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  1. Home
  2. Speaker
  3. Compare
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Sonos Era 300 vs JBL Authentics 500

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sonos Era 300
JBL Authentics 500

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Jan 10, 2025 01:28 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Feb 26, 2025 09:04 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sonos Era 300 Picture
JBL Authentics 500 Picture
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
No
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
No
  1. Recommended in 5 articles:
  2. Home
  3. Alexa
  4. Brands
  5. Smart
  6. Sonos
  1. Recommended in 5 articles:
  2. Bluetooth
  3. Home
  4. Alexa
  5. JBL
  6. Smart

Variants

  • Era 300 (Black)
  • Era 300 (White)
  • Authentics 500 (Black)

Review

See Sonos Era 300 review

See JBL Authentics 500 review

0
0

Our Verdict

Sonos Era 300

JBL Authentics 500

The Sonos Era 300 and the JBL Authentics 500 are both premium home speakers with built-in voice assistant support. Depending on your listening habits, you may prefer one over the other. The JBL has better dynamics, whereas the Sonos has a better soundstage performance. Some listeners may prefer the JBL's retro design. If you already own Sonos products, you can integrate them with the Sonos Era, which is nice.

0

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Black
Era 300
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Black
Authentics 500
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White
Era 300
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.7
7.7

Dynamics 
 

6.3
8.4

Soundstage 
 

8.6
7.3

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.8
7.6

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Sonos Era 300 Style Photo
JBL Authentics 500 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No

Show text

Portability 
 

3.9
2.9

Dimensions Photo  

Sonos Era 300 Dimensions Photo
JBL Authentics 500 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

494 in³ (8,088 cm³)
1,629 in³ (26,700 cm³)

Weight 
 

9.9 lbs (4.5 kg)
17.5 lbs (8.0 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC Only
AC Only

One-Hand Carry 
 

No
No

Show text

Build Quality 
 

6.4
6.7

Build Quality Photo  

Sonos Era 300 Build Quality Photo
JBL Authentics 500 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Great

Water Resistance 
 

No
No

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
No

Impact Resistance 
 

No
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
No

Show text

Controls 
 

7.0
8.0

Controls Photo  

Sonos Era 300 Controls Photo
JBL Authentics 500 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Sonos Era 300 Controls Photo 2
JBL Authentics 500 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Sonos Era 300 In The Box Photo
JBL Authentics 500 In The Box Photo

Show text

Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.8
7.6

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

0.22
0.04

Std. Err. 
 

1.93 dB
2.58 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

40.6 Hz
44.3 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

15.8 kHz
19.9 kHz

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

8.6
7.3

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

2.68 dB
4.99 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Dynamics 
 

6.3
8.4

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

90.9 dB SPL
102.8 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

4.01 dB
2.81 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power Saving 
 

No
N/A

Charging Port 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Battery Powered 
 

No
No

Show text

Voice Assistant 
 

9.4
9.3

Alexa 
 

Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)
Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)

Google Assistant 
 

No
Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)

Speakerphone 
 

No
No

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

Yes
Yes

Microphone Mute 
 

Yes
Yes

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
Excellent

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Great
Good

Show text

App 
 

9.3
9.6

App Picture  

Sonos Era 300 App Picture
JBL Authentics 500 App Picture

App Name 
 

Sonos S2
JBL One

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
Graphic

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
Yes

Show text

Bluetooth 
 

7.1
7.5

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.0
5.3

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

160 ms
269 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

206 ms
244 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices

Show text

Wi-Fi 
 

7.7
7.6

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi 6

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz & 5GHz
2.4GHz & 5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

130 ms
161 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

No
Yes

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Check Price

Black
Era 300
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Black
Authentics 500
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White
Era 300
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Back to Top

Sonos Era 300

JBL Authentics 500

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Sonos Era 300 vs JBL Authentics 500: Main Discussion

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