Allow more than one speaker per room group


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Apparently this is a popular request so I’m adding my voice. I have multiple speakers in one room (Play 5 and a stereo pair of One). I want to assign them all to the same room (permanent group). This should be fairly easy (like Apple Home or Phillips Hue) to have different names for the speaker but assign them all to the same room/group.

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40 replies

'The nature of a Sonos 'room'?! Yes, a very particular configuration of speakers!
The Play 1 and Sonos One are virtually identical other than the Alexa element. You are limited to control them only through the app and not through voice control as I do.
This is so disappointing you cannot do this. I have two Sonos Ones in my living room - one at one end and the other at the other end. I do not want a stereo pair. It makes no sense. But I want them to be both in my "living room".

Setting them up as different rooms and then grouping them does not work as my Pandora app only sees one room at a time and also my groups mysteriously become ungrouped every couple of days all by themselves.
Sorry, I don't have Pandora to test this, but I think that if you group the two rooms together in the Sonos app, and then play using the Pandora app to the one room, the second, grouped room should play at the same time.
Ah, I didn't address your second paragraph. Ungrouping of rooms is an indication that you've got some issues in your local wifi, and your speakers are dropping off, and then (hopefully) reconnecting. I think the first thing I'd try is a simple reboot of your speakers and router, and see if that helps.
'The nature of a Sonos 'room'?! Yes, a very particular configuration of speakers!
The Play 1 and Sonos One are virtually identical other than the Alexa element. You are limited to control them only through the app and not through voice control as I do.
Just for the record (I realise that's an older post) they are in fact very different in their internal components. A Sonos One is NOT a Play:1 with Alexa added.
Adding myself to the list of people that think it's nuts you can't have more than one speaker (or pair) in a room.

Sonos: not everyone has perfectly square rooms that fit 5.1 systems.
+1 here.... Especially when the new Ikea speakers will come out, people won't understand the Sonos-room-principle-idea
+1 here.... Especially when the new Ikea speakers will come out, people won't understand the Sonos-room-principle-ideaThat may be true, but the concept of a 'room' as a label for particular, logical operating units is fundamental to Sonos' system design. It can be a building block for other arrangements by grouping. That produces a system that is coherent and flexible.

It is fundamental. It isn't going to change.
So, I'll just have to live with multiple 'rooms' in my physical room? --todo: insert inception meme image here
So, I'll just have to live with multiple 'rooms' in my physical room? --todo: insert inception meme image here

Or you could optimize your sound by sticking with the standard Sonos room configuration(s), and using the extra speakers elsewhere in the home.
+1 here.... Especially when the new Ikea speakers will come out, people won't understand the Sonos-room-principle-idea

It's not like it's a hard concept to understand. And although, it seems like an easy thing for Sonos to implement, there are several consequences to consider from enabling such a feature. You may want to have 2 mono speakers to the same room, but what about the guy who wants to add 20? And then there is trueplay to consider? Trueplay currently tunes anything that's in the same logical room. How do you explain to a customer that you can trueplay a stereo pair, but not 2,3, or 4 etc mono speakers? What about HT setups? Are customers going to easily understand that those 2 extra speakers you want in the back for surround won't actually play surround, but they'll be slightly delayed behind the all the other speakers?

I think the rooms that Sonos currently have are actually the easiest to understand when you factor all the features that a room has. Perhaps what might make everyone happy is a more robust 'named group' that can be referenced in the Sonos app rooms tab as well as third party controls.
Dont forget the potential issues when using voice control.

So, I'll just have to live with multiple 'rooms' in my physical room? --todo: insert inception meme image hereOr you could optimize your sound by sticking with the standard Sonos room configuration(s), and using the extra speakers elsewhere in the home.


The problem isn't optimizing the sound as much as optimizing the room. My rooms just aren't compatible with the Sonos way of thinking. It's very arrogant of Sonos to presume they know what kind of setup I need without knowing what my house looks like. I should get to decide what is one room and what isn't, Sonos shouldn't interfere with this.

The problem isn't optimizing the sound as much as optimizing the room. My rooms just aren't compatible with the Sonos way of thinking. It's very arrogant of Sonos to presume they know what kind of setup I need without knowing what my house looks like. I should get to decide what is one room and what isn't, Sonos shouldn't interfere with this.


So group them. That's what grouping is for.

And arrogant? Sonos is a corporation, they cannot take on human characteristics. And Sonos are not "interfering" with anything, it's their product. They design it, and they get to decide how it works! If you don't like their product, you are perfectly free to choose another.
The thing here is that "room" in sonos equals a technical group of speakers wich is defined by functionality (compability as stereo/other group).

The Solution could be adding an additional abstraction level to allow different technical groups to form a "room" to beter represent the rel life speaker-topology in software.