Sonos Era 100 review: Lets you feel the music

Once the setup is complete, the app offers options for music like Sonos’s own radio stations. Or you can directly play songs from the music apps like Apple Music and Spotify. To control the music, there is a voice command built-in. Though Sonos Era 100 also supports Alexa, I used the built-in ‘Hey Sonos’ command.

Sonos Era 100 – Using It

For me, this is the best part of the review because now I can detail how the Era 100 made me not just listen to music but feel it and experience it in all its exquisite glory.

Some specific examples follow. I love Ed Sheeran and Beyonce’s duet Perfect. Every time I played this song with Era 100, I was able to experience all the subtle layers in this song – the vocals, the strings of the guitar, and as I experienced the music I imagined the singers gently swaying in the recording booth, vibing with the music they were recording.

It is important to note here that the Era 100, like any other single smart speaker, needs to be paired with another of its kind for true stereo sound. But don’t get confused with this. The “stereo” we are talking about here is different from the “stereo” that we get from phones or some other speakers. Stereo sound, as a technicality, requires dual speakers.

As a single unit, the Era 100 relies on its audio hardware – the two specially angled tweeters – to create sound separation, and stereo effects and achieve a wide soundstage. And it does an admirable job at it. The sound that it pumps out is a highly balanced one where mids and highs have clear separation. The result is that vocals from the Era 100 sound lush, whereas the instruments have a sparkling clarity to them. For bass, the speaker has a woofer that is 25 percent bigger compared to what Sonos One had. This lets the Era 100 produce more impactful and punchy bass, so much so that in some bass-heavy party songs at the loud volume you would feel the bass.

At least that is what I noticed when I played songs like Chaiyya Chaiyya and Run BTS. Similarly, when I played “Stay With Me,” the Goblin OST sung by the soulful South Korean duo Chanyeol and Punch, I fell in love with it again. Punch’s vocals soared crystal clear, even above the rumbling bass, while Chanyeol’s perfectly balanced sound sent shivers down my spine with every beat.

But my musical dates with Era 100 weren’t limited to modern hits. I recently spent holidays with my family and even celebrated my father’s birthday, with the Era 100 humming the timeless melodies of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. From “Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas” to “Yeh Vaada Raha,” each song passing through the Sonos Era 100 felt like a warm, comforting hug, chasing away the January chill and helping create cherishable shared memories.