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Unofficial Review - Sonos Roam

Madjalapeno

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This is an unofficial review of the Sonos Roam. I purchased it last year with my own money as I have a few Sonos products and have been happy with them. Sonos has been playing nicely with my Roon system, so it seemed a nice way to get a cheap, portable system for use outside.

I briefly set it up last year, which was a major hassle with the Software App having an S2 version for new devices, and an S1 for older devices. Eventually I got it to work with Roon, but didn't really use it as it was late in the year.

It's now a gorgeous summer day, and I thought it would be nice to have some gentle background music while I grill something for dinner. Get the Roam out, and plug in the power adapter.

There is a very dim orange light, only visible from certain angles, that comes on the front. Can you see it?

IMG_4895.jpeg


I'll zoom in.

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Pushing buttons, double pushing and even push and hold buttons does nothing. That light stays like that for 45 minutes. I've finished grilling by now.

Eventually the light goes out. Pushing some buttons just does a pathetic little chirp. It does appear in Roon though, and I can play music to it. The trouble is it's too late. Why won't it work while charging? The user experience is horrible, with buttons doing nothing, and a barely visible indicator light.

It's the last Sonos product I'm going to buy, and I can't recommend it at all, which is a shame as it doesn't sound bad for a tiny portable speaker.
 
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Madjalapeno

Madjalapeno

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Would have been so relaxing. A cold beer, some nice chorizo and chicken breast with a salad...

1653950024786.png
 
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Madjalapeno

Madjalapeno

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Orange light at the base means you have no battery / low battery. Try charging your roam!

I did - it's just frustrating it takes 45 minutes to have enough juice to operate. Why can't it work as soon as it starts charging?

Also, it seems to lose charge quickly when powered off.
 

mmi

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I did - it's just frustrating it takes 45 minutes to have enough juice to operate. Why can't it work as soon as it starts charging?

Also, it seems to lose charge quickly when powered off.
The battery should charge 50% in one hour when connected via USB or 2 hrs when using a wireless charger. The orange light indicates not enough battery so it sounds like it wasn't charged and ready for use, can't comment on your situation in particular.

Roam isn't like other bluetooth speakers, it can sit ready for use via wifi even when seemingly off. This obviously drains battery. Enable Battery Saver mode to change this behaviour (requires manually turning on the roam if you want to use it) - https://support.sonos.com/s/article/5085?language=en_US

Edit: also you can check battery / availability via the app. TBH none of this is that complicated, is documented on their website, and all works well. I agree that the back button is clunky and can be frustrating tho.
 

mmi

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Thank you - it's frustrating as all their other devices are so simple.
A thought occurred, sometimes a cable or adapter causes slow charge (underpowered or faulty). Might be worth testing.
 

A Surfer

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I am very pleased with my Sonos system. I have an Arc and a Sub Gen 3 and soon I plan on adding either two Roams or two Plays. This is just for my infrequently used system, but I find as my lifestyle changes the need for huge, room-filling sound is decreasing so new lifestyle systems like this are ticking all the right boxes.
 

mmi

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I am very pleased with my Sonos system. I have an Arc and a Sub Gen 3 and soon I plan on adding either two Roams or two Plays. This is just for my infrequently used system, but I find as my lifestyle changes the need for huge, room-filling sound is decreasing so new lifestyle systems like this are ticking all the right boxes.
Agreed. I stumbled into Sonos recently after buying a One SL as a gift for my parents that they never used and gave back to me. Now I’m hooked I’ve got two One SLs in stereo pair, a Roam, and plans for a Move and Mini Sub (when it comes out later this year).

If the Mayht driver tech from the recent acquisition is the real deal we may see some truly game changing products in the next few years.
 

CapMan

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I have a Roam - you need a more powerful usb charger to fill the battery. Mine works perfectly and sounds great when I’m working the BBQ.
 

A Surfer

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I actually purchased a pair of Moves that will arrive today. I don't need surround sound so opted for the larger Move versus One. I may yet purchase two Play 5s, but if so that will be 6 months away. Looking forward to having the Arc, Sub 3 and now a stereo pair of Moves together in one room. Should be a nice "lifestyle" system.
 

jhenderson0107

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I use three Moves to provide sound over the rear patio. I dock them in Monzlteck Wall Mounts attached to the exterior walls of the house beneath the eves, continuously charging via nearby outlets. Two Moves are stereo-paired, the third is mono. This provides excellent coverage, sound streamed lossless via WiFi.

Used in this manner the Moves remain connected, fully charged and play reliably. They can be relocated anywhere on the patio as desired. Sound quality is much better than any portable bluetooth speaker I've used (i.e UE BOOM, etc), with decent bass in an outdoor setting. Adequate for pool parties and patio breakfasts, but not objectively high fidelity.

Prior to obtaining the charging mounts, I found the Move's to be finnicky; One or more would spontaneously disconnect and would require power-cycling to reconnect to WiFi. Leaving them on the charging stands improved reliability immeasurably.

Perhaps the Roams exhibit similar foibles and limitations.
 

A Surfer

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So I added two moves. I am very likely to sell them and get the largest Play 5 (a pair) and add a second Sub 3 and be done. While I have a large stereo system downstairs, I am finding my listening habits changing and I am questioning whether I will use a large 2.2 system anymore. I think I like the idea of a complete Sonos system, my only concern becomes longevity as with network components baked into the products, they become useless if the components fail, although I hope that they will remain serviceable or even upgradeable in this regard. I actually am online friends with somebody who has been pretty high up as a Sonos engineering lead so I get access to inside information (within reason, no secrets of course). I will ask my friend about how long one could expect to have a Sonos system remain serviceable for.

When you are only buying one or two speakers, a shorter lifespan than you get from passive speakers isn't as big of a concern; however, once you start sinking in really significant money you have to start thinking about the likely weakest link in the system, which I can only guess is the WiFi components.
 
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mmi

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So I added two moves. I am very likely to sell them and get the largest Play 5 (a pair) and add a second Sub 3 and be done.
Can I ask why? The reason I ask is I like the idea of the Fives in stereo, but as far as I can tell from the user guide in stereo the two side firing tweeters are turned off (in either orientation). A pair of moves just seems like such a fun portable powerhouse for weekends away etc as well, and if the Fives get handicapped in stereo then maybe not worth the upgrade?

however, once you start sinking in really significant money you have to start thinking about the likely weakest link in the system, which I can only guess is the WiFi components

I get this concern. I guess for me it’s their wifi implementation that makes it worth the risk. The sync remains perfect even with portable speakers as you move them around, it’s wild.
 

A Surfer

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Can I ask why? The reason I ask is I like the idea of the Fives in stereo, but as far as I can tell from the user guide in stereo the two side firing tweeters are turned off (in either orientation). A pair of moves just seems like such a fun portable powerhouse for weekends away etc as well, and if the Fives get handicapped in stereo then maybe not worth the upgrade?



I get this concern. I guess for me it’s their wifi implementation that makes it worth the risk. The sync remains perfect even with portable speakers as you move them around, it’s wild.
Well, I imagine the side firing tweeters are not very necessary in a stereo pair of Play 5s, but that is a bit of an assumption to be sure. It is more that if I am going to give up so much SPL capacity moving away from towers supported by two 12" subs, I know that I would want to retain as much SPL capacity as possible. The Move's sound brilliant, and currently they are adequate without a doubt, but I listen at 70% volume and they are probably at their peak of performance and going past that threshold is likely to get me into compression territory. As well designed as they are, the Moves' are not designed to be played loudly, and even though I won't often need to play very loudly, I still want to have the capacity and the Play 5s are at this point the most capable designs in that regard that Sonos make.

I also agree about the fantastic WiFi capability and how important that is. The other very, very minor knock against the Move's for me, and I know the Play 5s have no Bluetooth at all, but the Moves' cannot be used as a stereo pair via Bluetooth which is a bit of a shame. That would be one awesome feature to be sure. I wonder if it is a possible feature that can be added later by Sonos? There are clearly portable speakers that do support Bluetooth pairing, but that would obviously depend on the chipset used so maybe that isn't possible with the Moves.
 
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mmi

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Ah I didn’t realise this was to fully replace the current 2.2 setup. Makes sense then. There’s also the option of the Sonos Amp and speakers / subs of your choice, but sounds like you have thought that through.
the Moves' cannot be used as a stereo pair via Bluetooth which is a bit of a shame. That would be one awesome feature to be sure. I
Yeah that is annoying, it relies on wifi for sync quality I’d assume.
 

GXAlan

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I have to check if there is a new firmware update or not. Right now, the home theater setups can use dual subs but the Fives cannot. That’s a weakness of the Five.

In stereo mode, you can run them vertically (where the side firing tweeters are disabled) or horizontally (where the side firing tweeters are present).

The Five’s don’t go low enough for the sub to work great solo, so I really wish they would allow dual subs.

The other issue is that if you have high res music in your local network music library, the Sonos cannot play it and more importantly, it can see the file and try to play it which causes an error. It would be better to hide the incompatible files or do real time downsampling.
 
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