Sonos introduces The Roam speakers to those looking for affordable portable sound
Sonos has unveiled a new speaker, the Roam, that is a fairly intriguing product for those looking to buy an affordable portable Bluetooth speaker that also works well with wifi.
Here’s a quick look at some of the good and bad of this new speaker from Sonos.
The Roam is fairly small in that it is just 6.6 inches long and 2.4 inches wide. This makes it very portable and not something that is a big burden to carry around. It comes in at less than a pound in weight.
This Sonos speaker is fairly simplistic in style and includes a charging port for USB-C as well as a button for the power. There are also volume controls, a microphone button along with a button to pause/play.
The Roam also has lights that help to indicate if there’s a charge, connection to wifi, or connection to Bluetooth happening.
Perhaps the sound quality is the most important thing to consider when buying a new speaker. The quality with The Roam is good for the size as both amplifiers are class-H and it has a bass-forward profile that can carry a tune at a volume at a high quality.
Battery life is another important aspect of any portable speaker. The Roam can bring listeners roughly 10 hours of continuous playback and as many as 10 days if it is in sleep mode.
The speaker lacks certain capabilities when it comes to how it can be charged, but a 10W or more adapter should do the trick.
Of course, this speaker’s main selling point is what it can do based on connectivity and location. The Roam has something that Sonos uses in its products called the Trueplay feature, which can allow the speaker to adjust in real-time depending on where it is placed.
Like the speaker’s name, the Roam is able to “roam” or switch between a person’s home wifi network and their phone. The process isn’t perfect but generally speaking it isn’t that big of a deal.
The Roam also has a sound swap feature that allows users to send sound from one speaker to another. It’s another function that doesn’t work perfectly and takes some getting used to, but if patient it can be utilized well. The other speaker also has to be a Sonos branded one, however.
For those looking for an affordable speaker, the Roam comes in at $169. This is a decent price for what you’re getting, and if you’re patient enough to stick through the learning curve the Roam can provide great value.
One final tip: opt for the black version if possible as it is less likely to get dirty while being transported.
