Sonos Roam

Sonos Roam

It’s not all that always {that a} producer tells you to begin testing a brand new speaker by dunking it right into a bowl of water, however that provides you some indication of the thought that Sonos has put into its new Roam moveable. A smaller and extra handy different to Sonos’ chunky Move (HFC 456), it is extremely a lot centered on out of doors use, beginning with its impressively compact design. The speaker can stand upright or flat and is small and lightweight sufficient to simply carry round in a backpack and even in a jacket pocket like a bottle of water. It’s sturdily constructed, although, boasting IP67 score for water resistance, which is able to permit it to outlive in that bowl of water for as much as half-hour, and Sonos even says you may rinse it underneath the faucet to scrub it.

It’s filled with options and a quad-core processor to deal with the workload. There’s a ‘race-track’ woofer to take advantage of the modest dimensions and a separate tweeter, with the 2 drivers powered by two Class-H amplifiers. The Roam helps Bluetooth (AAC solely, there isn’t a aptX) to be used out and about and dual-band wi-fi and AirPlay 2. Sonos quotes 10 hours of battery life and there’s Qi wi-fi charging – an elective wi-fi charging dock will set you again an extra £44.

Sound high quality
I begin listening indoors, utilizing wi-fi to stream in MQA from Tidal. The compact speaker impresses instantly, with the nice and cozy, open tone it brings to Damien Rice’s The Blower’s Daughter. It catches each hesitant breath of Rice’s vocal, nearly mumbling at occasions and initiatives it with sufficient quantity to fill the room with out distortion. There’s a relaxed, open sound to the acoustic strumming and the Roam brings a fragile contact to the sluggish cello, permitting it to hold within the air earlier than fading slowly away.

In distinction, Queen’s The Millionaire Waltz is a sonic curler coaster, however the Roam isn’t missing because the track weaves its approach via half a dozen contrasting types. There’s a relaxed, lilting rhythm to the piano-and-bass introduction, which veers sharply into rock bombast, delivering the ability chords with spectacular weight contemplating its measurement. There’s one other change of tempo as Freddie does his finest Marlene Dietrich impression, and the Roam catches his breathless whispering. But it’s the ultimate orchestral prospers that impress essentially the most, as Brian May’s multi-tracked guitar fanfare and Roger Taylor’s crashing cymbals ring out crisp and clear even on the speaker’s full quantity – which is loud sufficient to make me fear about disturbing the neighbours.

The Roam even manages to ship fairly respectable bass too, and there’s a pleasant agency thud to the drum-and-bass intro of Bad Guy by Billie Eilish. It catches the crisp finger-snaps and flippantly brushed percussion that drive the track ahead with an infectious rhythm, suggesting that it’ll work a deal with getting the temper going at a socially distanced out of doors barbecue when the summer season ultimately arrives.

Conclusion
Inevitably, switching from a wi-fi connection to Bluetooth does make a distinction to the sound high quality – though it’s spectacular that the Roam is ready to deal with the change routinely after I enterprise outdoor with my pill. That bass intro on Bad Guy isn’t fairly as agency, and the percussion sounds somewhat extra distant. But, to be honest, Queen’s multi-layered wall of sound holds up very properly with Bluetooth, shedding solely somewhat of the full-bodied guitar sound within the louder sections. If all you need is a light-weight Bluetooth speaker for out of doors use then there are inexpensive choices obtainable, however the addition of wi-fi streaming makes the Roam a terrifically versatile and light-weight choice for each indoor and out of doors use. CJ    

DETAILS
Product: Sonos Roam
Type: Portable Bluetooth/wi-fi speaker

FEATURES
● 1x mid driver; 1x tweeter (measurement not specified)
● Bluetooth; wi-fi
● Battery life: 10 hours most

Read the complete evaluate in  Issue 476

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March 11, 2024 at 06:04PM