Last week was a big one in the week of audio reviewers like me – it had been quite some time since Sonos last launched new hardware, and the Play had every indication of being a super-interesting speaker.
Well, two weeks into using it, that's definitely confirmed in my view – the Sonos Play is a banger, and I had basically no hesitation in awarding it five stars when I wrote my review up last week. Now the speaker is actually available to buy, so you can add one to your home if you have the budget.
If you don't, though, I think that Sonos' other new piece of hardware might actually be the best and most obvious entry-point for its ecosystem... ever. The Era 100 SL is basically everything you could want in a static Sonos home speaker, for a price that's genuinely persuasive.
At £169, it's not the cheapest audio addition you can find for your living room, bedroom or wherever else, but what it does offer is the best way to get started with Sonos without breaking the bank too badly – especially compared to the £299 Play.
The Era 100 SL is, as the name suggests, basically identical to the older Era 100, but it strips out one big feature to cut down the price tag – voice controls and smart assistant compatibility. Well, here's the good news: I've had Era 100s in my living room for months now, and I've literally never used voice control a single time.
That doesn't make it a useless feature, to be clear; it's obviously something that some smart home enthusiasts love to use for automation, and plenty of people welcome it in speakers, but I can only speak for myself, and I'm just not someone who needs or wants it.
So, when Sonos offers up the same excellent sound quality and rock-solid design, but shaves £40 off the price by removing something I never use anyway, that's a pretty terrific situation from my point of view, and that's without actually having gone hands-on with the Era 100 SL.
I have every reason to suspect it's going to be a banger, though, and I'll be able to confirm that when we get our review sample next week, so keep your eyes on T3 to find out what my verdict is when it does come around.
I'm also very hopeful that this ushers in a new era for Sonos – one that sees it focus on its users' needs and wants, rather than change for its own sake. If it can nail those fundamentals, this wave of new speakers suggests that it could be onto something special.
