At first glance, it doesn’t look like much has changed with the sequel to 2021’s Sonos Roam. That’s not a bad thing, as the Roam was a nice-sounding speaker. Still, theSonos Roam 2takes enough steps forward that it’s a solid buy, even if you own the original.
Sonos Roam 2
The Sonos Roam 2 still has room to grow if the company produces another sequel, but its sound quality alongside its Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity make it well worth a buy, even if you already own the original Sonos Roam.
Price and Availability
The Sonos Roam 2 retails for $179, and it’s available directly via the company’s website as well as other retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. You also get a few colors to choose from, though they vary based on where you buy the speaker. From standard retailers, you can pick between Black or the White model I tested for this review. Buy direct from Sonos, and you also get to choose from Sunset, Wave, or Olive color variants.
The Roam, and now the Roam 2, represent the only truly portable Sonos models. They’re substantially cheaper than theSonos Move 2, which is larger and pricier at $449. If you don’t require the Sonos connectivity, a standard Bluetooth speaker will be much more affordable.
Specifications
New Model, Same Old Design
It’s difficult to overstate just how closely the Roam 2 resembles the original Sonos Roam. Fortunately, I had both on hand for testing, so I was able to go over them side by side. The similarities go right down to the exact dimensions, with only a few clues letting you know they’re not identical speakers.
To start, the Roam 2 has an extra Bluetooth button on the back that I’ll touch on more in the next section. The Sonos logo on the front of the Roam 2 now matches the finish of the rest of the speaker, while the logo was white regardless of the main color on the original Roam. The other changes might as well be invisible.
As with the original Roam, it’s up to you when choosing how to orient the speaker. As a look at the optional wireless charger will indicate, it’s meant to freely stand vertically, as this also puts the controls right on top. On the other hand, there are four feet on one of the sides, letting you orient the speaker horizontally as well.
The speaker features IP67 dust and water resistance, another holdover from the original. This means that you don’t need to worry about using the speaker outside if a minor rain shower breaks out. You shouldn’t need to worry about wiping it down with a damp cloth, or using it to listen to music during a shower, either.
A Simpler Setup With All the Same Features
One of the most cumbersome aspects of the original Roam speaker was the setup. Regardless of how you planned to use it, you need to set the speaker up as part of a Sonos Wi-Fi system before pairing via Bluetooth. With the Roam 2, it’s possible to use it strictly as a Bluetooth speaker right out of the box.
If you plan to forgo the higher-fidelity Wi-Fi connectivity, you don’t even need to install the Sonos app, which is available foriPhoneandAndroid. That said, you’ll still want the app for Trueplay tuning, which helps the speaker sound its best wherever you have it set up, if nothing else.
The app also provides you with access to the EQ and Loudness controls, as well as control over the rest of your Sonos system, assuming you have one. While the Sonos app has seen some changes that many aren’t fans of, it’s a necessary evil assuming you want to use some of the Roam 2’s more advanced features.
As with the original Roam, you get two types of voice assistant integrated: Sonos Voice Control or Amazon Alexa. If you’re a Google Assistant fan, you’re out of luck, at least as far as your Sonos speakers go, and this has been an issue for years. That said, these integrations don’t feel all that useful, so I can’t imagine many people using them, regardless of their assistant of choice.
Stereo pairing is another feature that has made its way to the Roam 2, and in most ways, it’s just as limited in this speaker as it was with the original. You can only use this feature over Wi-Fi, despite the numerous Bluetooth speakers that offer multi-device pairing. You also can’t use a pair of Roam speakers as rear surround speakers, which feels limiting.
The one upside is that you can pair a Roam 2 and an original Roam speaker to use as a stereo pair, something you can’t often do with different models of Bluetooth speakers. That’s a handy feature, made even more useful by how similar the newer speaker sounds to the original.
Quality Sound, Better in Stereo
Based on how close the two speakers are in shape, it would be difficult to imagine that Sonos made any massive steps forward in terms of the drivers in the Roam 2. Indeed, at least as far as I’m able to tell, the Roam 2 and the original sound close enough to the same that any differences don’t really matter.
That could be a problem, and it would have been if the original Roam wasn’t a good sounding speaker. Fortunately, the sound was the best part of the original Roam, and the Roam 2 picks up right where that model left off. Sticking to the sound of the original was probably a good move.
The Grateful Dead’s “Operator” was a song that I used as a test track on the original Roam, so I revisited it for the Roam 2. The vocals still sounded slightly pushed forward in the mix compared to other speakers. The bass was as impressive as I remembered on the original, which is a good thing. This song also helped me confirm just how similar the Roam 2 sounds to its predecessor.
Moving on to Fu Manchu’s “Ojo Rojo,” it sounded ever so slightly crispy in the high end, with slightly too much treble emphasis on the cymbals. That said, the guitars had plenty of weight to them, and the one-two punch of the bass and drums provided solid impact in the low end.
Finally, I listened to “The Scene of the Crime” by Greek producer Moderator. The bass on this track had substantial heft once again, working in tandem with the drums for low-end thump. The reverb-drenched vocals stood front and center, which seems to be a sonic signature of both Roam model speakers.
On all the songs above, I constantly switched how I was listening. Swapping between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, I was able to notice that the Wi-Fi connection sounded better every time. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but it’s worth keeping in mind, depending on how you plan to use the Roam 2.
When I tested the original Roam, I had no way to test the stereo pairing. This time around, I had a Roam and a Roam 2 on hand, so I was able to experience the stereo pairing myself. I’m sure there aren’t many audible differences between pairing a Roam and a Roam 2 rather than two of the originals, but it does sound impressive. The sense of space is much larger than a single Roam speaker can provide, as you might imagine.
No Real Improvements to Battery Life
One area where I’m frankly surprised that the Roam 2 hasn’t improved on the original is the battery life. Like that first model, this speaker only has roughly 10 hours of battery life. Sure, the Roam speakers use more processing power than a standard Bluetooth speaker, but considering battery life was a common complaint about the original, I expected to see longer life in this model.
That said, the Roam 2 doesn’t ship with a charger in the box but apparently it does support faster charging speeds. While Sonos is careful to state that using its special triangular charger is the best way to top up the Roam 2, this isn’t the only way to wirelessly charge the speaker.
Yes, the Sonos option might be the best fit, in the most literal sense of the word. That said, any Qi wireless charger should work fine with the Roam 2 as long as it’s large enough to reliably prop up the speaker on end.
Should You Buy the Sonos Roam 2?
It would be easy to say that theSonos Roam 2is only worth it if you don’t own the original, as there are so many similarities between the two. If the sound isn’t identical, it’s close enough that you may’t tell the difference, and they look nearly identical as well. While the easier setup and better charging are welcome updates, they aren’t speaker sellers on their own.
While the stereo pairing was already present in the original Sonos Roam, it’s more useful here because you have the option of picking up a new Roam 2 to complement the original. This means that there is a good reason to buy the Roam 2 even if you already own the original, assuming stereo pairing is a worthwhile feature to you.
The Roam 2 isn’t the best Sonos product, and it isn’t the most affordable Bluetooth speaker, but combine those two, and you have a product that is unlike much of the competition. It’s not perfect, but it is absolutely a great buy for the right type of person.
