Is THIS the FUTURE of HiFi? Sonos Era 300 Review

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► TESTING THE SONOS ERA 300 SPEAKERS

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"Rocket Man" Elton John
"Faith" George Michael
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► SONOS ERA 300 REVIEW - Is THIS the FUTURE of HiFi?

00:00 INTRO - ERA 300 REVIEW
00:32 SONOS ERA 300 - THE BASICS
01:08 ERA 300 CONNECTIONS & WIRELESS OPTIONS
01:49 SETTING UP SONOS ERA 300 SPEAKERS
02:32 CREATING A STEREO PAIR WITH SONOS ERA 300
02:52 SETTING UP ERA 300s AS SURROUNDS
03:14 HOW WE TESTED THE SONOS ERA 300
03:44 AIRPLAY & USING APPLE TV FOR VOLUME CONTROL
04:23 SONOS ERA TRUEPLAY
05:27 SONOS ERA SOUND QUALITY
06:06 SOUNDSTAGE & DYNAMICS IN STEREO
06:50 SONOS ERA SURROUND SOUND PERFORMANCE
07:42 ADDING SONOS ERA 300 TO SONOS SOUNDBARS
08:21 SONOS SUB MINI
09:05 ALTERNATIVES (PASSIVE SYSTEM)
09:56 SONOS vs BANG & OLUFSEN
10:42 SONOS ERA vs KLIPSCH SEVENS
11:12 MY FINAL THOUGHTS
11:58 KRISTI’S TAKE - SONOS ERA vs SONY A9
12:54 KRISTI & SONOS ERA
13:34 BANG & OLUFSEN / KLIPSCH
14:10 ERAS NEED STANDS
14:35 WHAT ABOUT THE SONOS SUB 3
15:24 SONOS ERA AS SURROUND SPEAKERS
16:00 WE OUT

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#sonos #smartspeaker #atmos

[andrewrobinsonreviews]

Good morning! Thanks everyone for watching this video. I wanted to jump in and address two of the more common questions (or critiques) I'm seeing on this video, which are a lack of Atmos/Spatial Audio discussion and the 300's pairing with the Sonos ARC. The ERA 300's height and additional Atmos/Spatial capabilities with respect to height and/or soundstage immersion are referenced throughout this video --the first reference coming at 00:32. I understand that this video does not have a chapter or chapters dedicated to the topic specifically, and as a result the mentions or references to are scattered throughout the video and dealt with in the greater context of the video and our review on the whole. My sincerest apologies for not tackling the topic head-on as some of you may have preferred.

My reason for this is actually simple; Atmos or Spatial Audio music represents a small fraction of the streaming music content on the market today. Apple estimates there are roughly a few thousand Atmos or Spatial Audio tracks on their platform (source: Verge) opposed to the roughly 100 million songs currently on Apple Music alone (source: Apple). Spatial Audio, in this instance, represents approximately 0.002% of the content available to the ERA 300 (or any smart speaker). Making an ERA review solely about 0.002% of the available music on just ONE platform did not seem realistic to me, especially considering not all Atmos or Spatial Audio tracks even sound good --at least in my opinion. Does well recorded and well-mixed Spatial Audio content sound good on one or two ERA 300s? YES! And the same is true of non-Spatial content, as stated in the video. But even when presented with a good Spatial sample, the 300's other shortcomings (which few are arguing with me about) are still present and able to be experienced and/or heard.

With respect to the ARC and the 300s as surround speakers, this we covered here 06:50, where I specifically say, "As surround sound speakers, the Era 300s are exceptional. BUT — I WOULDN’T build a surround sound system using the 300s with anything BUT the Sonos Arc." While I am well aware of your desire to see an ARC review, as stated in past videos and live streams, the ARC is now an "older" product, one that has been covered at length by the greater hifi, home theater and smart speaker community. ANOTHER review of the ARC at this point would not be helpful --at least not in my opinion. Seeing as how we spent thousands of dollars on this review already, the increased financial risk to include the ARC was something I simply didn't deem necessary. My apologies if you feel differently. While our surround sound experience may have been mildly more positive had we had the ARC rather than our Beam, it would not have swayed my overall opinion or final thoughts on the ERA itself, which were "The problem with the Era isn’t its sound –or its usability –it’s that it represents a new path for Sonos, one that is bright, but doesn’t seem fully realized yet. I’m sure with time the Era will improve and get some company from other Sonos products to match its capability, but for now, it’s a bit of an odd duck."

When reviewing a product I cannot look at through the lens of how people are going to (maybe) be happiest with it, or in its best use scenario --I have to look at it from as many angles as possible. In this case I used Sonos' own marketing materials and imagery as a jumping off point for my testing because they tout the ERA 300s as a bit of a triple threat; part single smart speaker, part stereo pair/sound bar replacement and part surround solution. They are strongest as surrounds when paired with a bar like the ARC that has upward firing drivers, which within the Sonos eco-system represents ONE other speaker. On their own or as a stereo pair they're impressive but imperfect and very quirky. I'm not alone in my critique of the speaker (and brand's) quirks. I've also come to realize that many would-be Sonos customers were not aware of some of this product's quirks or its lack of features, which we tried our best to highlight to give you the most well-rounded and objective review possible. Needless to say, I understand if I struck a nerve, or if you feel differently, but I standby my review and the remarks that followed in the discussion.

I hope this helps to address the two main questions I see in the comments. I never want people to come away from our reviews more confused or not satisfied with the information. Hopefully this additional explination gives you the answers you seek. Thanks for listening (or reading) and we'll see you on Thursday's LIVESTREAM!
-Andrew

[alexanderjacob]

Love the channel.

I have the Arc + Sub + Era’s 300 and I can’t imagine any setup besting the sound quality, ease of setup, build quality and support for ~2500.

Truplay works very well, connection and compatibility with the Apple ecosystem is seamless. Everything just works.

Can you do better if you pieced together a system for the same budget? Sure.

But while you’re waiting for speakers and wire to arrive, drilling holes in your ceiling and troubleshooting connections, I’ll be enjoying my movie.

[paulgibson]

I’m auditioning a pair of era 300s (one week left of my 45 day trial) and Im enjoying just listening to music again and not analyzing the sound of my rig. I’ve been into hi fi for 40 years always staying in that 1.5k to 2k range. ProAc, Totem, Sanus Faber, the list goes on but asking Alexa to play something and have it work is so nice. 
The ERA 300s handle all recording qualities well, where as previously set ups made listening to my collection rather unpleasant. Now I can just enjoy the music, and not seek out a musical experience with a limited selection of quality recordings. And the cable mess I had was getting ridiculous. The price bugged me a bit until I realized I’ve spend as much on a sub in the past.
If I want more of an listening experience, I’ll slap on my Audeze Maxwell headphones which are rather great.
Total cost 950 for Sonos, 300 for the Maxwells. I’m keeping my era 300s.

[ssherm]

With the ARC and Sub Gen 3 the 300's and Atmos are amazing. The Gen3 is right next to our sitting position and I did not nor have I ever heard vocals out of it. So I think if you upgrade to this configuration you will have a totally different thought of it as a surround speaker.

[sobeautifulsrilanka]

You guys missed the point on this one. The Era 300 is designed for the new era of spatial audio, and when playing well-mixed spacial audio tracks, for many people a pair of Era 300's kills traditional non-spacial-audio speakers like B&O, Klipsch etc. Wish you had a segment reviewing a pair of Era 300's playing spatial audio music tracks vs traditional setups playing the same tracks in stereo. The difference is night and day.

[KristiWright]

I just want to give a shout out to Andrew for putting together another beautiful video! He's putting in so much time and effort to elevate the viewer's experience. Please give him some love if you've noticed and appreciate all the little extras he does to make these videos fun!

[DavidDurfee-dg]

I just bought 4-300’s, a beam and 2 sub minis today. Got them set up super easy (45 min total) and then grouped everything together. So…beam, 2-300’s as rear surrounds and sub mini (normal setup) + I added the 2nd pair of 300’s plus the 2nd sub mini as a stereo set at the front of the setup. I listened to a ton of music, no movies yet, and it was crazy good. The surround affects blew the doors off the system without using the extra pair of 300’s and sub in front. People really should try this setup. It is very easy to toggle the extra speakers on a off to see the difference.

[laynesmith]

I have the arc with the era 300s as surrounds, this setup lives in this configuration because this is all i want it to be. I have had zero issues with dropouts, and i feel that these two play very well with each other. If you pay attention to this video, you will notice that they mentioned that they were using the smaller beam gen 2 with the mini sub. These era 300s will want and thrive with the bigger sub and arc. I am only commenting on the surround capabilities. As surrounds if you do more research you will find out they eliminate the front facing driver. Leaving just the up firing and left and rights to provide surround effects. IMO, i appreciate this because it doesn't pin point the location of the sounds right behind you but more dispersed. Anyways i do feel like Andrew and Kristi gave their honest opinion with what they have.

[zebratroopfan]

I have Sonos in just about every room. I know I could probably get better sound but the ease of use and the ability to listen to anything anywhere in my house seals the deal for me. I have analog that already plugs into a play 5 so it's irrelevant to me if the era has analog inputs. My wife, kids and I all routinely listen to different source material in different rooms. I love it.

[isaiahthompson]

Great review. I’d highly recommend pairing the Era300’s to the intended comparable Sonos products (Arc and Subwoofer). It really makes a difference and the setup of the Beam and Submini should never be combined with the Era300s

[matsprey]

I was so glad Kristi brought up the Sony HT-A9. I purchased it last November after coming from Sonos Arc, sub gen 2 and sonos 1s as surrounds. I do remember hearing voices through the sub when it was close to my seating position. The Sony system is way more immersive and the larger Sony sub integrates so well. I admit I have had occasional dropouts once or twice in that time but there is a setting to prioritise the connection and a more important one which is called RF channel. This searches for a clear wifi channel. I have not had any dropouts since carrying out this about 3 months ago. Thanks for a great review, yet again!

[goe]

My listening style change including downsizing to a smaller home. I went from B&W 804s home theatre system with mid Hi-Fi gear and went to a simple Sonos set-up. 2 ones in open living/kitchen room and 2 roams in the bathrooms. I have audio playing throughout my house. Why? I no longer do critical listening. I listen as I do things throughout the house. My home style is minimalistic. No more floor standing speakers, audio gear, cables and audio cabinet. I wanted something simple, wireless and incognito. Sonos does this with good sound quality. Plus, I no longer want to invest more money into audio. I’m done chasing audio bliss. The Sonos satisfies me……for now.

[kennethcoulter]

Appreciate the review on the Sonos Era 300 speakers. I do have these set up as rears with the Sonos Arc. I’m not an audiophile type of guy but I have to say I am very pleased with the sound coming out with this set up.

I also compared this set up to setting them up as stereo paired speakers. Love the sound when grouped with Sonos Arc when playing music.

However, I get a much better sound experience when listening to Dolby Atmos movies and music as rears connected to the Arc.

I’m also using the bigger Sonos sub in my set up.

Just wanted to share my experience from using these speakers. Again, thanks for the review and your review on other products.

Definitely enjoy hearing your reviews. Take care and be blessed.

[kl]

Geez. Your honesty, assuming is it is driven by nothing more than your opinion, is actually refreshing. So many complain when reviewers "only" report favorable opinions. Well this was not the case in this instance and the community is still complaining. All of us want to believe we spent our money on good to great sounding products. Sometimes when that decision making is challenged today via the review process, it is not something any of us typically wants to hear. It is AR's opinion; thats all.

[movie_av_impulse]

I know it's not much but I hope this will help with the bill for Kadie. I'm happy to see she's doing better. Kristi and yourself are amazing at your craft & creativity. I (& I think I speak for everyone here) you both are amazing fur baby parents. We also love you both for always being honest and real with us and providing amazing content! You both deserve all the happiness and great memories that you both will share in the future... ✌🏼 🕊️

[RobberClobber]

Just to clarify some of what Kristi’s questions as someone who has owned a ton of Sonos products. The big sub is actually a monster surprisingly and the Sonos Arc is a mile better than the Beam. If that helps anyone making a decision. I probably wouldn’t pair the era as rears with anything less that the Arc. Maybe the Era 100s would be a better match for the beam.

[spoorthyv]

Would really love to see you give this another shot with the Arc because whenever anyone raves about this speaker, it’s in that system. I think that’s the only scenario where this will shine.

[Reiberle]

We now have 13 Sonos speakers in our house and in 4 years never had any connection issues. The ease of use is the biggest plus for me. But I have to say that the Arc was a huge disappointment for me.
And if you buy a Sonos speaker and think that you’re getting the best sound quality possible you’re simply biased.


Thank you guys for this honest review.
This probably saves me 900€😂

But I would still love to hear your thoughts on the Fives.

Have a great week!

[adalarce]

In settings, you can set a default airplay pairing for your Apple TV audio. What you did is what you do only for temporary pairings

[crispincrunch]

Questions: 😅 how’d y’all get a hold of a Song X95L??

Andrew got a new iPhone, apparently?? Y’all shaking things up over there 🤭 really liking the renewed ✨energy & zeal✨