The Sonos Era 300 Changed the Way I Watch Movies at Home
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"Dazzling images, on a huge silver screen. Sound that I can feel"
IF YOU'VE been to an AMC Theatre at any point in the last 2.5 years, you've heard Nicole Kidman so eloquently describe the movie theater experience that way. And while spending time at the cinema remains a one of a kind endeavor—that "huge silver screen" is nearly impossible to replicate—the latter portion has become increasingly attainable with the right equipment at home.
Enter Sonos, an MH-favorite brand that continues to provide its fans with cutting edge sonics they can build together in their homes one piece of hardware at a time, complete with an almost unbelievably intuitive and easy set-up (seriously, an app on your phone and a couple button taps is all it takes to get these state-of-the-art speakers set up and tuned). The beauty of a Sonos home system is that one of its speakers will sound great on its own, but connecting multiple speakers together—through an easy-to-navigate app—creates an immersive and intimate experience few brands can replicate at such a price.
Era 300
sonos.com
$449.00
Sonos Era 300 First Look
Consuming a rapid amount of TV shows and movies is part of my job, and so making sure my home set up is as comfortable as possible is incredibly important to me. In 2023 alone, I've tested a handful of home audio speakers and devices. Recently, I was able to dive into Sonos' latest offerings, starting with the Era 300 first.
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The Era 300 is one of the most satisfying speakers I've ever used when it comes to purely filling a room with sound. The Era 300 is, essentially, a version of your standard "boombox style" bluetooth speaker—except rather than operating wireless, it's always plugged in, and therefore always on. While the wired connection prevents you from bringing it with you to a BBQ, the Era 300's continuous power makes it extremely easy and delightful to connect your phone and start playing music or podcasts as soon as you enter your door.
Sonos Era 300 Performance
The first Sonos Era 300 speakers I received immediately replaced the wireless bluetooth speaker I previously used for music during the day. Using the one Era 300 by itself (I eventually added a second on the other side of the room), it was clear that this was a powerful device; the six drivers within this small speaker (about the size of three hardcover books stacked on top of one another) create enough booming sound to fill the whole room around you. My music and movies started feeling more three-dimensional, as opposed to feeling flat, as I now had a much deeper range of bass and crisper instrumentals.
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Sonos speakers will read a space to know what sounds should come from where based on the locations you place them, and it really makes for an easy-to-use, intuitive user experience. This feature resulted in making the Era 300's acoustics bounce off the walls and ceilings wonderfully, transforming any song I played into an intimate concert-like setting. Songs like Chris Stapleton's "You Should Probably Leave" really pop—the guitar chords and raw vocals sound like they're coming from within the very room you're in.
When a second Era 300 was brought into the equation, I promptly set it up on the other side of the room to create a sonic wall of sound that would make Elton John jealous; watching Mission Impossible: Fallout with my TV connected to a setup of two Era 300s felt like I was in the theater as Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill were flying helicopters around me.
A Versatile Speaker You Can Build Upon
The thing about a great sound system is that it isn't just used for the big, explosive, Tom Cruise/Michael Bay blockbuster sounds. Sometimes, when watching a movie, it can be as simple as isolating the sound of rain (think Blade Runner or Andor) or hearing the break on a Billiards table from the other side of the room. There were a couple times I thought someone was opening my front door, only to realize that I was hearing a door that was actually opened many, many, miles away, on a soundstage, many years ago.
The most surprising part about transforming my living room into a Dolby-enabled cinemascape was just how simple it all was. No expert had to come to my home to help me set up the speaker pairing; I did it through the Sonos app on my phone.
That memorable AMC Theatres Nicole Kidman speech has been widely memed, loved by many, hated by others. But when she's talking about sound that you can feel, that's not hyperbole. You can feel it in a theater, and, when you have the proper surround setup, you can feel it at home too.
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