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Sonos is a leading American audio technology company that is best known for pioneering wireless multi-room audio systems, which make it easy for listeners to stream music and other content throughout their homes. The company continues to innovate, creating wireless speakers, home theatre systems, headphones, architectural components, and integrated home audio solutions that revolutionize how people listen and connect to sound.

Global Head of Editorial

Everything we make is intentionally designed to be easy to set up, control, and enjoy. But the Sonos experience can be as rich and multilayered as you’d like. To make sure you’re getting the most out of your Sonos products, we present the ‘Essential Guide’ series.

When we set out to create our second portable speaker, there was only one thing we 

 want you to do with it: leave it in your bag or a drawer. That meant we had to ensure that the experience was as impressive on the go as we knew it would be at home. The result: 

Whether you’re brand new to Sonos or a long-time owner, the ‘Essential Guide’ series is for you. If Roam is your first Sonos speaker, start from the beginning. We’ll take you through the entire Sonos journey step by step, from setting up Roam to some of the more advanced features possible when you group Roam with other Sonos speakers. If you’re a long-time owner, feel free to look around. Hopefully you’ll learn something new about Roam or rediscover features you haven’t used in a while. Ready? Let’s get into it.

As our smallest and most portable speaker to date, Roam was designed to be enjoyed outside the home. So when it came time to create Roam’s colour palette, we naturally drew inspiration from the places you’ll listen and the stunning scenery you’ll see along the way. The result: Olive, Wave, and Sunset.

Influenced by lush landscapes, coastal beaches, and evening skies, Roam’s colours are the perfect addition to any listening on the go. Complement your outdoor style as you chase new experiences close to home or thousands of miles away. And when it’s time to return home, accent the interiors of your space with a shade that blends in or stands out.

If you prefer the simplicity of neutral tones, Roam is also available in Shadow Black and 

. When you’ve decided which colour is best for you, it’s time to get set up.

Once you get a hold of Roam, the first thing you’ll need to do is 

. If you’ve already started your system, then you know how easy this is. With Roam, we’ve made it even easier.

The Sonos app automatically detects Roam and connects to WiFi in seconds. Just make sure Roam is turned on (by pressing the power button on the back of the speaker) or plugged in to power via the USB-C cable, and that you’ve downloaded the Sonos S2 app for 

. The app will walk you through a couple of steps, and in a matter of minutes, you'll be ready to play.

With Roam, we’ve created a ground-breaking packaging system that sets a new standard for our environmental sustainability. We removed single-use plastics from Roam’s box, document envelope, tear strips, and labels; developed a sustainably-sourced custom kraft paper; and replaced all internal components with paper pulp. According to Michelle Enright, Head of Packaging Experience, “We wanted the unboxing to feel like it’s your birthday.”

You can learn more about our recent efforts and current progress in reducing the environmental footprint of our products 

Roam can be placed horizontally or vertically. When vertical, it has the smallest footprint of any of our speakers—less than 2.5 inches at its widest. And the shallow depth of Roam’s charging cable allows it to be placed as close as possible to a wall or in a corner.

Horizontally, Roam is designed for stability on uneven surfaces like grass or sand. Plus, the volume buttons are strategically placed to make sure that turning the volume up and down is intuitive, regardless of how it’s oriented.

The Sonos app is like having a control panel for your speaker (and your entire system) in the palm of your hand. Once you’ve learned a few simple icons, you’ll be able to navigate through the app easily. Find a complete tutorial on using the app 

Below are a few of our most popular features that will help you quickly find your favourites or discover something new.


Even with millions of songs, albums, books, and podcasts at our fingertips, we often find ourselves going back to those handful of favourites over and over again. Save them to “My Sonos” as you explore and then just tap the star icon in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen to quickly access all the content you love.


Tap the magnifying glass icon in the toolbar to search by artist, song, album, playlist, station, genre, composer, and more.


When you’re not sure exactly what you want to listen to, tap the music note icon at the bottom of the screen, and let 

 or your favourite music service lead you down a path of music discovery.

Sonos Radio is our free radio service for all Sonos owners. Access thousands of radio stations from around the world, listen to 

, discover new music, and enjoy original content free from the Sonos app. You can also preview stations and 

Tune in to Sonos Sound System, our signature station, to learn stories behind the music, find new artists, and hear the latest releases. Or check out exclusive stations curated by music icons including Thom Yorke, Brittany Howard, and Lorde. Follow 

 on Instagram for the latest, including fascinating deep dives into radio culture.

And if you want to listen in high-definition, ad-free, and with access to even more original content, including stations curated by Ghostface Killah, Björk, FKA twigs, and Blacksmith Radio, check out 

The Sonos system was designed to be flexible and adjust to the way you listen—not the other way around. And as omnipresent as phones are in our lives, sometimes it’s really nice to put them down and forget about them. But that shouldn’t mean the music has to stop too.

All of our speakers have touch controls that allow you to control your system without the use of the app. Here is a quick primer on how to control Roam using just the buttons:

Press once to put Roam to sleep and preserve battery life. Wake Roam by pressing any button when you’re ready to listen again.

Press and hold for two seconds until you hear the chime and the status light turns blue to 

 (Make sure you complete Roam’s setup at home beforehand.)

Press and hold for five seconds to completely power down Roam.

Press three times to replay the last track.

Press and hold until you hear the second tone to group Sonos speakers around your home.

Press and hold until you hear the third tone to use 

. With Sound Swap, you can send sound to and from your nearest Sonos speaker. (Think of it as if sound were a ball. You can throw the ball to a friend. Or, if they already have the ball, ask them to throw it to you.)

Press the + button to turn the volume up.

Press the - button to turn the volume down.

You know those moments when you’re listening to a song or watching a video on your phone and you realize that you want to hear it with great sound...immediately? 

 allows you to stream whatever is playing on your phone out loud on a nearby speaker. Although Bluetooth is incredibly convenient when you’re on the go, in general, it’s best to be connected via WiFi when you’re at home. Roam can automatically switch between the two, prioritizing WiFi when you’re within range of your home network.

But occasionally, there is content on your phone that cannot be played on your Sonos system via WiFi. Until now. Roam unlocks Bluetooth audio for your entire system. Just group Roam with other speakers and start streaming to Roam via Bluetooth. The sound will play on all of the grouped speakers.

Partial to a particular app? If you want to stream to Sonos without leaving your favourite app, you have some options.

Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, Pandora, and other services all let you 

. Just look for the button that allows you to play to an external speaker.

And if you have an iOS device, including iPhone and iPad, or a Mac, you can play sounds from your favourite apps out loud on Sonos 

When you want to set a timer, turn up the volume, or know how many cups are in a quart, 

 is the quickest, easiest route. Especially if your hands are covered in dough.

When on WiFi, Roam allows you to use either Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to control your Sonos system. The light on top of Roam signals that the microphones are on and that your voice assistant is ready to respond.

Not into voice assistants? The microphone light is hard-wired, meaning that when you press the microphone button and the light goes off, you can be certain that the microphone is off.

While smart speakers are a convenient addition to any home, we understand that they’re not for everyone. 

 comes microphone-free so you can focus more on the music and worry less about privacy.

Roam is small. Its sound is not. That’s because we engineered it from the inside out to deliver astonishingly rich sound despite its compact size. The custom-designed racetrack woofer maximizes low-end output, while the high-efficiency neodymium motor increases power.

With sound, so much depends on the environment in which you’re listening. If you’re listening in a cozy room with thick carpet and tons of pillows, it’s going to sound a lot different than if you’re listening in a wide-open grassy field. Our auto Trueplay technology dynamically adapts the sound for each unique environment. This ensures that Roam sounds great no matter where you’re listening.

Stereo pairing is one of those terms that can sound really complicated and techy, but in reality, it’s just awesome. Here’s the basic idea: a lot of music is recorded with two channels—left and right. So let’s say a song is mixed with more guitar in the left channel and more bass in the right channel. When you listen to that song through a single speaker, the two channels are combined. You can still hear both the guitar and the bass, but with a bit less detail than you would if they had been kept separate.

But when you play that same song through two 

 (while on WiFi), you give it space and breadth. Ultimately, this allows you to appreciate the song with all the richness and nuance from when it was originally recorded.

Roam comes with a USB-C charger that fits snugly against the back of the speaker, whether vertical or horizontal. Or you can simply drop it on any Qi-compatible charger.

Roam can continuously play for up to 10 hours on a single charge. To get the most out of your battery life, open the Sonos app and make sure the 

 setting is on. This will automatically power off your speaker when it’s been idle for 30 minutes. When you’re ready to play again, just press the power button. (We recommend keeping Roam plugged into power when you’re home so that it’s always charged up and ready to go.)

, a custom-designed charging accessory for Roam, perfectly extends the speaker’s form, enabling charging without increasing footprint.

All charged up? Good, let’s go outside.

Smaller than most water bottles and weighing less than a pound (430 grams), there aren’t many reasons 

 to bring Roam with you when you leave the house. Throw it in a carry on bag, stash it in a cup holder, or tuck it into a jacket pocket for great sound whenever you need it.

Roam’s concave end-caps serve three functions—preventing accidental button presses, providing a stable base when stood vertically, and increasing drop resistance. When in doubt, bring Roam.

With an IP67 rating, Roam is fully dustproof and waterproof, meaning that it can be submerged in one metre of water for up to 30 minutes. (And with tactile buttons, it’s easy to know which one to press—even when it’s wet.)

Leaky water bottles. Dusty trails. An unexpected dip in the pool. Roam plays on.

pioneered the multi-room listening experience

 with a simple vision: Help music lovers play any song anywhere in their homes.

The Essential Guide to Roam

Guest Writer

Every Sonos product, from our most powerful soundbar to our smallest portable speaker, is designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind. But we also offer countless ways to refine and personalize your sound. Whether you’re new to our products or consider yourself an expert, our ‘Essential Guide’ series is here to help you get the most out of your Sonos experience.

With the release of Ray, we’ve made it easier than ever to enjoy blockbuster sound at home. The compact and powerful soundbar connects to virtually any TV, works with all your streaming services, fits neatly in an enclosed space, and won’t blow your budget.

Whether you’re new to Sonos or adding Ray to an existing system, our ‘Essential Guide’ will help you get the most out of your new soundbar. If Ray is the start of your Sonos system, we’ll take you through the entire journey step by step, from unboxing and initial setup to advanced features, and the possibilities when you group Ray with other Sonos speakers. If you’re a longtime owner, then hopefully you’ll learn something new, or rediscover features you haven’t used in a while.

Once you’ve unboxed Ray, you’ll start by placing it under your TV (ideally one that’s 55” or less), neatly tucking it into a shelf, or mounting it to the wall with our 

. Despite its compact size, Ray provides a surprisingly wide soundstage that can easily fill a small or medium-sized room.

Ray comes with two cables: one for power, and one for connecting to the optical audio output from your TV. Once everything’s plugged in and powered on, open the Sonos app on your smartphone or tablet and follow the instructions to get Ray connected to your home WiFi network. If you’re not automatically prompted to start the setup process when you open the app, you can find it in 

The app will walk you through syncing your TV remote, but in case you skip that part of the process initially, you can go to 

User connecting optical cable to the back of a Sonos Ray

As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, Ray comes packaged in our custom uncoated kraft paper, which is designed to minimize the use of inks. The external box helps streamline shipments to reduce the carbon footprint, and the internal protection removes EPE foam from our supply chain. You can learn more about our sustainable packaging efforts and our broader ecological work 

The Sonos app offers full control of Ray (and your entire Sonos system) from the palm of your hand. You can find a complete tutorial on using the app 

, but below are a few of our favourite features:

Speech Enhancement — For more detailed dialogue, tap the speech bubble icon on the Now Playing screen. This will amplify voices while keeping sound effects, music, and all other audio at its normal level. You’ll never miss a word, even if you need to keep the volume down.

Night Sound — Not wanting to wake sleeping housemates or irritate neighbours? Tap the moon icon in the Now Playing screen to reduce the intensity of loud sound effects and enhance quieter ones, allowing you to enjoy crystal clear audio without disturbing others around you.

My Sonos — Even with millions of songs, albums, books, and podcasts at our fingertips, we often find ourselves going back to a handful of favourites over and over again. Save your most essential music to My Sonos and access it instantly by tapping the star icon at the bottom of the Sonos app.

Search — Tap the magnifying glass icon in the toolbar to search by artist, song, album, playlist, station, genre, and more.

Browse — When you’re not sure exactly what you want to listen to, tap the music note icon at the bottom of the screen and let Sonos Radio or your preferred music service lead you down a path of music discovery.

You can also stream to Ray over WiFi without leaving your favourite music app.

Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, Pandora, and other services all let you control your Sonos system directly. Just look for the speaker icon.

Alternatively, if you have an iOS device, including iPhone, iPad, or a Mac, you can stream audio from your device to Sonos via Apple AirPlay 2.

User operating the top panel buttons on a black Sonos Ray

User sitting on a bed watching TV with a black Sonos Ray

The Sonos system was designed to be flexible and adjust to the way you listen. And as omnipresent as phones are in our lives, sometimes it’s really nice to forget about them. That shouldn’t mean the music has to stop.

Ray is no different. Like all of our speakers, it has touch controls and buttons that allow you to manage your experience even when your device is not in reach.

Press the Play/Pause button once to mute the TV or pause and resume your music.

Press and hold the Play/Pause button to group Ray with your last active speaker.

Press the button to the right of Play/Pause to turn the volume up. Press the button to the left of Play/Pause to turn the volume down.

Swipe right across the touch controls to skip to the next track. Swipe left across the touch controls to play the previous track.

If you’d prefer to only control your Sonos system from the app, you can turn off each speaker’s touch controls. From the 

, choose Ray from the list of products, and then toggle 

Ray’s convenient size and zero-stress setup are only part of the story. What really sets it apart is its exceptional sound quality.

The custom acoustics include two powerful tweeters for clear highs, a pair of meticulously engineered elliptical woofers for full mid frequencies, and proprietary anti-distortion technology for perfectly weighted bass. Split waveguides project sound from wall to wall, and advanced processing accurately positions elements in the room so you feel like you’re at the centre of the action. Even better, our unique Trueplay™ software tunes your speakers to the precise acoustics of your space.

With sound, so much depends on the environment in which you’re listening. A cozy room with thick carpet and tons of pillows will reflect and absorb sound very differently than a larger space with bare walls and hard floors. The exact same speaker placed in those two spaces won’t sound the same, no matter how well it’s engineered.

With an iOS device, our Trueplay™ tuning technology will measure the effect that your room’s size, furnishings, and Ray’s placement have on what you hear, then fine-tune the audio output to make sure you hear everything as it was intended to sound.

You’ll be prompted to tune your speaker with Trueplay™ during setup. If you choose to wait, you can always come back to it later from the Settings menu. Tap 

, select Ray from the list of products, and then tap 

Ray is the perfect start to your Sonos home theatre.

On its own, Ray can make your shows, movies, and games sound fuller, with crisper dialogue and more impactful bass. But by adding rear Sonos speakers, you can experience 360-degree sound. Ambient effects like footsteps, whispers, and elements of the score will completely immerse you in the world on screen.

For an incredible surround sound experience, you can learn more about combining Ray with Sonos One or One SL in our guide to creating the ultimate home theatre experience 

. If you prefer your speakers to blend discreetly with your home decor, Ray also works beautifully with the 

Ray isn’t just designed to enhance your viewing experience, but to bring stunning high-res audio into your home, too. One of the best ways to do this is with Sonos Radio: our expertly-curated selection of stations designed to soundtrack everything from early-morning alarms to late-night partying. With exclusive stations curated by musical luminaries like Erykah Badu, Brian Eno, and The Chemical Brothers, as well as thousands of global radio stations and our own selection of Sleep Sounds to help you fall asleep, Sonos Radio brings you music for every moment.

Sonos pioneered multiroom listening with a simple vision: help music lovers play any song anywhere in their homes with exceptional sound quality.

But how we live in our homes constantly evolves. Sometimes sound is a shared experience with our friends, housemates, or partners, but sometimes we want a separate soundtrack in different rooms. And other times we want to take our music outside without breaking the flow. Adding multiple speakers to your Sonos system expands the possibilities for listening.

Adding a Sonos Roam to Ray is a perfect example of this. 

 on your device or in the Sonos app, you can pair whatever’s playing on your soundbar with our ultra portable smart speaker, taking your music from the heart of your home to the palm of your hand. From there, you can head to another room or leave your home without missing a beat.

If you want to explore how to expand your listening experience, visit 

A white Sonos Ray on a media console below a TV

The Essential Guide to Ray

 in 2018, we packed incredible power, dialogue clarity, and voice control into a surprisingly compact soundbar. With the new generation, we’ve added two additional speaker arrays, a precisely perforated grille, a faster, smarter chip, and an HDMI eARC connection for higher resolution audio formats, including Dolby Atmos.

Whether you’re brand new to Sonos or a longtime owner, the ‘Essential Guide’ series is for you. If 

 is your first Sonos speaker, start from the beginning. We’ll take you through the entire Sonos journey step by step, from setting up the product to some of the more advanced features possible when you group it with other Sonos speakers. If you’re a longtime owner, feel free to look around. Hopefully you’ll learn something new or rediscover features you haven’t used in awhile.

Once you’ve unboxed Beam, the first thing you’ll need to do is 

, starting by placing it on a piece of furniture below your TV or mounting it to the wall with 

Beam comes with two cords: one for power and one to connect the soundbar to your TV. (If your TV does not have an ARC or eARC port, use the included Optical Adapter.) Start by downloading the Sonos app to your smartphone or tablet, and follow the guided steps.

Connecting to WiFi is as simple as touching your mobile device to the near-field communication (NFC) tag on the top of the soundbar. The Sonos app will then guide you through syncing Beam with your TV remote and adding a streaming or voice service.

Woman sitting in front of TV with a white Beam

Beam (Gen 2) is the first Sonos Home Theatre product to launch with our new sustainable packaging, featuring a more compact box design to streamline shipments, premium uncoated kraft paper with illustrations that minimize the use of inks, removal of EPE foam, and a gift box made of sustainably sourced paper. To learn more about our sustainable packaging efforts, check out 

The Sonos app is like having a control panel for your speaker (and your entire system) in the palm of your hand. Once you’ve learned a few simple icons, you’ll be able to navigate the app easily. Find a complete tutorial on using the app 

—While your TV is on, tap the speech bubble icon on the Now Playing screen to amplify voices so you never miss a word and can always follow the story.

—Tap the moon icon on the Now Playing screen to reduce the intensity of loud effects and enhance quieter ones.

—Even with millions of songs, albums, books, and podcasts at our fingertips, we often find ourselves going back to those handful of favourites over and over again. Save them to 

 as you explore and then just tap the star icon in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen to quickly access all the content you love.

—Tap the magnifying glass icon in the toolbar to search by artist, song, album, playlist, station, genre, and more.

—When you’re not sure exactly what you want to listen to, tap the music note icon at the bottom of the screen, and let 

Dolby Atmos is an immersive sound technology that places you in the centre of the action, so you experience planes as if they're flying overhead, hear footsteps moving across the room, and feel the score all around you.

In order to enjoy Dolby Atmos on Beam, you’ll need to ensure that you have a TV that supports Dolby Atmos and Atmos-encoded content. To ensure you’re getting Dolby Atmos sound, check out 

All of our speakers have touch controls or buttons that allow you to manage your experience without the app.

Press the Play/Pause button once to play or pause content.

Press and hold the Play/Pause button to have Beam play what your last active speaker is currently playing.

Press the button to the left of Play/Pause to turn the volume down.

Press the button to the right of Play/Pause to turn the volume up.

Swipe right across the touch controls to skip to the next track.

Swipe left across the touch controls to play the previous track.

 You can also disable touch controls from the Sonos app. From the 

 from the list of products, and then toggle 

If you want to stream to Sonos without leaving your favourite app, you have some options.

Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, and other services all let you 

When you want to set a timer, turn on an episode of your newest streaming obsession, or find out how many cups are in a quart, just ask your 

assistant. Beam works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The light on top of Beam signals that the microphones are on and that your voice assistant is ready to respond. It’s also hardwired, so if the light is off you can be certain the microphone is off too.

With sound, so much depends on the environment in which you’re listening. If you’re in a cozy room with thick carpet and tons of pillows, your speaker is going to sound a lot different than if you’re listening in a larger space with more hard materials. With an iOS device, our 

 tuning technology will measure the effect that your room’s size, furnishings, and other surfaces have in relation to Beam’s placement, then fine-tune the soundbar to make sure it sounds exactly as it should.

You’ll be prompted to tune your speaker with Trueplay during setup. If you choose to wait, you can always come back to it later from the 

 from the list of products, and then tap 

Couple watching TV with Sonos home theatre

With Beam, your shows, movies, and games will sound fuller, the dialogue crisper, and the bass bolder. If you’d like to further expand your home theatre setup, you have two options.

 to your Home Theatre setup will give you bass you can feel. It also offloads the lower frequencies from Beam, so you can experience richer mid-range and high frequencies.

Connect two rear speakers for surround sound.

 When you add two matching speakers (Sonos 

The Essential Guide to Roam

The Essential Guide to Ray

The Essential Guide to Beam

How to Listen to Vinyl With Sonos

The Essential Guide to Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 100

The Essential Guide to Move 2

Home Office Help: Using Sonos to Get Motivated, Stay Focused, and Be Productive

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The Essential Guide to Roam

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The Essential Guide to Beam

How to Listen to Vinyl With Sonos

The Essential Guide to Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 100

The Essential Guide to Move 2

Home Office Help: Using Sonos to Get Motivated, Stay Focused, and Be Productive

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The Essential Guide to Ray