Why No Bluetooth Stereo on Move and Roam?

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109 replies

R

Hi,

 

Main reason why I am interest in Bluetooth Stereo is because it improves sound quality for video calls in these COVID times and 1 Sonos Roam is great in terms of sound quality but 2 in Stereo would be better + limited (quality) wifi coverage in the garden for my Moves … Using wifi based speaker in Zoom/Teams etc. setting creates echo because of delay (latency) while you do not have that issue with bluetooth. Would be great to have. That being said - both Move and Roam are top of their class speakers.

Grts,

RB

 
L
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I posted on this issue a couple months ago:  

 

I continue to see posts related to this issue, so there appears to be a growing number of Move customers that would like to see Bluetooth pairing added to the available features.   

What I haven’t seen is Sonos officially comment on the missing feature; only opinions of posters on this forum.   

Clearly, there must be a good reason why they didn’t include it with the initial release, and continue to ignore the request from a growing number of Move consumers. 

It would be nice to hear from someone within the company versus a bunch of speculation on why it hasn’t been done, and if it ever will be.

I own two Moves and occasionally use them both via WiFi around my house (outdoors and in rooms without permanent speakers installed).   However, I frequently use one of my Moves away from home via Bluetooth and would use the other paired alongside it if I could!  

 

You must have some beefy biceps if you are regularly taking two of them away from home ;)

Haha - well I’m NOT regularly taking two of them away from home because I can’t Bluetooth pair them. ;)  However, if one day I’m able to Bluetooth pair them, the 10 second walk out of my house to my vehicle won’t prevent me from bringing them along to tailgates, beach bonfires, camping or any other outdoor group gathering where I provide the tunes.  Two fit nicely in a small backpack.  If 6 lbs. is too heavy for someone to carry, I suggest subscribing to some lightweight exercise.  Haha    I wonder what those that complain about the weight of the Move do when they have to carry a bag of groceries from their vehicle into their house.   It’s all perspective :) 

G
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The question that really matters, surely, is: "For how many potential purchasers is lack of stereo pairing over Bluetooth a deal breaker?"

I would venture to suggest that the answer is "hardly any".

If so, Sonos' decision not to have this feature is neither embarrassing nor inexplicable. 

Maybe so.  That said, I currently own 20 zones of Sonos gear spread over three systems, and absolutely love every single one of them.  As for the Roam, I’d have already ordered two (and probably four for two systems) if Bluetooth stereo pairing was available, but for now I’ll be ordering zero and just staying with one of the other portable Bluetooth speaker manufacturers that supports this feature (which is most of them).  

George
J

I have no doubt that there will be potential purchasers who don't buy the Roam because this feature is missing. Just as there would have been those who would not have bought it if it hadn't had Airplay, or autotrueplay, or the ability to bring Bluetooth to the rest of the system, or its waterproof capabilities, or sound quality, or…

Nobody would vote against stereo over Bluetooth. All things being equal, having it would be better than not having it.

But Sonos must have considered including this feature, alongside otber features, and decided the development budget was best spent elsewhere. 

I have no way of knowing if that was a good judgement or a bad one, but it has to have been a deliberate one.

I don't imagine Sonos expect to capture 100% of the Bluetooth speaker market. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

K

 if one day I’m able to Bluetooth pair them, the 10 second walk out of my house to my vehicle won’t prevent me from bringing them along to tailgates, beach bonfires, camping or any other outdoor group gathering where I provide the tunes.  

I did exactly that when I travelled extensively in the pre Covid times with my mini rig portable BT speakers. They do wireless stereo pairing via bluetooth and when it works fine, it makes a big difference to the listening experience even outdoors. But here is the thing with them - the bluetooth pairing can be glitchy at times and perhaps that is a bluetooth limitation. 

T
Userlevel 2

I was going to buy 2 Sonos Roam speakers for stereo pairing over Bluetooth but when I found out that's not possible I was like WTF. Their are plenty of practical reasons why you need stereo pairing over Bluetooth instead of WI FI because WI FI isn't available everywhere but Bluetooth always is. I was wanting to replace my Dennons but at least I can pair them in stereo using my Bluetooth. I own the Arc with 2 One SL s and absolutely love them but I really wanted 2 Sonos Roams for the Portibility factor however without stereo pairing over Bluetooth your stuck with stereo pairing over WI FI only which sucks. Reality check WI FI isn’t portable  but Bluetooth is .I was wanting to take 2 Roams every time I went to a park etc.  When stereo pairing over Bluetooth is supported only then will I buy 2 Sonos Roam speakers. 

L
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I was going to buy 2 Sonos Roam speakers for stereo pairing over Bluetooth but when I found out that's not possible I was like WTF. Their are plenty of practical reasons why you need stereo pairing over Bluetooth instead of WI FI because WI FI isn't available everywhere but Bluetooth always is. I was wanting to replace my Dennons but at least I can pair them in stereo using my Bluetooth. I own the Arc with 2 One SL s and absolutely love them but I really wanted 2 Sonos Roams for the Portibility factor however without stereo pairing over Bluetooth your stuck with stereo pairing over WI FI only which sucks. Reality check WI FI isn’t portable  but Bluetooth is .I was wanting to take 2 Roams every time I went to a park etc.  When stereo pairing over Bluetooth is supported only then will I buy 2 Sonos Roam speakers. 

There are many of us that feel your pain.  Some say they don’t think this is a widespread issue with the Roam and Move.  The number of frustrations posted on various sites say otherwise.   The only question is (which no one on this forum seems to know), why would Sonos do this?  It’s deliberate, yes, but a huge oversight on speakers that are marketed as being able to stereo pair, and also marketed as portable with Bluetooth capability.  It must have added some sort of complexity from a financial or engineering standpoint.  

T
Userlevel 2

Thank You for the response 

melvimbe

There are many of us that feel your pain.  Some say they don’t think this is a widespread issue with the Roam and Move.  The number of frustrations posted on various sites say otherwise.   The only question is (which no one on this forum seems to know), why would Sonos do this?  It’s deliberate, yes, but a huge oversight on speakers that are marketed as being able to stereo pair, and also marketed as portable with Bluetooth capability.  It must have added some sort of complexity from a financial or engineering standpoint.  

As you’re implying, I don’t think a logical argument could be made that Sonos didn’t know this feature would be desired, or that inclusion wouldn’t make it a significantly better product.  It’s something people expected with the Move that never happened then either.  I can’t imagine there is a deliberate reason for leaving the feature off.  More people would buy a 2nd Roam with this feature, and I can’t imagine leaving the feature off somehow generate sales of other Sonos speakers. If there is a financial reason, it would have to be cost of producing the Roam in hardware or development costs.

I know it sounds simple from the outside looking in, but I really don’t know the complexity of a device that can communicate with multiple devices through WiFi and receive a bluetooth signal….and then send that signal to a nearby partner speaker.  I would guess that it requires the ability to send the signal via bluetooth, as I imagine other speakers do it.  Maybe Sonos intended to do it with WiFi, since they have the hardware, and that’s taken more to develop. Don’t know.

 

edit:  I should add that although I want bluetooth stereo pairing, I personally find it more cumbersome to deal with de-pairing of my Roam speakers every time I want to use one of them on bluetooth.  It messes up the connection with Alexa and other smart home settings to the point where I’m considering just never using them for bluetooth, or never strereo pairing them for WiFi.

Danny
J

I am coming to much the same conclusion as @melvimbe , whilst recognising that everybody’s use of Sonos is unique to them.  I think the Roam’s sound quality is amazing for its size, but stereo is of little value unless you are sitting in the ‘sweet spot’ and listening fairly attentively.  And I don’t think the Roam is quite good enough for that.  I would rather have a single Move, or possibly even a single One playing in the kitchen, than a stereo pair of Roams.  Purely a personal view, and I don’t expect everyone to agree.

On a different point, just as an experiment, I managed to play by Bluetooth to both my Roams simultaneously using ‘Dual Audio’ from my Samsung S9.  I think ‘Dual Audio’ may be a Samsung customisation rather than a core Android function.  But it worked for me and may be of interest to some users, who perhaps want the greater oomph of two speakers more than they want genuine stereo.  (And, possibly, own a recent Samsung device.)

Edit and further thought - I wonder if I can Dual Audio to my Move and one Roam?  Can’t think why I couldn’t.  Can’t think why I would want to, either.

Edit 2.  This thread has more on Samsung dual audio

 

Airgetlam

Curious as to what you find out. Without doing research, I’d assume that the ‘Dual Audio’ function is just two Bluetooth streams that are the same, and not a left/right stereo separation thing. 

But I concur, I think it’s a mistake for us to consider the Roam as anything other than a ‘personal’ speaker. Trying to force it in to replacing the functions of a Sonos Move, or Sonos One will likely end in unhappiness. The design is too different. 

Bruce
melvimbe

I am coming to much the same conclusion as @melvimbe , whilst recognising that everybody’s use of Sonos is unique to them.  I think the Roam’s sound quality is amazing for its size, but stereo is of little value unless you are sitting in the ‘sweet spot’ and listening fairly attentively.  And I don’t think the Roam is quite good enough for that.  I would rather have a single Move, or possibly even a single One playing in the kitchen, than a stereo pair of Roams.  Purely a personal view, and I don’t expect everyone to agree.

 

 

I would agree that Roam isn’t great for a space like a kitchen.   I think it works better in smaller spaces...but it’s difficult to really to have the Roam play double duty as both your portable speaker outside the home and covering a room in your home.  Can be done, but just not ideal.  I think I would rather have a single Move for this, and just to carry to the backyard for that case.

 

On a different point, just as an experiment, I managed to play by Bluetooth to both my Roams simultaneously using ‘Dual Audio’ from my Samsung S9.  I think ‘Dual Audio’ may be a Samsung customisation rather than a core Android function.  But it worked for me and may be of interest to some users, who perhaps want the greater oomph of two speakers more than they want genuine stereo.  (And, possibly, own a recent Samsung device.)

Edit and further thought - I wonder if I can Dual Audio to my Move and one Roam?  Can’t think why I couldn’t.  Can’t think why I would want to, either.

Edit 2.  This thread has more on Samsung dual audio

 

I don’t think the dual audio is for artificially creating a stereo pair, as that wouldn’t be good for some cases.  We are thinking it in terms of two portable speakers, but I imagine many want to connect to two  pairs of headphones instead.  It would be ideal if you had two kids in the backseat, for example.

But I concur, I think it’s a mistake for us to consider the Roam as anything other than a ‘personal’ speaker. Trying to force it in to replacing the functions of a Sonos Move, or Sonos One will likely end in unhappiness. The design is too different. 

I don’t see the Roam as replacing a Move or One, but it is versitle and fits some needs better than a Move or One.  And there are cases where you could use a Move, One, or Roam, but one of them is clearly the best tool for the job….if that makes sense.

Danny
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At this point, I would be satisfied being able to simply pair my two Moves to my phone via Bluetooth.  Don’t even really need it to be a stereo pair, just run each individually but simultaneously synced to my iPhone.  To increase the volume and expanded listening area when outdoors away from WiFi (tailgates, bonfires, camping, beach, etc.).   Which is what I’m able to do with my Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 mini speakers.  In fact, I can simultaneously pair as many of those to my phone as a I like and space them out.  They’re not stereo paired, but they don’t need to be in an outdoor setting.   Those little guys just don’t have the quality and strength that the Sonos Move has though.  

A
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I agree that the Roam is at the level of personal sound.  I don’t listen to them from any distance.  It is asking too much of small speakers. If I remember my physics correctly, for a point source like a speaker the power will drop off at an inverse of the square of the distance.  So smaller, less powerful speakers just can’t push sound out as far.

Mine are mostly sitting on either corner of my computer work area, no more than a few feet away from me.  When I take a speaker to go out to the BBQ I am still fairly close.  And obviously very close when I am in the shower. And the small enclosed space is perfect for the Roam.

For the kitchen a pair of Play:1s replaced my kitchen stereo a while ago.  They have the power to fill that space at levels I listen at. 

I haven’t turned on any of my stereos since I have been able to stream the local radio stations to my Beam, Playbar & Play Ones, my Play:1s, and now my Roams via Wi-Fi.  And being able to sync up the same music whatever room I am in is great.

But it would be nice to augment the sound from my laptop in stereo using the Bluetooth.  The Roam speakers are close and the sound would be awesome, much the same as the way I can enjoy the Roam Wi-Fi stereo right now.  Not enabling stereo for such great sounding personal speakers is a crying shame.

 

T
Userlevel 2

Why isn't stereo pairing via Bluetooth available on either the Move or Roam?

I have Bluetooth speakers from 2015 that cost $50 each that have stereo pairing capability.  I spent over $850 on a pair of Move's and was shocked to find they didn't have this capability.  It's a little mind boggling of an audio tech leader (and premium priced) Sonos product.
 
I'd be interested in purchasing a pair of the new Roam's, but without Bluetooth stereo pairing capability, I'm going to pass.  My primary use for these would be the beach, which obviously doesn't have Wi-Fi.
 
Are there any plans to add Bluetooth stereo pairing capability to the Roam or Move?  If not, why?
 
 

Me too

W
Userlevel 2

I just received my pair of Roams. I excitedly opened them, realized I need to upgrade to Sonos 2 to use them, which means begrudgingly sending my Play 5 to an early retirement. I reluctantly proceed. After getting one Roam added to my system, I was neutral in my reaction to the sound. I opened and setup the second Roam, set it up as a stereo pair on my home SONOS wifi system and was mildly impressed - until the right channel kept dropping. I need to turn it off then on then setup as a stereo again, then again get about three minutes of stereo listening before it does it again. Figuring maybe it would work better as a stereo over Bluetooth (which was the main reason I bought them) I quickly learned that wasn’t even an available feature? WTH..??!! If I want to use this Roam as a portable Bluetooth speaker, I’m stuck using just one, in mono? As others have mentioned, there are cheaper options that offer this feature. Hell, my single first gen Jambox has stereo sound on its own. I am utterly shocked that SONOS didn’t make stereo pairing over Bluetooth an option. I’m probably going to return these, and revert back to the SONOS 1 system so I can keep using my expensive Play 5. I am so disappointed by this who experience.

L
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I just received my pair of Roams. I excitedly opened them, realized I need to upgrade to Sonos 2 to use them, which means begrudgingly sending my Play 5 to an early retirement. I reluctantly proceed. After getting one Roam added to my system, I was neutral in my reaction to the sound. I opened and setup the second Roam, set it up as a stereo pair on my home SONOS wifi system and was mildly impressed - until the right channel kept dropping. I need to turn it off then on then setup as a stereo again, then again get about three minutes of stereo listening before it does it again. Figuring maybe it would work better as a stereo over Bluetooth (which was the main reason I bought them) I quickly learned that wasn’t even an available feature? WTH..??!! If I want to use this Roam as a portable Bluetooth speaker, I’m stuck using just one, in mono? As others have mentioned, there are cheaper options that offer this feature. Hell, my single first gen Jambox has stereo sound on its own. I am utterly shocked that SONOS didn’t make stereo pairing over Bluetooth an option. I’m probably going to return these, and revert back to the SONOS 1 system so I can keep using my expensive Play 5. I am so disappointed by this who experience.

Yep, you’re preaching to the choir on the lack of stereo pair in Bluetooth.  Or even pair in Bluetooth, and each of them play in mono.   Can’t imagine it was an oversight, just not sure why they would decide to not include it as a premier feature. 

Let’s see… we’re going to market and release a portable Bluetooth speaker that has the ability to stereo pair with another speaker… but not when you are using it as a portable Bluetooth speaker…  

W
Userlevel 2

I just received my pair of Roams. I excitedly opened them, realized I need to upgrade to Sonos 2 to use them, which means begrudgingly sending my Play 5 to an early retirement. I reluctantly proceed. After getting one Roam added to my system, I was neutral in my reaction to the sound. I opened and setup the second Roam, set it up as a stereo pair on my home SONOS wifi system and was mildly impressed - until the right channel kept dropping. I need to turn it off then on then setup as a stereo again, then again get about three minutes of stereo listening before it does it again. Figuring maybe it would work better as a stereo over Bluetooth (which was the main reason I bought them) I quickly learned that wasn’t even an available feature? WTH..??!! If I want to use this Roam as a portable Bluetooth speaker, I’m stuck using just one, in mono? As others have mentioned, there are cheaper options that offer this feature. Hell, my single first gen Jambox has stereo sound on its own. I am utterly shocked that SONOS didn’t make stereo pairing over Bluetooth an option. I’m probably going to return these, and revert back to the SONOS 1 system so I can keep using my expensive Play 5. I am so disappointed by this who experience.

Yep, you’re preaching to the choir on the lack of stereo pair in Bluetooth.  Or even pair in Bluetooth, and each of them play in mono.   Can’t imagine it was an oversight, just not sure why they would decide to not include it as a premier feature. 

Let’s see… we’re going to market and release a portable Bluetooth speaker that has the ability to stereo pair with another speaker… but not when you are using it as a portable Bluetooth speaker…  


Yep. It’s truly shocking that the brand that seems to be leading the space would fail on such an important and expected feature.
 

And I find it even more shocking that after months of countless devoted customers expressing frustration over this issue, that SONOS hasn’t even shown the consideration of acknowledging and addressing the big question – Will this EVER be a feature. I find it insulting and inconsiderate frankly.

ollieoftheuk
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My speculation is that this feature is coming. They have built the capability into the Sonos app to view Bluetooth devices, which is new. Stereo devices over bluetooth requires streaming to one device, which then streams one of the two audio channels to the other bluetooth device.

There is lots to go wrong in this process, and I am assuming that they have been having difficulty making this super reliable. They concluded there is value in the devices being sold without this capability while they iterate on making this feature reliable, and will release it through a software update once they get to that point.

It’s also worth noting where Sonos is coming from: at their roots they’re a software company that only recently shifted their focus to high quality hardware. Just a few years ago, their device tear-downs show how they effectively were reselling low quality audio components in a custom designed casing, and their differentiation was how the devices worked together over wifi. Competition led to them needing to compete in the acoustic space (which is why I am now a fan of them). However, my speculation is that this has led to a focus in acoustics and less in software capabilities.

For background: I work in tech in a leadership position and have been part of this type of decision making for new product releases.

L
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My speculation is that this feature is coming. They have built the capability into the Sonos app to view Bluetooth devices, which is new. Stereo devices over bluetooth requires streaming to one device, which then streams one of the two audio channels to the other bluetooth device.

There is lots to go wrong in this process, and I am assuming that they have been having difficulty making this super reliable. They concluded there is value in the devices being sold without this capability while they iterate on making this feature reliable, and will release it through a software update once they get to that point.

It’s also worth noting where Sonos is coming from: at their roots they’re a software company that only recently shifted their focus to high quality hardware. Just a few years ago, their device tear-downs show how they effectively were reselling low quality audio components in a custom designed casing, and their differentiation was how the devices worked together over wifi. Competition led to them needing to compete in the acoustic space (which is why I am now a fan of them). However, my speculation is that this has led to a focus in acoustics and less in software capabilities.

For background: I work in tech in a leadership position and have been part of this type of decision making for new product releases.

Thanks for your perspective.  This is one of the more helpful and seemingly knowledgeable posts I’ve seen on this forum.  

I sure hope you’re correct that the feature is coming soon! 

M

I bought the 2 Roams fully expecting to stereo pair on Blue tooth .

I am very disappointed it can’t be done.

Surley this could be achieved with a software update .

A comment from Sonos would be nice, we are your customers after all.

 

M

I am an idiot. I have bought 2 Sonos Roams and stupidly thought that they would be like my other portables - ieUE Wonderbooms and pair on Bluetooth easily, but no. Very surprised at Sonos for releasing Bluetooth speakers without the capability that every other vendor in this category would not dare to release without. I have gave my Wonderbooms to my daughter, I think I may ask for them back. Come on Sonos - give us an update! 

Airgetlam

Curious as to how the Wonderbooms achieve this. Is it a single signal to the first one, and then the speaker sends a second Bluetooth signal to the second speaker? Or is there some special software that allows your device to send two disparate Bluetooth channels, one to each speaker?

Bruce
S
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I was quite upset when realized its missing on Move. And its even bigger fail for Roam, as its concept is even more portable and lack of BT stereo kills whole concept for me....

This is the worst speaker i ever bought….. 

my frist one was the first UE boom i think 2014 and still running and stereo !!

 

What are sonos doing with this S..T !!!  I lost my money with this ridiculous speakers 

L

Roam, and Move to a lesser degree, IS advertised as speakers for people “on the move”! Defending Sonos for not supporting stereo “on the move”  is quite appalling and bordering on being fixated in fandom. I am a big Sonos fan and I have a lot of their devices (Arc, Sub, One, Play 1, Play 5 (2nd), Move, Roam etc) and they are great for home usage. When they run videos where you use the Roam in the woods I expect them to be equally good there! I have 1 Roam and its amazing for its size but I would buy a second one in an instant if stereo was supported as the sound is so much improved. The arguments about needing so much development to support bluetooth stereo etc is from people with no technical knowledge/feeling a need to defend Sonos. It is quite frankly a strange oversight by Sonos, no less, no more.

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