Sonos has had an enormous 12 months. It is not a small job to rebuild your app, introduce a completely new product class within the type of the Sonos Ace headphones, and replace the Sonos Roam to the Sonos Roam 2. And that’s simply the primary half of the 12 months. Some modifications have been extra profitable than others — the Ace headphones are fantastic — however whenever you look previous the flashy new merchandise, how good of a job is Sonos really doing sustaining the merchandise folks already love?
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Take the Sonos Roam, for instance. I’ve lengthy cherished how surprisingly versatile the Bluetooth speaker is. It’s simply as useful for enjoying music off your cellphone within the park as it’s built-in into a much bigger Sonos speaker system at house. It is actually as full of features as some other Sonos system, whereas nonetheless being an ideal match for particular, surprising jobs round the home, like performing as an alarm clock.
The primary Roam wasn’t good, however all Sonos needed to do was polish a few of the tough edges. The Sonos Roam 2 is kind of simply that. A model of Sonos’ first transportable speaker with even fewer drawbacks. Right here’s why I’d purchase the Sonos Roam 2 over the Sonos Roam.

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Worth, availability, and specs
The unique Sonos Roam went on sale in April 2021 for $169. It is now not accessible immediately from Sonos, however you will get it from third-party retailers like Amazon or Greatest Purchase for lower than its authentic worth. The Sono Roam 2 went on sale in Might 2024 for $179, $10 greater than the unique Roam. You should purchase it from Sonos, Amazon, Greatest Purchase, and different on-line shops. The audio system have so much in frequent, as you’ll be able to see from the chart beneath, however the minor variations are price contemplating.
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Sonos Roam 2 Sonos Roam Dimensions 6.6 x 2.4 x 2.3in 2.44″D x 2.32″W x 6.61″H Model Sonos Sonos Connectivity Wi-Fi 5.0, Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Voice Assistant Sonos Voice Management, Alexa Sonos Voice Management, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant Colours Black, White, Sundown, Wave, and Olive Black, White, Inexperienced, Orange, and Blue Buttons Tactile controls, Energy button, Bluetooth pairing button Playback controls, energy button, Bluetooth pairing button Others Sonos options, Automated Trueplay Tuning, Sonos Sound Swap Automated Trueplay, Sound Swap Battery 10 hours 10 hours Waterproof Score IP67 IP67
The design remained largely the identical
Tweaks are small, however significant
For those who don’t know what you’re in search of, it could be fairly simple to combine up the Sonos Roam 2 and Sonos Roam. Each audio system are concerning the dimension of a water bottle, and formed like a triangular wedge with rounded corners. With Automatic Trueplay onboard, you’ll be able to lay them down or stand them up, they usually’ll sound nearly the identical — which is to say, good.
Sonos bought the Roam in black, white, orange, inexperienced, and blue finishes and now affords the Sonos Roam 2 in the identical. The one simply noticeable distinction between the 2 is that the second-generation mannequin has logos and labels which can be color-matched to its physique. So as a substitute of “Sonos” being printed in brilliant white on the facet, it will fade into the background in white, black, orange, inexperienced.
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The opposite distinction is a brand new button on the again of the speaker that acts as a devoted Bluetooth pairing button. On the unique Roam, you’d need to long-press the facility button to place it into Bluetooth pairing mode, however on the Roam 2 the method is so much easier.
The Sonos Roam 2 has the identical battery lifetime of 10 hours because the Roam, however Sonos claims its reworked the battery so it will final a bit longer. “We have optimized the battery; there’s slightly bit higher battery life,” Sonos CEO Patrick Spence tells The Verge. That would result in an extended lasting Roam 2 over time.
The sound is as nice as ever
Each the Roam and Roam 2 pack a punch
I’ve by no means been upset with how my very own Sonos Roam sounds. It affords a shocking quantity of depth for a small speaker, and even when it will not rumble the ground with bass, it does reproduce songs in a method that makes them sound uneven, or like they’re lacking something. On high of that, it is fairly constantly loud.
The Sonos Roam 2 is equally spectacular. Our reviewer famous that it had a “well-rounded soundstage” and was capable of fill a room with music with out distortion. The Sonos Roam 2, just like the Sonos Roam, is simply capable of transfer a shocking quantity of air for a speaker it is dimension. You are not going to DJ a marriage with it, however you will be pleased with the way it sounds and holds its personal in a bigger group of Sonos audio system.

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The rationale why each audio system nonetheless sound nice is that Sonos did not actually change something concerning the construction on the within of the Sonos Roam 2. It makes use of the identical single tweeter and midwoofer construction as the unique Roam. Sonos hasn’t shared particular particulars concerning the tweeters and midwoofers it makes use of within the Roam 2 or the Roam, so there is a good likelihood they’re the identical.
Connectivity enhancements make listening simpler
The Roam 2 works with Bluetooth simply in addition to Wi-Fi
Sonos has designed its transportable audio system to work with each Bluetooth and Wi-Fi from the start. The corporate’s dedication to Wi-Fi music streaming affords higher audio high quality and allows a few of it is neater speaker group expertise, but it surely’s simply not sensible whenever you’re attempting to take your music on the go.
Though the unique Sonos Roam supported Bluetooth, whenever you first took the speaker out of its field, you continue to wanted to attach it to Wi-Fi and Sonos’ app earlier than it was in a position to make use of a Bluetooth connection to play music. That makes the method of truly utilizing the speaker on the go so much longer. A key benefit the Roam 2 has over the Roam is that it might probably use Bluetooth as quickly as you flip it on. You simply flip it on, press the Bluetooth pairing button and connect with it on no matter system you wish to play music on.

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That makes the general technique of utilizing the Roam 2 so much simpler and will get you listening to music sooner than you ever might on the Sonos Roam, which is the final word objective of a good portable speaker.
The competitors is shut, however you can purchase the Sonos Roam 2
Simpler Bluetooth goes a good distance
While you’re evaluating audio system which can be as related to one another because the Sonos Roam and Sonos Roam 2 are, even the smallest variations matter. Usually, I would say watch for a sale, purchase the Sonos Roam at low cost and be pleased with the expertise you get, however I feel the Sonos Roam 2 is definitely worth the improve.


Sonos Roam 2
The Bluetooth pairing button and extra equal therapy of Bluetooth connections typically means you are going to get a greater speaker expertise from minute considered one of proudly owning the Sonos Roam 2 compared to the Sonos Roam. Mix that with a doubtlessly more healthy battery with an extended life and what I believe will likely be longterm help from Sonos and it is the higher funding.
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