Sonos Era 100 vs Marshall Acton II

Short answer: the Sonos Era 100. It ranks #15 of 20 powered desktop speakers by sound quality (rated 3.6/5) at $219 and is still sold new; the Marshall Acton II ranks #16 (rated 3.5/5) and is discontinued, so it is only an option used.

What the Sonos Era 100 does well: It streams over Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth, which the Marshall Acton II cannot. It links with other speakers (Sonos multi-room, AirPlay 2), which the Marshall Acton II cannot. The tradeoff: RTINGS’ own two listed cons are not loud enough for larger rooms and very little low-bass thump, so genres like EDM and hip-hop lack rumble even with the tone adjustments.

What the Marshall Acton II does well: It supports aptX Bluetooth, which the Sonos Era 100 lacks. It keeps a wired aux input, which the Sonos Era 100 lacks.

Buy the Sonos Era 100. It is rated higher for sound quality and still sold new, while the Marshall Acton II is discontinued.

Want more options? Browse the full Powered Home rankings.

Specifications Side By Side

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Prices on this page were last checked October 4, 2026 at 9:58 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

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The Two Speakers In Full

Sonos Era 100: $219.00 each Amazon eBay

Larger model: the Sonos Era 300 (rated 4/5).

Pros: RTINGS lists room correction tools and bass/treble adjustments as its real strengths, and its balanced midrange suits a wide range of genres, with wider stereo separation than the mono Sonos One SL it replaced thanks to two angled tweeters plus a 25% larger mid-woofer than the original Sonos One. Alexa is built in with a far-field mic, and it ties into the wider Sonos S2 app ecosystem for multi-room audio.

Cons: RTINGS’ own two listed cons are not loud enough for larger rooms and very little low-bass thump, so genres like EDM and hip-hop lack rumble even with the tone adjustments. There’s no Google Assistant, the USB-C line-in needs a separately purchased adapter, and there’s no battery.

Full Sonos Era 100 review and specifications →

AES Input	No
App	Yes (Sonos S2)
Aux Input	No
Battery Life	No Battery
Bluetooth	Yes
Bluetooth Codecs	SBC
Bluetooth Version	5.0
Built-in Microphone	Yes (far-field, mic mute button)
Coaxial Input	No
Dimensions	7.2” x 4.7” x 5.1” (182.5 x 120 x 130.5 mm)
Drivers	2x angled tweeters, 1x mid-woofer
EQ	Yes (Bass/Treble + Trueplay room correction)
HDMI Input	No
IP Rating	None
Inputs	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C (line-in adapter sold separately)
Optical Input	No
Party Mode	Yes (Sonos multi-room, AirPlay 2)
Power Bank	No
Power Input	External AC adapter
RCA Input	No
Stereo	Yes
Streaming Services	Sonos app streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and more), AirPlay 2
TRS Input	No
TWS	Yes (stereo pairing via Sonos app)
USB Input	Yes (line-in adapter sold separately)
Voice Assistants	Amazon Alexa
Weight	4.5 lbs (2.02 kg)
Wi-Fi	Yes (Wi-Fi 6)
XLR Input	No

• Links
  • Official Sonos Era 100 Product Page
• Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
  • RTINGS: Sonos Era 100 Review More from Rtings.com →
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Marshall Acton II: $195.60 each Discontinued eBay

Newer model: the Marshall Acton IV, estimated 3.7/5.

Pros: Marshall Acton II uses 4” (midrange/woofer), 1x 4” midrange, 2x 0.75” Dome tweeters. Its 2.9 kg, aux input and limited-stereo playback make it a practical option for its intended room or portable use. Measured bass extension of 56Hz (-10dB).

Cons: Bass is limited by its 56Hz specification. Discontinued.

Full Marshall Acton II review and specifications →

AES Input	No
Amplifier Power	50W (Woofer: 25W, Tweeters: 2x12.5W)
App	Yes
Aux Input	Yes
Bass Extension (-10dB)	56Hz
Battery Life	No Battery
Bluetooth	Yes
Bluetooth Codecs	SBC, aptX
Bluetooth Version	5.0
Coaxial Input	No
Dimensions	10.2” x 6” x 5.9” (260 x 153 x 150 mm)
Drivers	4” (midrange/woofer), 1x 4” midrange, 2x 0.75” Dome tweeters
EQ	Yes (Bass/Treble)
Frequency Response	50Hz - 20kHz (Manufacturer specified)
HDMI Input	No
IP Rating	None
Inputs	Bluetooth, Aux
Optical Input	No
Party Mode	No
Power Bank	No
RCA Input	No
Stereo	Partially (1 woofer)
TRS Input	No
TWS	No
USB Input	No
Voice Assistants	None
Weight	6.4 lbs (2.9 kg)
Wi-Fi	No
Woofer Cabinet	ported
XLR Input	No

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