Sonos officially unveiled its new speakers, the Era 100 and Era 300. As of this publication, both wireless speakers are now available for preorder via the official site of the audio brand’s distributor in the region, TCAcoustics.
The highlight of the announcement is the Era 300, which also serves as Sonos’ newest and latest speaker to be added to its portfolio, and it also comes loaded with a multitude of features. Starting from the top of the list, the new wireless speaker boasts a new hourglass design, that its parent company says is purposefully shaped to account for one of its primary features. Of course, if your mobile device doesn’t support Spatial Audio, the speaker also supports Dolby Atmos for audio.
Internally, the Era 300 is built with six powerful speakers, designed to direct sound to the left, right, forward, and upward. Comprising these six speakers are four tweeters – two of which are aimed forward, while the other two are aimed at the sides – and two woofers angled to the left and right of the speaker, therefore maximising low-pitch outputs. Additionally, it also comes built with a far-field microphone array that makes use of advanced beamforming technology and multichannel echo cancellation, for more accurate voice control and Trueplay tuning.
Speaking of Trueplay, Sonos fans may be happy to know that the feature is now baked into the Era 300 and more importantly, it is compatible with both iOS and Android devices and can be tuned via the dedicated Sonos app. As for connectivity, you can still utilise WiFi connectivity and more specifically WiFi 6, as a connectivity medium, but the good news is that it also supports Bluetooth 5.0, which is a massive boon and something many folks have been asking for the brand to implement with all future speakers. Of course, there is also a USB-C port at the back of the speaker that also doubles as a physical port and comes with a Sonos Line-In and Combo Adapter. Oh, and before I forget, the physical controls on the top of the speaker has been revamped to haptic-style functions.
The Sonos Era 300 retails at RM2799, with general availability for the speaker set from 28 March onwards.
As for the Sonos Era 100, even the brand has admitted that the wireless speaker is practically an improved and remastered version of its best-selling mono speaker, the Sonos One, which launched all the way back in 2017. Where the One was mono, the new one is now a stereo speaker, allowing a greater dynamic range and richer sound. In terms of hardware, this uniform-looking speakers houses three class-d amplifiers, comprising two angled tweeters and a mid-woofers.
Like the Era 300, the Era 100 also features an adjustable EQ and comes integrated with Sonos’ Trueplay app, along with a mic switch that allows you to physically disconnect the microphone for privacy reasons. It also features the same haptic-style controls on the top of the speaker and can be connected via either WiFi 6 or Bluetooth 5.0. It also comes with the same USB-C port, which can be used as a Line-in port or even to connect a LAN cable to it. The only thing this speaker doesn’t have is Spatial Audio.
The Sonos Era 100 is already available for preorder and retails for RM1599. Like the Era 300, it will also be available from 28 March onwards.
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