Ah ok. i  didnt know there was something in the cable that related to which way it works. Just assumed it was a conduit for sound both ways

Wouldnt muting the soundbar achieve this rather than ungrouping ?

Nope.  USB C is digital, while 3.5mm is analog.  A conversion needs to take place between the two.

A 3.5 to USB C is ‘Analog to Digital Conversion’ (ADC) while USB C to 3.5 is ‘digital to Analog Conversion’ ‘DAC’. There isn’t any device I’m aware of that can do both ADC and DAC depending on which direction a signal is coming in from.

‘Group’ in Sonos speak has to do with 2 or more rooms playing together. ‘Bond’ is 2 or more speakers playing together as part of a single room.  A soundbar and surrounds are bonded together.  You can’t mute the soundbar without also muting the surrounds speakers.

If you had 2 rooms grouped together, then yes, you can mute one room and not the other...or just ungroup them.

If I have 2 ERA 300s as a stereo pair and purchase 2 x line in adapters could I connect 1 to each of the speakers and still use as a stereo pair ?

i.e. a Rega Planar 1 turntable (and pre-amp) to the left speaker and a CD Player to the right speaker ?

Yes as I have done the same with my stereo pair of Fives. Works really well.

Underwhelmed to say the least, the soundstage is definitely wider with less gaps listening to 4k UHD physical media but the fidelity is hindered compared to the ones so the sound itself is not as crystal.  One of the speakers received does not have a backplate that fits flush which is not acceptable for a product of this price and this unfortunately is extremely common looking at reddit posts.  Sonos should have been transparent on the sales page in regards to the centre driver being disabled when used as surrounds (whether needed or not) and so I will be arranging a return.    To top it off since setting my ones back up there is now an occasionally loud pop sound from the rear speakers, again judging from reddit posts this is happening to all rears in the line up and will need a fix with yet another software update … 

I felt invested in the Sonos ecosystem and as said i do love my current setup and hopefully it will do me well for years to come but I don’t think i will invest in it further after this experience.  I’m ok with spending a lot of money for quality, and it is a lot of money so to receive one (of many) that slipped quality control and to have personally compared sound using lossless audio to find they don’t hold up to older speakers in pure clarity (not wider soundstage) there is no justification. 

I urge those to have bought them and experiencing and wowed by that wider sound to just switch back to your previous rears and listen to the same scene again and make your final decision.  Had both speakers have arrived perfect i may not have switched back to compare.

The quality control (or lack there of) reported for the 300’s does seem a little worrying as like you say, these are expensive speakers. I have an Era 100 in my bedroom and thankfully that looks fine. I have not seen similar reports for the 100 anyway.

I wonder if the reason for the seemingly worse construction is due to them changing how they construct the speakers? In that they don’t use glue or so much glue now? Could be a reason?

I reckon you’re right.  I think due to the rounded shape it would take some finesse to fit the backplate perfectly flush but the mark has been missed on several occasions and allowed to be sent out to the consumer.  I also haven’t seen any complaints with the 100s, if only they had an upward firing driver.

Looking on a post on Reddit it seems these new speakers won't work on Sonosnet like the portable ones. That could be an issue for some? 

As I mentioned earlier, this is amazing news and is likely a big surprise to most people - many of whom may just have assumed this would actually work on Sonosnet.  As a result of Roam and Move not supporting Sonosnet, the main reason given was their ability to move around and make heavy work of maintaining a stable mesh even though they could move around freely.

What is the rationale for these things? I am really curious as to why they are implemented?  Yes, we are all aware that WiFi in general is improving rapidly, but there are still many who still prefer Sonosnet, and even now there are still a great deal of issues arising from speakers trying to connect to WiFi when you don't want them to - because the system learns the WiFi credentials in the process.

Some reviewers and customers have said that the Fives (stereo pairs) are superior to the Era 300 for music playback. I have been very impressed by the Fives in the past and I would want something with similar impact. A hair less impact would be okay, but overall I want to be moved by the music, if you know what I mean. Do you think I would need to add a sub mini to get to where I want to be? Or will the 300s in a stereo pair impress in a room that's about 5x6 meters?

I use a pair of 5's and sub gen2 for my music playback as i am not a fan of atmos music 

Reminds me of the quadrophonic fad in the 70s

Plus all the music I like was mixed for stereo listening I like the band in front of me

I hear you. It does seem a bit freakish. I'm leaning towards the Fives but am intrigued by the 300s. And I do like the look.  I'm curious how they're going quote/unquote enhance 2 channel playback. I enjoy the reverb effects that my surround setup lends to stereo even though it's fake news.

I only use my arc surround setup for movies and TV 

Due to the reason previously mentioned love the 5’s for music though good rich sound especially with my astell and kern DAP connected to them

Good morning, I have a sound system made up of a SUB, an ARC bar, and 2 ONEs. I recently bought 2 ERA 300s to add them to the system. My question is if the ONEs can be combined with the ERA 300s to play movies on the TV.Thank you

Not combined.  The Era 300s can replace the Ones as surround speakers, which will give you superior Atmos surround.  You can then use the Ones in another location. 

Salve, posseggo una sound bar arc un sub 1 generazione e 2 play 1 generazione ...con cosa posso sostituire il play..da premettere che io uso l'impianto x ascoltare film 

What do you want to achieve by changing the Play 1’s? Era 300’s would give you Dolby Atmos on the rear speakers.

Il problema è che io guardo prettamente film, qualunque sia la calibrazione ho sbalzi di audio improvviso,con voce che non si riesce neanche a percepire,sto seriamente pensando che x i film il sistema sonos non vada bene 

I would doubt that changing the surrounds would make the differences you’re hoping for. Have you tried using Night Sound & Speech Enhancement via the App instead, and/or adjusting EQ settings? Also perhaps consider Trueplay tuning the Home Theatre room, if not done already.

Hi @GuitarSuperstar 

With Beam (Gen 2)/Arc and Era 300, you will have 7.1.4 surround sound. With Arc, fewer of these channels are virtualised.

When it comes to Atmos, it no longer makes sense to think about things in terms of channels - during the mixing process, each sound is assigned an XYZ co-ordinate which is encoded in the stream, and it is up to the rendering device (Arc/Beam) to decide how to actualise those co-ordinates, given what it knows about the speakers it has. The same Atmos track played in a cinema, for example, will be rendered across many more speakers, and differently, as a result. More info can be found on the Wikipedia page for Dolby Atmos. The rear speakers will play sounds meant to be behind you, but which specific drivers are used depends on the exact co-ordinate assigned to the audio.

With 5.1 soundtracks, the speakers are used pretty much in the way that you would assume - each speaker has a specific track to play.

With the use of dual Subs, the .1 is still considered .1 as the two Subs do not play different tracks from each other.

I hope this helps.

Hi all,

Today we introduce Era 300: an unmatched spatial audio experience with Dolby Atmos for listeners and creators alike.

Unprecedented for a single compact speaker, Era 300 boasts six powerful drivers that direct sound left, right, forward and upward, delivering a breakthrough audio performance featuring Dolby Atmos that places listeners at the very heart of their movies and music.

• Designed for spatial: Era 300 wraps its beautifully complex acoustic architecture in an elegantly cinched hourglass design, with every angle, proportion and perforation enhancing the direction and dispersion of sound to truly surround you.

• Surreal surround sound: Era 300 is the brand’s first speaker that delivers multi-channel surround sound when used as home theater rears. Movie fans can pair two speakers with Arc or Beam (Gen 2) to create a supercharged Dolby Atmos experience that draws them deeper into the action.

• Deep music industry collaboration: Sonos worked closely with its community of leading artists and creators - including Sonos Soundboard members - to meticulously fine-tune Era 300 so listeners can enjoy sound straight from the studio that’s true to the artist’s intent. 

 

Premium, responsible design that keeps everyone in mind

Building on Sonos’s timeless acoustic-driven design aesthetic, Era 100 and Era 300 are responsive to the challenges facing our environment—and better for everyone who interacts with our designs, featuring a bold new UI and innovations that will help them last longer, use less energy and make use of recycled materials in each product. 

• More sustainable sound: Era 100 and Era 300 are made with post consumer recycled (PCR) plastic and packaged in 100% sustainably sourced paper, while also engineered to reduce power consumption with under two watts idle power consumption and a new advanced sleep function.

• Built to last: Designed to live in your home for years, both speakers are built for serviceability by reducing the use of adhesives and transitioning to screws for easy disassembly and repair.

• Bold, new UI: Era 100 and Era 300 feature an intuitive new user interface, including a new capacitive volume slider for simple control that complements quick and private control of your music with Sonos Voice Control, the Sonos app, Apple AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth.

• Upgraded connectivity: Stream all the audio you care about using WiFi or Bluetooth, and directly connect other audio devices such as a turntable using an auxiliary cable and the Sonos Line-In Adapter.

• Expanding Trueplay to more listeners: Using the microphone array in Era 100 and Era 300, Trueplay optimizes the sound for the unique acoustics of your space with just a tap in the Sonos app. Available to both Android and iOS users.

Era 300 will be available for pre-order on sonos.com today, and globally starting March 28 2023 for $449USD, £449, €499 and $749 AUS. For more information, please visit Sonos.com

Read the full press release for Era 100 and Era 300 here.

Today we introduce Era 300: an unmatched spatial audio experience ? bang olfesn been doing this for decades 

How did they do that then? Spacial/Dolby Atmos music has only existed since 2017.

Edit: you literally OWN an Era 300! Why the shade?!

forget atmos. the speaker set up to gain spatial. have you ever own a B&0?