Sonos Roam speaker review

The Sonos brand is a newcomer to Russia, but a very well-known player in the US audio systems market. The Sonos Roam speaker that we tested is one of the most affordable solutions in the manufacturer's lineup. It's compact and stylish, and has some cool features that come with a hefty price tag. Is the device worth its money and to whom it can be recommended, let's try to figure it out in this review.

Specifications
Appearance
Connection and application
Features of the device
Sound
Autonomy
Outcomes

Specifications

Emitters	2 amplifiers, tweeter, mid-range speaker
Control	physical buttons, app
Connection	Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n / ac (2, 4 and 5 GHz), AirPlay 2 (iOS 11.4+)
Connectors	USB Type ‑ C
Peculiarities	IP67 waterproof, Qi-charging, Trueplay technology
Dimensions (edit)	16.8 × 6.2 × 6 cm
The weight	430 g

Appearance

The speaker comes in a small cardboard box along with a USB ‑ C to USB ‑ A cable. The device itself is wrapped in a simple felt case. It is quite thin and performs, rather, an aesthetic function.

The main body of the Roam is made of matte plastic, and the mesh front surface is metal and hides the original honeycomb pattern underneath. In one part of it, next to the company logo, there is a connection status diode, on the other side there is a battery charge indicator.

The ends of the Sonos Roam are made of soft-touch rubberized material. On one of the edges there are four miniature silicone feet that allow you to place the device horizontally.

The USB Type-C connector is placed so that the speaker can be conveniently charged in any position. Next to it is the power button. At the end, which is closer to the logo, there are four more physical buttons: to adjust the volume, pause / play and start the voice assistant.

The Roam has a very discreet yet stylish design. We had a dark version on the test, but there is also a light version. Both will be able to fit into almost any interior and will look good even on a bookshelf, even on a desktop. And the presence of protection against water according to the IP67 standard means that the Sonos speaker is also not afraid of the street and, if necessary, will keep a company at a picnic or in the country.

Connection and application

The Sonos Roam cannot simply be connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth like most other speakers. First you need to install the proprietary Sonos app. It is available for both Android and iOS.

In the application, you need to create an account, confirm it using the link in the letter, and connect to your home Wi-Fi network. Immediately, Roam will offer to update and enable the Trueplay function, which adjusts the sound to the environment, listening to it using microphones.

The Sonos app isn't just for show - it's a really useful service for tweaking sound and various smart features. However, it is rather strange that without registering in it, the Roam cannot be used as a simple Bluetooth speaker. Only after authorization can you find the device in the list of available for pairing.

The application itself allows you to connect a bunch of streaming services: Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Yandex Music, YouTube Music, Last.fm, SoundCloud and many others - there is even Storytel and Bookmate for audiobooks.

Once connected, you can manage them directly in Sonos - turn on playlists or saved tracks, look for new music, put likes. If this seems inconvenient, you can go to the application of the selected streaming service in one click.

Another useful feature of the app is Sonos Radio. This is a huge collection of radio stations from all over the world. They can be searched by genre or even by location. This is a great addition to the speaker's capabilities, especially if you are used to listening to local stations or some chillout channels.

It is also worth noting the presence in the application of a simple equalizer with bass and treble adjustment, as well as the ability to set alarms with music playback. There is also support for voice assistants, but they are not available in Russia, not even Google Assistant.

Features of the device

Wi-Fi support allows you to use Sonos Roam without a Bluetooth connection if your smartphone and speaker are on the same home network. In this mode, a white status indicator is on on the case (blue when connected via Bluetooth). In both cases, you can use all of Roam's features without restriction.

Music over Wi-Fi is really convenient: you don't have to constantly manually connect your smartphone, and everything works much more stable and faster. There are almost no delays in the response of the system.

Wi-Fi in such a small speaker is rare, but AirPlay 2 support is no less cool advantage. This option will be an additional plus for owners of Apple devices.

Another great feature is the ability to quickly pick up music on another Sonos speaker using Sound Swap technology. To do this, you need to hold down the play button on the second speaker so that it automatically picks up the music stream from the first. True, for this, the second device also needs to be added to the application.

We tested this feature with the Sonos One SL, a much more powerful home speaker that runs on AC power and Wi-Fi only. It will easily out-shout Roam, so it is more suitable for the living room, while the compact device is better placed in the bedroom. You can adjust their volume in the application separately, which is very convenient.

Sound

Inside the Sonos Roam there are two Class H amplifiers, a Racetrack midrange driver for vocals, and one tweeter for high frequencies. The system does not emphasize lows by default, but you can add bass in the application by unscrewing the corresponding slider in the equalizer. The difference will be noticeable.

Overall, the sound is bright and detailed, especially for a device of this compact size. The column reveals vocal parts and the sound of strings well. It's great for funk, jazz, classical, alternative or rap. Slightly worse - for synthwave, house and other electronic music.

The Roam has a large power reserve - enough even for a summer terrace, and the minimum volume control step will allow you to adjust the sound to your preferences.

Autonomy

The manufacturer claims about 10 hours of music playback. We got about eight with Spotify, which is not bad either. The speaker is charged via the USB-C port. The adapter itself is not included, but it will fit a smartphone. The Sonos Roam also supports Qi wireless charging. For it, you can purchase the Sonos Roam Wireless Charger stand.

Outcomes

The Sonos Roam looks and feels like a premium device. The speaker's sound quality is excellent, but only considering its small size. We managed to squeeze the maximum content out of this size and shape, and this is one of the main features of Roam.

The device costs 16,990 rubles, which is a lot, especially considering the huge number of competitors with lower prices. However, few of them can offer support for Wi-Fi and AirPlay 2, as well as a handy music app that allows you to combine multiple streaming services and hundreds of radio stations in one place.

Roam can be offered not only to those who were looking for just such opportunities, fit in a compact case, but also to those who are planning a single audio system in their apartment. After all, this speaker can be conveniently and quickly connected with other Sonos acoustics, be it something more powerful or another Roam speaker that will stand in another room.