5

out of

109

Speakers

True Score Methodology v1.0

Sonos Era 100 Review

Name: Sonos Era 100
Brand: Sonos

By

Nikshep Myle

2/13/2024 6:11 AM

True Score

88

Absolutely Fresh

90

20

Experts

93

1,730

Consumers

Product Awards

Top 5

GR Certified

Expert Pick

Customer Favorite

Expert Rankings

(

20

)

The premium Sonos Era 100 offers good value for money with balanced sounds and high-volume output. However, there’s some compression at max volume, no water and dust resistance ratings, and it has a wired-only connection.

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Table of Contents

Product Snapshot
Overview
Consensus
- {post.0.post_title} Specs
- Test Results
Product Comparison
All Stores
Score Card
Expert Score Breakdown
Customer Score Breakdown
Learn More About Speakers

Product Snapshot

Overview

Launched in 2023, the Sonos Era 100 is a premium, compact speaker with black and white color variants. Like the best speakers, it boasts dual-angled tweeters, a mid-woofer, and a far-field microphone array. You can adjust the bass, treble, and loudness through the Sonos app. Its Trueplay software measures your room’s acoustics for tailored sound adjustment, but unlike the best Bluetooth speakers, the Era 100 is not battery-powered. Its dual-band Wi-Fi supports Wi-Fi 6, and you can activate voice recognition with Sonos Voice Control and Alexa. It’s also compatible with Apple Airplay 2.

Rankings (recommended in)

#
2/5
The 5 Best Bass Bluetooth Speakers in 2024

Best For

Bass

Consensus

our Verdict

The versatile Sonos Era 100 is suitable for playing varied music genres and dialogue-centric content in compact to average-sized spaces. Its natural sound signature ensures a harmonious balance between the mids, treble, and bass, and the vocals sound clear. It also features a room correction tool that adjusts the audio based on your room’s acoustics.

With a wide 43.6Hz to 19300 Hz extension, its frequency range ranks among the top in our certified, tested list. Moreover, its 87.7 dB volume output secures a spot midway in the same list, but compression at max volume slightly hampers audio clarity. The Era 100 is designed for indoor use, which means it’s not strong enough to withstand the elements, and although lightweight (4.4 lbs), it’s not battery-powered, which reduces its portability.

Reason to Buy

Well-balanced sound profile
- Designed for small rooms, the Sonos Era 100 is well-suited for listening to different kinds of music. It boasts a clean, balanced sound signature with sharp vocals and mids, a clear distinction between instruments, well-extended low bass, and accurate treble
- Its frequency response is vast, with a 43.6Hz to 19300Hz frequency range, securing a spot among the top speakers in our verified, tested list.
Reasonably loud volume output
- It can fill a small to average-sized room with adequate sound with its 87.7 dB volume output, ranking near the middle of our certified, tested products. However, it’s not loud enough for more expansive spaces.

Reason to Avoid

Compression at max volume
- Increasing the volume to its highest setting causes some compression, resulting in slightly unclear audio.
Average build quality
- While its plastic body and grilles feel sturdy for indoor use, this speaker isn’t durable for outdoor trips.
- There are no dust or water resistance ratings, but it can withstand high humidity near the shower. Check this Amazon Tap review for a rugged Bluetooth speaker built for outdoor use.
Subpar portability
- The speaker is lightweight (4.4 lbs) to carry between rooms with one hand, but its wired-only connection makes it less travel-friendly. For a battery-powered, portable model featuring a handle, read this Pohopa EF B210G review.

Sonos Era 100 Specs

	Battery Charge Time	Wired
	Battery Life	Wired
	Built In Microphone	No
	Depth	4.7"
	Height	7.2"
	IPX Rating	n/a
	Size	–
	Smart App	Amazon Alexa app, Sonos app
	Speaker Pairing	n/a
	Water Resistant	No
	Wattage	1902 W
	Width	5.19"
	Wireless Range	330 ft

All Specs

Test Results

Battery Life (Hours)	0
Volume Output (dB)	87.7
Low End Roll Off (Hz)	51.874
High End Roll Off (Hz)	17,472.053

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Product Comparison

	Sonos Era 100 Review	Sonos Era 300 Review	Apple Homepod 2nd Generation Review	Anker Soundcore Motion X600 Review	Sonos One SL Review
True Score	88	88	83	84	88
Ranking	# 5 / 109	# 2 / 109	# 22 / 109	# 17 / 109	# 4 / 109
Market Context	Launched in 2023, the Sonos Era 100 is a premium, compact speaker with black and white color variants. Like the best speakers, it boasts dual-angled… Launched in 2023, the Sonos Era 100 is a premium, compact speaker with black and white color variants. Like the best speakers, it boasts dual-angled tweeters, a mid-woofer, and a far-field microphone array. You can adjust the bass, treble, and loudness through the Sonos app. Its Trueplay software measures your room’s acoustics for tailored sound adjustment, but unlike the best Bluetooth speakers, the Era 100 is not battery-powered. Its dual-band Wi-Fi supports Wi-Fi 6, and you can activate voice recognition with Sonos Voice Control and Alexa. It’s also compatible with Apple Airplay 2.	Given their wired-only connection, the Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300 are designed for home use in small to average-spaced rooms. However, unlike the… Given their wired-only connection, the Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300 are designed for home use in small to average-spaced rooms. However, unlike the 100, the 300 supports Dolby Atmos for an immersive audio experience, and its voice assistant is slightly better at registering commands in loud environments. For more information, read this Sonos Era 300 review.	The Sonos Era 100 and the Apple HomePod 2nd Generation are premium smart speakers, and your final purchasing decision will hinge on your preferred ecosystem…. The Sonos Era 100 and the Apple HomePod 2nd Generation are premium smart speakers, and your final purchasing decision will hinge on your preferred ecosystem. While the Era 100 offers more sound customization options with bass and treble adjustments, the Apple delivers a better low-frequency extension for deeper rumbles. To learn more, read our Apple HomePod 2nd Generation review.	The premium Sonos Era 100 features a room correction tool that adjusts sounds based on your room’s acoustics, unlike the mid-range Anker Soundcore Motion X600…. The premium Sonos Era 100 features a room correction tool that adjusts sounds based on your room’s acoustics, unlike the mid-range Anker Soundcore Motion X600. Additionally, it has a more expansive soundstage, includes a built-in voice assistant, and supports Wi-Fi. In contrast, the Motion X600, primarily built for outdoor use, boasts superior build quality, an in-built battery, and a louder volume output for pushing out bigger sounds in open spaces.	The newer Sonos Era 100 offers some enhancements over its predecessor, the Sonos One SL. With the latest model, you get built-in voice assistant support… The newer Sonos Era 100 offers some enhancements over its predecessor, the Sonos One SL. With the latest model, you get built-in voice assistant support and Bluetooth connectivity, and since it doesn’t downmix stereo content into mono, the sound quality is better, too. Moreover, unlike the One SL, the bass doesn’t overpower the mids, and the room correction tool effectively fine-tunes the audio.
Battery Charge Time	Wired	Wired	n/a	6 hrs	–
Battery Life	Wired	Wired	Wired	12 hrs	17 hrs
Built In Microphone	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	n/a
Depth	4.7"	6.65"	5.59"	12.2"	–
Height	7.2"	7.4"	6.6"	6.73"	–
IPX Rating	n/a	n/a	n/a	IPX7	–
Size	–	–	–	–	9.7" (h) x 6.9" (w) x 6.9" (d)
Smart App	Amazon Alexa app, Sonos app	Amazon Alexa app, Sonos app	Apple HomeKit, Apple Music, iTunes, Siri	Soundcore	Yes
Dig Deeper		Sonos Era 300 Review →	Apple Homepod 2nd Generation Review →	Anker Soundcore Motion X600 Review →	Sonos One SL Review →

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$238.99
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Score Card

E

Expert Score

90

*.75

We place a 75% weighted value on Expert Test Scores

C

Customer Score

93

*.25

We place a 25% weighted value on Customer Scores

True Score

88

Expert Score Breakdown

Publications with higher Trust Scores are given more weight.

102.6
Category Trust Score
74
The Sonos Era 100 is satisfactory for music. The speaker has some features to adjust… read more
By:
John Panoryios
54.9
Category Trust Score
80
The Era 100 is a worthy starting point in the company’s lineup thanks to powerful… read more
By:
Tim Gideon
68.04
Category Trust Score
90
As the replacement for the Sonos One, the Era 100 smart speaker ups the performance… read more
By:
Lee Dunkley
42.51
Category Trust Score
84
LIKE Excellent sound quality Bluetooth adds flexibility Robust ecosystem DON’T LIKE A little more… read more
By:
Ty Pendlebury
48.27
Category Trust Score
90
A fine upgrade in several ways over the One, the Sonos Era 100 benefits from… read more
By:
Kob Monney
46.31
Category Trust Score
80
The Sonos Era 100 is nearly the ideal small and flexible speaker. It offers wide… read more
By:
Matt Bolton