A couple of weeks ago my other half picked up the new Sonos Roam, so I though why not write a quick review with our thoughts on the latest Sonos product. There are a few an areas that I want to go though in this review which will hopefully help you decide if this is a product you should buy.
Set-up:
The setup process for the Roam is pretty straight forward and doesn’t take a great amount of time to get up and running. You will need to download the Sonos app onto you phone in order to connect the device. Once you have the app downloaded you can go ahead and connect the device using wifi or bluetooth and that pretty much it, so as you can see its not a complicated setup at all.
Sound Quality:
For a small device the sound quality is very good, the volume goes more than high enough and its very clear. I have heard a couple of similar device and I would say that the sound from the Sonos is the best by far. This is not going to pack as much of a punch as its sibling the Sonos Move, but it certainly delivers for its size and purpose, as this is more for portability than anything else I would say. It does use the automatic true-play tuning so it will adapt to your surroundings so that whatever you are listening to balanced and detailed.
Connectivity:
You connect the Sonos using Bluetooth as well as via WiFi, the Roam also supports Apple AirPlay so you can send sound from your iPhone, iPad or Mac, and use Siri to change you track. The Roam can also be setup with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant so you can ask them to play your music, check the news or even control your other smart home devices.
Another great feature is that you can pair this with two other matching Sonos speakers as well as grouping it with other speaker in you Sonos system to listen all around your home.
Battery Life:
Sonos say on their website that you will get up to 10hrs out of the Roam, not that we have timed this to the second but we have found that you would easily get 8hrs. It comes with a USB-C charge and is pretty quick to charge back up, it can also use a wireless charger which can be any Qi-certified charger or you can get the Sonos specific charger.
Portability:
I think this is probably the best feature of this little speaker. It is roughly about 20cm long and 5cm wide so it’s small enough to be able to chuck it in a bag. It’s also a great size to be able to just pick it up and take it into the garden or around the house. My other half for instances likes to listen to music in the shower, so he takes this in bathroom with him most mornings.
Durability:
It also has the added benefit of been waterproof up to 3 feet for 30min (granted we have not tried this) and dust resistant. Again we have not tested and I would certainly not recommend trying it, but its drop resistant. So I think this covers most scenario so you can have the peace of mind that this is not going to break easily.
Looks:
Of course we all like to buy products that look great and this certainly delivers here in my opinion. It has a sort of triangle shape which means it’s east to pick up and you can put it on pretty much any side or stand it upright. It comes in a black and white colour which I think both look really smart with the white Sonos logo. I don’t think that there is much else that you can really say other than it’s a nice minimal and ergonomic design.
Price:
And now onto the last and probably one of the more important points the price. This is going to set you back £159 which is not cheap but in comparison with other speaker in this space e.g. the Bose Soundlink Resolve II which comes in at £179 its very competitively priced.
Overall Conclusion:
Now there are obviously cheaper alternative out there but if you are looking for a speaker that is portable and has great sound (and lets not forgot waterproof) then I would certainly recommend this. It’s ideal for those sunny days out in garden or when you are off to the beach or picnic, you can just pick it up or pop it in your bag and you are good to go.