The Sonos Era 100, the latest iteration of the Sonos One (Gen2) speaker, which has undergone a dramatic transformation since the Sonos Play:1 was released ten years ago. Sonos claims that they conducted thorough research and gathered feedback from customers to develop the next "era" of Sonos speakers, and they've brought those insights to life with the Era 100. As soon as we heard that Sonos was listening to their customers, we were eager to test these new speakers and discover their potential.

Internals

The Era 100 is packed with exciting new features that take Sonos speakers to the next level. One of the standout upgrades is the addition of two angled tweeters and custom waveguides that disperse sound waves for a wider soundstage. This enhanced design allows the Era 100 to deliver a more immersive, detailed stereo sound compared to the Sonos One's mono playback that only has a single tweeter.

But that's not all – the midwoofer has been upgraded with a 25% larger size and an oval shape that enables faithful playback of mid-range vocal frequencies and deep bass notes. This translates to a richer and more dynamic sound experience for listeners.

The Era 100 is also powered by three class D amps that have been meticulously tuned to its unique acoustic architecture. Additionally, the speaker features a 47% faster processor and new co-neural processor, which means faster voice assistant features and improved energy efficiency.

Design

The Era 100 by Sonos has undergone a major redesign, featuring a sleek, modern appearance that sets it apart from previous generations. Its slim profile and slightly taller build make it stand out, while the grill is almost completely wrapped around the body, leaving only minimal bezels at the top and bottom. The grill holes have also been changed from elongated circles to pinholes, adding a distinctive touch to the design. Additionally, the Era 100 boasts a round oval shape instead of a square one when viewed from above.

The Era 100 also features a rubber surface on the bottom for stability and a mounting hole, which the previous generation lacked. This allows for easy mounting of Sonos wall mounts in an upside-down or bottom position. Furthermore, Sonos has introduced custom floor stands that can be purchased separately.

Setups & Performance

The Era 100 is designed to offer exceptional stereo sound from a single speaker, but pairing two together can truly enhance the listening experience. During our tests, we were blown away by the clarity, depth, and effortless bass produced by just one Era 100. This is largely thanks to the two angled tweeters and custom waveguides that create a wider soundstage. Compared to the Sonos One Gen2, the Era 100 was much more powerful and deeper sounding, thanks to the extra tweeters and larger midrange woofer. When paired together to make a stereo pair, the Era 100’s again had a more effortless sound with a wider soundstage and separation of instruments was a bit more prevalent.

Adding a subwoofer to the mix took the sound to a whole new level, filling in those low-end frequencies and leaving the midrange with an effortless and lively tone. We also tested the Era 100’s as rear speakers in a home theater setup with a Sonos Arc, and while they performed well, we didn't see as significant of an upgrade if you currently have the Sonos One Gen2 as your rear speakers. If you’re looking to upgrade a stereo pair of Sonos One Gen2’s these will definitely sound better, but the improvements won’t be as impressive as the speakers we discuss next, the Era 300’s.

Once you put them in a home theater setup, you lose the functionality of the new touch controls, you most likely won’t be using the line in feature or bluetooth, so you really only gain that slightly better sound which most likely isn’t worth it. But if you want to upgrade your current pair of Sonos One Gen2 speakers that you use in your family room or kitchen, these new features will definitely come in handy so that is a situation where we see it being worth it.