Sonos Era 300 review: the best wireless system gets its best speaker yet MSRP $449.00 Score Details DT Editors' Choice “With Dolby Atmos, the Sonos Era 300 offers an entirely new way to listen to music.” Pros Cons The Sonos Era 300 doesn’t look like any ordinary wireless speaker. And with its collection of six drivers, arranged in a pattern that radiates sound in four directions at once, it definitely doesn’t sound like one either.
Though certainly eye-catching, the Era 300’s unusual hourglass shape isn’t simply Sonos trying to make a statement. The design allows five of the speaker’s six drivers to aim sound both outward and slightly forward. If you picture the speaker sitting in the center of a flower, with the petals representing the sound, you’ll get the idea.
I noted in my review of the Era 100 that I think Sonos should consider adding backlights to these controls to make them easier to find in darkened rooms. After all, with its relatively small footprint, the Era 100 could easily be placed on a nightstand. I doubt many folks will do that with the Era 300.
At the moment, Alexa is the better choice if you use streaming services like Spotify, Tidal, TuneIn, or YouTube Music, while SVC works well with Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Pandora, and Sonos’ own Sonos Radio. Where SVC really comes in handy is its Sonos-specific skills, like grouping and ungrouping speakers or accessing your Sonos playlists.
Want lossless streaming without using the Sonos app? Apple devices can do so using AirPlay 2 at CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz, while Tidal Hi-Fi subscribers can use Tidal Connect on any device to stream hi-res, 24-bit/48kHz tracks. Spotify Connect also is supported, which pretty much just leaves out Google’s Chromecast wireless audio platform. And given how things are going with Google, I don’t expect that to change any time soon.
As easy as it gets Sonos fans already know how brilliantly simple the company’s products are to set up, and the Era 300 is no exception. If anything, it’s the easiest so far. Download and install the Sonos app and create an account , then plug the speaker into the wall and let the app do the rest. This. Sounds. Awesome. I’m not a fan of hyperbole. A product can be good or even great without needing additional descriptors like “epic,” or “game-changing.” But if ever there were a product that could justify these superlatives, it’s the Era 300.