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Hands-On With the New Sonos Roam Speaker

hlfway2anywhere said:
Roon sounds like a cumbersome niche product honestly. Reading the website and forums didn’t sell me on it at all. “Real audiophiles” have way more time and money to replace their entire music library with HiRes audio files and receiving devices than I have I guess.
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Yeah, that's why I went with Sonos. It's a mass market device that simple and easy to use with a "good enough" (to my ears) quality. I don't have any hi-res music, I just use Spotify and am not looking to pay for Tidal, etc. And I wanted something that can be used as well as a soundbar and set of speakers to go with my TV.

I probably could have gone cheaper but with less flexibility (not as easy to have whole home sound), or more expensive with higher quality but more hassle (dealing with receivers, amps, etc.), but Sonos just fit that sweet spot for me.
 
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Use my sound link for years now - still outstanding. Thinking about using this roam as small and -compared to the other speakers not as pricey- bathroom speaker in an all Sonos environment.
 
Came here to read comments about this speaker but instead I see YT thumbnail fighting. I agree, it's stupid but that's what stupid people like to click on.

Now about that smart speaker, Apple used to make a wonderful device called the HomePod...
 
I've been looking for a while for a good mini speaker, but I've gotten leery of reviews. When they say "good sound quality" it often means "big bass", which is not at all what I need. I want clarity and resolution and being able to hear everything clearly separated and not muddy. I miss my old Sonic Impact iPod player.
 
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Already pre-ordered mine, the only things I don't like is the Sonos logo could be a bit more subtle (I got the white version so less of a problem) and no Siri/HomeKit voice control integration.

Edit: The speaker is good in terms of sound quality and design, but the one thing I hate about it is the battery life on standby is awful. There should at least be an option to turn itself off after X minutes of inactivity.
 
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Did anyone happen to get a screenshot of the original thumbnail. Would really like to see the original source of derision.
Edit: I found a cache, and it's better than I imagined!
 

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Price aside, this would make a great wireless speaker solution for the ipad. Too bad they blasted SONOS over it, I don't want a sonos branded work-station. I wonder if the lettering is removable
 
hlfway2anywhere said:
Roon sounds like a cumbersome niche product honestly. Reading the website and forums didn’t sell me on it at all. “Real audiophiles” have way more time and money to replace their entire music library with HiRes audio files and receiving devices than I have I guess.
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Go to a local audio expo. In Chicago the big one is call Axpona. Almost every major city has one. A majority of the listening rooms will have Roon. Give it a listen. With most systems it makes Sonus sound like a little battery operated AM radio. The bit of time it takes to set up, which is not much, is well worth it. You don't need to replace anything. Just get a Tidal or Qobuz account and you're good to go.

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steevn said:
We have Sonos throughout our home and I still find this hard to justify purchasing, and honestly a little scary that this was Sonos big announcement recently.

Does Sonos really feel they have nowhere else to go and are moving to portable Bluetooth speakers?
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I would caveat that this is not a portable Bluetooth speaker. It is a waterproof portable Bluetooth speaker that can create a stereo pair over Bluetooth or airplay, integrates with a multi-room WiFi/airplay system, and includes voice assistants and nearly every streaming service in a fairly robust operating system with a nice user interface.

I do not own this one (yet) but I will bet that the sound (based on my other Sonos devices) and battery life (based on the Move) are incredible.
 
MidwestMacGuy said:
Go to a local audio expo. In Chicago the big one is call Axpona. Almost every major city has one. A majority of the listening rooms will have Roon. Give it a listen. With most systems it makes Sonus sound like a little battery operated AM radio. The bit of time it takes to set up, which is not much, is well worth it. You don't need to replace anything. Just get a Tidal or Qobuz account and you're good to go.

​

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Ok. But what are you selling me on? The Roon software or the audiophile equipment that complements the software? When it comes to SONOS, everyone has their own opinion (rightfully so) to the point where it's like people completely miss the point of SONOS or even perhaps overly-complicate things.

I am not saying you are wrong about Roon, in fact you could be 100% right - but you are trying to recommend something that SONOS buyers really do not care about. SONOS is the go-to, multi-room audio solution - you get the hardware and software out of the box.

Can I use Roon with compatible SONOS speakers, sure but who is going to do that and to what level of improvement? An audiophile isn't going to buy SONOS so rule them out, everyone else is the casual listener where sound quality isn't a high priority.

Like a previous post stated, Roon is targeting a very small group of people. Wireless audio has come a very long way, but none of the people I know who are heavily invested in audio equipment refuse to play anything wirelessly or via streaming.
 
jumanji said:
i have the sonos 3 with 2 sonos 1 and I love them. i have been looking for a standalone speaker and was leaning towards the homepod mini. the mini also got great reviews. what's the difference? Is it just portability?
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Also waterproof. Sounds like it can make stereo pairs with other speakers from the same company (not just other Roams; isn’t HomePod limited to pairing with similar HomePod, ie mini to mini?). More voice assistants (isn’t HomePod limited to Siri?)
 
MidwestMacGuy said:
From an equipment manufacturer standpoint, maybe. But if you're looking for multi room sound, I suggest trying Roon. Certainly Roon, as a software product, is in another league. But what Roon brings to the table is it is hardware agnostic. There are scores of high-end audio makers that have certifiied their products as Roon Ready. As such, you can mix and match systems in a way that suits your tastes and at a level of sound quality that Sonos can't begin to match. Serious audiophiles won't touch Sonos with a ten-foot pole, but most of them use Roon. Roon is the gold standard.
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My guess is the people buying Roon equipment aren’t looking to grab a speaker on their way out to the pool.
 
Wonder if Denon will respond with their own offering. I bought into the HEOS ecosystem instead of Sonos and it’s largely the same but I would like a small, waterproof speaker with HEOS capabilities.

I bought an UltimateEars Megablast a year or two ago and its Wi-Fi chip is terrible. Constantly disconnects from Wi-Fi, music buffering happens all the time and it is is generally just a pain to use over Wi-Fi. Sounds good but the software is complete junk.
 
Any one know of a good speaker to listen to "voice/reading" content and not music? A lot of them has this stereo/bass thing going on that makes it have an echo or hallow feel.
 
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PortableHomepod said:
Price aside, this would make a great wireless speaker solution for the ipad. Too bad they blasted SONOS over it, I don't want a sonos branded work-station. I wonder if the lettering is removable
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You might at least be able to colour it black with a black indelible marker pen or similar to make it less noticeable. I’ve done that with great results on a raincoat I really liked except for the fact that the buttons had white writing on them advertising the brand. I really don’t like visible branding and avoid or remove it wherever possible/practical.
 
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dumoore said:
Did anyone happen to get a screenshot of the original thumbnail. Would really like to see the original source of derision.
Edit: I found a cache, and it's better than I imagined!
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OMG thank you for doing this!
 
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JulianL said:
You might at least be able to colour it black with a black indelible marker pen or similar to make it less noticeable. I’ve done that with great results on a raincoat I really liked except for the fact that the buttons had white writing on them advertising the brand. I really don’t like visible branding and avoid or remove it wherever possible/practical.
Click to expand...

I might check out a retail version and see if it's removable - it looks like it's 3d lettering glued on. If not I'll just bite the bullet and get two b&o p6 for like a grand LOL
 
steevn said:
We have Sonos throughout our home and I still find this hard to justify purchasing, and honestly a little scary that this was Sonos big announcement recently.

Does Sonos really feel they have nowhere else to go and are moving to portable Bluetooth speakers?
Click to expand...
Portable bluetooth and wifi speakers... fills a niche I was looking for.
 
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