Sonos Roam 2 vs Sony LinkBuds Speaker

Which Speaker Is Better?

Products

Sonos Roam 2
Sony LinkBuds Speaker

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Jun 20, 2025 05:20 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Feb 04, 2025 12:25 PM

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Amazon.com
  1. Recommended in 6 articles:
  2. Portable
  3. Small
  4. Waterproof Bluetooth
  5. 3

Our Verdict

Sonos Roam 2

Sony LinkBuds Speaker

The Sony LinkBuds Speaker and the Sonos Roam 2 are similarly sized speakers that target users of different brand ecosystems. If you're already invested in the Sonos ecosystem, then picking up a portable, waterproof speaker from the brand might make sense. It plays nicely with other Sonos speakers on your network and has an excellent build quality that will withstand heavy rain. On the other hand, if you have a pair of LinkBuds headphones, the Sony speaker is the obvious choice because you can set it up so that as soon as you put your headphones away, audio starts playing back from your speaker. If you're invested in neither brand's ecosystem, here's a simple rubric: the Sonos is a more outdoorsy speaker, and the Sony is more of a homebody. 

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Variants

  • Roam 2 (Black)
  • Roam 2 (Olive)
  • Roam 2 (Sunset)
  • Roam 2 (Wave)
  • Roam 2 (White)
  • LinkBuds Speaker (Light Grey)
  • LinkBuds Speaker (White)

Check Price

White
Roam 2
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
White
LinkBuds Speaker
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Roam 2
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Light Grey
LinkBuds Speaker
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Olive
Roam 2
Amazon.com
 
Sunset
Roam 2
Amazon.com
 
Wave
Roam 2
Amazon.com
 

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.5
6.3

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.7
6.5

Dynamics 
 

6.1
5.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.4
9.3

Dimensions Photo  

Volume 
 

39 in³ (632 cm³)
47 in³ (769 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
7.0

Build Quality Photo  

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Water-resistant (IPx4)

Dust Resistance 
 

Dust-Proof (IP6x)
No

Impact Resistance 
 

Yes (IK rating unspecified)
No

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
No
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
7.8

Controls Photo  

Controls Photo 2  

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Good

Feedback 
 

Great
Good

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
Yes

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.7
6.5

Frequency Response Graph  

See details
See details

Slope 
 

0.17
0.81

Std. Err. 
 

2.05 dB
2.79 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

76.6 Hz
72.3 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

18.8 kHz
15.1 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details
See details

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

6.3
6.1

Directivity Graph  

See details
See details

Directivity Index 
 

3.20 dB
3.55 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

6.1
5.5

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details
See details

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

87.1 dB SPL
81.3 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

3.55 dB
3.24 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

5.6
8.6

Battery Life 
 

5.0 hrs
15.5 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.8 hrs
4.4 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

9.3
4.6

Alexa 
 

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

Google Assistant 
 

No
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Speakerphone 
 

No
Yes

Siri 
 

No
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

Yes
No

Microphone Mute 
 

Yes
No

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
Great

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Good
Great
Show Text 

App 
 

9.3
6.3

App Picture  

App Name 
 

Sonos
Sound Connect

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
Graphic

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
No

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

7.4
9.3

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.0
5.2

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

128 ms
10 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

170 ms
73 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

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

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

7.8
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 
 

99 ms
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Check Price

White
Roam 2
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
White
LinkBuds Speaker
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Roam 2
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Light Grey
LinkBuds Speaker
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Olive
Roam 2
Amazon.com
 
Sunset
Roam 2
Amazon.com
 
Wave
Roam 2
Amazon.com
 

Sonos Roam 2

Sony LinkBuds Speaker

Comments

  1. Comparison

Sonos Roam 2 vs Sony LinkBuds Speaker: Main Discussion

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