Sonos Debuts Cheaper Roam SL Portable Speaker for $159

    
    The new speaker looks the same as the original but leaves off the microphone and isn’t voice-enabled.
    David Carnoy/CNET
    The Sonos Roam ($179) is a very good portable WiFi/Bluetooth speaker that I?rated highly when it came out?last year. Now Sonos is releasing the Sonos Roam SL, which is essentially the same speaker without the integrated microphone, for $20 less. It’s available for preorder now and ships on March 15.
    See at Sonos
    That microphone on the more expensive model allowed you to issue voice commands using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant if the speaker is on your WiFi network at home, but could not be used for speakerphone calls.?
    

Enlarge Image

    
    The standard version has a microphone on top while the SL model drops it.
    Sonos
    Some people like having a voice-enabled “smart” speaker. However, for those who don’t care about that feature, the SL gives you the option to save a little money. Sonos did the same thing with its Sonos One speaker, which also comes in a?SL version for $20 less than the standard Sonos One.?
    Read our Sonos Roam review.