“The purpose with Period 300 was actually to create one of the best standalone spatial audio expertise of any single speaker.” So far as intentions go, it’s a daring assertion from Sonos.
Sonos’s Period 300 is a wi-fi good speaker that comes packing all of the goodness and seamlessness of a Sonos system, with a key stand-out function that Sonos believes is the subsequent era of sound: spatial audio.
Spatial audio has been within the highlight lately, that includes in Dolby Atmos-soundtracked motion pictures, TV exhibits and now music. Spearheaded by Apple, ‘spatial audio’ has changed into a catch-all time period that covers any music that makes use of the Dolby Atmos format to create a number of channels of audio (past the usual two) to ship a larger sense of immersion. For music, which has been in good ol’ stereo for a lot of a long time, that’s fairly an enormous change.
Apple led the cost this yr with its spatial audio-toting HomePod 2 good speaker, which inspired us with its musical abilities throughout the board. Will the larger, dearer Sonos Period 300 beat Apple at its personal sport? And extra importantly, will the Period 300 ship an gratifying sonic expertise past simply spatial audio?
Value
Sonos has priced the Period 300 on the premium finish of the good speaker market, clocking in at £449 / $449 / AU$749. That is fairly a hefty sum to pay – as compared, the closest rival Apple HomePod 2 prices £299 / $299 / AU$479.
It is nonetheless £50 / $100 shy of the costliest wi-fi speaker that Sonos makes, which is the Sonos 5 at £499 / $549 / AU$700. The massive distinction between the 2 is that the 5 delivers stereo music; Sonos Period 300 ups the ante with an all-new design and spatial audio output.
Construct & design
There’s no denying the Period 300 has an uncommon form – a “cinched hourglass” design is what Sonos calls it. It’s a bit cumbersome, sure, and it doesn’t fairly mix into the atmosphere in the way in which its different audio system do, however we really feel Sonos needs to face out and entice consideration with this speaker. With the 300 positioned in a room, we discovered ourselves quickly getting used to the type and simply listening to the music it’s delivering.
Prefer it or detest it, it’s a design born out of necessity. With spatial audio playback being the Period 300’s focus, this implies a rigorously thought-about however uncommon association of drivers and amplification that may fireplace out sound in all instructions to ship that ‘immersive’ audio expertise – whereas nonetheless holding a familial look that matches into Sonos’s household of audio system.
Sonos Period 300 tech specs
Bluetooth 5.0 (SBC, AAC)
Streaming AirPlay 2, wi-fi 6
Battery life N/A (mains-powered)
Options Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, stereo pairing, Sonos voice management, Alexa voice management, Trueplay tuning, adjustable EQ
Connections USB-C line-in (separate adapters required)
App? Sure
Dimensions (hwd) 16 x 26 x 18.5cm
Weight 4.47kg
Finishes x2 (matte black, matte white)
Contained in the Period 300 are six drivers: 4 tweeters (one forward-firing, two side-firing, one upward-firing) and two woofers (angled left and proper for stereo playback). These are complemented by customized waveguides that assist direct sound out forwards, upwards, left and proper to encompass you with music. Every of the six drivers can be powered by its personal class D amplifier.
That upward-firing tweeter is Dolby Atmos-specified, too, loaded right into a directional horn and designed to replicate pontificate the ceiling when taking part in Dolby Atmos music. When organising the Period 300, Sonos suggests you permit at the very least 8 inches (20cm) from the wall, and you’ll modify the extent of the peak channel within the app’s settings, too.
The upward-firing driver needing house to fireside out sound by means of the highest of the speaker signifies that Sonos has needed to transfer the management panel a contact ahead versus it being within the center as initially supposed, and likewise transfer the cinch level – therefore the quirky design.
Visually, the Period 300 has a clear profile and we will’t argue with the construct high quality, which is made to Sonos’s sometimes excessive requirements and is a breeze to make use of. Other than the Sonos emblem on the grille, there are no buttons or shows (bar a single LED that you could flip off) on the entrance. And the end – in matte black or matte white – suits in neatly with the remainder of the model’s merchandise, particularly its extra inexpensive stablemate, the Period 100.
On prime, you’ll discover a refreshed interface, with a quantity slider dented into the speaker to assist customers glide their finger throughout to alter the quantity. It’s satisfyingly responsive and beeps suggestions as you alter the quantity (which is slightly pleasant), whereas the contact capacitive buttons for playback and voice management are as responsive as ever.
Options
The headline function right here is the help for spatial audio with Dolby Atmos tracks, however there’s the small matter of precisely the place you may play Dolby Atmos-powered spatial audio tracks from on the Period 300. Sonos has at all times erred on the aspect of being platform-agnostic – a reasonably open strategy which means that no matter what machine or streaming service you employ, you may play the music you need by means of a Sonos speaker. That’s been a key pillar of its recognition all through the years.
There’s a small caveat with the Period 300’s spatial audio playback. At launch, Dolby Atmos Music from Amazon Music Limitless is supported, whereas spatial audio from Apple Music will arrive on twenty eighth March – when the Period 300 goes on sale. There’s no help for Tidal’s catalogue of Dolby Atmos/spatial audio tracks in sight, nonetheless, which is a disgrace.
After all, it’s value noting that Apple’s HomePod 2 solely helps spatial audio by means of Apple Music, and doesn’t even help different streaming providers by means of its Siri good management. Sonos nonetheless will get the higher hand for wider compatibility, as compared.
Other than spatial audio, the largest information is that the Sonos Period 300 can play music each over wi-fi (wi-fi 6 is supported) and Bluetooth. It is the primary time Bluetooth has been included in Sonos’s mains-powered audio system, having beforehand featured solely on its moveable Roam and Transfer fashions. Period 300 sports activities the Bluetooth 5.0 customary, with the fundamental SBC and AAC codecs on board. Bluetooth pairing is extremely fast – instantaneous once you press the pairing button. It’s a swifter course of than we’ve seen in some other Bluetooth speaker, and need to applaud Sonos for the way seamless the reference to our iPhone is.
Additionally new is a USB-C port for wired connection to sources comparable to turntables. You’ll need a selected Line-In Adapter in case you do wish to use this connection although, and our principal criticism is that this isn’t included within the field. You’ll need to pay £19 / $19 to purchase the adapter by means of Sonos, which feels slightly expensive on prime of the Period 300’s asking value.
AirPlay 2 streaming returns, together with 24-bit/48kHz hi-res music help from Qobuz and Amazon Music providers. Voice management can be supported – by means of Alexa for all of your good house wants, or by means of Sonos’s personal voice management that offers with music playback solely. The latter is on the market in English and French just for now, however we discovered it responded nicely to our easy instructions and the mic picked up our voice over the loud music being performed. There’s now a bodily swap to show the speaker’s mic off completely for full privateness, and the Bluetooth pairing button can be neatly hidden away on the rear.
There’s no Google Assistant, nonetheless. A change in Google’s technical necessities for third-party gadgets meant that Sonos hasn’t been capable of embrace it within the Period 300, however we hope the 2 firms are capable of work it out sooner or later.
Playback from an enormous variety of streaming providers, multi-room and stereo-pair grouping and extra might be managed by means of the wonderful Sonos app, which we have at all times discovered to be well-featured and seamless to make use of. The power to manage all of your music from one intuitive place is a neat answer, particularly in case you play music from a number of streaming providers and web radio.
You may tweak the speaker’s EQ settings for treble and bass extra finely, and provoke Sonos’s Trueplay room calibration tuning. Now out there for each iOS and Android, Trueplay optimises the Period 300’s sound to swimsuit the room it’s in. We discover that it makes the Period 300 sound clearer, extra targeted and fewer boomy within the bass, and we’d suggest making the most of Trueplay wherever you place the Period speaker in your house.
There’s additionally huge information for AV followers: the Sonos Period 300 can be utilized as Dolby Atmos encompass audio system, delivering multi-channel rears for the primary time. These can be utilized along with the Sonos Arc and Beam Gen 2 soundbars and Sub to create a most 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos house theatre expertise. We solely have one evaluate pattern of the Period 300 for our testing, however the full Atmos film expertise is one thing we’re eager to check out sooner or later.
Sound
The vast majority of our Period 300 listening was finished with Apple Music and Tidal for stereo music and Amazon Music Limitless for spatial audio. We’ll replace this evaluate as quickly as we’ve heard Apple Music’s spatial audio tracks on the Period 300 after help goes reside on the twenty eighth.
The primary impression we get with the Period 300 is of scale. The unfold of sound is immense from one single wi-fi speaker field. It tasks sound additional into the room and overhead extra confidently than some other comparable wi-fi speaker we’ve heard.
What’s simply as spectacular is how stable and cohesive all of it sounds. No matter whether or not you’re listening to plain ol’ stereo or spatial audio tracks, the wealthy tapestry of devices and vocals all really feel apiece. There’s solidity, ample element and fluid dynamics to every track, whether or not you’re listening to an ’80s rock anthem or a piano-led classical piece. Songs are thrown out into the room with the type of scale and energy we’d usually hear from a lot greater audio system.
Sonos by no means shares energy scores, however there’s no denying the large reserves of energy brimming beneath the hood. Not simply because the music’s rhythm is grippy, with ample grunt and impression to the low finish; but in addition due to how straightforward all of it sounds.
The place you may hear the smaller Period 100 speaker straining towards its bodily limitations at instances, the Period 300 has no such restraints. The meaty, taut, propulsive bassline in Rage Towards The Machine’s Bullet In The Head is gorgeously textured and effortlessly delivered. The crunchy guitars and spitting vocals are simply as impactful; there’s punch and muscle alongside refined however highly effective dynamic shifts that retains every little thing flowing.
Taylor Swift’s vocals in Anti-Hero flourish within the splendidly spacious soundfield, together with her voice sounding crystal clear and no brilliant or skinny edges to be heard.
With spatial audio with Dolby Atmos tracks, sound is flung removed from the Period 300’s field. The ominous choral intro to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ Unholy is delivered as a wall of sound that utterly fills the room and envelops you. The sound goes far past the confines of the speaker and the unfold of sound is so convincing that it’s onerous to really pinpoint the place precisely the sound is coming from. The ‘spatial audio’ impact doesn’t really feel separate from the unique musical intent; it merely sounds extra immersive – one thing we’ve not encountered earlier than with a lot enthusiasm. It’s value noting that spatial audio tracks can solely be performed over wi-fi, not Bluetooth, on the Period 300.
Within the app’s settings, you may modify the peak channel’s stage to swimsuit how loud or intense you need the impact to be. We left it at zero after some experimentation, because it sounded essentially the most balanced with the remainder of the sound.
We proceed listening to tracks we all know and love in spatial audio (Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac, No Diggity by Blackstreet, Come Collectively by The Beatles) and it’s the identical story: all of it sounds detailed, participating and completed. And it’s enjoyable, too.
Whereas there’s a major value distinction between the Period 300 and the HomePod 2, a comparability between the 2 spatial audio audio system is critical. The HomePod nonetheless retains its wealthy texture and fantastic sense of musicality, however we’re struck by how small-scaled it sounds subsequent to the Period 300. Basically and likewise specifically with spatial audio tracks, the Period 300 outdoes the HomePod 2 in each manner. There’s extra energy and punch, extra convincing shifts in dynamics and feelings, and there may be extra element and subtlety round every observe. The Period 300 relays the wealthy harmonies and decaying reverberations across the piano notes in Gentle Of The Seven from the Sport Of Thrones soundtrack, whereas James Blake’s Restrict To Your Love is breathtaking with its cavernous scale and gut-punch impression of the plunging, deep bassline.
This can be a very mature, very assured efficiency from Sonos.
Verdict
The Period 300 could have sounded a bit like a gimmick when first unveiled, but it surely’s a daring transfer from the corporate that feels contemporary, modern and assured. Does it persuade us that spatial audio will overtake stereo sound? Not fairly, but it surely’s the primary time we’ve felt the 2 codecs could possibly be on an identical footing.
Sonos’s mission to ship an awesome spatial audio expertise from a single wi-fi speaker is successful, however that metric alone isn’t what makes the Sonos Period 300 an all-round gratifying speaker. It performs admirably with any format of music you throw at it, it doesn’t matter what supply or style. The addition of Bluetooth streaming, to not point out the huge array of options you get from being a part of Sonos’s seamless expertise, goes a great distance towards justifying the slightly excessive price ticket connected to it. All of it provides as much as an attractive expertise that’s value embarking on.
SCORES
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