Sonos Roam Review: A powerful portable speaker that sounds good inside and outside
SONOS recently revealed the latest addition to the Sonos family, its first portable speaker; Roam.
Sonos is well known for well made, quality sounding products; but can the same be said for it's new portable speaker?
- Sonos Roam, £159 -
Touted as its most affordable, ultra portable Sonos, its launch is perfectly timed as many of us are looking to make the most of the end of the UK lockdown, and spending more time outside this summer.
However, with WFH continuing to be in our lives for the foreseeable, many of us will still want a hard-working, quality speaker at home too.
This is where Roam really excels, as it uses the same tech as many of Sonos' fixed speakers to calibrate to it's surroundings - but with a subtle twist; so you'll find that it can be easily placed in different settings without a reduction in sound quality.
A small, triangular speaker, it also weighs in at just 430g - making it great for life on the move.
Interested? We've put it put it through it's paces to see whether it's worth parting with your cash.
Portability and Size
At just 430g it's one of the lightest speakers on the market, and its small triangular size means it doesn't take up too much space; whether that's at a picnic table or in your bag.
We found that because it's so slight, it's also ultra-portable, fitting in smaller handbags easily. Great for a post-lockdown life where we're carrying more around than ever.
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Its triangular design means it can be listened to vertically and horizontally, plus there's the added bonus of an IP67 dust and water resistance rating (if you want to be technical). So if you wanted to you could use it in bathrooms or near pools, as it should survive 30 minutes in three feet of water.
We found this put our mind to rest when moving outside and inside the house, as its durability makes it less susceptible to damage; as well as not taking up too much space on our picnic blanket.
If you're going to invest in a portable speaker you'll want it to be used in a number of scenarios, so this is sure to put the clumsier of us at ease.
Battery Life
The Sonos Roam has 10 hours battery life; which reduces when you use smart assistants, but is enough for a day out or evening relaxing.
10 hours is by no means the worst, but it's not the best either.
We found that 10 hours was ample, but when we moved indoors we tended to plug back in to charge to keep it topped up.
Sound Quality
Set up was relatively easy, using the Sonos dedicated app which can be used with another streaming services; and it gives you the option to set up Alexa, or Google smart assistants, and set it up as part of their multi room systems.
Already a Sonos One owner, I was familiar to Sonos' famed sound quality.
With the Roam I was interested to see if this would hold up to its plugged-in brothers, or even match them.
Inside, the sound quality is good, with a bass that makes your sound better - but without being too heavy.
It's a crisp, powerful sound, thanks to its Sonos Trueplay technology.
The Roam uses separate woofers and tweeters. That's alongside the Sonos Trueplay technology, which automatically adjusts and tunes the sound wherever you place the speaker; making the most of its acoustics for its position and any obstacles.
Trueplay helps to provide great quality sound indoors, and will ensure the sound quality is perfect for the space you're in - providing a smarter sound, rather than relying on sheer volume.
This tech also works when you take it outside, as Roam will adapt to your surroundings whether that's in a garden or in a park. It provides a balanced, clear sound that isn't too quiet, or too loud - meaning everybody around you can hear it too!
For its size, it's an impressive sound quality and clarity; we've found other speakers, such as the JBL Charge, go louder but it's worth remembering they are bigger too.
Special Features
The Sonos Roam does include some special features in it's arsenal that we were impressed by.
Firstly, it swaps seamlessly from Bluetooth to Wifi; reducing the need for fiddly repairing or swapping networks.
Roam also has Sound Swap, which allows you to essentially 'throw' the music to the nearest Sonos Speaker by pressing and holding the play/pause button.
This is a helpful feature if you want to quickly swap between speakers as you move indoors and outdoors.
Value for Money
The Sonos Roam is priced at £159, making it Sonos' cheapest speaker (followed by the One, at £199) .
This puts it around the same price as many similar size portable speakers, as Ultimate Ears' Megaboom 3 is priced at £149, and The Marshall Acton II Bluetooth Speaker at £179 (at the time of writing).
With an impressive sound quality, tech heavy features such as voice control, and hard-wearing IP67 waterproof certification, Sonos has packed a lot into the pretty reasonable price tag.
Our verdict?
Overall, we were impressed with the Sonos Roam. A lot of tech has been packed into a small speaker.
With crisp sound quality, and clever features such as the existing True Play built into the system - despite the fact it is a portable speaker by design - means the sound quality is superb wherever you go, and whatever you're using it for.
It has the added bonus of seamlessly fitting into existing Sonos systems too. So those who already have Sonos at home will be able to use it not only as a room extension to their system, but as a portable outdoor speaker - getting you a bit more bang for your buck.
And at £159, we think you'll be pleasantly surprised at what you get for that amount.
Where can I buy Sonos Roam?
You can buy Sonos Roam from the following retailers after April 20:
- Sonos -
- John Lewis -
- Argos-
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