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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Bose SoundLink Color II vs Sonos Roam/Roam SL

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose SoundLink Color II
Sonos Roam/Roam SL

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Feb 26, 2024 02:36 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 11, 2024 07:27 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Bose SoundLink Color II Picture
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Picture

Variants

  • SoundLink Color II (Aqua Blue)
  • SoundLink Color II (Citron)
  • SoundLink Color II (Coral Red)
  • SoundLink Color II (Polar White)
  • SoundLink Color II (Soft Black)
  • Roam (Lunar White)
  • Roam SL (Lunar White)
  • Roam (Olive)
  • Roam (Shadow Black)
  • Roam SL (Shadow Black)
  • Roam (Sunset)
  • Roam (Wave)

Our Verdict

Bose SoundLink Color II

Sonos Roam/Roam SL

The Sonos Roam/Roam SL is a better speaker than the Bose SoundLink Color II overall. With its room correction feature enabled, the Sonos offers a better-balanced sound profile that can produce a more extended low bass than the Bose. Its Roam variant also offers outstanding voice assistant support with Alexa and Google Assistant built-in. That said, you can pair the Bose to two devices simultaneously, which can be useful if you need to quickly switch between audio sources. It can also get slightly louder than the Sonos with less compression at max volume, resulting in cleaner audio at louder volumes.

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Aqua Blue
SoundLink Color II
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Lunar White
Roam
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Citron
SoundLink Color II
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Lunar White
Roam SL
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Coral Red
SoundLink Color II
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Polar White
SoundLink Color II
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Shadow Black
Roam
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Soft Black
SoundLink Color II
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Shadow Black
Roam SL
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Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.0
6.3

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.9
6.7

EQ 
 

No
Bass/Treble

Soundstage 
 

6.9
6.1

Dynamics 
 

6.3
5.4

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II Style Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No

Show text

Portability 
 

9.3
9.4

Dimensions Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II Dimensions Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

56 in³ (917 cm³)
39 in³ (632 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)
0.9 lbs (0.4 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.0
8.5

Build Quality Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II Build Quality Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

Water-resistant (IPx4)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Yes (IK rating unspecified)

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Show text

Controls 
 

8.0
8.0

Controls Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II Controls Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bose SoundLink Color II Controls Photo 2
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Bose SoundLink Color II In The Box Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL In The Box Photo

Show text

Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.9
6.7

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

0.15
-0.06

Std. Err. 
 

3.11 dB
3.58 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

88.5 Hz
62.6 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

7.1 kHz
18.0 kHz

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

6.9
6.1

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

5.94 dB
3.49 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)

Show text

Dynamics 
 

6.3
5.4

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

84.4 dB SPL
83.8 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.41 dB
4.26 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

7.9
5.4

Battery Life 
 

9.7 hrs
5.1 hrs

Charge Time 
 

4.2 hrs
3.4 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

Micro-USB
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Voice Assistant 
 

5.1
9.4

Alexa 
 

No
Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)

Google Assistant 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)

Speakerphone 
 

Yes
No

Siri 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

No
Yes

Microphone Mute 
 

No
Yes

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
Excellent

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Great
Great

Show text

App 
 

6.6
9.3

App Picture  

Bose SoundLink Color II App Picture
Sonos Roam/Roam SL App Picture

App Name 
 

Bose Connect
Sonos S2

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

No
Bass/Treble

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

No
Yes

Show text

Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No

Show text

Bluetooth 
 

8.9
7.3

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

Unspecified
5.0

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

43 ms
117 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

118 ms
201 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
No

Show text

Wi-Fi 
 

0.0
8.3

Wi-Fi Version 
 

No Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 5

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

No Wi-Fi
2.4GHz & 5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

No
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

No
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

N/A
-2 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

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Aqua Blue
SoundLink Color II
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Lunar White
Roam
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Citron
SoundLink Color II
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Lunar White
Roam SL
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Coral Red
SoundLink Color II
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Polar White
SoundLink Color II
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Shadow Black
Roam
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Soft Black
SoundLink Color II
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Shadow Black
Roam SL
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Bose SoundLink Color II

Sonos Roam/Roam SL

Comments

  1. Comparison

Bose SoundLink Color II vs Sonos Roam/Roam SL: Main Discussion

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