Sonos introduced two new wi-fi audio system right this moment that, each actually and figuratively, denote the beginning of a brand new period for the corporate. Till now Sonos has been concentrating its latest efforts on its vary of soundbars. (And let’s be trustworthy: Arc, Beam Gen 2 and Ray are all a number of the finest pound-for-pound soundbars round.)
With the announcement of the brand new Period 100 and Period 300 audio system, although, Sonos has turned its consideration again to music—and is, for the primary time, embracing applied sciences each innovative and long-since established. It’s also sadly abandoning its fabulously clear and concise naming system for, effectively, one thing else.
The Era 300, costing $449 (£449), is the larger, extra lavishly specified and costlier of the 2 new merchandise. Sonos describes it as being formed like an hourglass—this appears believable in the event you squint, however to us it appears a bit of extra natural. Think about a portion of a segmented insect, or a wi-fi speaker as imagined by H.R. Giger. When you had been being unkind, you may say the 300 had a whiff of ass about it, even.
The Period 300 is meant to ship spatial audio sound. Presently it’s restricted to dealing with Dolby Atmos content material streamed from Amazon Music Limitless by way of Wi-Fi—which is dangerous information for these of us who wish to get their Dolby Atmos jollies from Apple Music or Tidal, and even much less useful for many who really feel Sony’s 360 Actuality Audio is the superior spatial audio format. Nonetheless, if the previous is something to go by, Sonos will convey different companies and codecs into the fold ultimately.
The Period 300 is fitted with a complete of six speaker drivers, every powered by a discrete block of Class D amplification. Sonos being Sonos, the precise quantity of energy, together with the dimensions and composition of the drivers, is privileged data—however there are some things we do know: A mid/treble driver faces ahead, two extra mid/treble drivers hearth from the edges of the cupboard to create some stereo width, and a horn-loaded tweeter is directed upward in an effort to ship the sonic peak that’s a vital on the record of Dolby Atmos audio priorities.
A pair of low-frequency woofers face left and proper, and their job is to offer the mandatory wallop and punch to the sound. All six drivers sit behind rigorously designed waveguides, in an effort to unfold sound as large as attainable and to scale back the impression of a sonic “level supply.”
