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Hi, new Sonos enthusiast here, I never owned Sonos products before so I have no experience of any of them - yet!

I’m looking for a setup for my medium living room + open kitchen, I’d say about 25m².

  • This will be for music only, no home theater, no podcast
  • No specific type of music I listen to a lot of different genres, so I mostly need a good balance, but I don’t want weak bass either
  • I don’t need a lot of power though as I’m in an apartment and my neighbors won’t let me forget about them lol

I’ve ruled-out the Era 300 as I don’t need Dolby + not really suited to my use-case because I need my music to fill a room where I’ll be moving a lot.

So it comes down to either two Era 100, or one single Five (I don’t have the budget for two).

Which would you recommend, and why?

Thanks!

I spend a great deal of my time listening to my single Five and am very happy with it. The weakness is in stereo imaging, which is weak if you are far from it.

I haven’t tried the 100s yet but my 1s and Ones sound decent and with a pair of them you can create a reasonable stereo listening environment. Adding a Sub Mini would help the low end if you thought that was needed.

That's a tough one. I have a pair of Fives and lots of other speakers including a single 100 in my bedroom. 

I think it will come down to what's most important to you. Stereo imaging or bass. With 2 Eras you can space them for the ideal stereo set up. With the Five it will sound more bass heavy on its own. 

I think if I were in your shoes I'd go for the 2 100s with a view to adding a sub mini in the future. 

For small room, and just for music, would two Era 100’s + Sub be better then just two Sonos Fives?

I wouldn’t think so. The Fives are slightly better speakers. And it’s hard to beat physics. 

Most listeners feel that a pair of FIVE’s have better midrange clarity and adequate bass. If you are a bass freak, SUB is a must have.

Only you will know what sounds “best” (to you).

Thanks Airgtlam and buzz

For small room, and just for music, would two Era 100’s + Sub be better then just two Sonos Fives?

I would go with the Sub anchored set up - even the Mini Sub. Apart from richer bass especially at low listening levels, the midrange should be clearer. The only constraint is the need for space to be able to keep the Sub somewhere between the speaker pair,  close to the same plane as the pair. 

With the earlier Sonos One, there was the disadvantage of not getting a line in socket, but I think the Era units now have these.

Have a pair of both fives and a pair of Era 100s...have the Era 100s inline with the a mini sub.  Only use for music and  do not feel the fives require a sub.  But having said that, of the two systems, I am leaning towards the Era 100s with the sub as my preferred listening experience plus it also has voice control which the Fives do not.

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