Why No Bluetooth Stereo on Move and Roam?

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109 replies

V
Userlevel 3

Buying new pair of speakers for portable use.

C’mon Sonos, still no stereo pair on bluetooth Roam? Dealbreaker for me :-(

Gonna throw my bucks to Flare 2 most probably..

G

I was interested in getting a pair of Roam speakers, until I found out that Bluetooth pairing for stereo isn’t available. I’ll probably get some other brand that has that feature, and unless they turn out to be crap I doubt if I would return for Roam speakers even if the Bluetooth feature becomes available later. That’s my 2 cents.

jgatie

I was interested in getting a pair of Roam speakers, until I found out that Bluetooth pairing for stereo isn’t available. I’ll probably get some other brand that has that feature, and unless they turn out to be crap I doubt if I would return for Roam speakers even if the Bluetooth feature becomes available later. That’s my 2 cents.

 

“Or the bunny gets it” posting aside, if you are uninterested in the Sonos Wi-Fi features of the Roam, it is probably best to get a plain old Bluetooth speaker.  

G

I was interested in getting a pair of Roam speakers, until I found out that Bluetooth pairing for stereo isn’t available. I’ll probably get some other brand that has that feature, and unless they turn out to be crap I doubt if I would return for Roam speakers even if the Bluetooth feature becomes available later. That’s my 2 cents.

 

“Or the bunny gets it” posting aside, if you are uninterested in the Sonos Wi-Fi features of the Roam, it is probably best to get a plain old Bluetooth speaker.  

It’s not that I’m uninterested in the Wi-Fi. I would probably use that more often than Bluetooth. When Bluetooth is the only option, I would want stereo pairing.

K

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. 

I don’t agree, this is an important feature that my old Bose micro speakers support and I love! I am also sure that many Sonos users would buy more than one roam or move if they could be paired!

H
Userlevel 3
Badge +4

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. 

I don’t agree, this is an important feature that my old Bose micro speakers support and I love! I am also sure that many Sonos users would buy more than one roam or move if they could be paired!

100% agree. 

I love my roam but won’t buy a second until Bluetooth stereo pairing is available. I’m aware that may not happen so the ball is in Sonos court 
 

 

Z
Userlevel 1
Badge

I bought two Roam SL’s today but I didn’t do my due diligence. I didn’t realise that you couldn’t create a stereo pair when using them away from home in Bluetooth mode. I bought them to replace two Megablast speakers which sound excellent but they are too big/heavy to take away on holiday. I also bought the Roams for garden duty and to compliment my existing Sonos system. I’m quite disappointed that I can’t take them on holiday as a stereo pair but it’s my own fault for not doing my homework properly. For the more technical members of the community and aside from any business considerations that Sonos have made, could Bluetooth stereo pairing be introduced by an update if Sonos chose to do so or has the mold been set? Thanks all. 

Ken_Griffiths

I bought two Roam SL’s today but I didn’t do my due diligence. I didn’t realise that you couldn’t create a stereo pair when using them away from home in Bluetooth mode. I bought them to replace two Megablast speakers which sound excellent but they are too big/heavy to take away on holiday. I also bought the Roams for garden duty and to compliment my existing Sonos system. I’m quite disappointed that I can’t take them on holiday as a stereo pair but it’s my own fault for not doing my homework properly. For the more technical members of the community and aside from any business considerations that Sonos have made, could Bluetooth stereo pairing be introduced by an update if Sonos chose to do so or has the mold been set? Thanks all. 

There are dual-audio mobile streaming BT transmitters on the market, like this example:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07J58KY3X

…such devices will ‘pair’ to two BT speakers and play the streaming BT audio in sync to both. I’ve tried this and they do seem to work okay - handy to play to two Roams at a remote location and the device linked above, also has a built-in rechargeable battery that will last the day.

Z
Userlevel 1
Badge

I bought two Roam SL’s today but I didn’t do my due diligence. I didn’t realise that you couldn’t create a stereo pair when using them away from home in Bluetooth mode. I bought them to replace two Megablast speakers which sound excellent but they are too big/heavy to take away on holiday. I also bought the Roams for garden duty and to compliment my existing Sonos system. I’m quite disappointed that I can’t take them on holiday as a stereo pair but it’s my own fault for not doing my homework properly. For the more technical members of the community and aside from any business considerations that Sonos have made, could Bluetooth stereo pairing be introduced by an update if Sonos chose to do so or has the mold been set? Thanks all. 

There are dual-audio mobile streaming BT transmitters on the market, like this example:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07J58KY3X

…such devices will ‘pair’ to two BT speakers and play the streaming BT audio in sync to both. I’ve tried this and they do seem to work okay - handy to play to two Roams at a remote location and the device linked above, also has a built-in rechargeable battery that will last the day.

Thank you Ken, I appreciate the advice.

S

The “stereo pair in Bluetooth” is such an obvious omission. It’s very disappointing that I haven’t seen a comment from someone at Sonos. Do they read these posts? I like many of you made the stupid mistake of assuming that buying two of these speakers would allow me to play my iPhone in stereo via Bluetooth. Of course that would work….right? I mean, why wouldn’t they include that feature? I remember calling Sonos after I bought these speakers about a year and a half ago. I wanted support to show me how to set up my speakers in Bluetooth stereo pair mode. “I’m sorry, but that feature is not available. We add features all the time, and I’m sure you’ll see that in a future firmware update.” Hasn’t happened yet. Hey Sonos. You can do better. 

J

You can use Airplay to play anything on your iPhone to a pair of Moves when attached to your home network. And how many users will be chucking a pair of Moves in their backpack when they head for the beach? I suspect this feature was omitted because it would have had virtually no impact on sales. 

C

Count me in the camp of disappointed.  I’m a HUGE SONOS user.  I have all KINDS of sonos products around my house and backyard (Ones, playbar, playsub, Play:1s, Play:3s, Connects, connect:amps, etc).  I bought these cause I’m a believer in the SONOS family of products.  I bought them as a speaker pair for my office (not home office) and was so disappointed that they don’t work as a bluetooth stereo pair.  They won’t work on my office wifi either cause “guest networks aren’t supported”.  Which means I have to set up a rogue network on my own to get it to work, and then, of course, they wouldn’t work on my home network.

So, I bought two BOSE Soundlink Revolves… they work effortlessly as a bluetooth stereo pair.  I was ready to give my money and allegience to Sonos here, but they are getting returned, and Bose can take my money.  So bummed.

Ken_Griffiths

Count me in the camp of disappointed.  I’m a HUGE SONOS user.  I have all KINDS of sonos products around my house and backyard (Ones, playbar, playsub, Play:1s, Play:3s, Connects, connect:amps, etc).  I bought these cause I’m a believer in the SONOS family of products.  I bought them as a speaker pair for my office (not home office) and was so disappointed that they don’t work as a bluetooth stereo pair.  They won’t work on my office wifi either cause “guest networks aren’t supported”.  Which means I have to set up a rogue network on my own to get it to work, and then, of course, they wouldn’t work on my home network.

So, I bought two BOSE Soundlink Revolves… they work effortlessly as a bluetooth stereo pair.  I was ready to give my money and allegience to Sonos here, but they are getting returned, and Bose can take my money.  So bummed.

You could have just plugged in a travel router, or even used a cheap MiFi device instead and got 24/48 streaming audio quality with numerous stereo-paired Moves over WiFi instead, plus access to Airplay, voice assistants etc. It’s really easy to take various mobile WiFi router devices with you these days, with/without internet access.

C

Count me in the camp of disappointed.  I’m a HUGE SONOS user.  I have all KINDS of sonos products around my house and backyard (Ones, playbar, playsub, Play:1s, Play:3s, Connects, connect:amps, etc).  I bought these cause I’m a believer in the SONOS family of products.  I bought them as a speaker pair for my office (not home office) and was so disappointed that they don’t work as a bluetooth stereo pair.  They won’t work on my office wifi either cause “guest networks aren’t supported”.  Which means I have to set up a rogue network on my own to get it to work, and then, of course, they wouldn’t work on my home network.

So, I bought two BOSE Soundlink Revolves… they work effortlessly as a bluetooth stereo pair.  I was ready to give my money and allegience to Sonos here, but they are getting returned, and Bose can take my money.  So bummed.

You could have just plugged in a travel router, or even used a cheap MiFi device instead and got 24/48 streaming audio quality with numerous stereo-paired Moves over WiFi instead, plus access to Airplay, voice assistants etc. It’s really easy to take various mobile WiFi router devices with you these days, with/without internet access.

 

So now I have to buy two Sonos roams, a mini travel Wi-Fi’s router, and pay for a data service on said router to do what comes included on the Bose speakers with my cell phone simply through Bluetooth?

 

I don’t understand why there a few posters on here that can’t understand why this is a miss by Sonos.  I really don’t understand why they created this device without this feature.  I’ve seen a ton of posters frustrated with and either choosing not to buy or return it (like me), so clearly it’s a miss by Sonos.  If they fix that, I’ll be very tempted to go back and buy it… but for now that is simply a dealbreaker miss on the design.  (/sad face)

fyi, the two Bose revolves work beautifully for this and connect in stereo with either a button sequence on the speakers or using a Bose app.  The sound quality is terrific for the size and my application as well.  There are great alternatives.

C

Oh and by the way, ,mifi hotspots are not supported for stereo pair.

Ken_Griffiths

So now I have to buy two Sonos roams, a mini travel Wi-Fi’s router, and pay for a data service on said router to do what comes included on the Bose speakers with my cell phone simply through Bluetooth?

I don’t understand why there a few posters on here that can’t understand why this is a miss by Sonos.  I really don’t understand why they created this device without this feature.  I’ve seen a ton of posters frustrated with and either choosing not to buy or return it (like me), so clearly it’s a miss by Sonos.  If they fix that, I’ll be very tempted to go back and buy it… but for now that is simply a dealbreaker miss on the design.  (/sad face)

fyi, the two Bose revolves work beautifully for this and connect in stereo with either a button sequence on the speakers or using a Bose app.  The sound quality is terrific for the size and my application as well.  There are great alternatives.

I have several MiFi devices here - the cheapest HUAWEI E5776 cost me £40 off eBay and will work with the Roams without a SIM card if they’re setup/registered and just want to play ALL audio sources over WiFi. It’s a much cheaper option when you have the Roams in your possession already, rather than buying another product.

It’s also much better quality audio plus you can have a lot more than just two Sonos products on the same connection  - There are dual BT transmitters available to use with two Roams too.

In my case the Roams will also work with the rest of my Sonos system when I return Home and moreover they act as a Bluetooth line-in for the rest of my portable and non-portable Sonos products - meaning I can play BT audio to every speaker in my Sonos Household (if I do ever need that option). 

So lots more advantages to sticking with the Roam, for the tiny added cost involved… I think I may have failed to mention other features like SoundSwap, Button Grouping, and Sonos Voice Control in my post here too.🤷‍♂️

Ken_Griffiths

Oh and by the way, ,mifi hotspots are not supported for stereo pair.

That is simply not the case - I have setup my D-Link DWR-2101 with multiple Sonos products, stereo paired and standalone devices, same for the HUAWEI E5776, which I have used with stereo paired Roams and Moves. The MiFi devices work well, similar infact to any other wireless travel router, particularly when playing locally stored audio (with, or without, internet access) and are great for all the streaming services audio too in areas where a 4G/5G signal is reasonable.

3 Attachments
J

When the Move came out, there were posts saying that it was incredible that BT stereo pairing wasn't possible. 

So what can we conclude from the fact that the feature is absent from the Roam too? Either Sonos are really, really, really,  really stupid, or their market research says this feature would have negligible effect on sales.

Take your pick.

C

Thanks KG for the thoughtful write up and pics.  How do you get your music if the mifi device the roams are connected to doesn’t have a SIM card and therefore data connection?

 

either way, it seems like a lot of work and extra products to do something that competing speakers already do out of the box (JBL, Bose, etc).  I’m a huge Sonos fan, but this feature is simply missing.  Great job for engineering around it, too much trouble for me, though.

for me, sadly I’m boxing them back up and taking them back.  If that feature is added, then I’ll reconsider.  If I’m the only one that feels that way, then so be it.  From reading this thread string, I really don’t think I am.

 

Ken_Griffiths

Thanks KG for the thoughtful write up and pics.  How do you get your music if the mifi device the roams are connected to doesn’t have a SIM card and therefore data connection?

Once device setup/registration is complete, internet access is not required if the audio is held locally… or a ‘sending’ device like a mobile using Airplay2 for example, has access to deliver the tracks either online (4g/5g mobile access), or offline (if stored on the mobile device), but I mostly stream from online services anyway and use the offline tracks when travelling if there is no internet access available, which is rare when travelling around a good many areas of the UK.

melvimbe

Thanks KG for the thoughtful write up and pics.  How do you get your music if the mifi device the roams are connected to doesn’t have a SIM card and therefore data connection?

 

either way, it seems like a lot of work and extra products to do something that competing speakers already do out of the box (JBL, Bose, etc).  I’m a huge Sonos fan, but this feature is simply missing.  Great job for engineering around it, too much trouble for me, though.

for me, sadly I’m boxing them back up and taking them back.  If that feature is added, then I’ll reconsider.  If I’m the only one that feels that way, then so be it.  From reading this thread string, I really don’t think I am.

 

 

It really depends on what features are your priority.  if you need stereo pairing over bluetooth, then the Sonos speakers are not for you.  If you need a bluetooth speaker that also works with your Sonos home audio setup, then you’ll want to get a Move or Roam. Is it a miss for Sonos not to provide stereo bluetooth? They surely would have appealed to more customers, but whether that was significant to cover cost of development and testing (while maintaining WiFi features) and whether the logistics of customers controlling stereo pairs over both WiFi and bluetooth proved to be confusing and frustrating to customers….I don’t know.

Either way, the feature isn’t there, and it makes perfect sense to buy the speaker(s) that fit your specific needs best.

Danny
Ken_Griffiths

Maybe it’s just a case that Sonos have been waiting for this BT improvement …

https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/12/23204956/bluetooth-le-audio-completed-low-power-high-quality-wireless-headphones

melvimbe

Maybe it’s just a case that Sonos have been waiting for this BT improvement …

https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/12/23204956/bluetooth-le-audio-completed-low-power-high-quality-wireless-headphones

 

Assuming Sonos Move and Roam can handle BLE audio, which seems likely, and that the source device can produce separate L/R channels over BLE, then Sonos would not do any stereo pairing at all, it’s just receiving a mono channel of audio.  If fact, seems like there would be nothing stopping you from using unlike BLE speakers as stereo pairs, or using as many speakers in the setup as you see fit.

It will be interesting to see how fast this new standard gets adopted.

Danny
S
Userlevel 2
Badge

STILL no BT stereo pairing?  How disappointing.

Ken_Griffiths

STILL no BT stereo pairing?  How disappointing.

It’s now available in certain configurations. See the S2 14.6 software release note here: https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3521

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