Sonos Launches a Cheaper Version of the Roam Bluetooth Speaker

When it first released last year, the Sonos Roam was the audio tech company’s first truly wireless and portable speaker. It delivered some excellent performance and included some helpful features like wireless charging, a waterproof exterior, and voice-control capabilities. We continue to be impressed by the speaker but there were definitely some drawbacks including a quickly draining battery and a relatively hefty price tag when compared to other Bluetooth speakers. Sonos is remedying at least one of those concerns with the new Roam SL. While the Roam SL still includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi audio streaming as well as the same top-tier engineering we’d expect from Sonos, it sacrifices the built-in microphone. But, Sonos has knocked $20 off the price tag of the original Roam as compensation. Plus, if you don’t particularly care to use Alexa or other voice-controlled apps then it isn’t a significant drawback. The Sonos SL is available exclusively through Sonos for $159.