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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

Sonos Roam/Roam SL vs IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sonos Roam/Roam SL
IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 11, 2024 07:27 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Feb 26, 2024 08:28 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Picture
IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf Picture
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Variants

  • Roam (Lunar White)
  • Roam SL (Lunar White)
  • Roam (Olive)
  • Roam (Shadow Black)
  • Roam SL (Shadow Black)
  • Roam (Sunset)
  • Roam (Wave)
  • SYMFONISK Bookshelf (Black)
  • SYMFONISK Bookshelf (White)

Our Verdict

Sonos Roam/Roam SL

IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf

The Sonos Roam/Roam SL is a better speaker than the IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf overall, though you may prefer one over the other depending on your listening habits. The Sonos is an incredibly portable Bluetooth speaker with outstanding voice assistant support, as long as you purchase the Roam variant. The IKEA can produce a deeper low bass than the Sonos. It can also get louder with fewer compression artifacts at max volume, so your audio sounds cleaner at louder volume settings.

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Lunar White
Roam
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Black
SYMFONISK Bookshelf
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Lunar White
Roam SL
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White
SYMFONISK Bookshelf
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Shadow Black
Roam
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Shadow Black
Roam SL
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.3
6.7

Dynamics 
 

5.4
7.2

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.7
6.9

Soundstage 
 

6.1
5.6

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Style Photo
IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.4
5.3

Dimensions Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Dimensions Photo
IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

39 in³ (632 cm³)
288 in³ (4,727 cm³)

Weight 
 

0.9 lbs (0.4 kg)
4.6 lbs (2.1 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
AC Only

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

8.5
6.4

Build Quality Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Build Quality Photo
IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
No

Dust Resistance 
 

Dust-Proof (IP6x)
No

Impact Resistance 
 

Yes (IK rating unspecified)
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
No
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
6.4

Controls Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Controls Photo
IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Controls Photo 2
IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Decent

Feedback 
 

Great
Okay

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL In The Box Photo
IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.7
6.9

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.06
1.56

Std. Err. 
 

3.58 dB
4.02 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

62.6 Hz
49.7 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

18.0 kHz
18.8 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 
 

6.1
5.6

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

3.49 dB
4.47 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

5.4
7.2

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

83.8 dB SPL
89.2 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

4.26 dB
1.80 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

5.4
0.0

Battery Life 
 

5.1 hrs
N/A

Charge Time 
 

3.4 hrs
N/A

Power Saving 
 

Yes
No

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
No Battery

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

9.4
0.0

Alexa 
 

Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)
No

Google Assistant 
 

Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)
No

Speakerphone 
 

No
No

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
No

Voice Activation 
 

Yes
No

Microphone Mute 
 

Yes
No Microphone

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
No Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Great
No Microphone
Show Text 

App 
 

9.3
9.3

App Picture  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL App Picture
IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf App Picture

App Name 
 

Sonos S2
Sonos S2

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
Bass/Treble

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

7.3
0.0

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
No

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.0
No Bluetooth

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

117 ms
N/A

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

201 ms
N/A

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
N/A

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

8.3
7.6

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Wi-Fi 5
Wi-Fi 4

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz & 5GHz
2.4GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

-2 ms
-14 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
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Lunar White
Roam
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Black
SYMFONISK Bookshelf
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Lunar White
Roam SL
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White
SYMFONISK Bookshelf
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Shadow Black
Roam
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Shadow Black
Roam SL
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Sonos Roam/Roam SL

IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf

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Sonos Roam/Roam SL vs IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf: Main Discussion

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