Verdict
A modest refresh of its minuscule portable speaker unit , the Sonos Roam 2 still boasts a good phone , portable innovation , and square battery aliveness , but it ’s no longer the respectable speaker at its price detail
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Theoriginal Roam speakertook the Sonos ’ sound and made it really portable . It was a speaker that I thoroughly relish , grant it full German mark , so it ’s with expectation that the Sonos Roam 2 arrives .
The Roam 2 is n’t a major update . rather , it ’s a milder one that seeks to resolve a couple of issues the original had . With that in judgement , is it worth the acclivity ?
Availability
The Sonos Roam 2 matches the price of the pilot at £ 179 / $ 169 / € 179 / CA$229 / AU$279 . Sonos has n’t announced an SL version of the verbaliser that add up without the make - in microphones , but you may wager that when ( or if ) it does , it ’ll be slenderly cheaper .
The Roam Wireless Charger works with both the original and continuation and is priced at £ 49 / $ 49 / € 49 .
Design
Nothing has really changed in condition of the aesthetic with the Roam 2 . It ’s the same size , the same Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , weight , look – everything .
All that ’s changed is the addition of a dedicated Bluetooth button to void the confusedness many had with the first good example in damage of powering the speaker off or switching between Wi - Fi / Bluetooth modes . The new button make that easier to do .
The Roam 2 works either upright or position on its side , and there are no touch controls with forcible release locate on top ( or its side ) for playback , volume , and switch the mike on or off . There are LEDs both at the bottom and the bottom , the latter indicate the battery charge ( it ’ll dash crimson / orange if the battery is low ) .
There is nothing particularly tacky about its aesthetics , though Sonos has launched the talker in a wider range of color than it ab initio did with the original . If you do n’t fancy Shirley Temple Black or white , then there ’s red , blue , and green for some added variety .
It still carries the sameIP67 ratingthat allows it to be submerged in a profundity of water 1 m cryptic for thirty second . The USB - C port allows for charge or you could opt for the wireless charger but , in what ’s become an annoying trend from Sonos , the toll has gone up by £ 5 / $ 5 .
Like with the original , it would have been nice if this utterer came with a notch to connect a shoulder strap . Some display case options add this , but I have n’t tested any of them to judge whether they work with this updated version , although there ’s no reason why they should n’t .
Features
If there ’s a theme egress about the Roam 2 , it ’s that nothing much has change and the same goes for the feature readiness , which is almost exactly the same as what was provided before .
There ’s no leap in electric battery life , with the Roam 2 claim up to 10 hour on a single bursting charge . There ’s a electric battery saver choice in the Sonos app that sprain the speaker off faster when it is not in purpose to economize some battery , plus there ’s a WiFi Power Save feature film that extend the battery when the speaker is on a Wi - Fi electronic web .
Having played music on the Roam 2 ( on Wi - Fi ) for an time of day at around 50 % volume , the battery fell by 12 % , so 10 hours does n’t seem as if it ’s far off the mark as long as you ’re not pushing the speaker to its max intensity .
Still , it ’s a shame that Sonos has n’t eked out more barrage life from the Roam 2 . There are talker half the toll of the Roam 2 in theUltimate Ears Wonderboom 3,Marshall Willen , andSoundcore Motion 300that can go for longer than the Roam 2 can .
Like the residuum of Sonos ’ portable speakers , there ’s Wi - Fi and Bluetooth cyclosis , and connected to the Wi - Fi open up Alexa and Sonos Voice Control , plusAirPlay 2streaming with Io equipment .
There ’s no Google Assistant representative restraint , which is not Sonos ’ mistake and is more about Google switch thing on its side .
Setting up the speaker is less involved than it was before , the utterer utter a bell that the microphone on your smartphone recognises before it sets it up on the Wi - Fi .
Auto Trueplayoptimises the strait for whatever space the Roam 2 is in , which removes the need to manually graduate the verbalizer . This version of Trueplay differs from that on the geological era speakers’Quick Tune . You ’ve got EQ options in the app to alter bass , treble , and loudness .
While the feature set has n’t alter – if anything features have been will out – one benefit is that stereophonic system sexual union is possible across the Roam genesis . It ’s very well-off to couple and uncouple a stereo brace in the app , though remember that the Roams can be used as rear speakers in a Sonos home cinema set - up .
lease ’s mouth ( briefly ) aboutthe Sonos app , which has gone through a black launching since it was update . It ’s intend to be streamlined , easier to use and customisable ; I ’ll talk for myself but I have n’t had many issues in term of stability , but I do get even prompts about updating the system of rules ( which I cut since all the Sonos products have been update ) .
Some features do n’t seem to work for me such as group the speakers or the Sound Swap have whereby pressing and holding the fun button for two seconds sends a stream from one speaker to the Roam 2 . If you require to group speaker , I find I have to do it manually in the app .
The Bluetooth eyeglasses feature v5.2 ( SBC and AAC streaming ) , and the performance is fine with the connection only beginning to falter the further you are from the speaker . you could switch to Wi - Fi from Bluetooth by tapping the button – though the sample I received tended to switch back to Bluetooth . A longer press will send it into its pairing mode
Sound Quality
A lot has changed since the Roam set up in 2021 . One is that portable speakers have meliorate in terms of sound , the other is that portable speakers launched in the last couple of days have come down in damage , so the Roam 2 finds itself in a more competitive family than the original did .
The public presentation is by and large the same as the first model . In fact , the biggest clue is that the 1st and 2nd gen Roam can be paired together to create a stereoscopic photograph pair . If the number one wood or audio carrying into action were unlike , that would n’t be possible .
And having take heed to both match side - by - side , I clamber to tell the dispute and anything I do get wind that sounds slightly different , I put it down to an over - combat-ready resourcefulness .
As far as I can enjoin from staring and listening to these two speaker system , they sound very much alike . And part of me is re - evaluating the performance of the master copy . As I articulate , the landscape painting has changed but the Roam has n’t acquire much with it .
So you still get a very secure focus on vocal , with safe midrange clarity and detail to pick up . The Roam was n’t ever the sharpest voice portable speaker , but for its size , you’re able to pick up on most details in a song .
However , compare to the biggerJBL Charge 5 Wi - Fi , which is usable for around the same price the Sonos does n’t always come out on top . With a play of Porno Graffitti ’s Melissa , the Roam has to manage gobs of gamy - pacing instrumentality and it can struggle to strain through all the detail . Background item gets lost in the shuffle , something that the swelled JBL utterer does n’t have as much of a job with as its gravid and marvelous soundstage let for more infinite , and therefore more details to be pluck up on .
The Roam 2 offers a nice sparkle with treble notes , though it ’s not the brightest and sharpest in high spirits frequency performance you ’ll ever discover from verbalizer at this price point , it ’s perfectly comely in bringing out detail at the top end of the frequency compass .
Its gumption of vigor is smaller than I think of and the difference between highs and low gear does n’t seem as pronounced . It ’s not the most energetic functioning but there ’s a all right sense of speech rhythm that the Roam 2 is able to put out for its size of it . A little more energy would sum up to its turmoil though .
It ’s the bass region that stay the weakest part . It sounds on the warm and full-bodied side of the scale but miss ability and depth , which is n’t much of a surprise for a speaker of its size of it . If you ’re after more wallop , the accusation Wi - Fi can provide more .
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Should you buy it?
It rest easy to practice , and the gaudy introduction point into the Sonos ecosystem
It ’s still lacking in term of bass , and a loudspeaker such as theJBL Charge 5 Wi - Fi vocalise better
Final Thoughts
The trouble with the Sonos Roam 2 is that it ’s more of the same . The same figure ( a loop would have been dainty ) , essentially the same feature , and the same audio – all for the same price .
TheJBL accusation 5 Wi - Fidoesn’t have the same breadth of feature article or smart , but it sounds better , offering increase levels of clarity , point and energy for a performance that sounds more natural than the Roam 2 can cope , You ’ll have to put up with a large size but you could get longer battery life into the bargain .
So the Roam 2 fall from the five - maven status of the original speaker , the changes here find modest to the point in time where if you have the 1st gen Roam , there ’s not much stage in upgrading to this one . If however you ’ve yet to buy the Roam , then it persist the cheapest entry point into the public of Sonos , and still one of thebest outdoor speakers .
Trusted Score
How we test
We essay every wireless speaker unit we review soundly over an extended period of sentence . We use industry received tests to equate features in good order . We ’ll always evidence you what we find . We never , ever , take money to review a product .
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FAQs
you could pair Sonos Roam speakers together to create a stereo yoke . The characteristic is supported across both generations of the outdoor speaker .
