Sonos Era 100

The Era 100 is a tentative step forward for Sonos. Excellent sound quality and the addition of Bluetooth are marred by the decision to drop Ethernet in favour of an expensive dongle, and losing Google Assistant makes this speaker a little less smart than many rivals.

The Sonos Era 100 is fantastically competent but it is a little on the pricey side.

The Era 100 isn’t the most exciting speaker I’ve listened to – I still have fond memories of being blown away by the Sonos Play:5 (now just called the Five) in 2015, and the Era 300 is also a delight. But when you take into consideration what most people will need from a speaker, the Era 100 provides impressive performance at a reasonable price.

If you're shopping around for smart speakers and you want the most open ecosystem around, Sonos is still the way to go. But this time I'm recommending Sonos not only for its good software. Sonos' sound has finally entered its golden age. Welcome to the Era Era.

With the Era 100, Sonos has succeeded in its goal of remastering and bettering the Sonos One. It sounds nicer than lower-cost competitors. From basically any perspective (outside of voice assistant options), this speaker is a winner. It sounds better and is truer to stereo music than the Sonos One. The onboard controls are more comprehensive. And Sonos has improved upon the One’s formula by adding genuinely useful new features like Bluetooth and line-in.

If you already own a One, it's not an essential upgrade. Yet I can see people relegating their existing One speaker to a bedroom in the same way they do with an older TV. If you want a smart speaker that's compact and sounds great, the Sonos Era 100 is an excellent choice and an easy recommendation. If you want a speaker for background music -- while you're entertaining or just hanging out -- the Sonos Era 100 is every bit as capable as its predecessor: It's just a great smart speaker.

The Era 100 packs in an astonishing amount of streaming and playback features alongside an enjoyable sound that’s bigger, more detailed and more open than before. What’s not to like?

The Sonos Era 100 is the best-sounding compact streaming smart speaker we’ve encountered; by itself, as a stereo pair, or performing as the rear surround channels with a Sonos soundbar.