Audio equipment manufacturer, Sonos, is set to release two new speakers, the Era 300 and Era 100, in late March, according to a report. The Era 100, which is expected to replace the Sonos One, boasts a spherical design with physical controls on an indented bar. The speaker is priced at $250, slightly higher than the Sonos One, but includes additional features such as Bluetooth audio and USB-C line-in support. It also has a second tweeter for stereo audio and a larger mid-woofer for stronger bass.
The Era 300 is a drum-style speaker designed with spatial audio in mind. It features six drivers and indented controls. When combined with the Arc or Beam (Gen 2) soundbar and used as rear surround speakers, the Era 300 is said to deliver Atmos surround sound with upward-firing audio. It is also equipped with Bluetooth audio and USB-C line-in support and is priced at $450, which is less than the Sonos Five.
Both speakers support WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 and AirPlay 2, and work with Trueplay calibration on Android phones, making them the first Sonos devices to do so. However, neither speaker has a built-in Ethernet port, and users will need to purchase a combo adapter to plug in an Ethernet cable.
Although the Era 300 reportedly supports spatial audio from Amazon Music Unlimited, it is not expected to stream Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos tracks directly. The report suggests that standalone Apple Music Dolby Atmos playback will remain an exclusive HomePod feature for now.
In addition to the new speakers, Sonos is expected to sell a line-in adapter for USB-C audio. More details about both speakers are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.
