does the nomadic mini-speaker do as well as its predecessors?

Maybe those looking for good sound will go as far as Roam? After having carved out a very serious reputation in the world of dedicated multiroom wifi speakers for the home, Sonos is expanding its universe with its first nomadic speaker. Sold for 179 euros, Roam also opens the field of possibilities with its dual Bluetooth and Wifi connectivity which eventually allows it to integrate the Sonos ecosystem. But what is it really worth? 20 minutes was able to test it.

Small but muscular

We had been warned, but it is really small. Now in pre-order for delivery from April 20, the new Sonos Roam speaker (16.8 x 6.2 x 6 cm for 430 g) is a UFO in the Sonos galaxy. Created for outdoor use with Bluetooth, it comes a stone’s throw from a summer that we hope will finally be deconfined. But Roam innovates by associating Wifi with its services.

It is therefore difficult for it to deny its origins: it is necessary to go through a first Wifi configuration when unpacking with the Sonos application, as with all the products of the American brand. For the manufacturer, the goal here is to include Roam in its ecosystem. A very practical function if you are already equipped with a speaker or a Sonos soundbar. Concerning us, Roam has thus joined a range made up of One speakers and a Five speaker. From the Sonos application, you can then choose to play music on one or more of these speakers simultaneously (or even to play different music in the different rooms where the speakers are installed).

Warm sound but moderate volume

Immediate observation: despite its compactness, Roam diffuses a beautifully crafted sound. Obviously, nothing to do with that of an indoor speaker One SL from Sonos which, sold only 20 euros more expensive, is really capable of sending big sound. With Roam, we keep the sound signature of the manufacturer, but with the possibility of listening at more moderate volume. If it is hardly possible to push the speaker into the towers, it nevertheless has some under the hood with a harmonious, balanced sound, but also bass that can be marked, as seen by listening to the heady Lost one by Jasmine Sullivan.

Very low midrange, the speaker can sometimes lack a little shine. If Roam was very comfortable with Californian Soil, the new London Grammar album, for example we would have liked more finesse by listening to the album Diwan of Beauty and Old by Dhaser Youssef. But nothing prohibitive, on the contrary, the score is very warm. At home, Roam can find her place in a bedroom, an office, with a digital tablet or a smartphone in front of which she will play the mini-soundbar. We enjoyed a concert by
Phil Collins (Montreux 2004) on YouTube by associating Roam with the Find X III of Oppo whose screen size is perfectly homogeneous with the template of the speaker.

Note that the speaker is also AirPlay 2 and works like a joke, live and without going through the Sonos application, with an Apple device. Its mobility is obviously a plus and the little Sonos can follow us from room to room if we do not (yet) have a multiroom system. It is easy to imagine that with Roam, Sonos nevertheless intends to convert new buyers to the various products in its range. At home, but only at home (because of Wifi), you can associate Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa with it as desired. Impossible to have both, you have to choose your chapel.

Like a classic Bluetooth speaker

Outside, Roam also has strengths. If we regret that Sonos does not provide a transport bag worthy of the name (a fragile felt case is nevertheless in the box), the speaker is made to cut the road. With IP67 standard, it can resist dust and splash water. We put her under the tap without drowning her.

Against shocks, each side of the speaker is covered with silicone, a material that can take a few small knocks. Being able to be installed vertically or horizontally, the enclosure will be of all the exits, even if a system of attachment with carabiner would not have been too much, given its reduced size. A long press on its start button triggers Bluetooth pairing. There, any smartphone, even without the Sonos app, can connect to it. Regret: Multipoint Bluetooth is not in the game, preventing two different smartphones from connecting without having to go through the pairing procedure again.

Continuity of reading in Wifi and Bluetooth

Good point: Sonos has equipped Roam with a new system called Sound Swap. The idea is to be able to listen to your music continuously. For this, the manufacturer plays on the dual Bluetooth / Wifi compatibility of its speaker. Thus, it is possible to listen to music at home on Roam in Wifi, and to go out in an area not covered by your home network without the listening being interrupted.

If you are with your smartphone in your pocket, Roam automatically switches to Bluetooth. And if you go home (and provided that the smartphone is in Wifi), just long press the Play / Pause button on the speaker for the music to switch to the nearest home Sonos speaker. . Good news: on trial, the principle works quite well. “Rather”, because sometimes the Wifi reconnection does not take place immediately when you get home. It even happened during our test that it was not the enclosure closest to little Roam that took up the torch, but another, further away. However, we imagine that this use case will not be so frequent.

Too light autonomy

There remains the question of autonomy. Sonos, which knows how to do so well in the field of sound, fails to compete in the lead on that of the battery of its speaker, which is struggling to cross the bar of 10 hours of listening. This might seem a bit tight if you are looking for a simple Bluetooth speaker and don’t necessarily want a more developed Sonos system. On the other hand, if you want to try the multiroom adventure or if you are already equipped with products from the American brand, Roam, sold for 179 euros, can be a good investment.