wi-Fi network. Very helpful to smooth pets (especially those with anxiety) at home when you’re out for a short time of the day.

Apple restricts remote playback on AirPlay/HomePods unless you upgrade (ahem PAY extra $) on top of your already paid Apple Music streaming service to a family their. This is me is useless and a price gouge as I live along yet want this capability. I should have to pay full price for family of 4+

So coming back to HomePod. I’m willing to bet HomePod OG and gen2 will still sound better to everyone comparing against the Sonos

Admittedly taste is objective, but I do have to wonder why people find these ugly enough to actually critique. They are smooth, symmetrical, plain white/inoffensive minimalist with no gaudy feature and would blend into the majority of decors easily. They are textbook Apple design language.

a white speaker just like white only headphones is offensive to me lol.

 

[CarlJ]

Why is it that Sonos have people convinced that they are The only solution for home cinema? Plenty of other systems out there offering Atmos, thE Arc isn’t the only device on the market that does this.

I'm confused - I re-read my original post several times, and I can't see the part where I said Sonos is the only solution for home cinema. Could you point out that part to me? For me, it was simply the choice I made at the time, after considering the other alternatives. For home theater, it's still better than what Apple offers - I'd love to see Apple change that someday.

 

[CarlJ]

I would do like you if I could use Siri the way I use it with the HomePods also the new sensors, the intercom, the alarm and the Apple Music studio grade / atmos … which are features I use everyday …

There's a HomePod mini sitting about two feet away from my Sonos Arc. If I want to listen to music, I ask the Arc ("Hey Sonos..." - and the Arc responds by playing whatever I request from Apple Music). If I want to control the lights, or set timers or alarms, or add reminders, I ask the HomePod. If the HomePod ever starts playing music, it's because Siri f'd up again (that happens occasionally, followed by me shouting, "HEY SIRI STOP!") - Siri seems to have a default to lean toward interpreting requests it doesn't know as being song / artist names, sometimes; if there were a way I could tell Siri to never interpret any request to the HomePod as a request for music, I'd gladly set that option.

I'd love to have just one device that can do both (ideally, from my current standpoint, Siri built into the Arc). But we're not there yet. No number of HomePods can compete properly with a Sonos 5.1 system. For one, there's no HomePod subwoofer yet. For another, HomePods still have to fake a center channel.

 

[MichaelAdam]

There's a HomePod mini sitting about two feet away from my Sonos Arc. If I want to listen to music, I ask the Arc ("Hey Sonos..." - and the Arc responds by playing whatever I request from Apple Music). If I want to control the lights, or set timers or alarms, or add reminders, I ask the HomePod. If the HomePod ever starts playing music, it's because Siri f'd up again (that happens occasionally, followed by me shouting, "HEY SIRI STOP!") - Siri seems to have a default to lean toward interpreting requests it doesn't know as being song / artist names, sometimes; if there were a way I could tell Siri to never interpret any request to the HomePod as a request for music, I'd gladly set that option.

I'd love to have just one device that can do both (ideally, from my current standpoint, Siri built into the Arc). But we're not there yet. No number of HomePods can compete properly with a Sonos 5.1 system. For one, there's no HomePod subwoofer yet. For another, HomePods still have to fake a center channel.

Fair enough … whatever works for you and is important … personally I am ok for now with my two HomePod sitting by the side of my tv and updates make the sound better and better. For music, I love the sound of my HomePod / HomePod mini vs Sonos one … We can’t have it all and I am waiting patiently for the real deal.

 

[Agile55]

Gifting my son two 3's so my One's are heading to the bedroom as I've got 2 Era 100's ordered, am I the only one here to bite?