Era 300 vs Five

It’s going off into the weeds a bit, but I think, but the question of what’s better for music sources got more complicated with atmos music factored in.  For stereo sources, Fives are definitely better, but that gap is closed if you are in a smaller room and/or add in a sub or mini sub. 

The Fives don’t do atmos music though, so for atmos sources, era 300s are better. obviously.  Another drawback is when you group rooms for music.  If you group a room of Fives with an room with Arc (or Beam G2, or 300s) for music sources, every room will play stereo only.  the lowest common denominator wins in this case, pretty much by necessity as stereo and atmos tracks are typically completely different tracks.  If you group a room of 300s with a room with Arc, then you get atmos music in both rooms.

That said, if you are thinking of putting 2 Sonos rooms in the same physical room, one for music sources, and one for TV sources, using Era 300s for the music rooms doesn’t make any sense, IMO.  An Arc + surrounds is a better atmos music player than a pair of Era 300s at this point, mostly due to the additional surrounds.  It makes more sense to use Fives just for stereo music sources in that physical room, or when you intend to group with other rooms in the house that are only stereo capable (because Fives sounds better for stereo than Arc).

Yes, it gets complicated now with so many different options with different capabilities.  I’d say one of the biggest gaps in what Sonos offers right now is the ability to have an atmos capable home theatre with separate front left and right speakers, so that you get the best experience for atmos and stereo sources. 

As well, I think I’d like to see Sonos allow grouping of stereo and atmos capable rooms with each playing at their highest level.  I say ‘think’ because I’m not sure I’d want to get a downgraded mix of stereo rather than original recording of stereo.  Ideally, a music source track would contain both stereo and atmos versions that can be played together in sync...but I don’t know that even that would make sense as it would add a restriction and complication  in the production of these tracks...for what is ultimately a minimal requirement.

@melvimbe 

Thanks a lot for pulling my post to start your novella.😊Can’t catch a break in this community. 😂😂😂

It was personal. /s

Hadn’t seen “/s” used in a millennia…how old are you? However the fact that remember it dates me also 😂😂😂

I’m going to have to make an effort to find and listen to some Atmos music.

I’m a big Play 5 / Five fan but the 300s do open up something I’ve not really considered.

Hi folks….

Been a little buizy lately work on my grannys car change parts for an EU-control(MOT i belive it’s called in USA/England)…anyway.

Today i placed the order for……a pair of Era300 and a pair of Five. I did allso came across the Sonos orginal stads for the Era300 and i manage to get a pair of Flexson stands for the Five’s but one in seperate stores…let’s hope they’re the same.

I will probobly have the Five’s in my bedroom cause it’s the place i normally listen to music.

So i’m expecting my speakers next week i guess…and yes i ordered directly from Sonos. They are remarkable FAST in shipping.

Have a Great Weekend🙏

#melvimbe

About my setup in my bedroom i think perhaps you misunderstand…Right now i had to put the Era100 on top of a lamp in order to have the speaker a little higher. But this is why i’m gonna replace this with the Ikea Symfonisk Lamp Gen2…i’ll let you see in a picture.

Or i could use $300+ for Sonos Orginal Stands and place them in each corner(the Era100)

#melvimbe

I find it interesting to compare stereo and atmos music. For me it’s like with food… different tastes like italian or asian food but both can be great. 😉

Stereo still is my favorite but sometimes it’s a great change to listen to atmos music. But the quality of atmos tracks imho differs a lot. Some tracks sound horrible and others are such a pleasure. 

FYI, in these forums @BOL74  will flag a specific user, and notify them that they have been reference them in a post, if they have notifications turned on (I don’t).

Yea, I don’t think the picture really changes anything.  You can’t just add a lamp module/feature to the top of Era 100s and 300s without changing the physical design, and features, of these products.  The symfonisk lamps relocated the hard button controls to the bottom, rather than top, and lose the mic.  Then there is a difference in woofers/tweeters in the device.  I would not be too surprised if a gen 3 of the ikea lamp comes out this year with the dual woofers like Era 100 has, and possibly a mic for voice control, etc.

Regardless, I understand why you’re wanting to switch to the lamps.  They are a good option to save space.