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I’ve just got a Sonos Beam gen 2 and want to build surround sound with it. My first addition will be an Era 100. I know it would be ideal to add a pair but for the time being I’ll have just one. A review I read suggests an individual Era 100 can be added as a stereo pair. Is this correct? Thanks.

This What Hifi review infers just one Era 100 can be added as a paired speaker to a Beam gen 2:

 

“The Era 100 is more powerful than the Sonos One, too, and can pair with the Sonos Arc, Ray and Beam Gen 1 and Gen 2 soundbars to work as part of a home cinema set-up. You can also pair two Era 100 speakers to work as a stereo pair, though you can do this with two Sonos Ones too.”

No, an Era 100 cannot be added to the Beam to create a stereo pair. You can only group the Era 100 with the Beam. But you will likely experience a slight audio delay from the Era 100 when playing TV audio. Streaming music will be in sync though.

If you want to use the Era 100 as a surround speaker to the Beam, you must use a pair of Era 100s.

You’ll need a matching pair of speakers (Era 100’s not 1x100 and 1x300, for example) to create a stereo pair or surrounds in a home theatre system. 
 

The article you quote is rather misleading. In Sonos terminology, two speakers operating as a stereo pair have been “paired”. Two speakers added to a soundbar have been “bonded” to create a 5.0 system (or 5.1 if a Sub is also bonded to the soundbar). The speaker “sets” are identified by a roomname such as Lounge or Kitchen. Rooms can be “grouped” to all play the same source. 

The article you quote is rather misleading. 

I’d have to agree, after re-reading it a few times. I already understood the distinction between pairing and grouping, but bonding is a new one for me. Thanks for clearing things up and I’ll wait until I can buy a pair of Era 100s for the task.

If you are waiting be sure to sign up to the Sonos mailing list so you get notified of any upcoming sale prices.

If you are waiting be sure to sign up to the Sonos mailing list so you get notified of any upcoming sale prices.

That’s good advice, but checking with other retail outlets is a must too. I picked up the gen 2 Beam this month at 25% discount off rrp during a flash sale.

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