Sonos Era

[GXAlan]

There won't be a new Arc this year, that's now how Sonos releases their product. If they release a new Arc (gen2) it will be later this year or a year from now. Having said that, I am not sure what they would change besides maybe the internal hardware? Maybe USB-C?

Sonos targets two new products per year so they already did it with Era.

Beam is perfect for 32” TVs. Arc is perfect for 55” TVs.
1) I can see a super sized soundbar for bigger TVs. Mainstream public who exclusively use soundbars are also buying bigger and bigger TVs.

2) Sonos Amp cannot use the Era 300 as rears. Just Arc and Beam. It’s probably the CPU. So I would be willing to bet that you need a faster CPU to handle 4 Era300+Era Soundbar as center channel. That would probably be a very enjoyable HT on par with premium systems constrained by the same dimensions.

 

[voodooless]

There won't be a new Arc this year, that's now how Sonos releases their product. If they release a new Arc (gen2) it will be later this year or a year from now.

It's a rumor I heard about...Don't know if it is true. I also heard about the 2 products per year mantra.

2) Sonos Amp cannot use the Era 300 as rears. Just Arc and Beam. It’s probably the CPU. So I would be willing to bet that you need a faster CPU to handle 4 Era300+Era Soundbar as center channel. That would probably be a very enjoyable HT on par with premium systems constrained by the same dimensions.

The Era 300 has a quad-core A55 and 8GB of RAM.. sounds like a massive waste for a simple speaker. The DSP handling could be easily be done with a few $ DSP.

 

[bevok]

They generally sound pretty good, just don't expect massive dynamics. Even the Ikea versions are quite good for the price.

One major issue that I have always had with Sonos products is the connectivity, especially with Airplay. It's never stable, always has dropouts, and sometimes doesn't work at all. I only have a gen 1 Sonos one, and Ikea speaker, but they both have this, even with the access point only a few meters away.

This would make me reluctant to invest anything in Sonos products. I actually would not mind the look of the 300. It would be interesting to pair it with the Arc for an Atmos setup. But I also feel the Arc is then the weak link. It isn't really the very best soundbar.

Are you sure this isn’t a network issue? I just say that as I’ve found the move and ones used as rears in an Arc setup rock solid on wifi (other cabled in, I’m a network engineer so avoid wifi where possible!)
(Edit: use Airplay a lot with the Move, obviously not with the Ones but they are very stable in the home theatre setup)

 

[voodooless]

Are you sure this isn’t a network issue? I just say that as I’ve found the move and ones used as rears in an Arc setup rock solid on wifi (other cabled in, I’m a network engineer so avoid wifi where possible!)
(Edit: use Airplay a lot with the Move, obviously not with the Ones but they are very stable in the home theatre setup)

They are the only devices that give problems, have been doing so for years, also with other access points.

 

[GXAlan]

Doug Button is the head engineer.

His claim to fame

1500AL

His resume

 

[mmi]

I demoed single 100 and 300 in a shop today against the Move, with handoff making AB pretty easy, level matched by ear.

100: loved it, I will be getting one to replace the Port I run my turntable into to start with. Very clear, nice and deep, better than the Move IMO.

300: disappointing. Just doesn’t sound neutral like Sonos speakers usually do. The midrange sounds sucked out, the front driver is hard to hear, and the side firing drivers were overpowering and quite directional (in that off to one side you can pinpoint the sound coming from one side of the back section). Trueplay may fix a lot of the stuff I mention, who knows. Also the store had no sidewalls and I assume the test tracks weren’t atmos.

This video maps closely to my impressions IRL of the difference in sound:

 

[flowolf]

I ordered a pair of Era 100, after being really happy with the Roam and looking for a replacement of my system due to WAF.
They were delivered today, so i plugged them in during my lunch break.

The setup was easy and fast, as usual from Sonos.

But what can I say, I'm a bit underwhelmed from what they deliver.
I expected them to sound overall better than my "main system": look here
I didn't expect them to reach down to 30-40Hz, but the overall sound is somewhat thin and tinny.
I think they need a Sub to sound good.

 

[Zensō]

I ordered a pair of Era 100, after being really happy with the Roam and looking for a replacement of my system due to WAF.
They were delivered today, so i plugged them in during my lunch break.

The setup was easy and fast, as usual from Sonos.

But what can I say, I'm a bit underwhelmed from what they deliver.
I expected them to sound overall better than my "main system": look here
I didn't expect them to reach down to 30-40Hz, but the overall sound is somewhat thin and tinny.
I think they need a Sub to sound good.

That’s disappointing. I guess I’m not too surprised given that the Era 100 is essentially a replacement for the One/One SL which also needs a sub for anything other than low volume, very near field listening.

Have you listened to a pair of HomePod 2’s? I haven’t heard the Era 100, but the HomePod easily outperform the Sonos One.

 

[flowolf]

That’s disappointing. I guess I’m not too surprised given that the Era 100 is essentially a replacement for the One/One SL which also needs a sub for anything other than low volume, very near field listening.

Have you listened to a pair of HomePod 2’s? I haven’t heard the Era 100, but the HomePod easily outperform the Sonos One.

No, I haven't heard the Homepod 2, I just wanted to try the Sonos route since I'm really happy with the Roam (for what the Roam is), and the Era 100 actually ticks all the boxes I need/want (small footprint, streaming, aux in, room correction).

I guess I was expecting something like the Roam, only bigger/louder/deeper.

But from the first impression, it's not.

I need to listen more though...

maybe I have the time to make some measurements...

 

[bevok]

Peter Pew put some in room measurements in his latest video comparing the One, 100, 300 and Five. The 100 had roll off from about 90Hz fairly steeply with a hair more bass than the One, and the 300 fairly similar. I’d say a sub would be the perfect partner. The fives are serving me well and in his measurements extend comfortably down to around 30 Hz before they roll off (can verify this).

Video for reference:

 

[exm]

I mean, the Play 5 can go down to 30Hz? Give me a break! They are great speakers (don't get me wrong) but even large floor standers can't go down to 30Hz. Now I do agree that they will go lower, but a subwoofer will be the solution for non Play 5 devices.

 

[kemmler3D]

I mean, the Play 5 can go down to 30Hz?

IIRC it gets into the 40s without too much trouble and by the upper 30s it's quite faint.

Overall Sonos is a really respectable company in terms of their engineering, they just don't mess with "traditional" 2.x hifi.

 

[GXAlan]

I mean, the Play 5 can go down to 30Hz? Give me a break! They are great speakers (don't get me wrong) but even large floor standers can't go down to 30Hz. Now I do agree that they will go lower, but a subwoofer will be the solution for non Play 5 devices.

Depends on the SPL... it runs out of juice really really quickly.

Sonos Five

A little while ago I bought a Sonos Five for my wife. She likes it fine, but I don't think it sounds so great. Something in the midrange just sounds really off to me. Anyway, it should just stop there since she is happy but unfortunately I can't leave it at that. What I am wondering is if...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[aikofan]

So what’s the honest verdict on these new speakers vs the HomePod 2? I’m looking for a speaker in the kitchen so my wife can listen to music and podcasts without fuss while working in there, and she’ll be Airplaying from her iPhone. Now that the official reviews are starting to come out, I’m seeing an overall opinion of Era 300 > HomePod 2 > Era 100, but that looks suspiciously like the approved official message.

 

[GXAlan]

So what’s the honest verdict on these new speakers vs the HomePod 2? I’m looking for a speaker in the kitchen so my wife can listen to music and podcasts without fuss while working in there, and she’ll be Airplaying from her iPhone. Now that the official reviews are starting to come out, I’m seeing an overall opinion of Era 300 > HomePod 2 > Era 100, but that looks suspiciously like the approved official message.

I preordered my Era 300 (for bedroom Atmos rears) but it won't arrive until tomorrow. I don't think ordinary consumers have gotten the Era line in their hands in the USA if they ordered direct from Sonos. Not sure if they're available in stores today. We'll probably know within a week.

Peter Pew's review shows that the curve of the Era300 matches the JBL 708p/Studio 530 in that it's a flatter curve rather than downtrending slope like the previous generation Sonos speakers. It's a new lead engineer whose background is from JBL Pro (and Apple it seems).

 

[aikofan]

I preordered my Era 300 (for bedroom Atmos rears) but it won't arrive until tomorrow.

Looking forward to your updates.

 

[GXAlan]

I need to buy the line in adapter to run some REW sweeps.

 

[bevok]

Depends on the SPL... it runs out of juice really really quickly.

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru... mess with "traditional" 2.x hifi. [/QUOTE]

It is a stellar bass performer. I find in my room it gets down to 30Hz audibly, I’ll do some REW measurements. My favourite test track for sub bass extension is Also Sprach Zarathustra from the album Time Warp - the opening note is quite clear. Someone else’s measurements in this post:

Post in thread 'Sonos Five'
https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/sonos-five.20866/post-705812

 

[flowolf]

After some more (low-level) listening last night, I can say that they are really not as bad as the first impression suggested.

Vocals are really, really good, and bass is there if the volume is not cranked beyond maybe 30-40.
So, for background listening it is sufficient and serves this purpose very well.
However, a subwoofer is required if you want to use it as an alternative to a hi-fi system.

In my case, I will stick with my trusty cobbled-together 2.1 system and the Sonos Roam for travel.

Maybe I will try a pair of Fives (or the successor) one day, as I really like the looks and ease of use.

 

[JktHifi]

The only reason Sonos launch these new products is the new Apple Homepod. Sonos products become over pricey because the new homepod. Let’s how the market react.