This speaks to Sonos’ philosophy for Roam, which is to make it simple to use inside and outside the home. The Bluetooth-only speaker market is already quite crowded, “said Maxime Bouvat-Merlin, senior vice president of hardware development for the company,” in an interview before the company’s launch event. “For us, going to this specific market, we had to do more than just add Bluetooth and excellent sound to these products. We thought a lot about how to take the Sonos experience from the inside out. “
This is the inspiration behind things like the new “Sound Exchange” feature. If you are playing music on Roam and want to forward it to another Sonos speaker, press and hold the play button to search for the nearest speaker and send the song to it. The idea is to keep the music flowing from outside the home into the home.
Sound Swap makes use of some intriguing technology. “Pressing and holding play / pause signals other players to emit an ultra-high frequency sound that only Roam can hear,” explained Hadley Simmons, product marketing manager at Sonos. an easier way to move music around the house without having to go back to the Sonos app and sort your different rooms. ”In the same vein, if Roam is playing music via Bluetooth, you can hold the play button and it will automatically transmit that music to other Sonos speakers – effectively turning Roam into a Bluetooth line for the rest of your system.
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The technology for Sound Swap came from Sonos’ advanced technology group, a team that has formed in recent years. “In the past, we tried to innovate in the product development process, but this is the worst place to try to do that when you have a specific schedule and deadline in front of you,” said Bouvat-Merlin. “So I created a special, autonomous group that works on things for two, three, four years on the road.”
All of these features don’t make sense if people don’t want to take Roam with them, which means that their physical design is probably more important here than with standard home speakers. Based on what we’ve seen so far, Roam looks compact and easy to move. It weighs less than half a kilo, and Sonos described it as being the same size as a water bottle. The idea is that it is small and light enough that you don’t have to think about taking it with you; it just becomes a habit. I haven’t used it yet, but I can definitely imagine that it’s the kind of thing I would throw in a bag when I left home, whether for a quick trip or a cross-country flight (when that’s possible, anyway).
As usual, there are some smart Sonos flourishes here. The speaker can be used in vertical or horizontal orientation. It detects how it is positioned and adjusts the sound accordingly. It is compatible with all Qi wireless chargers, or you can simply use the included USB-C cable. Sonos is making its own wireless magnetic charger, but unfortunately it’s an extra $ 50, instead of something included in the box.
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Roam is also rated IP67 for dust and water resistance. In fact, it can be submerged in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes and still work. Move has superior resistance to temperature fluctuations, but cannot be immersed in water. Given that other companies have speakers that can even float in a pool, the fact that Roam can survive an underwater trip is crucial.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Roam needs to sound good – an achievement not small, given its tiny size. I didn’t hear that, but. Simmons said users should expect sound quality comparable to the larger Sonos One speaker, although without the same maximum volume. But the presence of the bass is much greater than you would expect from such a small speaker. Of course, we will need to wait to hear for ourselves, but given what companies like Amazon, Google and Apple have done with their own relatively small speakers, I hope Sonos has done its magic on the tiny Roam.
As usual for Sonos, Roam features a number of custom internal components, such as the so-called “race track” mid-woofer. Since a traditional circular design would not work on tall, slim Roam, Sonos opted for this oval shape to maximize its size. It also has a dedicated tweeter and two class H amplifiers. Attaching a tweeter and mid-woofer to the Roam instead of using a multifunctional driver should make a significant difference in audio quality.
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Sonos also included the “Auto Trueplay” speaker tuning technology that it first incorporated into Move. This means that the speaker will use its built-in microphone set to hear its output and optimize the sound wherever it is placed. Trueplay has been available for Sonos speakers since 2015, but they require an iOS device to use to manually adjust the device. It’s not like that for Move and Roam, and Roam takes things a step further this time. It will be able to adjust even when you are not on WiFi, using profiles integrated directly into the speaker hardware itself.
Roam is entering an overcrowded market, but it is competitively priced, even though it is still more expensive than many Bluetooth-only devices. It offers many features if you are already a Sonos user – but its low price also makes it a gateway to the Sonos ecosystem, if you have never tried its products. We need to hear before judging whether Sonos has hit the target, but from what we know so far, it is looking like an attractive option in the ultra-portable speaker category. Pre-orders for Roam are now open on the Sonos website, and the speaker will be available on April 20th.