Sorry, HomePod! Sonos speakers add Apple Music’s spatial audio.

Alongside the release of its new Era 300 and Era 100 speakers, Sonos said Tuesday it will “add support for spatial audio on Apple Music in what will be a significant expansion of its next-gen sound experience offerings.”

The company said customers can access spatial audio on Apple Music via the Era 300 and two older Sonos speaker systems starting in three weeks — Tuesday, March 28 (the new speakers’ shipping date).

Sonos speakers add Apple Music’s spatial audio

Here’s how Sonos described the expansion, which will bring Apple Music’s spatial audio to the new Era 300, plus the popular Arc and Beam (Gen 2) soundbars often used in home-theater setups:

Spatial audio delivers a multi-dimensional immersive sound experience that is fast becoming a primary recording format among leading artists, producers and engineers. Available on Sonos Era 300, Arc, and Beam (Gen 2), Apple Music with spatial audio will place listeners at the center of their music with an ever growing catalog of tracks and expertly curated playlists featuring renowned artists across all genres.

Leaked news of the new Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 speakers — the more-affordable Era 100 is a big upgrade on the popular but aging Sonos One — came in the wake of the release of Apple’s upgraded full-sized HomePod.

‘Transformative experiences’

“It’s a thrilling time in music as spatial audio — and the artist creativity that comes with it — continues to grow,” said Giles Martin, Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter, and composer and Sonos’ VP of Sound Experience.

“Sonos continues to put its listeners at the forefront of sound innovation, ensuring they have access through Apple Music to transformative experiences like spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, so they can feel more from the content they love,” he added.

HomePod is cheaper than Era 300 but does less

You can pair two Sonos Era 100 speakers and use line-in to play them off a turntable. You can't do that with a HomePod. — You can pair two Sonos Era 100 speakers and use line-in to play them off a turntable. You can’t do that with a HomePod.
Photo: Sonos

While the new $450 Era 300 costs considerably more than the new $299 HomePod, it also does more. Both speakers offer spatial audio via Apple Music, but the Era 300 (and the $249 Era 100 without spatial audio) support Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2 and USB-C line-in for versatile connectivity.

Sonos speakers work well together, too, for uses like a home theater where you mix and match speakers and soundbars.

HomePod will only play wirelessly, and only off Apple devices. So you can forget about simply jacking in a turntable, for example.

Sonos Era 300 specifications:

Six class-D amplifiers push sound left, right, forward and upward.
Support for stereo playback and spatial audio
Four tweeters, two woofers
Compatible as rear surround-sound speakers for Sonos Arc (7.1.4) or Beam gen 2 (5.1.4) soundbars
Capacitive touch controls
Wireless connectivity: AirPlay 2, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
Wired connectivity: USB-C line in (3.5mm adapter and 3.5mm + Ethernet adapter sold separately)
Far-field microphone for built-in Sonos Voice Control and Alexa/Amazon Music support
Siri support via AirPlay 2/HomeKit
Trueplay tuning via auto EQ for iOS and Android

Both new Sonos speakers come in black or white colors.

Where to buy: Sonos

Sonos Era 100 specifications:

Three tuned class-D amplifiers
Two tweeters and and one midwoofer
Pair two Era 100 speakers for wider stereo soundstage.
Capacitive touch controls
Wireless connectivity: AirPlay 2, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
Wired connectivity: USB-C line in (3.5mm and 3.5mm + Ethernet adapters sold separately)
Far-field microphone for built-in Sonos Voice Control and Alexa/Amazon Music support
Siri support via AirPlay 2/HomeKit
Trueplay tuning via auto EQ for iOS and Android

Where to buy: Sonos