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Hi,

I’m trying to decide on what would be better for music listening. Mostly streaming off Spotify. I’m a bit concerned that the Fives may be replaced soonish which leans me towards the newer Era 300s but I’m not sure which would be better for my usage. 
 

I may decide to wall mount them. Would that negate having the up-firing tweeters? 

Im really stuck choosing. I’ve spoken to two Sonos reps and one said the Fives and the other the Era 300s. Any help would be super appreciated! Thank you 

Sonos’ advertising says a pair of Fives is best for pure stereo. 
 

If you do think Atmos is the future, you need the Era 300’s. 
 

Personally, I find the Era 300’s very acceptable for “conventional” music. 
 

Setup guide says leave (as I recall) 60cm clearance from ceiling or else invert them on the wall mount. 

Buy a pair of each, listen to them in your room to assess which you think are better, and return the unwanted ones for a refund. (Or put them in a different room.)

Sonos’ advertising says a pair of Fives is best for pure stereo. 
 

If you do think Atmos is the future, you need the Era 300’s. 
 

Personally, I find the Era 300’s very acceptable for “conventional” music. 
 

Setup guide says leave (as I recall) 60cm clearance from ceiling or else invert them on the wall mount. 

I personally don’t think it is and a lot of the stuff I listen to was mixed quite a while ago. I can’t see them mixing it again for Atmos. So maybe the Fives?

I think @nik9669a pretty much summed things up quite nicely!

Here’s the Sonos marketing spoken of:

Clearly the Five is Sonos’s recommendation for Best “stereo” listening if you’ll not be concerned about Spatial Audio in the future or Dolby Atmos for home theater. I have a stereo pair of both and I really have to be in a “laser focused” mode for stereo to prefer my Five’s over my Era 300’s. Of course I had the Fives before the Era 300’s  were introduced; but if I had to decide today I’d probably go with the Era 300’s as they fulfill current and future possibilities. 

One critical point IMO is “wall mounting” of either the Five’s or Era 300’s. Neither will perform at their optimal for critical stereo listeing when above the listeners ears when in a seated position. On the other hand if you’re just wanting to wash-over a space with stereo sound then it’s a toss up. I probably still go with the Era 300’s for the reasons previously mentioned (as well as being $100 Less).

Edit:

Adding a Sonos sub (sub-Mini will do) to the Era 300’s makes up for any lack of low-end that might give the Fives a slight edge.

  • Five x 2 = $1098
  • Era 300 x 2 with Sub-Mini = $1,327

I personally don’t think it is and a lot of the stuff I listen to was mixed quite a while ago. I can’t see them mixing it again for Atmos. So maybe the Fives?

Hi @EnglishRed232, I don’t think there’s a wrong choice here.

@AjTrek1 makes a good case for the Era 300s: greater optionality and potentially a longer runway wrt to product support down the road.

The Fives are physically larger and include a third midwoofer. I’ve used them in extremely large rooms—in one instance a commercial gym—and I bet the Fives win on the basis of distortion-free volume. 

I personally don’t think it is and a lot of the stuff I listen to was mixed quite a while ago. I can’t see them mixing it again for Atmos. So maybe the Fives?

Hi @EnglishRed232, I don’t think there’s a wrong choice here.

@AjTrek1 makes a good case for the Era 300s: greater optionality and potentially a longer runway wrt to product support down the road.

The Fives are physically larger and include a third midwoofer. I’ve used them in extremely large rooms—in one instance a commercial gym—and I bet the Fives win on the basis of distortion-free volume. 

That’s a good point. The room here is large. 23.5ft by 28ft and a 7.152 foot ceiling.

Im going to go with two Fives

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