Sonos has simply launched a model new product line with the discharge of the Period 300. We have now been seeing leaks and renders about this product for months, however now we had been in a position to get some hands-on time with it. Let me let you know, whereas it’s not good, this new speaker is extraordinarily spectacular.
Sonos’ new Period 300 falls into the mid-sized speaker class. It packs a brand-new dual-angled design that offers it a lovely silhouette and makes it look elegant when positioned in your lounge. It’s bigger than a HomePod or a Sonos Period 100 however extra compact than a Sonos 5.
Sonos Period 300 Specs
The Period 300 does include an abundance of latest specs, options, and upgrades that can assist set it other than the competitors. The brand new design alone is sufficient to make you do a double-take at this speaker. Listed below are among the specs which are price noting:
- New capacitive contact controls for quantity, playback, and voice assistant
- Wi-Fi 6
- Airplay 2 assist
- USB-C port with assist for Ethernet and three.5mm audio
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Six customized class-D amps “expertly positioned” to push sound in all instructions and to supply assist for Dolby Atmos
- Spatial audio assist
- Stereo playback
- TruePlay tuning for iOS and “fast tuning” choices for iOS & Android
- Means to pair with Sonos Arc and Beam Gen 2 for multi-channel dwelling theater
At launch, the Period 300 helps spatial audio and Dolby Atmos from each Amazon Music and Apple Music. The Sonos Period 300 is offered in two colours: matte white and matte black.
Period 300 hands-on evaluation
Let’s begin with the unboxing expertise. Sonos appears to have put thought into each side of the client journey. The unboxing expertise was extraordinarily distinctive. It got here boxed in 100% recyclable supplies and had two plastic latches that wanted to be flipped as a way to ‘unlock’ the field. The remainder was easy, you get the Period 300, the ability cable, and a few paperwork!
Period 300 Setup
The setup and connection course of for the Period 300 could be very easy. You simply plug within the speaker to energy, obtain the Sonos app from the App Retailer, create an account, and the app will instantly acknowledge the Period 300.
Proper after the setup course of has been accomplished, you’ll want to calibrate the speaker to optimize the sound. Sonos has two completely different variations of this, TruePlay and Fast Tune. In case you have an iOS machine, you’ll want to go along with TruePlay. It takes about three minutes to finish and it’s properly price it. While you provoke TruePlay, the Period 300 will begin to make a sound sign that’s used to find out how the room is about up. You then use the microphones in your iPhone to inform the speaker how far that sound is reaching. It’s a genius implementation that I like to recommend finishing as a result of it offers you the very best sound for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos! The method is proven under (the telephone is upside on objective, the Sonos app makes you flip your telephone round to level the microphone in numerous instructions.)
“Fast tuning” is a brand new function that was added to the app to permit Android customers to have an analogous setup. It’s a a lot shorter expertise that will also be used with iOS if you wish to save a while. However I’ll say TruePlay finally ends up supplying you with the very best end result!
On-device controls
The speaker itself provides off minimalist vibes, which I like. When it comes to bodily enter, you might have only some methods to work together with it. You could have new capacitive contact controls proper on high of the speaker. That is the place the amount bar, your playback buttons, and your voice assistant shortcut all stay. I’m not an enormous fan of capacitive buttons, however these appear to be ultra-responsive, which is nice. On the rear, you might have your Bluetooth button, energy enter, microphone kill change, and a USB-C port. This USB-C port can be utilized to attach a 3.5mm line-in jack or an Ethernet cable (with a dongle, bought individually).
My Expertise
It’s powerful to evaluation a speaker by way of solely my phrases as a result of one of the simplest ways to study a speaker is to exit and take heed to it. However my listening expertise with the Sonos Period 300 has been nothing in need of spectacular.
I used the Period 300 for 2 essential functions, as my most popular music participant and as a single-speaker dwelling theater system.
Music playback
Should you use a streaming service that helps spatial audio, then you’re going to be in for a deal with. It amazed me how you could possibly hear completely different layers of the music, with true separation from one single speaker. The very best instance to check is to have stay efficiency audio with spatial audio assist. You might be one way or the other in a position to hear the gang behind you (despite the fact that there’s nothing there), after which you may hear the artist singing proper in entrance of you.
The identical goes for the directionality of the music, so if the artist breaks up the sound to the best and left sides, the speaker will be capable of do the identical factor and provide you with that have. The final piece that impressed me was the bass that the Period 300 supplies. That one single speaker is ready to give sufficient bass that you would be able to truly really feel it in your ft, which is one thing that usually requires a devoted subwoofer.
Dwelling theater playback
That is the place I used the Sonos Period 300 probably the most. I needed to see if this single speaker might substitute my Samsung multi-channel setup. My setup consisted of a soundbar and subwoofer combo previous to utilizing the Period 300. I by no means had a criticism about these Samsung merchandise; they acquired the job performed, however in addition they by no means wowed me. The only Period 300 blew the Samsung setup out of the water. It was louder, by no means distorted at peak volumes, had a crispier bass, and even linked extra simply to my Samsung TV than my Samsung speaker did!
The true take a look at was seeing the way it carried out at excessive quantity with action-packed motion pictures like these from Marvel or any war-type motion pictures, in addition to with Dolby Atmos-supported content material. Shock, shock, the Sonos Period 300 sounded nice. It was in a position to fill my lounge simply, with full sound and thumpy bass when wanted, and the vocals got here by way of completely. It was an all-around spectacular expertise; I needed to maintain reminding myself it was simply coming from one speaker. For reference, I stay in a 1200 sqft condo, so if you happen to stay in a bigger dwelling with a bigger lounge and excessive ceilings, then your expertise may range.
Closing Ideas
Sonos put collectively a terrific product with the Period 300. It has supplied a novel listening expertise, particularly if you understand simply how small the speaker is relative to its output. It provides you punchy bass, excessive most quantity that doesn’t distort, and pristine vocals. Plus, the addition of spatial audio provides you a real feeling of immersion. In case you are searching for a speaker that may deal with just about any at-home situation, whether or not blasting audio for motion pictures, taking part in music for your self, or appearing as an leisure hub, this speaker will be capable of deal with all of it. I do want Sonos both gave us an Ethernet port built-in or supplied the $39 dongle at no additional price, however these days appear to be lengthy gone.
Pricing & availability
The Sonos Period 300 is offered at the moment, March 27, for $449 USD. It is available in two finishes, matte black and matte white (I personally love matte white). The corporate additionally presents two completely different USB-C dongles, one offering a 3.5mm port for $19 and one other that gives 3.5mm audio and an Ethernet port for $39. Sonos additionally sells an Period 300 wall mount for $79, and an Period 300 stand for $139.
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