Audio review
Sonos Era 100 Review: Two Tweeters, One Disputed Midrange
One reviewer says the mids are more transparent than the speaker it replaces. Another says they lost the clarity the old one had. Everyone agrees the bass got bigger.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
Sonos
Sonos Era 100
Good · researched from 4 sources
The clearest upgrade Sonos has made at this size, and the bass and stereo separation justify it. Read the midrange disagreement below before assuming it beats the One at everything, and budget for an adapter if you own a turntable.
- Buy if
- Replacing a Sonos One or starting a Sonos system · Rooms where one speaker has to fill the space · Anyone who wanted Bluetooth on a Sonos speaker
- Skip if
- Google Assistant households · Pairing with existing Sonos One units · Anyone expecting line-in or Ethernet without buying more
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
What actually changed
The Sonos One was a mono speaker with one tweeter. The Era 100 has two, angled outward into a rounded baffle, plus a woofer 25 percent larger and three class-D amplifiers driving them.
That is a real architectural change rather than a refresh, and it produces the two things everyone agrees on: genuine stereo separation from a single box, and noticeably deeper bass.
Stereo Guide describes the enclosure as sealed, with no port and no passive radiator, which is the choice that keeps the bass tight rather than loud.
The midrange argument
Stereo Guide heard much greater transparency in the mids and a more open, fresher treble than the Sonos One.
Trusted Reviews heard the opposite: that the shift in tone means the Era 100 lacks the One's lightness in describing the midrange, and while it finds similar levels of detail it is not as clear or defined.
Neither published a measurement, so there is nothing to arbitrate with. What is likely happening is that a bigger woofer covering everything from bass to upper midrange changes the balance, and whether that reads as fuller or as muddier depends on the listener and the material.
If vocals and acoustic music are what you play, that disagreement is worth taking seriously before you replace a One you already like.
Where the bass runs out
Stereo Guide's most useful finding is what happens at the top of the volume range: the bass got very subtle and lacked authority, which they attribute to the speaker limiting itself to avoid distortion and mechanical overload.
A single woofer in a sealed box has finite excursion. Sonos has chosen to protect it rather than let it distort, which is the right decision and does mean the speaker thins out when pushed hard at a party.
Trueplay is finally for everyone
Room tuning used to require an iPhone and a slow walk around the room waving it. Now Quick Tune uses the speaker's own microphones and runs on Android too, finishing in about 20 seconds per Trusted Reviews.
That matters more than it sounds. Room correction is the single largest improvement available to a speaker in a real room, and locking it behind one phone platform meant most owners never used it.
The things sold separately
Bluetooth 5.3 is built in, and it is the first time a Sonos home speaker has had it.
Ethernet is not. Line-in is not. Both need adapters, and Stereo Guide raises this as their main criticism. If you were planning to connect a turntable, that is a second purchase you should know about now.
And Google Assistant is gone, which The Product Analyst attributes to litigation between Sonos and Google. Alexa and Sonos Voice Control remain.
How it scored
The overall 7.8 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Sound quality
Two angled tweeters and a woofer 25 percent larger than the Sonos One. Stereo Guide scored it 85 percent, though they found bass losing authority at maximum volume.
Value
The Product Analyst calls it the best-value smart speaker Sonos makes and scores it 8.7, while noting the price rose over the One and the adapters cost extra.
Build quality
A sealed enclosure with no bass port, per Stereo Guide, and capacitive touch controls including a dedicated Bluetooth button.
Ease of use
Trueplay room tuning now runs on Android as well as iOS, taking about 20 seconds per Trusted Reviews, using the speaker's own microphones.
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.3 arrives, but Ethernet and line-in both need adapters sold separately, and Google Assistant is gone entirely.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- Genuine stereo from two angled tweeters, where the Sonos One was mono
- A woofer 25 percent larger, which all three sources hear as deeper bass
- Trueplay finally works on Android, in about 20 seconds per Trusted Reviews
- Bluetooth 5.3, the first on a Sonos home speaker
- The Product Analyst scored it 8.7 and calls it a genuine generational leap
What we didn’t
- Trusted Reviews finds the midrange less clear and defined than the Sonos One it replaces
- Stereo Guide found the bass losing authority at high volume to avoid distortion
- Line-in and Ethernet each require an adapter bought separately
- No Google Assistant at all, only Alexa and Sonos Voice Control
- The Product Analyst notes it cannot be stereo-paired with an older Sonos One
- Mains powered only, with no battery
Specifications
| Drivers | Two angled tweeters and one woofer, 25 percent larger than the Sonos One |
|---|---|
| Amplification | Three class-D amplifiers |
| Enclosure | Sealed, no bass reflex port per Stereo Guide |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 |
| Line-in | USB-C adapter, sold separately |
| Ethernet | Combo adapter, sold separately |
| Trueplay | Quick Tune on iOS and Android, about 20 seconds per Trusted Reviews |
| Voice | Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control; no Google Assistant |
| Stereo pairing | Two Era 100s; not compatible with the Sonos One |
How we researched this
We have not had this unit on the bench. This review synthesises the manufacturer’s published specifications, independent measurements and owner reports listed below. Every figure on this page comes from one of those sources rather than our own measurement.
4
sources reviewed
Stereo Guide is the most technical source, describing the sealed enclosure and driver arrangement and identifying the high-volume bass limitation, and scores it 85 percent. Trusted Reviews contributed the Trueplay timing and the midrange criticism that contradicts Stereo Guide. The Product Analyst supplies the amplifier count, the stereo pairing limitation and the Google Assistant explanation. Where the two listening accounts of the midrange conflict we report both, because neither published measurements that would settle it. A fourth review returned truncated content.
What we read
Common questions
Does the Sonos Era 100 sound better than the Sonos One?
What happens to the bass at high volume?
Do I need to buy adapters?
Can I pair it with my old Sonos One?
What happened to Google Assistant?
The bottom line on the Sonos Era 100
The clearest upgrade Sonos has made at this size, and the bass and stereo separation justify it. Read the midrange disagreement below before assuming it beats the One at everything, and budget for an adapter if you own a turntable.
More tech & gadgets reviews
Audio
1MORE SonoFlow
SoundGuys measured almost seven hours beyond the claim. TechGearLab's frequency breakdown shows 36.2 dB of reduction in the highs and 15.6 in the lows.
Audio
AKG K371
Sonarworks measured up to ±4 dB of channel imbalance and ±3 dB of bass variation between units. That is a bigger difference than most of the arguments about how it sounds.
Audio
Apple AirPods Max
One lab scored comfort 4.6 out of 10 and found glasses cut wearable time to less than sixty minutes. Everything else about them is very good, which is the frustrating part.