Sonos Roam 2 vs ERA 100: Which should I buy?

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Sonos has several speaker options in its portfolio, ranging from the smallest Sonos Roam 2 to the largest Sonos Five.

The Roam 2 was announced alongside the company’s first foray into headphones with the Sonos Ace, replacing the original Roam with a similar design and sound architecture.

On the other hand, the Sonos Era 100 is the smallest non-portable speaker in the lineup, but it has Bluetooth functionality, even if you can’t take it outside the home.

But what are the other differences?

We compared Sonos Roam 2 and Sonos Era 100 to help you solve the right thing for you.

Sonos Roam 2 vs ERA 100: Price

The Sonos Roam 2 was announced in May 2024, and costs the same as its predecessor at $179/£179. Available in five color options: black, white, sunset, waves and olive.

The Sonos Era 100 was announced in March 2023 and is more expensive than the Roam 2 at $249/£249. There is a black and white option.

Sonos Roam 2 vs ERA 100: Design

The Sonos Roam 2 is smaller than the ERA 100, and is actually quite small. The ERA 100 measures 182.5 x 120 x 130.5mm, while the Roam 2 is 168 x 62 x 60mm, so the ERA 100 is about twice the depth and width.

The ERA 100 also requires a certain amount of power, but the Roam 2 needs to run off the battery and charge it.

The biggest difference between the ERA 100 and the Roam 2 is that the Roam 2 is portable and offers IP67 water and dust resistance.

There are also slightly different controls on the top, with physical buttons that are easy to use, for example when your hands are wet or sandy.

There is a microphone mute button above the ERA 100 and a microphone hardware switch on the back. There is also a Bluetooth button on the back, but the volume trough, skip, rewind and buttons are all sitting at the top.

Roam 2 has a play/pause button, up/down volume, and mute microphone buttons. There is a Bluetooth and a power button on the back.

The ERA 100 is cylindrical in shape and, as mentioned above, comes in white and black options. The Roam 2 is a triangular prism shape and comes in five color options including black SND white.

Sonos Roam 2 vs ERA 100: Features

The Sonos Era 100 and Roam 2 offer similar features, especially when connected to Wi-Fi. It can be grouped with other Sonos speakers, has support for over 100 streaming services, and there are a variety of settings that can be adjusted through the Sonos app, including Eq.

Both the Roam 2 and ERA 100 offer Alexa support so you can play music with your voice, ask about the weather, control your smart home devices, and add them to your shopping list.

They both have Sonos voice control that allows them to control the speaker itself.

There is no Google Assistant like the original Sonos Roam or Sonos One, but you can use Alexa and Sonos Voice Control together.

Elsewhere in the feature, both the Roam 2 and the Sonos Era 100 can act independently or as part of the Sonos system, allowing the two to pair: Stereo Sound.

The ERA 100 provides stereo sound in mono as a single box, but if there are two, the left and right channels are displayed. You can also use two ERA 100 speakers as surround for Sonos Soundbars such as Arc, Arc Ultra, or Beam (Gen 2). What you can do with Roam2.

However, since Roam 2 is offered as a feature called Sound Swap, you can press and hold the Play/Pause button to transfer audio from Roam 2 to your nearest Sonos speaker when you’re inside.

It also acts as a traditional Bluetooth speaker outside of a Wi-Fi network, allowing you to bypass the Sonos app and pair it directly to your device.

Both speakers feature Apple’s AirPlay 2 technology, and the ERA 100 also offers Bluetooth functionality, but as mentioned above, it remains plugged in.

The ERA 100 also has a USB-C line-in, which allows you to connect a turntable or another device, for example, but you will need to purchase a line-in adapter separately.

Sonos Roam 2 vs ERA 100: Performance

When it comes to sound, the Sonos Era 100 is the top of these two speakers, offering three Class D digital amplifiers, two angled tweeters and one midwoofer. It offers excellent sound performance that doesn’t matter how to fill your average room with sound.

The Roam 2 comes with two Class H digital amplifiers, one tweeter and one mid woofer. It should still provide great sound for its size, but like the original roaming, it is not expected to be as impressive as the ERA 100. If you want a great portable sound, it’s worth considering the slightly larger Sonos Move 2.

For both the Roam 2 and the ERA 100, the ERA 100 is a manual issue, and the Roam 2 is automatic. This means that the Roam 2 will automatically adjust the sound around it, but the ERA 100 requires you to perform Trueplay tuning technology.

There are quick tuning options that use the microphone that comes with the ERA 100, or advanced options that require a few extra minutes of iOS devices.

As mentioned before, the ERA 100 needs to be permanently connected to power, but the Roam 2 has a built-in battery that provides up to 10 hours of continuous playback before charging.

Sonos Roam 2 vs ERA 100: Which is right for you?

The Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Roam 2 are both great options and share many of the same features, but there are some differences. The biggest difference is that the Roam 2 is portable, comes in several colors, is waterproof and offers sound swaps.

Meanwhile, the ERA 100 requires constant power, has better sound performance than the Roam 2, and can be used as a surround sound speaker with a Sonos Soundbar, providing USB line-in. The ERA 100 is also larger than the Roam 2, offering more capacitive control than physical control.

The decision between the Sonos Era 100 and the Roam 2 depends on whether you need a small portable Sonos speaker that can be tied to the Sonos system but can go outside, or whether you need the best small Sonos speakers for sound. For the former, select Roam 2. For the latter, select ERA 100.

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