Era 100 | Smart Speaker with WiFi, Bluetooth, compatible with Amazon Alexa - White

I had been researching a high-end wireless speaker for some time and the Sonos Era 100 had consistently good reviews, so after much deliberation I took the plunge - and it is definitely worth it, as the sound is excellent - more on that later, but the setup for using through a laptop is a bit tricky as it's not explained very well (indeed, AT ALL!!) in the box instructions - so here's a few tips: 1. The Era 100 is ENTIRELY set up through the mobile phone app (even if you plan on using it exclusively through your laptop) - you NEED to set it up through the phone app (android or apple), even if you will never, ever play music from your phone through it. This is a glaring omission from the box instructions!!! 2. The Sonos app you download to your laptop, is essentially an interface to play music - thats it. It has NOTHING to do with the set up. This is not at all made clear out the box, and I ended up having to contact their online chat to establish this! 3. The Sonos connects by default to your wi-fi rather than Bluetooth, and this is normal - wi-fi gives you a much more stable connection, and wider bandwidth for playing lossless or higher bitrate music (such as Dolby Atmos). You can also connect via Bluetooth, if you really wanted to - but Wi-fi is the way ahead here for laptop usage. 4. You can connect Amazon Music - again using the phone to do so - open the App, and go to "Your Services", then add Amazon Music. You'll need to login to Amazon Music via the setup, but only need to do this once. Once you have added Amazon Music to the Sonos App, this will let you play Amazon Music through your speaker - but to activate voice control, there's a further step required: 5. For "Alexa" voice control - Go to the Sonos app (on your phone) again, and click on the gear symbol at the very top right. Then click on General Settings, then click on Voice assistants - add voice assistant "Amazon Alexa" (you'll need to login to Amazon again to add it) After doing this, you will have connected Amazon Music, and Amazon Alexa (voice commands) to your Sonos speaker, and it will work exactly the same as an Alexa speaker - IE, say "Alexa - play (song name)" and it will play on the speaker. 6. The Sonos App for your laptop will need to be downloaded, and will have an Orange tile - and it's essentially just a different interface to look at/play your music lists via Sonos. Think of it a bit like the Amazon Music Web version, but with a Sonos coat on - it works in exactly the same way, but via the Sonos desktop app (playing the web Amazon Music desktop app "through" the Sonos desktop app if you like) ------------------------------------ If the necessity to use the phone for set up had been made clear out the box, the setup would actually be fairly straightforward - but as it isn't, the above steps took me about an hour and a half to get/understand from Sonos live chat, so hopefully this is of some help and saves you some pain!! All setup faffing aside, now on to the audio and unit review itself: The unit comes in a premium box, and immediately looks expensive and good quality - it's quite heavy (in a good way), and looks very well built and solid - it absolutely does not look plasticky or cheap, it screams quality and substance literally as soon as you take it out the box - brilliant first impression. Setup - a bit faffy, but not ridiculous - better and clearer instructions would make a huge difference as noted above!! Sound quality - really, REALLY good. Very full robust sound, with clear definition of all sections. Lovely bass (not too much, not too little - just goldilocks perfect), midrange/vocals clear and crisp across a wide range of music styles and types. Treble/highs are similarly nice and crisp - not too bright or tinny, and everything just gels together really well and gives a very balanced and nuanced sound across the board - a really first class audio experience for a speaker of this size, and a non-wired speaker at that. The many, many reviews I read on this speaker very much live up to the great performance stated in my own personal experience. The Sonos desktop app (which remember is basically just a means to play Amazon music with a different interface) has a very basic Equaliser - standard bass and treble (no mid-range slider, surprisingly) which was a bit surprising given such a good sounding speaker - I personally would have like a bit more control here, but it's not a deal breaker or a star-dropper on the review. It also has a "Loudness" button that you can tick on or off (sounds better with it on) but as far as fine tuning your EQ's goes, that's it. In summary, this is a brilliant sounding speaker for it's type and price range, I'm seriously impressed with the rounded and balanced sound out of it, like really! Clear, defined, punchy and separated - quite incredible for a speaker this size that is not hard wired into an amp via speaker cables. It honestly sounds like a bi-wired speaker, and yet is connected via wi-fi which is head shakingly amazing. I bought mine for a small study and it can fill that space without breaking sweat - and I'm talking quality and depth of sound here - not volume (although volume wouldn't be an issue in the slightest). I will only need one speaker for the small room I have, but pairing this speaker with another one would just enhance the sound yet further so I might look into that - but that would be an absolute indulgence, and not in any way required as just one speaker sounds terrific on it's own. I bought a separate desktop stand for mine, just to elevate it slightly for maximum sound enhancement, but it is not essential by any means - very much personal taste. The stand I got (from Amazon) was £25 quid - there's a couple to choose from if you wanted a stand too. As I finish writing this review, "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who has come on my playlist, and it sounds just superb on this speaker, Daltry's voice and Townshend's guitars just shining with clarity and depth!! This is after using the speaker for just a couple of hours - like all decent audio kit and especially speakers, they take a bit of time and use to "bed-in" so will only get better over time - and it sounds great right out the box, so will only improve yet further after a few more hours use and bedding in. £200 quid for a speaker is a punt - but it's well worth it for the Sonos Era 100 - if you are considering this and concerned whether the cost is worth it - don't be. Don't be AT ALL - it's sound blooming fantastic, I'm chuffed to bits with mine.

Amazing speaker, sounds clear and crisp, and can pair with another Era 100 and Sonos soundbars too. There’s no wires to worry about, as everything runs through WiFi - this initially concerned me as I wasn’t sure about my WiFi strength or bandwidth, however I have had no issues at all. The app is much improved, and provides connectivity options like Bluetooth, AirPlay, Apple Music, Amazon Music and others. Adjustments for EQ, surround, TruePlay etc are all here, provided you have the setup. I currently use the Era 100’s as a pair of rear surrounds for my Beam Gen 2 and Sub Mini, and it sounds incredible. I would say they are overkill for my setup, and some of the features are lost (they are still available through the soundbar though) and I’m not using these speakers to their full potential. A little on TruePlay - it really does help when setting up your speaker or surround system. It measures the room acoustics using your phone microphone and works a treat. A clear difference can be heard after using TruePlay, so it’s recommended if you can. Just a warning though, the sound it plays during setup is pretty loud, so try not to do it late at night..! In summary, I’m sure you’ll enjoy these speakers. They offer clarity and can present much more of the soundstage, meaning you hear new things in tracks you’ve listened to many times before. There’s are regular offers on these speakers too, so be sure to check when purchasing. Happy listening!

Smart looking, simple functionality, easy set up, mind blowing sound quality. I bought this specifically to listen to HD streaming which I couldn't through my phone and Bluetooth. The Sonos connects directly to WiFi. It did not disappoint, the sound is phenomenal, the clarity is exceptional even at loud volume. Most of my audio equipment is Bose and Bang & Olufsen but this eclipses them both, by a margin. I managed to get this speaker in a prime deal for £159 and at that price it's very good value, even at full price it would be worth it. I only have one at the moment, but intend to buy a second speaker for true stereo sound. It was simple to connect to Alexa and to various streaming services, Spotify, Amazon, BBC sounds etc. I was disappointed that it didn't support Spotify lossless, hopefully that'll come in time. Regardless, I thoroughly recommend this speaker, it's a beautiful thing and the sound quality is astonishing. *update* this speaker now supports Spotify lossless. I'm not sure if it really makes a discernable difference, but I like to think it does.

For a compact size it packs a punch. Even in it's small stature it can fill a room. Connections can be hidden due to the placement of the power connection. The truplay setup for equalising the sound works pretty good. Even at loud volumes music is clear without any harmonic distortion. Another feature is by pairing up a second speaker you can create a stereo setup. Although setting up Bluetooth can be a bit of a headache initially. The era 300 is the one to get for Dolby Atmos setups when using with a soundbar. Although you can use 2 era 100 as rear speakers in a surround setup. For the price it is a good piece of kit. Although this is a mains powered device and not intended for outdoor use. I think it's a good starting point. Denon home 250 would be next choice as it has 2 mid/bass and treble tweeters and can be paired up for stereo also. Still very good purchase for hifi sound for less than expected.

This speaker is brilliant. I’ve been using it frequently, and the sound quality is superb; it’s clear, rich, and full-bodied. It looks sleek, feels premium thanks to its nice weight, and was easy to set up and use. I'm impressed at the sound that comes out of something that's so small in stature. I don’t personally use much of the Alexa functionality, but it integrates perfectly with my other Sonos products. Definitely worth it if you’re after a high-quality smart speaker. May be expensive but worth it

I bought two of these Era 100 to compliment other Sonos speakers scattered throughout the house. These particular speakers are located in the kitchen, and replace two original 'One' speakers, that are well over ten years old now. The Era 100's have now taken on the task of playing music and audio books while I cook and prepare food - and do so far better than the ones they replaced! I find these speakers to be very clear, without having to be too loud. They are not a 'bass heavy' speaker - don't get me wrong, music from the radio sounds fine through them, and I have played 'Jeff Wayne's: The War of the Worlds' through them - so they are versatile, but I have other speakers for when heavier bass is needed. The Era 100's are not too tall, and blend easily into their surroundings (One visitor asked what the 'two cans' were for in the kitchen!), and if the purchaser has a little patience, they can be got for a very good price at different times of the year. I don't have a TV - music, radio and audiobooks are some of my pass times - and in that context these speakers fit well into my lifestyle. (These are my own comments on items I have purchased)

3 stars because they sound great but for me this was a really poor setup experience with numerous errors, restarts and then a lengthy session with their support team that wanted to reconfigure and adjust my home network (which is working just fine for dozens of other smart devices). After manually flipping the speakers between access points and back they started working but not confident in the product. Edit: within one month the left speaker no longer connected. Returned. One star. Avoid.

I love this speaker, a great addition to our house. The most important factor is how it sounds, and it's brilliant. It's replaced an older Bose Bluetooth speaker we used to have in our kitchen, and the difference in audio quality is night and day - well worth what I paid for it. It is very easy to setup and control via an app on your phone, and for me it integrates seamlessly with Spotify and BBC Sounds. I would recommend this product to anyone who thinks it's reasonable to spend over £200 on a speaker. I originally wrote this review with the title "Excellent speaker - but voice control is poor". This is because the voice controls did not work properly in my first few weeks of owning the product in February 2024. Alexa was completely unusable - simple commands rarely worked, complex commands never worked. Also, there are no good alternative ways to control the device with your voice (this is still true - the built-in "Hey Sonos" is useless for everything apart from adjusting the volume, and it's not compatible with Google Assistant). However, as of March 2024 Alexa now works without any problems and the device works properly as a smart speaker. I've read that this was a known bug with Alexa on this particular speaker, and it has now been fixed. Therefore, I've updated this review with 5 stars.