I could be mistaken as I'm evaluating these but do not own them, so please confirm or deny - I think there are a couple advantages over standard BT portable speakers such as the JBL: There is currently a battery-drain bug with the Google Assistant integration for which Sonos is working on a fix, but in the meantime it suggests turning the speaker fully off after use, turning off Assistant or switching to Alexa. It isn’t the biggest or the loudest and doesn’t have thumping bass or super-long battery life. But the Roam produces quality, well-rounded sound with a clarity unmatched by rivals. Outdoors it functions just like any rugged, water-resistant Bluetooth speaker. Inside it works like Sonos’s other excellent wifi speakers, compatible with practically every music service available and with a choice of voice assistants too. It even looks great as a sleek piece of premium electronics, and like other Sonos speakers will be supported for a very long time.

It is angled, though, so generally if you’re putting it at ear height then upright will give you better focus; anywhere lower and having the Roam on its side will direct the sound upwards toward you and improve on stability. Given the choice, we usually ended up with the latter placement in our testing. Is Sonos Roam compatible with S1? Detail and clarity are two such areas. This speaker doesn’t particularly sound boxed in, but pit it against some of the best portable speakers, which might have fewer features but offset that with a lighter price tag, and the difference is a little disappointing.A listen to other portable Bluetooth speakers around this price also confirms that we could be expecting more in terms of timing and dynamics. There is plenty of punch to the Roam’s performance, but it is far less expressive than the competition here, and can also seem quite sluggish. Verdict That’s not necessarily a bad thing when you consider how the Roam might be used. There’s nothing worse than coarse hi-hats cutting through the chatter at a party when the speaker is turned up too loud. A clear high-end would be even better, but sometimes we can understand playing things a bit safe. However, this is a four-star review, so what has gone wrong for the Roam? Not much at all in isolation. For many people, this will be the ideal speaker, fit for purpose. But we feel Sonos could have stretched itself a little more in certain aspects of its audio performance. The Roam can breathe underwater for 30 minutes but only at a depth of one metre, so we wouldn’t risk it floating around the pool on a lilo, but we’ve used ours on a drizzly day along the British coast and neither rain nor sand has stopped it working yet.

lovlid said:Not much really. What with it being a regular Bluetooth speaker. You can take it on a picnic though. You could, but it wouldn’t be the best use of the Roam. There is no physical audio connection, let alone HDMI, so you’d be connecting it to your TV via Bluetooth. That wouldn’t be the end of the world, as the Roam boasts Bluetooth 5.0, but you aren’t going to get anything approaching the sound or features of a dedicated soundbar such as the Beam or Arc. Can I pair two Roam speakers in stereo? For anyone who hasn’t used the Sonos app before: it’s simply the best out there. It’s simple to use, and as well as being vital for set-up is where you can control a number of features, such as compatible voice assistants and Trueplay tuning.As we’ve said, if you aren’t already invested in the Sonos multi-room family then you might be better off looking elsewhere for your portable wireless speaker needs. The latter, with help from the built-in mic, tweaks the EQ automatically depending on the speaker’s surroundings, though you can also fine-tune bass and treble yourself. The IP67 rating means the Roam is watertight enough to deal with rain or snow, and Sonos promises it’ll operate in more extreme high and low temperatures as well. Unfortunately not. Not for the moment, at least. Sonos is well known for its regular updates and new features can be added to its speakers in time. Right now, though, if you want proper decoded surround using dedicated rear speakers, you’ll need the Sonos One, One SL, Play:1, Play:3, Play:5, Five, Symfonisk bookshelf speaker or Symfonisk lamp speaker (or an Amp or Connect:Amp powering passive speakers).

Given the whole idea of the Roam is that it moves around with you, it’s handy you can leave the Trueplay function on and it’ll do this automatically every time you place it down. How much of a difference that’ll make when battling outside noise and weather is another thing entirely, but it can do little harm. What does the Loudness function do? While placing two Roam speakers near the house might work when you’re in the garden, further afield you’ll need to set up a wi-fi network perhaps using a second phone or tablet. You can’t use the same device to work the control app and provide the wi-fi hotspot, so it does start getting fairly convoluted, but it is possible if you’re desperate open-air stereo. How does the Roam work with other wireless speakers? We’ve been pretty careful while testing ours, as we are with most things, but the Roam has fared well on its travels so far. Again, don’t take what Sonos says as a challenge, but the Roam should withstand a number of bashes, bangs and falls. So no, you shouldn’t need a case unless you can’t bear scuffing the ends.

Yes. The Roam charges either via USB-C, using the optional Sonos Wireless Charger, or with any Qi wireless charger – and during charging, the Sonos Roam can play music. Just like the Move can. Can Sonos Roam be used as surround sound speakers? Because the Sonos Roam has only one tweeter and one woofer, playing in mono, that makes it pretty versatile in terms of orientation. All you have to do is group the Roam with whichever other speaker you want to share audio, and you can essentially carry it around with you thanks to the Roam’s portability.