Sonos has a brand new speaker that begins transport later this month, and it’s a big departure from the corporate’s traditional choices in a variety of methods. The all-new Sonos Roam is a compact, moveable speaker with a built-in battery and Bluetooth connectivity — however nonetheless very a lot a Sonos system workforce participant, with wifi streaming, multi-room function, voice assistant assist and surprisingly nice sound high quality.
The fundamentals
Priced at $169, the Sonos Roam is actually diminutive, at simply over 6 inches, by roughly 2.5 inches for each peak and depth. It weighs underneath a pound, and is offered in both a matte white or black end, which is par for the course for Sonos when it comes to colorways. Roam can be IP67-rated, which means it’s successfully waterproof, with a resistance ranking of as much as half-hour at depths of as much as 1 meter (3.3 toes).
Sonos has positioned the speaker’s management floor at one finish of the system, together with a microphone button, quantity controls and a play/pause button. These are precise, tactile buttons, somewhat than touch-sensitive surfaces such as you’d discover on different Sonos audio system, which is sensible for a speaker designed for use on the go, and in situations the place contact controls would possibly get flummoxed by issues like rain and water.
The Roam additionally has an influence button on the again, subsequent to a USB-C port for charging. It additionally gives wi-fi charging, by way of a receiver discovered within the base of the speaker, which can be utilized with Sonos’ personal forthcoming magnetic charging adapter (bought individually), or with any normal Qi-powered wi-fi charger you need.
Along with wifi streaming, Sonos Roam may hook up with any system by way of Bluetooth 5.0. It additionally options AirPlay 2 for connecting to Apple gadgets when on wifi, and it really works out of the field with Spotify Join. The built-in battery is rated for as much as 10 hours of playback on a full cost, in response to Sonos, and may present as much as 10 days of its sleep-like standby mode.
Design and efficiency
That is the smallest speaker but launched by Sonos, and that’s positively a giant plus in the case of this class of system. The size make it really feel like a barely taller can of Crimson Bull, which ought to provide you with some sense of simply how moveable it’s. In contrast to Sonos’ first moveable speaker with a built-in battery, the Sonos Transfer, the Roam really appears like one thing designed to be thrown in a bag and introduced with you wherever you occur to wish it.
Regardless of its small dimension, the Sonos Roam gives spectacular sound — doubtless the most effective I’ve but encountered for a conveyable speaker on this dimension class. Inside, it manages to pack in twin amplifiers, one tweeter and a separate customized racetrack mid-woofer, which Sonos developed to assist ship each lows and mids with a faithfulness that usually escapes smaller audio system. The Roam additionally will get loads louder than you’d in all probability count on it might, whereas retaining audio high quality clear and freed from distortion on the identical time.
One of many keys to the Roam’s nice sound high quality is Sonos’ Computerized Trueplay tech, which tunes the audio to greatest go well with its environment actively and regularly. This function requires that the mic be enabled to work, but it surely’s properly price having on in most settings, and makes a giant distinction whereas streaming in each Bluetooth and wifi modes. This additionally helps the speaker regulate when it’s switched from horizontal to vertical orientation, and it’s one of many major causes that the Roam punches above its weight relative to different audio system on this dimension and worth class.
The Roam could be a winner primarily based on audio high quality alone for the worth, however the further Sonos system-specific options it boasts actually elevate it to a real class chief. These embody a standby mode that preserves battery whereas retaining the Roam obtainable to your system for wifi streaming by way of the Sonos app (helpful, and likewise non-obligatory since you’ll be able to maintain the facility button down for 5 seconds to really energy off and protect your cost for even longer, which is nice for journey).
Certainly one of Roam’s really superb skills is a hand-off function that passes playback of no matter you’re utilizing it to take heed to on to the closest Sonos speaker in your system once you lengthy press the play/pause button. This works nearly like magic, and is a superb speaker superpower for in the event you’re wandering round the home and the yard doing chores with the Roam in your pocket.
Backside line
Sonos waited a very long time to launch their first travel-friendly moveable speaker, however they clearly used that point properly. The Sonos Roam is probably the most thoughtfully-designed, feature-rich and best-sounding moveable speaker you will get for underneath $200 (and higher than many dearer choices, at that). Even in the event you don’t have already got a Sonos system to make use of it with, it’s a straightforward selection in the event you’re out there for a conveyable, rugged Bluetooth speaker — and in the event you’re already a Sonos convert, the choice will get that a lot simpler.
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