- Sonos Inc. describes the new Sonos Roam 2 as compact in size, equipped with the best sound and robust for use anytime and anywhere.
For a long time, Sonos Inc. left the flourishing portable speaker market segment to others, focussing solely on solutions for its own streaming platform, which were always designed for use in the home. It was not until March 2021 that Sonos Inc. presented the Sonos Roam mobile smart speaker, offering the first solution that could be used at home via WiFi and on the move via Bluetooth. Sonos Inc. described the intention behind this product as being to make Sonos sound an experience everywhere.
This also applied to the Sonos Roam SL, which Sonos Inc. launched on the market in March 2022 and was intended to deliver particularly powerful sound. The latest generation, the Sonos Roam 2, is now available, although the tried-and-tested concept has of course been retained. In fact, the new Sonos Roam 2 only offers detailed changes compared to the first model.
Always and everywhere
With the new Sonos Roam 2, Sonos Inc. also speaks of a product that can be used anywhere and at any time; it is a mobile smart speaker that delivers a seamless sound experience, whether at home, in the garden, on the terrace or on the move.
As always, this product is compact in size, measuring 168 mm in height, 62 mm in width and 60 mm in depth. It therefore weighs 430 g.
The housing has a matt finish in the colours black, white, red, blue or green and is resistant to dust and water. The new Sonos Roam 2 complies with IP67 in this respect.
When travelling, the new Sonos Roam 2 is equipped for Bluetooth, so that smartphones can be used as a source and integrated via its Bluetooth 5.2 module.
At home, WiFi according to IEEE 802.11ac comes into play, so it can be part of the Sonos ecosystem and used like any other Sonos Inc. product in a multi-room streaming network, with the Sonos app taking over control. It is also possible to use two Sonos Roam 2s as a stereo pair, and two Sonos Roam 2s can also be used as surround speakers around a Sonos Inc. soundbar, for example.
It is also interesting to note that the Sonos Roam 2 can play audio signals into a multi-channel system via Bluetooth if desired. Apple AirPlay 2 is also supported, which should be explicitly emphasised at this point.
No longer quite as smart…
Sonos Inc. also sees the new Sonos Roam 2 as a so-called smart speaker, but the second generation is no longer quite as smart as the first. Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa as well as Sonos’ own voice assistant Sonos Voice Control are supported for voice control, but interestingly no longer Google Assistant.
Incidentally, an A-53 quad-core CPU with 1.4 GHz provides the necessary performance and the system is supported by 1 GB of SDRAM and 4 GB of NV.
Rich sound on the go as well as at home
The Sonos Roam 2 features a tweeter and a midrange driver, which are powered by two Class H amplifier modules. Sonos TruePlay, which is used automatically in this case, ensures that the sound is always adapted to the individual environment and an equaliser can also be used via the Sonos app.
Up to ten hours
The integrated battery in the new Sonos Roam 2 is designed to guarantee up to ten hours of playtime and is charged via USB-C. The corresponding cable is included in the scope of delivery, but not a suitable power supply unit. In this context, Sonos Inc. points out that the existing optional wireless charger can be used for the new Sonos Roam 2.
Prices and availability
The new Sonos Roam 2 is now available directly from Sonos Inc. in the webshop. As already mentioned, the customer can choose between the colours black, white, red, blue or green. The recommended retail price is € 199,-.
Getting to the point
It’s a little surprising that the new Sonos Roam 2 hardly differs from the first generation of this portable smart speaker from Sonos Inc. In fact, the new second generation even lacks a very distinctive feature, as the new Sonos Roam 2 no longer supports Google Assistant for voice control.
Product | Sonos Roam 2 |
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Price | € 199,- |
Brand | SONOS |
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Manufacturer | Sonos Inc. |
Distribution | Sonos Inc. |
More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG |