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Why Ask If A Sonos Era Series Speaker Will Out-Perform A Play1 or Sonos One/SL?

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Hello

This is written not to discourage you from asking questions regarding Sonos speakers of any type. To the contrary it’s written to encourage you think about your question; then ask yourself if it’s one that will get an unbiased answer versus subjective opinions. Let’s begin...

Since the release of the Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 series the question is asked “are they worth an upgrade from A Play:1, Sonos One/SL series and/or a Play:3 (*)”. You might notice that I sequenced the first three in a row and left the Play:3 last. I did that purposely by design.

The transition from the Play:1 to the One series was mostly cosmetic along with the introduction of the soft touch controls. 

Sound characteristics did not change to a degree that would warrant an upgrade. Most would need the ears of a canine to perceive a noticeable difference. 😊 Expansion of the internal memory in the Sonos One/SL (Gen2) for future software enhancements was the driver to seriously consider upgrading. 

Fast forward to the introduction of the Era 100 is where the sonic improvements are realized in addition to a redesign of the speaker enclosure. Other upgrades to the Era 100 series include Bluetooth, Line-in and a microphone shut-off security switch to derail voice assistant listening.

Having set the stage let’s discuss “why ask is there an improvement in sound of the Era 100 over the Play:1 or Sonos One/SL.” 

Let’s explore the difference that most are curious about…

Sonos incorporated two angled tweeters above a larger mid-woofer in the Era 100 versus a single tweeter above a smaller mid-woofer in the Sonos One/SL. Sonically without a doubt there is an improvement to be realized unless one has a hearing impairment.

It follows that Sonos would not have invested in the redesign of the Era 100 versus the Sonos One/SL (Gen2) if no noticeable sound characteristic improvements could be realized.

Granted your environment has a lot to do with how a speaker sounds which is one reason the Era 100 offers continuous acoustic tuning in addition to Trueplay. The latter requiring an iOS device. However, the true deciding factor is your EAR. 

Asking the above question in the community only conjures up opinions. Sonos offers a 45 day return policy (**). Therefore, regardless of my opinion or anyone else’s in the community you need to rely on your own EAR’s  to make the final decision as to how an Era 100 sounds versus a Play:1 and/or Sonos One/SL. This assumes you already own one of the older models to make the comparison…if not…it’s a moot point….BUY the Era 100.

BTW…I haven’t forgotten about the Era 300. Here’s the typical scenario voiced as a question in the community.

“I have an ARC, Sub and One SL’ s as surrounds. Has anyone upgraded the surround to Era 300’s. Is it worth it and does it make the whole experience better.”

 

Let’s think this through…

The Era 300 delivers Spatial Audio for music as a stand-alone speaker. It’s also designed to complement the Arc for full immersion with the Dolby Atmos experience for movies. The Sonos One/SL’s nor the Era 100’s do any of that.

OK…so you own an Arc and maybe it’s not because of Spatial Audio or Dolby Atmos. You just wanted something more than a Ray or Beam2. So you’re using your Sonos One/SL’s as surrounds. 

Knowing what the Era 300’s are designed for and what they can do when bonded to an Arc how can they not be an improvement over the One/SL’s as surrounds in the right room environment. Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos require reflections from walls and ceiling to really be effective. The ideal space is 12 -15 Ft wide and 18 -20 Ft long with 8 Ft ceiling. Larger spaces will work; however, if you live in a cathedral then all bets are off. 😊

Here again the true test as to whether or not Era 300’s will make an improvement as surrounds boils down to what you can hear. 

Other factors to consider:

  • Do you care about Spatial Audio for music
  • Do you watch enough movies with Dolby Atmos to justify the investment. 

Asking the community again conjures up a rash of opinions (including my own). If you want to spend the money; let your EARS be the deciding factor. Return them if not to your satisfaction.

If all you’re wanting is an improvement with the surround experience then you might consider the Era 100’s versus Era 300’s. The Era 100’s are the logical transition from the Play:1 or Sonos One/SL series. The same litmus test applies…let your EARS be the deciding factor.

I hope this makes sense. The same logic can be applied to any question asked in the community. Will the answer received be more subjective than objective.

* I’ll not discuss the Play:3 as Sonos has no direct replacement for it. 

** Sonos returns policy window varies by country. It may be more or less depending upon your location

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

10 replies

Sotiris C.
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Hey @AjTrek1, thank you for the very well written post!

Asking the community again conjures up a rash of opinions (including my own). If you want to spend the money; let your EARS be the deciding factor. Return them if not to your satisfaction.

Couldn’t agree more with the above! I’ll simply add the below links:

Orders and Returns

Return your Sonos product

I hope this will help our Community users decide whether they want to upgrade their Sonos One / Sonos One SL with our newer Sonos Era 100 / Sonos Era 300 speakers.

Leaving a like and marking Best Answer might make someone's day. Who knows, that someone might be you.
K

The bigger question for those with working existing units is if you want to give in to the Sonos effort of creating dissatisfaction with what you have today. For instance play 1 units, especially if a Sub is added to a pair, can compete in audiophile categories for sound quality at much lower price points, when objectively assessed for just sound quality, and can deliver years of excellent music and listening pleasure. I have used mine since 2014, replacing a high end HiFi set up with not a day’s regret, and continue to do so.

And for every ERA, there will be a new ERA in a few years. So do you want to stay on this Sonos powered treadmill, is the question to answer.

Ironically, when you buy Sonos, you are also paying for build quality and software updates over a lifetime of maybe a decade or even more, so you throw that away when upgrading simply because Sonos has brought a “bigger/better” to market.

Similar to audiophile hobbyists who will spend a bomb on hardware built to milspec standards, of bomb proof build, but will discard that in a few years or less, with the majority of the paid for service life unused, influenced by audiophile marketing and media.

For first time buyers the situation is different - buy what sounds best to you for the price you can afford to pay. Once that is done, and the brain is used to how your kit sounds for the music you like, don’t rock that boat for trivial reasons.

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

@Kumar 

The purpose of the original post is to get individuals to stop relying on “opinions of others” whether they be from community members or otherwise when it comes to sound quality of a subject speaker. No one in this community can OBJECTIVELY say any Sonos speaker (in the final analysis) will be just what a community member (or first time buyer) is looking for. Only the individual who must live with the speaker after auditioning it for a few days can decide if they made the right choice. Fortunately, Sonos offers a generous return window.

I personally can’t tell anyone what’s going to sound good to THEIR ears in THEIR  home. All I can offer is my OPINION based upon my ear and listening environment. I may on occasion make a suggestion or two on what might affect how a speaker sounds. However, the variables are too many and one-size doesn’t fit all. 

I don’t think Sonos is trying to create dissatisfaction for community members regarding speakers they already own. On that stance it can be said about any company. What about Apple and Samsung who every year release a new cell phone model that’s supposed to better than the previous years model. Yet you say Sonos is creating a “powered treadmill” by releasing a new model every four (4) to five (5) years. *

  • Sonos Play:1_2013
  • Sonos One_2017
  • Sonos Era 100_2023

Putting the above aside every company is going to continue to release new products on some type of schedule. Hopefully those products bring innovative features that their target audience wants. If they don’t they’ll soon be eclipsed by their competition which leads to irrelevance, obsolescence and finally being forced out of the market.

I would challenge you to name one company in the electronics business that offers a fifteen (15) to thirty (30) percent upgrade credit on a product the consumer already owns (be it working or not). Also in the process allow you to keep the product to repurpose, gift, or sell. 

Some company’s do offer trade-in credit which usually requires the owner to relinquish the product. Granted Sonos when it first introduced the upgrade policy made a misstep by “bricking” the owned product. They realized the error and corrected it…admittedly after complaints that led to some bad press (real of just in the community).

Maybe I’m missing something in your post and I do apologize for my lack of understanding be that the case. However, at this juncture I just don’t see/comprehend how your reply tracks with the original post. 

  * That may not have been the message you intended to send; but pulling “Snippets” doesn’t always capture the essence of what is meant. Once again my apologies.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
K

@Kumar 

 

I don’t think Sonos is trying to create dissatisfaction for community members regarding speakers they already own. On that stance it can be said about any company.

Maybe I’m missing something in your post and I do apologize for my lack of understanding be that the case. However, at this juncture I just don’t see/comprehend how your reply tracks with the original post. 

  * That may not have been the message you intended to send; but pulling “Snippets” doesn’t always capture the essence of what is meant. Once again my apologies.

Of course they are trying to create dissatisfaction, to drive more sales and profits, and of course almost every company does that. That does not mean that we should fall into their trap, does it?

If you see the response to your post by Sonos Staff, where this is said: 

I hope this will help our Community users decide whether they want to upgrade their Sonos One / Sonos One SL with our newer Sonos Era 100 / Sonos Era 300 speakers.

It is to this pitch that my post is squarely aimed at.

K

The bigger picture to this is that it is this kind of unnecessary churn that has led to the dirtying up of the environment on a global scale by just one species out of thousands on the planet, to which all of us humans have contributed by our actions.

K

Back to Sonos; when I bought into its tech in 2011 it was a very different company. First, it was private. And it had and it kept launching very distinct products for different use cases within just home audio, and this upgrade existing products hype was missing completely and was a refreshing change from the home audio players around for decades. That hype started after it went public with the consequent quarterly demand from Wall Street for growth growth growth. Which needs existing users to buy replacements for perfectly good working hardware, in addition to finding new customers every quarter.

That is their problem, there is no need for it to become ours as well.

And the only reason why they don’t launch upgraded hardware every year like Apple does is because they do not have the business case to do so; had they one, they would do that as well.

I also do not think that they have done anything as innovative after going public, as they did in the first five or so years in private hands. Now they have become a me too company.

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

@Kumar

Wow…you have a lot of baggage to unpack. Your comments went from a dissatisfaction with a comment made by @Sotiris C. to encompassing the environment and onto envisioned corporate greed. 

You seem to have missed the premise of my post which is to say to community members…

  • Don’t let your buying decision regarding how a Sonos speaker sounds be based upon the OPINIONS (including mine and yours) voiced in the community. 
  • Buy the speaker…set it up as you like and BASED UPON YOUR LISTENING EXPERIENCE decide if you want to keep it. If not to your satisfaction…return it. 

How is that baiting someone to join a “power treadmill” (as you put it) to continue buying Sonos gear regardless of a need or not?

Let’s examine the comment made by @Sotiris C. …

  • “I hope this will help our Community users decide whether they want to upgrade their Sonos One / Sonos One SL with our newer Sonos Era 100 / Sonos Era 300 speakers”

The key words/phrases in the comment are “HELP” and “DECIDE WHETHER THEY WANT TO UPGRADE THEIR SONOS….

In case you’re not aware a synonym for “Whether” is “If” which signifies a choice. How you arrived at the conclusion that @Sotiris C.  (on behalf of Sonos) was enticing individuals to purchase Sonos gear “willy-nilly” (is beyond me) which means…. 

  • By compulsion : without choice. 
  • In a haphazard or spontaneous manner

I’ll not continue to drag this out. I just think you are way-off-base in your interpretation. However, you are entitled to your OPINION. 
 

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
Sotiris C.
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Hello everyone,

I’ve removed a few posts from this thread and I’ll kindly ask the participants to stay courteous and on topic. I will not close the thread as I believe a constructive conversation can come out of this.

Leaving a like and marking Best Answer might make someone's day. Who knows, that someone might be you.
K

@Sotiris C. Let’s see if any other reader here takes this ball forward in a constructive way. My reason for liking Sonos in the past was because it was different from other hawkers of audio hardware in those days, but I have said all I had to say on the subject.

melvimbe

@Sotiris C. Let’s see if any other reader here takes this ball forward in a constructive way. My reason for liking Sonos in the past was because it was different from other hawkers of audio hardware in those days, but I have said all I had to say on the subject.

 

I didn’t see what posts were removed, but it sounds like you’re comments were about consumerism, corporate profit models, and e waste rather than @AjTrek1 point of helping consumers choose what product works best for them.  Probably would have made more sense to create your own thread rather than hijack this one.  Better yet, post it on a more generic forum, as your concerns go well beyond Sonos.

Danny

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