T3 - UK (2021-07)

Superb rugged speakers

JULY 2021 T 3 61

he Sonos Roam isthe first Sonos Bluetooth

speaker that’smade fortucking in a pocket or

tossing ina backpack for hitting the road.

With dust and waterproofing, plusa generally

robust frame that willhelp it survive drops and bumps,

can the class of Sonos help it come out on top?

When itcomes to what it can do,the Sonos Roam islike

a shrunk-down Sonos Move, but it actuallyhas even more

smartsgoing on. Not only is this a Bluetooth speaker,but

it’salso a Wi-Fi multi-room speakerand a smart speaker,

using Alexa or Google Assistant(your choice). It also

features Sonos’Auto TruePlay feature, so it’s always

listening to and adjusting the audio tocompensate for any

distortions from its placement.

e SonosRoam’s triangular design is meant to make it

easy tograb and hold securely (which it does). e two

ends are rubberised, andthough they don’t look or feel

likea chunky impact absorber,they make itmuch more

drop-proof than anything else Sonos makes.

e Roamis IP67 ratedfor waterproofing, which means

it cansurvive a dunk in water up to 1mfor up to half an

hour. You candrop it inthe pool or it can get sprayed

without issue as long as you retrieveit quickly, and the

water tests we’ve given it were all survived without issue.

It’salso dustproof enough to be a good beach companion.

In terms of sound quality, the Roam hasno problem

with musical punch, which is obvious from the moment

you turn it on. It’s especiallyhappy to introduce you to its

bass, which is controlled and full – it’s not overpowering,

but the Roam would liketo let you know that itssmall size

is no impediment togood low-end presence.

Sometimes it has trouble balancing a very mid-heavy

song with treble.It feels likethe Roam takesits biggest

audio swing at whatever’scurrently most prominent in

the mix – whether that’s bass, treble ormid. When you’re

outdoors fighting gentle wind noise or crowds nearby,this

is no bad thing –but this happens indoors too.

Batterylifeis also a bitmeagrecompared to some of the

competition, though its playing time fairly wellmatched

up to the promised 10 hours. However, we didn’t get

anything like the kind of standby time of 10 days – more

likefive. Potentiallythis could be extremely frustrating.

Despitethis, ifyou want a smart-looking and compact

battery-poweredportable speaker thatacquits itself really

wellfor sound overall, and that has theadded bonus of

being part of the Sonos system for occasional multi-room

use, then the Roamis anexcellent option.

SONOS ROAM

The two ends of the SonosRoam are rubberised,which makeit one of Sonos’
more drop-proofproducts. It’salso quite easy to grab and hold securely

T

SONOS ROAM

PRODUCT 01 :

A minisound machine you can take on

all kinds ofadventures

It hasno problem with

punch,which is obvious

as soon asyou turn it on