Sonos has a new series of speakers called Era. The Era 300 sits below the Sonos Five as a spatial audio-focused speaker, but the cheaper Era 100 replaces the Sonos One at the other end of the Sonos range.
So what’s the difference between the Era 100 and the One? How much do both speakers cost? And should you choose the new model over the five-star original? While we haven’t fully reviewed the Era 100 yet, we can make educated guesses based on its design, specs and price.
Below we help you answer all these questions and more.
Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos One: price
The Sonos One launched in 2017, and the Gen 2 model you can currently buy dates back to 2019. In some regions, the £199/$199 launch price has dropped slightly in the intervening years, but not by much – you can get it currently one up for £180 / $220 / AU$320.
The Sonos Era 100 is quite a bit more expensive, at £249 / $249 / AU$399.
With the Era 100 replacing the Sonos One, the One will likely be discounted to get rid of remaining stock, so keep an eye out for a bargain.
Sonos Era 100 vs. Sonos One: design
After the unique design of the Sonos Era 300, the Era 100 looks a bit boring. Not that there’s anything wrong with a cylindrical design, but we’ve seen it before, from the Amazon Echo 3rd Gen to the Apple HomePod 2. Like the Era 300, the 100 also has a new control panel on the top, complete with an improved volume slider that is recessed like a trough.
It doesn’t look radically different from the Sonos One it replaces, just slightly rounder and an inch taller. But most of the improvements are on the inside.
The Sonos One is very similar to the late Play:1 it replaced, although the touch-sensitive top panel was the main departure. The wraparound grille helps it blend in with its surroundings, but again, it looks a little dated – hardly surprising given that the design is now six years old.
Sonos Era 100 vs. Sonos One: Features
While the Sonos Era 300 focuses on spatial audio, the Era 100 is an entirely different proposition. There’s no spatial audio on board – Sonos claims the smaller size of the speaker wouldn’t do it justice – but it can be played in stereo, unlike the Sonos One’s mono. That should make for a more engaging sound.
Like the Era 300, it offers both Bluetooth and a USB-C line-in – the Era speakers are the first from Sonos to offer both features. The company has worked with these connections before – Bluetooth can be found in its portable Roam and Move speakers; line-in comes on the flagship Sonos Five, but it’s never been offered both in one device before. (Note: You need a specific adapter and cable for wired connections, both sold separately). That makes the Era range more versatile than the company’s other speakers, not to mention the vast majority of those from Apple, Amazon et al.
The Era 100 is more powerful than the Sonos One and can be paired with Sonos’ Arc, Ray and Beam Gen 1 and Gen 2 soundbars to work as part of a home theater setup. And you can pair two Era 100 speakers to work as a stereo pair.
Like the Era 300, it supports files up to 24-bit/48kHz from Qobuz and Amazon Music, you can control it with your voice and it works with the Sonos S2 app. It can also calibrate its sound output to your environment using TruePlay for iOS and, for the first time, Android. Impressive.
Basically, the Era 100 does everything the Sonos One does, with the addition of Bluetooth, line-in and stereo pairing.
Sonos Era 100 vs. Sonos One: sound
A disclaimer: we haven’t tested the Sonos Era 100 yet, so we can’t confirm or deny Sonos’ claims about sound quality. But we do know this: it’s a more powerful, more capable version of the Sonos One. We’d be surprised if it doesn’t improve on the sound quality of its predecessor.
According to Ryan Moore, product manager at Sonos, the Era 100 is “a complete upgrade from an acoustic point of view. There is no part of Sonos One in the Era 100.”
The Era 100 contains two tweeters with custom waveguides for wider dispersion and stereo sound from a single speaker. Despite having the same small footprint as the Sonos One, the Era 100 has a subwoofer that’s 25 percent larger, which should mean more – and better quality – bass.
If it’s a sonic improvement over the Sonos One, we should be in for a treat. In our review we noted that the One’s reproduction is heavy, full and loud – all the more impressive considering the small size of the speaker. The soundstage is spacious and impressively organized, with vocals given plenty of breathing space, instantly making them more engaging.
Instruments emerge in a way that’s sophisticated and natural, with a crisp, clear treble (though the odd hard edge creeps in).
We’re giving Sonos the benefit of the doubt here, but we’d be surprised if the Era 100 didn’t deliver the expected sound gain over the One here.
Sonos Era 100 vs. Sonos One: Early Verdict
The Sonos One is one of the best little smart speakers money can buy. But now that the Gen 2 model is four years old, a refresh is in order. The Era 100 looks like just the update it needs: more power, more versatility, but with the same winning footprint and ease of use.
The One will remain on sale until stocks run out, so there will be some overlap with the Era 100. If you can live without the extra power, stereo sound of a single speaker, Bluetooth and a line-in connection, check out out – you could get the One for a bargain.
We’ll update this article once we’ve reviewed the Era 100 with a final verdict.
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