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Shnipis
Contributor I
April 2, 2026

Sonos five (stereo pair) with Sonos Era 100 or Sonos Era 300

 

I have two Sonos Five speakers (a stereo pair), and I'd like to improve the stereo sound in my large room (50 sq m). Which is better to add to the system: the Sonos ERA 300 (with Dolby Atmos) (a stereo pair) or the ERA 100 (a stereo pair), and what sound loss might there be? The main speakers will be the Sonos Five.

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Stanley_4
Stanley_4
Grand Maestro
April 2, 2026

What does "improve" mean? Does it mean increasing the volume? Doubling one stereo pair with another doesn't seem like a good solution; there will be too many latency and phasis issues between the two systems. A subwoofer or a subwoofer plus a soundbar would be the best solutions.

Perhaps another solution would be to not broadcast in stereo and to pair the two Five speakers with  ERA100 or ERA300 speakers. This would create a mono group.

You can't Pair dissimilar speakers, only group them.

In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?

Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?

No, you can put them in the rear but they won't play the rear channels, only stereo.

In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?

Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?

A stereo system consists of two speakers only two,  multiple sources are no longer stereo, but “home cinema”
Home cinema is multi-channel, you can't get that from Paired or Grouped single channel speakers.

In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?

Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?

A stereo system consists of two speakers only two,  multiple sources are no longer stereo, but “home cinema”
 

Surely a “home cinema” system is one playing 5.1/7.1 or other cinematic audio signals, rather than multiple speakers playing a stereo source? A room with multiple speakers (single mono or speakers or stereo-pairs) playing the same audio source is simply a multi-speaker system - and not necessarily producing a good, cohesive sound. 

Placing a pair of SONOS five speakers 2-2.5 meters apart will provide optimal stereo sound. Further distance will degrade the stereo effect. Since the room is large, the stereo effect will be weakened. To reduce the loss of stereo sound, I planned to add a stereo pair of ERA 100/300 speakers (as rear stereo speakers, 3-4 meters apart, positioned closer to the listening position and directions for the listener). These speakers would operate separately (configured as a separate room), but in the same room as the SONOS five.

Home theater systems operate in 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, but in my case, I wanted to preserve stereo sound rather than create surround sound. I'm looking for quality, not volume.
The question is, will the SONOS five and the ERA 100/300 stereo pair work in sync when listening to the same source, or will distortion (echo, latency, etc.)?

Complicated answer, yes they will play in perfect sync, but you will have varying delays based on distance from your ears. That is as designed for stereo listening with two front speakers properly placed. How much delay/echo you get depends on distance, how well you tolerate it is an individual issue. What aggravates me with four speakers in a room, or a soundbar and surrounds in Full Mode is how much the stereo image is disrupted.

 

As I read this I think you might be best served with a full sized Sub bonded to the Fives. The Fives are not weak at the bottom  but you are filling a larger room and the additional sound from the Sub, plus lightening the load on the Fives by offloading the lowest frequencies should help.

ShnipisAuthor
Contributor I
April 2, 2026

There's no such thing as "rear stereo speakers", but I understand what you are trying to do: have four speakers play music, so stereo sound from speakers in front and speakers front and behind you. Since you are planning on grouping two "rooms” in the Sonos app, why the insistence on Era 300's? An extra pair of Five's will fit sonically with the Five's you already own and the Era 300's USP (Atmos) will not work when they are grouped with the Fives.. 

If I place the ERA300 in a separate room, it will work in Dolby Atmos, right? But if I move the ERA300 into a room with the FIVE, the FIVE won't allow the ERA300 to work in Dolby Atmos, am I right?
Then I'll have to try the ERA100...
The FIVE produces more than enough low frequencies.

nik9669a
Senior Virtuoso
April 2, 2026

​@Shnipis, your profile says you already own Era 100 and 300. Why not try different combinations and let your ears decide what’s best? You can physically move your Era speakers into the room with the Fives, reconfigure your system if necessary (if the Eras are set as surrounds to a soundbar, for example) and try things out. Then reconfigure them back after experimentation. 

ShnipisAuthor
Contributor I
April 2, 2026

​@Shnipis, your profile says you already own Era 100 and 300. Why not try different combinations and let your ears decide what’s best? You can physically move your Era speakers into the room with the Fives, reconfigure your system if necessary (if the Eras are set as surrounds to a soundbar, for example) and try things out. Then reconfigure them back after experimentation. 

Not yet. I'm looking for the best option...

106rallye
106rallye
April 2, 2026

There's no such thing as "rear stereo speakers", but I understand what you are trying to do: have four speakers play music, so stereo sound from speakers in front and speakers front and behind you. Since you are planning on grouping two "rooms” in the Sonos app, why the insistence on Era 300's? An extra pair of Five's will fit sonically with the Five's you already own and the Era 300's USP (Atmos) will not work when they are grouped with the Fives.. 

If I place the ERA300 in a separate room, it will work in Dolby Atmos, right? But if I move the ERA300 into a room with the FIVE, the FIVE won't allow the ERA300 to work in Dolby Atmos, am I right?
Then I'll have to try the ERA100...
The FIVE produces more than enough low frequencies.

A “room” is Sonos is different from a physical room. A Sonos “room” is a single speaker or a defined stereo or homecinema set up. You cannot put Era 300’s in a Sonos “room” with the Five’s. The Five’s and the Era 300’s will need to be set up in two separate “rooms”, while the speakers can of course be in the same physical room. For them to play the same music both “rooms” and have both “rooms” play in sync, they need to be grouped (see https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/group-and-ungroup-rooms). When you group Atmos speakers with non-Atmos speakers the Atmos speakers will not play Atmos.

    ShnipisAuthor
    Contributor I
    April 2, 2026

    There's no such thing as "rear stereo speakers", but I understand what you are trying to do: have four speakers play music, so stereo sound from speakers in front and speakers front and behind you. Since you are planning on grouping two "rooms” in the Sonos app, why the insistence on Era 300's? An extra pair of Five's will fit sonically with the Five's you already own and the Era 300's USP (Atmos) will not work when they are grouped with the Fives.. 

    If I place the ERA300 in a separate room, it will work in Dolby Atmos, right? But if I move the ERA300 into a room with the FIVE, the FIVE won't allow the ERA300 to work in Dolby Atmos, am I right?
    Then I'll have to try the ERA100...
    The FIVE produces more than enough low frequencies.

    A “room” is Sonos is different from a physical room. A Sonos “room” is a single speaker or a defined stereo or homecinema set up. You cannot put Era 300’s in a Sonos “room” with the Five’s. The Five’s and the Era 300’s will need to be set up in two separate “rooms”, while the speakers can of course be in the same physical room. For them to play the same music both “rooms” and have both “rooms” play in sync, they need to be grouped (see https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/group-and-ungroup-rooms). When you group Atmos speakers with non-Atmos speakers the Atmos speakers will not play Atmos.

    Okay, now I get it. Thanks.

    Then ERA300 makes no sense.

    Stanley_4
    Stanley_4
    Grand Maestro
    April 2, 2026

    For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.

    A Sub adds more to a 300 than a Five (I think, I have a Play 5) but isn't a necessity for them. I have two 300 Pairs, one with a full Sub and one without, both sound great but walking between the two rooms you do notice the Sub's contribution. 

    MoPac
    MoPac
    Headliner III
    April 2, 2026

     You could have 4 300s.  Now there’s a room filling setup at least with Atmos.  Never tried grouping two Atmos capable rooms, but I think 4 300s ( Two stereo pairs ) would group and still play Atmos music.  Party time!!

      ShnipisAuthor
      Contributor I
      April 2, 2026

      For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.

      A Sub adds more to a 300 than a Five (I think, I have a Play 5) but isn't a necessity for them. I have two 300 Pairs, one with a full Sub and one without, both sound great but walking between the two rooms you do notice the Sub's contribution. 

      “For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.”

      That is, don't group them, but use them as separate ones, and then they will sound like separate stereo pairs, Five as stereo and 300 as Atmos Dolby. Right?

      nik9669a
      Senior Virtuoso
      April 2, 2026

      For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.

      A Sub adds more to a 300 than a Five (I think, I have a Play 5) but isn't a necessity for them. I have two 300 Pairs, one with a full Sub and one without, both sound great but walking between the two rooms you do notice the Sub's contribution. 

      “For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.”

      That is, don't group them, but use them as separate ones, and then they will sound like separate stereo pairs, Five as stereo and 300 as Atmos Dolby. Right?


      If you don’t group them they can’t play in sync. 

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