Sonos Roam SL vs Sonos Roam: What is the distinction?

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  Sonos / Pocket-lint

  Sonos Roam SL

  Our best choice

  $119 $159 Save $40

  The Sonos Roam SL has the identical design and sound structure because the Sonos Roam, however it does not supply a microphone and so misses out on a few options.

  Professionals

  • Light-weight and moveable
  • Nice sound high quality
  • Waterproof

  Cons

  • No sensible assistants
  • No Sound Swap
  • No automated Trueplay tuning

• 

  Sonos / Pocket-lint

  Sonos Roam

  A sensible various

  $134 $179 Save $45

  The Sonos Roam is a unbelievable moveable speaker with loads of options, together with sensible assistants. It has extra options than Roam SL, like Sound Swap, however prices extra.

  Professionals

  • Light-weight and moveable
  • Waterproof
  • Good assistants and options

  Cons

  • Slightly dear
  • No case
  • Rubber ends dent

Portability wasn’t all the time a factor at Sonos. Up till the corporate launched the Sonos Transfer 2019, not one of the Sonos audio system supplied Bluetooth capabilities and all of them required mains energy. Since Transfer although, Sonos not solely introduced the tremendous moveable Roam in 2021 and a microphone-free Roam in 2022, however it now additionally has the wired Period 100 and Period 300 with Bluetooth capabilities in its portfolio.

Whereas we’ve got in contrast how the Period 100 and the Roam examine in a separate characteristic, right here we’re specializing in how the Sonos Roam and the Sonos Roam SL examine. What’s totally different between the Sonos Roam and Sonos Roam SL, what options do you miss out on if you happen to go for the Roam SL and which Roam must you select on your residence and way of life?

Worth, specs and availability

The Sonos Roam prices greater than the Sonos Roam SL, which maybe will not be all that stunning. The Roam is $179 within the US and £179 within the UK. The Sonos Roam SL in the meantime, prices $159 within the US and £159 within the UK so that you save somewhat bit of cash choosing the microphone-free variant.

The Sonos Roam does come in additional colors than the Roam SL although, supplied in Lunar White, Shadow Black, Sundown, Olive and Wave. The Sonos Roam SL solely is available in Shadow Black and Lunar White, although each these colors are nonetheless nice, they only aren’t as enjoyable as the colorful choices supplied by Roam.

On the subject of specs, the Roam and Roam SL are just about similar, aside from a few options and naturally, the dearth of microphones on the Roam SL. We have popped a spec desk comparability under to indicate the variations in specs at a look, however preserve studying for extra element on how these two moveable audio system differ.

• 	Sonos Roam SL	Sonos Roam
  Connectivity	Wi-Fi 5.0, Bluetooth	Wi-Fi 5.0, Bluetooth
  Battery	10 hours	10 hours
  Water Resistance	IP67	IP67
  Audio	Two class-H amplifiers, customized racetrack mid-woofer, tweeter	Two class-H amplifiers, customized racetrack mid-woofer, tweeter, far-field mics
  Voice assistant	None	Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Sonos Voice Management
  Colours	Shadow Black, Lunar White	Shadow Black, Lunar White, Olive, Sundown, Wave
  Dimensions	168 x 62 x 60mm, 0.43kg	168 x 62 x 60mm, 0.43kg
  Buttons	Tactile Controls, Energy/Bluetooth Button	Tactile controls, Energy/Bluetooth button
  Others	Sonos options, Airplay 2	Sonos options, Auto Trueplay tuning, AirPlay 2, Sound Swap

Design and construct

The Sonos Roam and the Sonos Roam SL supply an virtually similar design. Each have a soft-to-touch end with tactile controls on the highest and so they can each be positioned horizontally or vertically, with small rubber toes permitting for each orientations. Additionally they each have an IP67 water and dirt resistance so the 2 moveable audio system can each deal with being close to a pool, on the seaside, out within the rain or within the bathe with out a difficulty.

They’re additionally similar of their dimensions, measuring across the identical as a 500ml (18oz) water bottle at 168 x 62 x 60mm. The place the Roam and Roam SL do differ by way of design nonetheless, will not be solely the color choices we talked about above, however within the controls on the highest. The Roam has a microphone on and off button on the controls on the high, whereas the Roam SL doesn’t. That is the one distinction you will see on the floor although. The 2 audio system each have a USB-C charging port on the again, although you may also cost them by way of the charging dock accent that’s bought individually, and so they each have an influence button on the rear that doubles up as a Bluetooth pairing button.

Sound structure

Sound structure is similar between the Sonos Roam and Sonos Roam SL units too, which means they each ship the identical efficiency. Each the Roam and Roam SL include two Class-H digital amplifiers, one tweeter and one mid-woofer and the sound from the Roam and Roam SL is superb for the dimensions of the audio system.

The principle distinction between the Roam and Roam SL is the dearth of microphone on the Sonos Roam SL, as we talked about. This makes a distinction in terms of a few of the options supplied, together with Trueplay tuning.

The Sonos Roam presents Automated Trueplay Tuning which means it could possibly use its onboard microphone to analyse the surroundings it has been positioned into and regulate the sound accordingly. Because the Roam SL does not have a microphone, it does not assist Automated Trueplay Tuning, although it does nonetheless supply commonplace tuning so you possibly can nonetheless manually tune the Roam SL by way of the normal Trueplay methodology. This includes the speaker emitting a sequence of sounds and also you strolling across the room waving an iOS machine turned the wrong way up slowly. We have got a separate Trueplay characteristic that particulars precisely how that each one works.

Options

Except for Trueplay tuning, there are a few different variations within the options supplied by the Sonos Roam and Roam SL. The Sonos Roam presents a selection of Alexa, Google Assistant and Sonos Voice Management, whereas the Sonos Roam SL does not have the choice of any of those on account of its lack of microphone. The Roam SL can nonetheless be managed through Alexa, Google Assistant or Sonos Voice Management from one other Sonos machine that provides the assistants inbuilt, or a third-party Alexa or Google Assistant machine, however you aren’t getting native assist on the speaker itself.

Sound Swap is a characteristic that launched on the Sonos Roam however it’s also solely out there on the Roam. The characteristic permits you to press and maintain the play/pause button on the Sonos Roam to ship the music you might be enjoying on the moveable speaker to the closest Sonos machine. Ultrasonic waves are used to detect the closest speaker although, which requires a microphone to listen to so the Sonos Roam SL does not supply Sound Swap, once more because of the lack of microphone.

Regardless of these variations, there are a variety of options that switch between each the Roam and Roam SL. Each audio system hook up with the Sonos system the place they provide Sonos Radio, compatibility with over 100 music streaming companies, the flexibility to group audio system and the flexibility to regulate the EQ for instance, amongst loads of others, together with Apple AirPlay 2.

You may as well stereo pair a Sonos Roam or Roam SL with one other Roam or Roam SL, although neither can be utilized as surrounds. Each audio system do additionally change between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth routinely although and so they additionally each supply 10 hours of battery life.

Conclusion

The Sonos Roam and Sonos Roam SL are very comparable, a minimum of by way of design, battery life and sound structure. The place they predominantly differ is the dearth of microphone within the Sonos Roam SL, which then sees it lacking out on a few options in comparison with the unique Roam.

Sonos / Pocket-lint

Sonos Roam SL

Our best choice

$119 $159 Save $40

The Sonos Roam SL has the identical design and sound structure because the Sonos Roam, however it does not supply a microphone and so misses out on a few options.

You do not get inbuilt Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa or Sonos Voice Management, the Roam SL additionally does not supply Sonos Sound Swap and it additionally does not supply Automated Trueplay tuning. In any other case, the options are the identical throughout each fashions, together with automated switching between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, integration with the Sonos system and Apple AirPlay 2.

The Sonos Roam SL is in fact barely cheaper than the Roam and for many, it is going to be a wonderful selection as a conveyable Bluetooth speaker. The additional options supplied by Roam are helpful however they’re extras, relatively than integral to the general expertise.

Sonos Roam

A sensible various

$134 $179 Save $45

The Sonos Roam is a unbelievable moveable speaker with loads of options, together with voice assistants. It has a couple of extra options than Roam SL, like Sound Swap, however it prices extra.