![]() If you want Dolby Atmos rear sound, you’ll need to go with the Era 300.Īt $249, the Era 100 costs $30 more than the One. You can also use them as rear speakers with an Arc, Beam or Ray soundbar and a subwoofer for a 5.1 system. Like with One, you can group two Era 100s together to create a left-right stereo pair. The manual method produced a more balanced sound overall. You can still use the manual Trueplay method if you have an iPhone. Quick Tuning takes only a few seconds to do. The new Quick Tuning feature doesn’t require a phone it sends sounds from the speaker into the room and uses the microphones to measure the room. Sonos also made Trueplay, its room correction software, easier to use - and available to Android users. ![]() That’s a function that was previously only available on the pricey Sonos Five, or the Port or Amp, which connect to non-Sonos speakers or a receiver. Adding a line-in to the Era 100 allows you to connect a turntable or CD player once you’ve added a device to a speaker on your Sonos system, you can listen to your vinyl or CD music on any Sonos speaker in your home. ![]() Sonos offers two adapters: the $39 Combo adapter, which lets you connect to your network via Ethernet and includes a 3.5mm auxiliary input, or the $19 Line-in Adapter, for the 3.5mm input only. The Era 100 has a USB-C port on the back to which you can connect an adapter. The sound quality is very good for Bluetooth, though it wasn’t quite as good as Wi-Fi. And once you are connected, you can use the Sonos app to control playback and create groups. The implementation is as smooth as you’d expect from Sonos pairing is easy and it reconnects quickly. Sonos had avoided using Bluetooth for its non-portable speakers (the Move and Roam have included Bluetooth since they launched), but added it to the Era 100 and the Era 300, the other new Sonos speaker. The one getting the most buzz is Bluetooth. I’m not sure we need both, but if you’re concerned about your privacy, the Era 100 is for you.īeyond the new design, Sonos packed in lots of features that many fans have been asking for But if you don’t want the speaker listening, Sonos included two ways to gain privacy: There’s a touch-sensitive button on top that mutes the microphones, and there’s a switch on the back that completely turns them off. The Era 100 includes microphones so you can use your voice to control it (and for room correction). It’s more tactile than tapping plus and minus signs to change volume, and it adds more control. The best addition is the volume slider: a trench across the top where you can slide a finger to increase or decrease sound. A larger midwoofer helps the Era 100 produce its big bass. The tweeters are angled so that they better spread sound. Sonos placed two tweeters near the top of the speaker, which allows it to produce stereo sound. It’s wrapped in a perforated metal similar to other Sonos speakers and is available in black or white.Īt 7.2 by 4.7 by 5.1 inches, the Era 100 is slightly taller than the One, and the extra height helps it create a bigger sound. But the design is still in keeping with the Sonos aesthetic and it fits in with existing Sonos speakers. The Era 100 eschews the rounded box design of the One for an oval shape, giving it a more sleek and modern feel. When listening to songs in spatial audio on the HomePod, Apple’s speaker creates a wider, more detailed sound. But the HomePod supports spatial audio, the surround-sound tech for music the Era 100 doesn’t. The Era 100 sounds slightly better overall when listening to stereo tracks, with more precise bass and crisper treble. The Era 100’s most notable competition comes from Apple’s new HomePod. The stereo effect of the Era 100 isn’t as pronounced as with two separate speakers, though. ![]() The chorus on SZA’s “Kill Bill” made good use of the two tweeters, producing a wide sound with good separation in the stereo channels. Ezra Collective’s “Life Goes On” showed off the Era 100’s balance between bass and vocals the horns sounded warm and punchy. The One produced far less bass on the same song, and didn’t spread the sound as widely. Listening to “Cracker Island” by Gorillaz, the bass on the Era 100 boomed, and the vocals were clear in the mix. The Era 100 has a lot more bass than the One, and it features a wider sound, thanks to having two tweeters. The Sonos One has long been our pick for the best-sounding smart speaker, and the Era 100 improves on it in every way. Your CNN account Log in to your CNN account
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