Sonos Roam 2 review: More than meets the eye

There was a time not that long ago when Sonos didn’t offer Bluetooth capabilities on its speakers and strangely, it wasn’t a huge issue. If you invested in a Sonos speaker before 2019, you were investing because you wanted music in different rooms in your home and you wanted all your speakers to work as seamlessly together as they did independently.

But then Sonos announced the Move in 2019 and that marked the beginning of Sonos adding Bluetooth to its speakers, followed by the Era 100 and Era 300. The Move was the first Sonos speaker that wasn’t just designed for indoor use, but outdoor too, though it was never what most people would call ‘portable’.

The Roam was arguably Sonos’ first portable Bluetooth speaker when it arrived in 2021, and three years on, it has been succeeded by the Roam 2. It’s a very different portfolio of Sonos speakers that Roam 2 joins, but there’s still prime place for it. Here’s my full review.

---

The Disconnekt Downlow

The Sonos Roam 2 is a great little Bluetooth speaker, but it’s an even better additional speaker to an existing Sonos system that you can take to the park, the beach or even just for tunes in the shower. Even for those not invested in the Sonos system, the Roam 2 offers a compact and lightweight design, decent sound performance for its size, and a huge range of features when on Wi-Fi. If you’re just looking for a cheap Bluetooth speaker, there are cheaper options than the Sonos Roam 2, but if you’re after a great small speaker that also offers Bluetooth capabilities, it’s a super option.

Buy from £179 on Amazon

---

The reasons you should choose the Sonos Roam 2

The Sonos Roam 2 is about refinement rather than reinvention. It’s virtually identical in design to its predecessor but that’s actually not a bad thing. The original Roam was light, portable and its compact form factor made it perfect for shoving in a backpack or popping on a BBQ when cooking outside. 

The same applies for the Roam 2, but you get a colour-matched logo on the front (probably not something you’d have noticed if I didn’t point it out), and there is both a power button and a Bluetooth button on the rear. That latter change is a bigger deal than you might realise. It means putting the Roam 2 into Bluetooth pairing mode is significantly easier than it was for the original Roam, but it also means the Roam 2 works straight out of the box rather than having to go via the Sonos app. 

The tactile controls are nice and easy to use, even with wet hands, and there are plenty of features on board too, especially when you connect the Roam 2 to the Sonos app. I’ll talk a little more about those in a second, but the play/pause button is instrumental in getting the most out of the Roam 2. It won’t just play and pause music, but you can skip tracks and group the Roam 2 with other Sonos speakers with this single button. It’s also the button you press for Sound Swap, which is a feature unique to the Roam and Roam 2, and something that really should have been added to the Sonos Ace headphones. 

Sound performance from the Roam 2 is decent too for its size. It’s not the best sounding Sonos speaker available, but you wouldn’t expect it to be either given it’s the entry point to the system. If you want the top dog, you’ll need to get yourself a Sonos Era 300, or pick the Era 100 if you want a smaller speaker that’s not portable but super for sound. The Roam 2 meanwhile, offers good bass with plenty of punch. There’s also good detail and balance, but I did think the Bose SoundLink Flex (a couple of years old now) delivered clearer vocals. 

I do like that you can change the orientation of the Roam 2 to suit where you’re using it though, and it’s a nice touch that the Sonos logo looks right whichever way you choose – whether vertical or horizontal. Automatic Trueplay is also on board, which means the Roam 2, like the original, will adapt its sound output based on its surroundings with no input required from you. Put it in a cupboard or under a table and it won’t sound its best, but it will adapt the best it can.

What the Sonos Roam 2 could do better

There’s not a huge amount to complain about with the Sonos Roam 2 to be honest. The battery life could probably be a little longer – it’s 10 hours, which is reasonable but it’s not as long as a couple of other great Bluetooth speakers. The Bose SoundLink Flex offers 12 hours, the Sonos Move 2 offers 24 hours and the Ultimate Ears Everboom offers 20 hours, though admittedly, the Move and Everboom are significantly larger than the Roam 2.

It’s also a bit disappointing to see Google Assistant not being supported on the Roam 2. Alexa is still supported when the Roam 2 is on Wi-Fi, and there’s Sonos Voice Control too which is handy for controlling the Roam 2 itself, while Alexa is better for adding general smart speaker features to Roam 2, like smart home device control. Sonos dropped Google Assistant support when it launched the Era 100 and Era 300 in 2023 though, so while it’s not a surprise that there’s no support for it on the Roam 2 in 2024, I always liked having the option between Alexa and Google Assistant.

The only other thing the Roam 2 could have done a bit better is add floating capabilities. It comes in a range of great colour options, which is more than can be said for most Sonos speakers (black and white is the name of the game for this company, even in its headphones), and it’s waterproof and dust resistant with an official rating of IP67, but it will sink if you drop it in a pool or bath. Speakers like the UE Everboom and Bose SoundLink Flex both float, which is a nice additional benefit especially if you’re planning on taking a speaker paddleboarding, for example. 

Sonos Roam 2 features and tips

What the Sonos Roam 2 offers over many of its rivals however, is superb integration with the Sonos system. It will act as a traditional Bluetooth speaker that’s independent of the Sonos system when in Bluetooth mode, but it can be a traditional Sonos speaker too when on Wi-Fi. 

With that power comes great responsibility. There’s support for over 100 music streaming services, the ability to adjusts EQ settings in the Sonos app and you can stereo pair two Sonos Roam 2 speakers up if you want double the sound. 

The Roam 2 will also play music as part of a group of Sonos speakers and as I mentioned, you can press the play/pause button to bring the Roam 2 into an existing group of Sonos speakers and have it automatically play what they are playing. 

If you want to transfer what the Roam 2 is playing to a Sonos speaker inside, that’s where the Sound Swap feature comes into play. You press and hold the play/pause button for around five seconds and whatever you’re playing on Roam 2 will switch to the closest compatible Sonos speaker. Two Sonos Roam 2 speakers can’t be used as surrounds to a Sonos soundbar but aside from that, you get pretty much every other Sonos feature available, along with portability. 

My top 5 Sonos Roam 2 tips

Should you buy the Sonos Roam 2?

The Sonos Roam 2 is a great little Bluetooth speaker, but it’s an even better additional speaker to an existing Sonos system – or just when it’s on Wi-Fi and connected to the a Sonos app – because you get so much more from it then. 

If you have the original Roam, there aren’t enough improvements to justify the upgrade. But the Roam 2 is a great speaker to buy if you’re looking to expand your Sonos system with a portable number that you can take to the park, the beach or even just have for tunes in the shower. 

Even for those not invested in the Sonos system, the Roam 2 offers a compact and lightweight design, decent sound performance for its size, and a huge range of features when on Wi-Fi. If you’re just looking for a cheap Bluetooth speaker, there are cheaper options than the Sonos Roam 2, but if you’re after a great small speaker that also offers Bluetooth capabilities, it’s a super option. 

FAQs