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Mic drop! Sonos Roam SL is a cheaper portable speaker for the Alexa averse
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Sonos has released a variant of its popular battery-poweredSonos Roamspeaker, which seems ideal for audio lovers with no need for a voice assistant like Alexa or Google Assistant.
The £159 Sonos Roam SL is identical to the existing Roam model, but has ditched the microphones that make it possible to use voice services and the company’s room mapping feature Auto TruePlay.
However, for those using the speaker at home and on the go, the option to save £20 on the £179 RRP of the original Sonos Roam may make this a compelling proposition.
Elsewhere the Sonos Roam SL maintains all of the features associated with the original battery-powered Roam, including that rich sound and clarity that defies the portable build.
The SL retains the ability to automatically switch between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth depending on where you’re at, while there’s 10 hours of continuous playback available via the battery.
It’s also prepared for the rough and tumble world outside of the safety of the home, thanks to the IP67 water and dust proof rating and tactile buttons that can reduce accidental presses in your backpack.
Indeed the Sonos Roam remains one of our absolute favourite Bluetooth speakers on the market. It earned a five star review fromTrusted Reviewswhen it arrived last spring.
Our TV and Audio Editor Kob Monney praised the excellent and natural sound, excellent build quality and ease of use. He was also excited about the reduced footprint compared to thegigantic Sonos Move speaker, which turned out to be somewhat of an oxymoron
In his review, he concluded: “Sonos’ Roam is the portable speaker we thought the Move could be. As a cheaper, smaller alternative to the bigger speaker, it boasts excellent sound quality, an impressive list of features, and a build quality that will help it survive outdoors.”
The Sonos Roam SL is available to pre-order now from Sonos.com.
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Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA. …
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
