I favored the unique Sonos Roam sufficient to offer it a 9/10, WIRED Recommends. And now, I fall on my sword in entrance of everybody who purchased one primarily based on my recommendation. I had one grievance, which was that my assessment unit’s battery—together with the batteries of many different models belonging to folks I do know and work with—had bizarre drain points long-term. My first-gen mannequin was unusable by the point I got here again to check it to this new mannequin.
With the Roam 2, quietly launched alongside Sonos’ new Ace over-ear headphones (8/10, WIRED Recommends), Sonos has remedied these battery issues. The corporate additionally added a button to make Bluetooth pairing simpler and extra immediate while you’re not at house.
It is not exactly an engineering triumph, however I do prefer to see manufacturers replace merchandise to repair what’s damaged quite than reinvent the wheel. Functionally, the Roam 2 appears and acts identically to the primary mannequin. This one simply goals to last more than a pair years, and it comes with a neater Bluetooth pairing button. I nonetheless prefer it, and I am going to prefer it much more if long-term testing reveals that the battery (and the gadget itself) will final.
{Photograph}: Amazon
Roam on the Vary
Sonos’ complete deal was that you just could not get Bluetooth in its merchandise, however that has changed over the past several years.
The Roam was the primary devoted transportable gadget that Sonos determined ought to get Bluetooth (there not being a lot Wi-Fi in the midst of the woods or at a lake) in order that listeners may snag a single Sonos product for each their kitchen and knapsack.
At house, it connects to Wi-Fi and reveals up within the Sonos app in your cellphone. If you’re on the go—or a good friend needs to play some music actual fast—simply pair to Bluetooth and play. It’s a wonderful occasion trick for these of us with different Sonos audio system.
I preserve my Roam 2 in my lavatory or bed room after I’m not taking it with me outdoors. At house, it acts like one other speaker in my Sonos ecosystem. Once I need to come out for some seashore time, or carry a few of my favourite tunes outdoors, I simply seize the speaker and go, then pair it to my cellphone (or reconnect it, typically) for straightforward listening the place it in any other case doesn’t have an web connection.
{Photograph}: Amazon
Nonetheless The Greatest
Utilizing the Roam 2 (which appears similar to the primary Roam, save a much-needed Bluetooth pairing button and some totally different colorways) is so simple as it will get. Join cellphone, choose music, play stated music. At house, by way of Wi-Fi, issues can get a bit extra sophisticated, because of a much-maligned new Sonos app and its woes with establishing (or typically even seeing) new audio system.
I’ve managed to attach mine to my house system with relative ease, connecting it to the opposite Sonos speaker I’ve paired in my workplace in a indifferent storage, in case I need to play the identical music in and out. It really works flawlessly for this goal, and if I had a bigger Sonos system at house I’m certain that I’d take pleasure in it much more.
Functionally, it really works nice, with good beefy bass and balanced treble and midrange that makes the speaker good for each podcasts and pop music. It’s not loud or giant sufficient to gas a full-on dance occasion within the woods, nevertheless it does get surprisingly loud for its measurement.
