Sonos's cheapest and most portable speaker yet should please fans of the company’s full-bodied tone.
Sonos Roam : Read more
Sonos Roam : Read more
Sonos Roam
- Thread starter What Hi-Fi?
- Start date
dnburgess
Well-known member
There was no comment on the review of the striking similarity in form factor with the KEF Muo, released in 2016.
cobraBLACK
Well-known member
lovlid
Well-known member
I know, right? And all those T.V.s, phones and speakers that are all rectangular. No originality. Shocking.
lovlid
Well-known member
Not much really. What with it being a regular Bluetooth speaker. You can take it on a picnic though.
cobraBLACK
Well-known member
rahal
Member
I guess you could count google assistant and amazon Alexa (but not the only speaker that can do this. ). It has the same quad-core 1.4Ghz CPU as the Sonos Arc. So some feature updates could be expected to use this.
johnvicarslethlean
Member
rahal
Member
Yes you can. However, it's limited to pairing on WiFi only not Bluetooth. The link below shows the supported models for stereo pairing (including the Roam).
Sonos Support
cobraBLACK
Well-known member
sroberts
Member
I could be mistaken as I'm evaluating these but do not own them, so please confirm or deny - I think there are a couple advantages over standard BT portable speakers such as the JBL:
1. The roam can connect via wifi to a Sonos system, allowing them to play in sync with other speakers, given one owns supporting Sonos equipment. So it should be possible to have a subwoofer fill in the low range that these speakers are missing, greatly improving their presence, especially at low volumes.
2. In theory these speakers should work with video with minimal lip sync issues when used over wifi with a Sonos system. I say in theory because there are often reported issues with Sonos wireless latency.
To me it is a severe drawback that 2 Sonos roams cannot pair in stereo when used with Bluetooth. So you can't really port them outside the house unless you're okay with mono.
bobmatt
Member
Sirocco
Member
Let me start by saying that it’s actually quite difficult to say anything negative about the Sonos Roam. So I STRONGLY disagree with your claim that the “clarity not exceptional” is a “reason to avoid.” I’ve had one of these for a month, and its clarity is, as a matter of fact, QUITE EXCEPTIONAL. I mean, what would qualify anyone to say otherwise, what are their metrics? What music should sound like is remarkably subjective, but still. Who would think there could be such a difference in the healthy ears of two people? At some point, “clarity” becomes “brittleness” and unpleasant and NOT MUSICAL. It seems the Sonos Roam approaches that point but then, wisely, stops short. For example, when a woman is singing in a high pitched voice, or reaching for the high notes, a certain “smoothness” is desirable rather than for there to be a full-blown screech we are, after all, talking about MUSIC as opposed to speakers that might have some other purpose. Or is a full blown screech something to be desired? I don’t think so. The sound of the Sonos Roam is definitely fantastic. In every respect. Granted bigger speakers – or that are plugged in – will be louder at the absolute max volume but that goes without saying so this does not have the power of your father’s 12-inch woofers but for a small, very portable speaker…WOW! I’ve written glowing reviews elsewhere, calling this the “perfect portable speaker.” It has treble and bass controls, with 20 increments for each, which provides a heck of a lot of control. Each has a slider, in the app, which is a thing of beauty by itself, that goes from -10 to 0 and then to +10, where 0 can be considered neutral. It also has a separate Loudness soft button so even at +10 the bass can be practically doubled to realize a virtual +20. I mean, what more can a person ask for, in terms of bass control. Or treble. I’ve found that at neutral settings, where the bass and treble are both at 0, practically EVERYTHING sounds at least “good.” Which is great because this way I don’t have to be “tweaking the eq” all the time. Or even frequently. This also means that there is still a lot of room to either increase, or decrease, the bass and treble. So the Roam is a freaking “dream machine” in that regard, but also in other regards like portability and just looking great as it’s sitting there, taking up almost no space at all so you can just put it down wherever. It’s not just portable, but “holdable.” It fits in the hand just right, its gorgeous curved sides, as if the intention is that you DON’T put it down, just hold onto it. So easy to put on your desk or night stand or work bench or kitchen counter. Poolside. Anywhere. Water and dust proof. And it charges quickly either with the included cable, or wirelessly on any charging pad so you don’t have to buy the overly expensive charging pad that Sonos made just for this although it just goes to show you the overwhelming thoughtfulness that Sonos has for its products. The Sonos Roam. My first Sonos product and probably not the last.
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Sirocco
Member
The Sonos Roam belongs to a whole new category of speaker: Introducing: The Smart Speaker. Which makes "internet radio" that much more accessible, plus entre into yet another brave new ecosystem, driven in part by AI, in the person of Alexa.
Sirocco
Member
The Sonos Roam is not a "regular Bluetooth speaker." In fact, of all it's capabilities and features that I've been using for a month now, Bluetooth is actually NOT one of them!
lovlid
Well-known member
There’s nowt like a good rant, no?
One of the main reasons for owning a ‘roam’ is so you can take it with you when you are ‘roaming’ ,,,,, you know, outdoors,,,using Bluetooth,,,to err,,listen to music. Or am I missing something?
On the Sonos website it says ‘Use Bluetooth® when you're away and outdoors’
Admittedly indoors it’s a tiny bit more than most bluetooth speakers, but outdoors it’s, well, a regular Bluetooth speaker.
One of the main reasons for owning a ‘roam’ is so you can take it with you when you are ‘roaming’ ,,,,, you know, outdoors,,,using Bluetooth,,,to err,,listen to music. Or am I missing something?
On the Sonos website it says ‘Use Bluetooth® when you're away and outdoors’
Admittedly indoors it’s a tiny bit more than most bluetooth speakers, but outdoors it’s, well, a regular Bluetooth speaker.
Sirocco
Member
Well, yes, without Wi-Fi - as when you're outdoors - it's simply a Bluetooth speaker. But it's true nature - and which it does remarkably well - is to stream music and radio stations via Wi-Fi, along with its other "smart" features and which are really quite extensive, in which case it can be said that it is really more of a home-body than a roamer.
lovlid
Well-known member
I’m sorry to disagree, but it is called roam for a reason.
Anybody with sense should not be buying this just for indoor use, when Sonos sell the One for just twenty pounds more, or the One SL for the same price as the roam.
I’m not saying it’s a bad speaker, or a bad idea, I’ve yet to hear it and may be buying one myself for barbecues, and yes, picnics. It just won be replacing what I use, indoors.
Sirocco
Member
It's basically for indoor use. Most people will buy it primarily for indoor use. It's easy to carry from room to room. It may be nicknamed "Roam" but it belongs to a larger category of speakers known as "Smart Speakers," which pertains to its use in controlling things in a house, like lights, a camera by the door or a baby's room, looking up recipes and others too numerous to count, all of which suggest the primary role of the Roam as being something inside a house BUT due to its small size and NOT its name is also very suitable to take from room to room WITHIN a house, like the kitchen counter, night table, front porch, bathroom, the garage, etc. All of which are INSIDE A HOUSE.
lovlid
Well-known member
It is not ‘nicknamed’ roam. It is officially called and trademarked The Sonos Roam. It is plugged on the Sonos site for the outdoor adventures you might have.
As I have already acknowledged, it can be used indoors, but it should not be bought when it costs the same as some far better speakers, Sonos’ own play speakers.
Look, you bought it, it got a bit of criticism, you didn’t like that criticism, live with it.
I’m going to leave it at that, but you go ahead, get the last word in.
As I have already acknowledged, it can be used indoors, but it should not be bought when it costs the same as some far better speakers, Sonos’ own play speakers.
Look, you bought it, it got a bit of criticism, you didn’t like that criticism, live with it.
I’m going to leave it at that, but you go ahead, get the last word in.
Sirocco
Member
I don't have to live with misguided criticism. There is a professionally written review that claims the Roam has "exceptional bass" and that warns people against buying it FOR THAT REASON. I mean please, give me a break, the Roam is exceptionally well balanced with a bass that tends to be JUST RIGHT, plus its adjustable with 20 increments PLUS a loudness switch. And please refer to my initial point, that the Roam is not a "regular Bluetooth speaker." And it's not for "outdoor adventures." If I’m hiking down the Grand Canyon that will not be with me. No way. That's just marketing by someone who's never used it. There are no "far better speakers" in that form factor. I mean literally. None. That includes the magnificent app and its “infinite” eq settings. I have a Roam and a Sonos One (Gen 2). I have them side by side on my bedroom dresser. I tend to use the "One" because it's plugged in and I don't have to worry about the battery, plus the sound is, well, basically the same as the Roam only a bit louder: really good. It's the app that to me is one of its biggest selling points, it puts the best of many streaming services on a single page. They should sell the app for $200 and throw in the speaker for free. I’ll go from the Amazon app to the Sonos app, back and forth, and it all just works. I'll put the Roam on the kitchen counter when I'm fixing dinner or cleaning up afterwards, or when I'm sitting in a comfy chair late at night, when I put the Roam on the table next to me, it's more intimate, and I do some exploring on Amazon Music, discovering new music, with either my iPad touch or iPad Mini. It’s all just too cool for school. I'm thinking right now of getting a second Sonos One (Gen 2) to pair with the other. I had been considering getting a second Roam, but I think instead I'll get a second "One," for the bedroom. It’s all on the positive side, absolutely no complaints whatsoever.
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