Sonos announced a new era of speakers - excuse the pun - in the form ofthe Era 100and the Era 300 in early March, following several months of rumours and code names like Optima 2 and Optima 1.
Despite being part of the same family, and offering a number of similarities, there are some key differences between them too.
Here’s how the Sonos Era 100 compares to theEra 300to help you work out which might be the right one for you if you’re in the market for a newSonos speaker.
Sonos Era 100
The Sonos Era 100 is the new entry-point into the Sonos system replacing the Sonos One, with some great features on board, including USB-C line-in, Bluetooth capabilities and a whole new design and sound architecture.
Sonos Era 300
The Sonos Era 300 sits between the Era 100 and the Sonos Five. It brings a unique design, along with some great features, including Dolby Atmos support, as well as Bluetooth capabilities and USB-C line-in.
Era 100 vs Era 300 price
Let’s first start with price, because there is quite a big difference between these two speakers. You could almost buy two Sonos Era 100 speakers for the same price as the Era 300 so price will definitely play a factor when you’re choosing between these.
The Sonos Era 100 costs $249 in the US, £249 in the UK and €279 in Europe.
The Sonos Era 300 meanwhile, costs $449 in the US, £449 in the UK and €499 in Europe.
Era 100 vs Era 300 design
The design is also quite different between the Sonos Era 100 and the Era 300, with the Era 300 being a little more unique. It has a dual-angled shell with an oval front and an oval rear, both of which taper in towards the centre for a cinched in middle.
The front section makes up around a third of the speaker and it features a smooth polycarbonate finish with capacitive controls on the top along with a speaker grille on the front. The rear meanwhile, has a speaker grille surrounding all of it except the back plate which is smooth.
The Era 300 is not as large as theSonos Five, though it is quite a bit bigger than the Era 100, which is cylindrical and more traditional in its appearance. A speaker grille surrounds the entirety of Era 100, apart from a small strip on the rear housing the ports and the top where the controls sit.
Both the Era 100 and Era 300 feature the same capacitive controls with both offering a play/pause button, microphone on/off button and a skip and rewind button. They also both have an indented bar for volume control.
The two speakers have similarities in terms of ports too. They both have a USB-C line in - which requires an adapter sold separately - and they also both have a power port, Wi-Fi to Bluetooth hardware switch and a microphone hardware switch. The microphone hardware switch is in addition to the capacitive button on the top.
Both the Era 100 and Era 300 are available in Black and White colour options, they both have the Sonos tag centralised on their speaker grilles at the front and they both have the same design language, despite differing in shape and size.
Era 100 vs Era 300 features
The Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 have many of the same features. In fact, the only difference between the two speakers on this front is that the Era 300 supportsDolby Atmosand spatial audio content, while the Era 100 offers stereo output only.
You can stereo pair two Era 300 speakers, which can then be used as rear surrounds and if you hook them up to aSonos ArcandSonos Sub, you’ll get a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos experience when watching compatible Dolby Atmos content. When it comes to spatial audio orDolby Atmos music, keep in mind you’ll need anAmazon Music Unlimited subscriptionto experience that on the Era 300.
You can also stereo pair two Era 100 speakers and these can also be used as surround speakers to a Sonos Arc, Sonos Beam orSonos Ray, but you won’t get the same immersive experience as the Era 300 will deliver. You also can’t stereo pair an Era 300 with an Era 100, or an Era 100 with aSonos Onefor example. They have to be the same speaker.
Elsewhere on the feature front, the Era 300 and Era 100 deliver the same. They both offer compatibility with over 100music streaming services, they both allow for EQ adjustments in the Sonos app and they can both be used independently or as part of a group if you have other Sonos speakers.
They also both have built-in microphones, offering voice control.Sonos Voice Controlis on board the two speakers for control of the speakers themselves, andAmazon Alexais also supported for smart home control, checking the weather or adding to your shopping list for example. Neither has Google Assistant on board, like the Sonos One,RoamandMove.
The built-in microphones on the Era 100 and Era 300 also allow for a feature called Quick Tuning. Both speakers offer support for the company’s traditionalTrueplay tuningwhere an iOS device is required to analyse a room and its surroundings, adjusting the speaker and its sound output accordingly. Quick Tuning use the Era 100 and Era 300’s built in microphones to deliver adjustments and optimisations for those without access to an iOS device for the more advanced tuning.
Hardware and specs
We mentioned both the Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 have USB-C line in, meaning you can directly connect an audio device, like a turntable, to each speaker. You will need to use a Sonos Line-In Adapter though, along with an auxiliary cable, both of which are sold separately rather than with the speakers.
The two speakers also offerWi-Fi 6 support, and Bluetooth 5.0 support. The latter means that both the Era 100 and Era 300 can be used as traditional Sonos Wi-Fi speakers, but you can also use them as traditionalBluetooth speakersby flicking the switch on their rears to Bluetooth mode. This is a first for non-portable Sonos speakers. It is worth mentioning that Dolby Atmos and spatial audio content can only be experienced when using the Era 300 over Wi-Fi however.
In terms of acoustic architecture, the Era 300 has six Class-D drivers on board, along with four tweeters, one of which is positioned within the directional horn at the top to allow sound to reflect off the ceiling for a more immersive experience when listening to Dolby Atmos and spatial audio content. There are also two woofers on board and several custom wave guides.
The Era 100 meanwhile, has three Class-D drivers, two dual-angled tweeters and a woofer on board. The woofer is 25 per cent larger than the Sonos One however, so it’s designed to deliver big sound for its size, even if it won’t match the Era 300.
Era 100 vs Era 300 conclusion: Which should you buy?
The Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 share the same DNA, though they differ in terms of design, sound capabilities and perhaps most importantly, the Era 300 has Dolby Atmos support, while the Era 100 is stereo only.
The Era 100 will no doubt be a perfect starting point for building a Sonos system. It offers many of the same key features as the Era 300, like Bluetooth, USB-C line in and the rest of the features Sonos speakers are known for, but it does so in a small and compact format.
The Era 300 will offer bigger sound than the Era 100, and more immersive too when listening Dolby Atmos and spatial audio content. It also has a unique design. You pay quite a bit more for the Era 300 though, so you’ll either need a larger room to justify the larger speaker, or really want the spatial audio experience.
