INTRODUCTION

   Portable speakers used to be among a handful of things i really enjoyed testing back in the day but as time went by i just felt that there was nothing really new and exciting in the market to really pique my interest. Yes, portable speakers came in different sizes, materials, designs, Bluetooth versions, connectivity options and of course battery capacities and volume levels but both in terms of audio quality and features things seemed all but static. Thanks to their very popular products Sonos is one of those companies that really need no introductions and even though it did take some time i finally decided to give their products a try and see if they can bring back my enthusiasm for portable speakers by testing their award winning Roam Charging Set.

   Sonos (Nasdaq: SONO) is the world’s leading sound experience company. As the inventor of multi-room wireless home audio, Sonos innovation helps the world listen better by giving people access to the content they love and allowing them to control it however and wherever they choose. Known for delivering an unparalleled sound experience, thoughtful design aesthetic, simplicity of use, and an open platform, Sonos makes the breadth of audio content available to anyone. Sonos is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. Learn more at www.sonos.com.

   As revealed by its name the Roam Charging Set by Sonos consists by the Roam portable smart speaker and its wireless charger. The Roam is the smallest wireless speaker currently in the entire Sonos lineup (alongside the microphone-less Roam SL model) and since it fits the portable definition Sonos has equipped it with an IP67 dust and water proof (can be submerged in 1 meter water depth for up to 30 minutes) plastic and rubber enclosure currently available in 5 colors (shadow black, lunar white, sunset, wave and olive - outro picture). Inside this enclosure Sonos has squeezed a mid-range driver, tweeter, two class-H digital amplifiers, Bluetooth 5.0 (SBC and AAC audio codec support) and Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5GHz dual-band) modules, 1.4GHz quad-core A-53 CPU, 1GB SDRAM, 4GB flash memory, 3600mAh rechargeable lithium battery pack (up to 10 hours of playback) and a built-in far-field microphone array (for voice commands and Trueplay tuning). Speaking of Trueplay this is one of the smart features the Roam has and what it basically does is tune your audio according to ambient noise levels. Another smart feature is Sound Swap which allows you to transfer audio between the Roam and other Sonos products just by placing them next to each other. Needless to say, the Roam can also be paired with other Sonos speakers and also supports Apple's AirPlay 2 and both Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant (aside its very own voice control).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Both the Sonos Roam and its wireless charger arrived inside recycled cardboard boxes that have a product picture at the front.

A product description for the Roam is located on the left side.

Moving at the rear the Roam box has a list with the supported voice assistants just over contact information for Sonos whereas the wireless charger has the bundle contents just over the contact information for Sonos.

Both bundles are placed inside formed pieces of cardboard.

Inside the Roam box we find the Roam portable smart speaker, cloth cover, product information paper, 1.2 meter long USB A-C charging cable and the set up guide while in the wireless charger box we find the wireless charger together with a USB wall plug and a product information paper.

THE SONOS ROAM CHARGING SET

The 435g heavy IP67 certified plastic and rubber enclosure of the Sonos Roam measures 168mm in length, 62mm in width and 60mm in depth and can be positioned both horizontally and vertically (according to its positioning the speaker automatically tunes its audio output).

In case you're wondering how the interior looks like here's an exposed view of the Roam (marketing material).

At the top (or side) of the enclosure we find the media playback buttons which include the play/pause, volume up & down and the next & previous track buttons.

Turning the speaker around we find the on/off/reset button and the USB-C charging port.

Using the wireless charger couldn't be easier, just plug it into the USB wall charger and place the Roam on it.

SONOS APP

To use the Sonos Roam you must first pair it with your smartphone and your local network via the Sonos Android/iOS App.

Once you install and launch the app it will search for nearby devices and will list the Roam as seen above.

If there are any firmware updates available the app will download and install them (this will take a few minutes to complete).

From the main tab you can see the current battery level and the selected audio file.

You can of course access the System tab in which you can select the Roam to enter its individual settings.

From here you can access the equalizer, enable/disable the Trueplay mode, set a volume limit, configure the voice assistant, enable/disable bluetooth auto connect and idle disconnect, enable/disable battery save features and enable/disable the status LED and touch controls.

Inside the general system tab Sonos has placed numerous settings including audio compression, media services, music library, system updates and various app preferences.

CONCLUSION

   At first glance the Sonos Roam may not impress you with its looks (something which stands true for most products by Sonos – I would had liked more lighting to be honest) but it actually packs quite a punch, both in terms of audio quality and volume levels. Yes, you may not get the same wide soundstage as you would with a larger speaker with 2 or more mid-range drivers (nor quite the same volume levels) and the SBC and AAC audio codecs are far from the best out there but for a portable speaker of its size the Sonos Roam does extremely well. As a matter of fact, the very first time I started playing my favourite audio tracks I was actually surprised and nowadays that’s not something that happens often. This was not just due to its very good audio reproduction and good volume levels but also the Trueplay feature which actually works as advertised (still even though I did like the end result most of the times sometimes I felt it was better turned off). Battery life is also quite good, again I was unable to reach the advertised number of 10 hours with the volume set at over 80% during my tests but almost 8 hours for such a small speaker is certain to cover most if not all consumers out there. As for the wireless charger it does work as advertised too and it does add something extra to the overall package but that being said it’s certainly an accessory I could do without. Finally, as you can all tell from the above picture having a total of 5 different colours to pick from is certainly something that many people will appreciate so kudos to Sonos for that.

   The Roam Charging Set currently retails for around USD230 inside the USA and for 227.87Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which although a tad high it’s just what you’d expect from a premium product by a brand like Sonos. Once again, the Roam is not here to blow you away with its volume levels but thanks to its very good audio quality and rich set of features it represents a very good choice for people looking for a really portable wireless speaker and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- IP67 Certified Enclosure
- Bluetooth v5.0 & WiFi 2.4/5GHz
- Very Good Audio Quality & Bass Levels (Mid Range Driver & Tweeter)
- Trueplay & Sound Swap Features
- Volume Levels (Dual Amplifiers)
- Good Battery Life (Up To 10 Hours)
- 5 Available Colours
- Android / iOS App
- Wireless Charger

CONS

- USA Availability (Set)
- Price (For Some)