If you own a Sonos One speaker you might feel a little envious next week. The US audio firm has announced the release of two brand new devices which not only get a rebooted name and design but promise to offer improved audio and plenty of additional features including Bluetooth and USB-C connectivity.
The Era 100 and Era 300 have been designed from the ground up with both offering a more eco-friendly design that's now far more fixable. Sonos hopes this will improve the longevity of its speakers and allow owners to keep them in tip-top condition for longer.
Those buying the Sonos Era 100 will be treated to a compact boom box that will blast out much-improved sound when compared to the current and hugely popular Sonos One. In fact, thanks to a 25 percent larger woofer than its predecessor, Sonos is confident that the Era 100 will easily fill rooms with noticeably deeper bass.
Tucked under its shell are dual-angled tweeters which are capable of sending crisp high frequencies left and right for a stereo experience. You can even link it up to a soundbar for cinema-style experience from the comfort of your sofa.
A new sunken touch bar, which runs across the top of the speaker, should make it easier to control volume levels plus there is full access to Alexa for simple voice search and launching playlists without reaching for a phone.
If that doesn't sound powerful enough for your needs then the Era 300 takes things up another notch.
This more expensive speaker gets full Dolby Atoms and spatial audio support which will make the sound appear to hit your ears from all directions.
It also features a unique concave design with a whopping six class-D digital amplifiers and two woofers tucked inside that eco-friendly shell.
As we mentioned earlier, there are now much easier ways to connect external devices thanks to Bluetooth support and a USB-C port which is tucked on the rear of the speakers.
The new Era family also gets clever Trueplay technology which adapts the sound to suit the room the speakers are placed in.
Both the Era 100 and Era 300 will be available from March 28. The Era 100 costs £249 whilst the Era 300 will be priced at £449.
If that sounds a bit expensive, Sonos is currently offering an easy way to pay things back in instalments without facing any nasty charges for interest. That means the Era 300 will cost £149 over three monthly instalments and the Era 100 costs just £80 over the same period.
"Just like the shift from mono to stereo, spatial audio is the next evolution in listening—creating a sound experience that wraps you in music”, said Giles Martin, VP, Sound Experience at Sonos. "As both creators and major streaming platforms embrace spatial audio for music, the time is right to create an out loud listening experience that delivers against the promise of this thrilling and creative format".
