Sonos Roam 2 vs Roam 1: what's new for Sonos' portable speaker? (2024)

Sonos doesn't only make home speakers. The Roam was its first fully fledged portable, equipped with Bluetooth and a bag-friendly size that made it ideal for taking with you on the go. But it wasn't perfect.

So-so clarity and some questionable usability decisions meant it earned four stars in our review – not bad by any measure, but not up to the brand's usual excellent standards. But now Sonos has released a sequel.

The Sonos Roam 2 has some small but meaningful improvements on the original that should make it the better all-round device. But does it do enough to justify the higher asking price? Let's compare the two and see what's new.

Sonos Roam 2 vs Roam 1: price

The Sonos Roam 2 comes with a slightly higher price than the original Roam. The Sonos Roam 1 launched in April 2021 for £159 / $169 / AU$279, but currently sells for £139 / $179 / AU$299. Expect price drops as retailers run down their supplies of the old model.

The Roam 2 is on sale now for £179 / $179 / AU$299. This being a new product, and one made by Sonos, don't expect any major price drops soon.

**Winner: Sonos Roam 1**

Sonos Roam 2 vs Roam 1: design

The Roam 2 looks very similar to the original, but there are some changes in the design department.

The Sonos logo is now monochromatic – i.e. the same colour as the device. It's the same design language as seen on the new Sonos Ace headphones, and gives both devices a more premium look. On the original Roam in black, the Sonos logo was white, making it stand out much more and looking – dare we say it? – a bit cheap.

There's now a dedicated Bluetooth button for pairing (the original used the power button). And the Roam 2's white finish is more of a pure white, whereas the original's Lunar White was closer to grey. The other colours are the same for both devices: Olive, Sunset, Wave and Black.

**Winner: Sonos Roam 2**

Sonos Roam 2 vs Roam 1: features

The original Roam had to be set up on your home wi-fi network before you could pair it with a phone or tablet over Bluetooth. This was a pain: to our knowledge, no other Bluetooth speaker has the same requirement – usually you can pair them straight out of the box.

The Roam 2 does away with this requirement. Instead of having to pair using the Sonos app once the speaker is a part of your network, you can pair straight over Bluetooth with no prior set-up required. It means you can start using it out and about before you even get it home from the shop (providing it has some charge, that is).

The actual act of pairing is also simplified thanks to the dedicated Bluetooth button. The first-gen model required you to hold down the power button for a set amount of time in order to pair – presumably it was an attempt to streamline the design by having as few buttons as possible. But a streamlined design isn't much good if it's fiddly to use. A dedicated button sounds much more intuitive.

Those changes aside, the Roam 2 is identical to the original model. Both models have Sonos' Trueplaytechnology which optimises the audio to your environment, 10 hours of battery life and IP67 waterproofing.

**Winner: Sonos Roam 2**

Sonos Roam 2 vs Roam 1: sound

We haven't tested the Roam 2 yet, so can't comment on its sound quality. But given that Sonos says the new model "delivers the same rich, detailed sound and bass with the clarity, depth, and fullness you’d expect from a larger speaker", it's safe to assume it will be unchanged from the original Roam.

Which is good – but not great – news. The original had plenty of impact, its bold presentation being quite generous with the bass and mid frequencies. It makes sense – the speaker will have to be heard in all kinds of outdoor environments, after all.

And the bass weight isn't overpowering. There's presence and punch, yes, but without muddying up the mix.

The original Roam only scored four out of five in our review, however, and that's largely down to the sound. Put side by side with the best Bluetooth speakers, it's noticeably less clear, with its rivals displaying textures that the Roam can't muster. It also suffers in terms of timing and expression compared to the best in its price band.

We'll update this section once we've reviewed the Roam 2.

**Winner: Draw**

Sonos Roam 2 vs Roam 1: early verdict

Without having tested the Roam 2, we can't definitively say whether it's better than the original. But it certainly looks that way, with a more dapper design and cleaner pairing process. The price increase is a shame, but sadly that's just the way of things at the moment.

Even if Sonos hasn't touched the sound profile, the Roam 2 should be an improvement on the original, albeit a small one. Fingers crossed the sound quality has been given a bump, too.

We'll update this once we've tested the new Roam 2 in due course.

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