Sonos Roam and Roam SL vs Sonos One and One SL: Which do you have to purchase?

• Worth, availability and specs
• Design
• Options
• {Hardware}
• Sonos Roam vs Sonos One: Which do you have to purchase?

• Sonos / Pocket-lint

  Sonos Roam

  Our best choice

  For these already invested in Sonos, this moveable speaker is an absolute no-brainer addition to the household. It delivers all of the comfort of a Bluetooth speaker, with the advantages of including it again right into a wider Sonos system if you’re at residence. All that, and it sounds improbable too.

  Professionals

  • Light-weight and really moveable
  • Glorious sound high quality for this measurement
  • Waterproof design

  Cons

  • Cannot use two Roam units as encompass audio system
  • Battery life just a little beneath claimed
  • No accompanying case

• 

  Sonos / Pocket-lint

  Sonos One

  Nice efficiency

  The Sonos One is a small however mighty little speaker. It delivers a premium, stable design, simply as you’d anticipate from a Sonos machine, nevertheless it {couples} its beauty with smarts too. It may need been changed by the Period 100, however the One stays an outstanding speaker.

  Professionals

  • Nice design
  • Alexa and Google Assistant integration
  • Excellent sound high quality

  Cons

  • No Bluetooth capabilities
  • Voice management for some music companies restricted
  • No Alexa calling

There are quite a few audio system inside the Sonos portfolio however in case you’re wanting on the smaller finish of the vary, the selection comes all the way down to the Sonos Roam, Roam SL, Sonos One, One SL, or the Period 100 that launched in 2023, changing the One and One SL.

We have compared the Era 100 to the One and One SL elsewhere, however right here we’re specializing in the variations between the Sonos Roam, Roam SL and the Sonos One (Gen 2), and One SL, that will help you work out which might be the proper place to begin for you into the Sonos system, or which it is best to add to an present one.

In case you are eager to know extra about how the Sonos One and One SL compare, or how the Roam and Roam SL compare, we now have you lined in separate options.

Worth, availability and specs

The Sonos Roam and Roam SL are the entry factors into the Sonos line-up, in case you ignore the IKEA choices. They’re very carefully adopted by the Sonos One and One SL when it comes to worth although, and whereas the One and One SL have been changed by the Sonos Era 100, as we talked about, they continue to be accessible by a variety of retailers, for now anyway.

The Roam SL is the most affordable, costing $159 in the US and £159 within the UK. The Roam in the meantime, prices $179 within the US and £179 within the UK. The Sonos One SL launched at $179 in the US and £179 within the UK, whereas the Sonos One launched at $219 within the US and £199 within the UK. It is doable you may discover the One and One SL cheaper now although following the launch of the Period 100.

The Sonos Roam is available in 5 color choices, whereas the Roam SL, One and One SL all are available two (black and white) like nearly all of the Sonos portfolio. We have delved just a little deeper into the variations in specs and options between the Roam and One fashions all through this characteristic however you may have a look on the spec desk beneath for a fast overview.

• 	Sonos Roam	Sonos One
  Dimensions	168 X 62 X 60mm, 0.43kg, IP67	161.5 x 119.7 x 119.7mm, 1.85kg
  Audio	Two Class-H amplifiers, Customized Racetrack Mid-woofer, Tweeter, Far-field mics	Two Class-D amplifiers, tweeter, mid-woofer, microphones
  Connectivity	Wi-Fi 5.0, Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2	Wi-Fi, Apple AirPlay 2
  Ports	USB-C	Energy port, Ethernet
  Colours	Shadow Black, Lunar White, Sundown, Wave, Olive	Black, White
  Buttons	Tactile controls, Energy/Bluetooth pairing button	Capacitive controls, Pairing button
  SMART ASSISTANTS	Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Sonos Voice Management	Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Sonos Voice Management
  OTHERS	Sonos options, Computerized Trueplay Tuning, Sonos Sound Swap	Sonos options, Trueplay Tuning, Surrounds

Design

Pocket-lint

The Sonos Roam and Roam SL are triangular prism formed and they’re small, gentle and moveable – across the measurement of a water bottle – so you may choose them up and convey them wherever you go. Each are IP67 water and dust resistant, however whereas the Roam is available in 5 color choices comprising Shadow Black, Lunar White, Sundown, Olive and Wave, the Roam SL solely is available in Shadow Black and Lunar White color choices.

On the highest of the Roam, there are tactile controls for microphone, play/pause, skip and rewind, and the Roam will be positioned vertically or horizontally. The Roam SL provides the identical however with out the microphone button. There’s a wi-fi charger offered individually that the Roam and Roam SL will magnetically connect to, or you may cost them by way of the USB-C port.

The One and One SL in the meantime, are just a little shorter and fatter than Roam and Roam SL when it comes to bodily measurements, however the principle distinction is they’re mains-powered units and never moveable – or waterproof. They will additionally solely be positioned vertically.

One is available in black and white color choices and it has capacitive controls on prime, with a microphone on/off button, play/pause and skip and rewind. There is a pairing button on the again, subsequent to the ability port and an ethernet port. The One SL has an nearly an identical design to the One, nevertheless it does not have a microphone array or button on its prime controls.

Options

The Sonos Roam and Sonos One each include all of the options provided by all Sonos audio system, like help for over 100 streaming companies, stereo pairing, EQ adjusting by the Sonos app and naturally, seamless multi-room audio, amongst loads of others.

The Roam and One additionally each have built-in help for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant – which means they’re each good audio system. You’ll be able to’t have each assistants operating on the similar time however you may swap between them. Each even have help for Sonos Voice Control, which is predominately used for controlling the speaker itself somewhat than providing good residence performance. You’ll be able to run Sonos Voice Management alongside Alexa, however not alongside Google Assistant. Roam SL and One SL do not have built-in help for any of the assistants however they are often managed by way of a Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa machine.

Each Roam and One have Trueplay tuning on board, enabling you to tune them in response to their environment, although Roam does this mechanically, whereas Roam SL, One and One SL require you to do it manually with an iOS machine.

From right here, Roam and Roam SL then take the lead within the characteristic division in comparison with the One and One SL. They provide Bluetooth connectivity – mechanically switching between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi – which means you should use Roam and Roam SL as a standard Sonos speaker when on Wi-Fi, or as a traditional Bluetooth speaker if you go away the home.

There’s additionally a characteristic referred to as Sound Swap on the Sonos Roam (not on the Roam SL although) the place you push and maintain the play/pause button to ship the music enjoying on Roam to the closest Sonos speaker. The Sonos One, One SL and Roam SL can obtain the music from Roam if they’re closest and they’ll proceed enjoying no matter tunes you had been listening to.

The Sonos One and One SL do not have Bluetooth connectivity and so they do not supply Sound Swap, however they will each be grouped with a Sonos Arc, Beam, Beam (Gen 2), Playbar or Playbase and Sonos SUB to behave as surrounds and there are some great Sonos accessories that make inserting them pretty and easy. The Roam nor the Roam SL will be grouped with a Sonos soundbar or the Sonos Sub or Sub Mini.

{Hardware}

The Sonos Roam and Roam SL characteristic two Class-H digital amplifiers, one tweeter and one mid-woofer beneath their hoods. There’s additionally Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on board each fashions, whereas the Roam has a far-field microphone array too.

The Sonos One and One SL have two Class-D amplifiers, a tweeter and a mid-woofer. The One additionally has a far-field microphone array – the One SL does not – and so they each have Wi-Fi on board, however no Bluetooth capabilities. All 4 audio system supply Apple AirPlay 2 support.

When it comes to sound output, the Sonos One delivers just a little additional than the Roam and Roam SL, however the Roam is a superb sounding speaker for its measurement and all audio system don’t have any downside filling a normal room with sound. In addition they all sound nice so that you’re unlikely to be disillusioned with any of them on this division.

Sonos Roam vs Sonos One: Which do you have to purchase?

The choice between the Sonos Roam, Roam SL, Sonos One and Sonos One SL will come all the way down to what you need your speaker to ship.

The Roam provides the perfect of each worlds, supplying you with a wonderful multi-room Sonos speaker when on Wi-Fi and a very good Bluetooth speaker when out and about – whether or not you go for the Roam or Roam SL. The usual Roam additionally has some nice options, like Sound Swap, computerized Trueplay tuning and Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa help.

Sonos Roam

Our best choice

The Sonos Roam is tremendous moveable, filled with options and it sounds nice, It additionally provides the perfect of each worlds, delivering a conveyable Bluetooth speaker and a normal Sonos Wi-Fi speaker in a single.

Sonos / Pocket-lint

Sonos Roam SL

Nice worth

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

The One is a bit more costly and it is not moveable, although it delivers just a little additional punch when it comes to sound in comparison with Roam, two will be grouped with a Sonos soundbar and Sub or Sub Mini and used as surrounds (which Roam cannot) and it nonetheless has some nice options regardless of being older now, just like the good assistant help and handbook Trueplay.

Sonos / Pocket-lint

Sonos One

Nice efficiency

When you’re searching for nice sound efficiency and you are not bothered about your speaker being moveable, the Sonos One is a superb possibility.

The One SL in the meantime, delivers the identical sound capabilities because the One, nevertheless it is not a wise speaker and the identical goes for the Roam SL regarding the Roam. You’d choose the One SL in case you wished a small Sonos speaker however you are not bothered about portability or having Google or Alexa, or if you need two as surrounds to your Beam or Arc. You’d choose the Roam SL in case you wished a small and moveable Sonos speaker that sounds nice however does not have all of the options on supply.

Sonos / Pocket-lint

Sonos One SL

Nice worth

For these searching for nice sound efficiency and a non-portable or Bluetooth speaker, the Sonos One SL is nice worth. It does not have good assistants just like the One, however in any other case it is the identical.