Sonos Era 300

If there's one thing you have to give Sonos credit for, it's that they don't exactly introduce a plethora of products at the drop of a hat. No, they take their time, and while there have been small changes and upgrades to their line-up over the years, the One and Five have been centrepieces for a long time.

But that era is now over, and in its place we now have... well, Era. More specifically, we have the replacement for Five, which has been named Era 300. Going forward, it's the slightly larger cousin in the series, which you can buy for just under £450, the same price at which Five was introduced.

The first thing you'll undoubtedly be drawn to is the bizarre shape, to say the least. It's designed to promote the whole Spatial Audio angle, which we'll get to, but it looks... well, special. Don't worry; you still get the iconic perforated grille, the same materials, and even a little more connectivity in the form of a rear USB-C port that can easily be converted into a simple line-in. This means you can connect a mixer, for example, should things get interesting.

It's a heavy bass at 4.4kg, and there are six drivers, each firing sound forwards, left, right and upwards, in the same way the Sonos Arc does in principle. More specifically, that's four tweeters and two woofers. The sound is the same relatively warm and balanced sound we're familiar with from the latest Five, and there is, of course, TruePlay and the relatively seamless setup via the Sonos app that we're also familiar with from the last several product launches.

This isn't a revolution in user experience, surface, or operation, this is Sonos' first foray into what they call "true spatial audio", and it's pretty easy to hear once you sit down. It should be said, however, that it's limited to which services actually offer real playback of music with Spatial Audio. Apple Music offers Dolby Atmos now, but must be specifically enabled in the settings, but Spotify, for example, does not yet.

We've primarily tested through Apple Music, and the difference is quite significant. Because of the Era 300's design and sound profile, the sound has a more immersive dimension, and if you've ever sat in a real Dolby Atmos home theatre with physical devices placed in the correct pattern, it's a similar feeling to that achieved with a single speaker. Of course, the effect is not as pronounced, and even though the speaker is partially omnidirectional, it obviously affects the listener how it is placed or where you are.

But the effect is there, it's not a gimmick, and there's no doubt that Spatial Audio, whatever various companies end up calling it, is a technology we can count on to take off, and by combining a meaningful implementation with better backwards compatibility in the form of line-in and direct Bluetooth, the Era 300 is part of a crucial new era for Sonos.

By the way, you'll have to pay something like £20 for the adapter needed to use USB-C to Ethernet and jack. Ugh.