I put Sonos’s entry-level speakers to the test — are they the ultimate budget audio setup?

Sonos makes some of the best soundbars on the market, with the flagship Sonos Arc ruling the roost. At $900, it's not exactly a budget audio solution and, unlike some of its biggest competitors, you'll have to pay a hefty premium for add-ons, like surround-sound speakers and a compatible subwoofers.

While we typically recommend using the Sonos Era 300 as optimal rear surrounds with the Arc, I had to see for myself if Sonos's entry-level speakers — the Sonos Era 100 — were a better fit for those of us on a budget.

If they could put out enough sound, buying a few pairs of Sonos Era 100 instead of the Era 300 this could save you nearly $1,000 in home audio upgrades. Especially for those living in smaller spaces, it's fair to wonder if overspending on Sonos' top-of-the-line sound ecosystem is really necessary.

Spoiler alert: The Arc is a powerful soundbar, one that's now my new at-home audio solution , but with the help of the Sonos Era 100 and the Sub Mini, my living room might no sooner become the home theater I've long dreamed about.

Movie theater sound quality

The Sonos Arc paired with dual Era 100 and a Sub Mini brings some serious oomph to your entertainment setup. Obviously, the Era 100 won't out-perform more expensive speakers on their own, but add in a Sub Mini and you've got the recipe for a pretty powerful (and relatively affordable) wireless surround system.

Built on a closed design, the Sub Mini allows your home audio setup a warmer and fuller sound quality due to its speakers facing each other. This means that you'll get better-sounding music on the Sub Mini and action movies will sound crisp. While you might get better performance on the more premium Sonos Sub, the Sub Mini offers this fuller atmosphere that's best of all suited for smaller rooms.

Action-packed blockbusters from the likes of "Skyfall" to "Avengers: Endgame" were punctuated with room-shaking sound quality. The end scene involving the rows of portals opening up to reveal a slew of heroes in the final few moments of Endgame was a highlight, with Alan Silvestri's score gives rise to the forthcoming action that's about to unfold.

Action movies, especially those with Dolby Atmos support, definitely found their stride in this particular setup, the same cannot be said of more dialogue-heavy TV shows. One example includes "Suits," which required me to bump the volume up to 50 just to hear what the characters were saying.

Thankfully, the lack of mids was made up for some by the strong connectivity between all the different components. Although there are a ton of complaints surrounding the botched new Sonos app , I never once ran into any major issues. Not only was pairing a breeze, but playing music and casting it from speaker to speaker where necessary was a breeze...until it wasn't.

Pain points of awesome audio

Despite delivering fantastic-sounding action and sound effects, providing more than enough coverage for music, gaming and movies, the Sonos Arc with the Era 100 and Sub Mini do come with several setbacks. The biggest pain point of them all is the fact that the Arc needs to be wired to your TV, which doesn't give you much mobility or freedom in your setup.

Add to that the fact that the Era 100 sound better individually than they do in a 5.1 configuration and you run into a real head-scratcher. The Arc, Sub Mini, and E100 setup is great for movies, but music sounded better playing on the Era 100 when they weren't paired with the rest of the system.

Problematically, you can't just buy a pair of the Sonos Era 100 and connect them to a a rival's subwoofer or center channel. If you don't have the Sonos Arc or another one of the best Sonos speakers , you won't be able to use the Era 100 or Sub Mini as part of another 5.1 system. This is a real shame, but shouldn't be all-too surprising in the face of similar connectivity woes presented in the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro .

All that being said, it's clear there are some sacrifices you'll have to make in the face of the somewhat cheaper price point. While they do provide serious audio quality in a small environment, you might not need the E100s at all depending on your setup.

More than enough juice, but not a true value

While Sonos might provide some of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars on the block, it's not exactly the be-all, end-all solution I had hoped for, nor is it the cheapest. Yes, I saved some money by opting for the Sonos Era 100, but at $2,000 for the Arc, Sub Mini and two Sonos Era 100 speakers, it's not exactly the cheapest setup out there.

One thing this experiment did prove, however, is that the Sonos Sub Mini makes all the difference. In fact, I'd say just the Arc and Sub Mini combo is a good compromise for folks who don't want to go all-in on a surround system. This combination provides just enough oomph in audio quality on a soundscape that's steeped in a warmer, fuller atmosphere. Again, it might not be the best for dialogue-heavy shows, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice for the room-filling bass response.

Given that the Sonos ecosystem locks you into its ecosystem, some buyers might be better off going with the Bose Ultra Smart Soundbar . It's evenly matched in price with the Sonos Arc (often sliced even further down to $750 at discount), plus you can pair it up with the $500 Bose Bass Module 500 for similar stereo sound.

What works best for you depends not only on the size of your living room, but also what types of entertainment you'll be enjoying on the system and your budget. Sonos systems are great when you have all the speakers, but you don't need to shell the big bucks for good audio quality. Sometimes, all you need is a Sub Mini.

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