Sonos Era 300 Review – Best Smart Speaker of 2025?

Sonos Era 300 Review – TL;DR

Sonos’ Era 300 is the first truly spatial-audio–first smart speaker for the living room. Six drivers (four tweeters, two woofers) fire forward, sideways, and up to paint a Dolby Atmos bubble far wider than its 10-inch frame. Bass digs to ~40 Hz without a sub, while highs stay crisp at 15.8 kHz. Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and line-in (USB-C dongle) future-proof connectivity, and the unit doubles as a Matter controller + Thread border router. Alexa and Sonos Voice are on board; Google Assistant is not. At $449 it’s pricey, but its room-filling 3-D presentation, app polish, and rock-solid multi-room sync put it a class above Apple HomePod 2, Amazon Echo Studio, and Google Nest Audio. If immersive music or rear Atmos surrounds are on your 2025 wish list, Era 300 is the one to beat.

EchoTekk Rating

Quick Specs

Pros ▲

• Huge, convincing Dolby Atmos bubble from a single box
• Deep, controlled bass for its size (see bass-extension graphic)
• Wi-Fi 6, BT 5.3, Matter & Thread built in
• Excellent app with Trueplay tuning and fast multi-room sync
• Can act as rear surrounds for Sonos Arc/Beam Gen 2

Cons ▼

• Premium price and no bundled Ethernet/Line-in adapter
• Trueplay Advanced Tuning still iOS-only
• No Google Assistant option
• Large footprint for a bookshelf

Bass Depth Comparison

Sound & Performance

Era 300’s six-driver “racetrack” cabinet uses beam-forming to shoot mids sideways and treble upward, creating real height and width cues even in 2-channel mixes. In Atmos tracks (Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited) guitars and backing vocals clearly float above the cabinet.
Bass depth: The bar chart above compares measured low-frequency extension. Only Apple’s HomePod 2 can play deeper bass than the Era 300 – it goes lower than 40 Hz! The Echo Studio and Nest Audio don’t even come close. Figures are pulled from RTINGS lab data (rtings.com).
The Era 300 can also get pretty loud – Max SPL hits ~94 dB before compression sets in (soundandvision.com). That’s plenty for most living rooms. And if your room makes the bass sound too boomy, you can use Trueplay (on iPhones) or Quick Tune (on Android) to fix it.

Smart-Home Features

• Matter & Thread controller built in — no extra hub required.
• Dual assistants: Alexa for routines, Sonos Voice for local control.
• Bluetooth in/out for guests or TV pairing when HDMI ARC isn’t an option.
• USB-C dongle (sold separately) adds 3.5 mm line-in and Ethernet.

Design & Build Quality

The Era 300’s unique shape isn’t just for looks—it actually helps the sound! The woofers are angled to the left and right, so you get real stereo sound that fills the room. There’s even a special waveguide in the back that helps keep the music clear by reducing sound reflections. Adjusting the volume is super easy with the touch-sensitive ribbons on top, and if you care about privacy, you’ll love the physical switch that completely turns off the microphones. You can get the Era 300 in either matte Black or White, and both versions are made with 40% recycled plastic, which is great for the environment.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Quick Setup Checklist

1. Place speaker at ear height, ~8 in (20 cm) from rear wall for best bass.
2. Plug in and open the Sonos S2 app.
3. Add Era 300 and install firmware update.
4. Run Trueplay Advanced Tuning (iOS) or Quick Tune (Android).
5. Link music services and enable Dolby Atmos playback.
6. Toggle Alexa or Sonos Voice in Settings › Voice.
7. (Optional) Pair a second Era 300 for stereo or as rear Atmos surrounds.
8. Add the speaker to your Matter network if using mixed brands.

Is It Right for You?

Choose Era 300 if spatial audio is your top priority or you already own a Sonos Arc/Beam and want wireless rear channels. If you’re an Apple fan who loves HomeKit privacy, the HomePod 2 might still be your best bet. If you want big sound for less money, the Echo Studio gives you about 80% of the power at half the price. But if you want a single speaker that does amazing Atmos sound and can also control your smart home, the Era 300 remains the best smart speaker of 2025.

Looking Ahead

Rumors point to Sonos’ Trueplay Live (late 2025), bringing
on-device calibration to Android, and a lossless SonosLink protocol
to push 24-bit/48 kHz Atmos to every room. Expect rivals to respond with
Wi-Fi 7 backbones and even larger driver counts, but for now Era 300 sets the
bar.

FAQ