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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 JBL Flip 6

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sonos Roam/Roam SL
JBL Flip 6

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 11, 2024 07:27 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Feb 06, 2025 10:55 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Picture
JBL Flip 6 Picture
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. JBL

Variants

  • Roam (Lunar White)
  • Roam SL (Lunar White)
  • Roam (Olive)
  • Roam (Shadow Black)
  • Roam SL (Shadow Black)
  • Roam (Sunset)
  • Roam (Wave)
  • Flip 6 (Black)
  • Flip 6 (Blue)
  • Flip 6 (Green)
  • Flip 6 (Grey)
  • Flip 6 (Martin Garrix)
  • Flip 6 (Pink)
  • Flip 6 (Red)
  • Flip 6 (Squad)
  • Flip 6 (Teal)
  • Flip 6 (White)

Our Verdict

Sonos Roam/Roam SL

JBL Flip 6

The Sonos Roam/Roam SL and the JBL Flip 6 have different strengths. The Sonos comes with a Trueplay room correction feature, though it's currently only available with iOS devices. With Trueplay enabled, it produces a more extended low bass than the JBL. It's Wi-Fi-compatible and offers fantastic voice assistant support with Alexa and Google Assistant built-in. It also supports Apple AirPlay. However, the JBL can get a bit louder than the Sonos with less compression at max volume, resulting in cleaner audio at louder volumes. Its sound is more customizable, thanks to the graphic EQ in its JBL Portable app. It can also be paired to up to two devices at once, which is handy when you need to quickly switch between audio sources.

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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.3
6.4

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.7
6.5

Dynamics 
 

5.4
6.0

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Style Photo
JBL Flip 6 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.4
9.3

Dimensions Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Dimensions Photo
JBL Flip 6 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

39 in³ (632 cm³)
46 in³ (760 cm³)

Weight 
 

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

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

8.5
8.3

Build Quality Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Build Quality Photo
JBL Flip 6 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Great

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Dust-Proof (IP6x)
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

Yes (IK rating unspecified)
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
6.6

Controls Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Controls Photo
JBL Flip 6 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL Controls Photo 2
JBL Flip 6 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Good

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Forward Only (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL In The Box Photo
JBL Flip 6 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.7
6.5

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.06
-0.01

Std. Err. 
 

3.58 dB
2.78 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

62.6 Hz
75.5 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

18.0 kHz
17.5 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
6.3

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

3.49 dB
3.15 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

5.4
6.0

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

83.8 dB SPL
86.8 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

4.26 dB
3.78 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

5.4
6.0

Battery Life 
 

5.1 hrs
5.9 hrs

Charge Time 
 

3.4 hrs
2.2 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
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
7.9

App Picture  

Sonos Roam/Roam SL App Picture
JBL Flip 6 App Picture

App Name 
 

Sonos S2
JBL Portable

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
Graphic

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

7.3
8.0

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.0
5.1

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

117 ms
165 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

201 ms
168 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
210.0 ft (64.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

8.3
0.0

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Wi-Fi 5
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz & 5GHz
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
No

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
No

AirPlay Latency 
 

-2 ms
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Sonos Roam/Roam SL

JBL Flip 6

Comments

  1. Comparison

Sonos Roam/Roam SL vs JBL Flip 6: Main Discussion

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