Why No Bluetooth Stereo on Move and Roam?



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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

Trying to understand what the release notes mean, especially the when connected to WiFi part.

 

“When connected to WiFi, Roam and Roam SL stereo pairs can now play stereo audio from Bluetooth sources. These stereo pairs will no longer separate when switching to Bluetooth mode. “
 

For example when I take my Roam and a Roam SL with me in my RV to the beach

will I be able to use them as a bluetooth stereo pair?

 

If I add a wifi router to my RV without world wide web connectivity, will that work?

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

Trying to understand what the release notes mean, especially the when connected to WiFi part.

 

“When connected to WiFi, Roam and Roam SL stereo pairs can now play stereo audio from Bluetooth sources. These stereo pairs will no longer separate when switching to Bluetooth mode. “
 

For example when I take my Roam and a Roam SL with me in my RV to the beach

will I be able to use them as a bluetooth stereo pair?

 

If I add a wifi router to my RV without world wide web connectivity, will that work?

Yes it should work fine. It needs the WiFi network to pair, not the internet. The Bluetooth audio then plays to the pair. I use it in our camper van, albeit in my case, I don’t carry the music with me so I do have mobile internet too, but it’s not necessary once you have setup and registered the Sonos devices.

A deal breaker? That’s the bar that Sonos is trying to meet with its products?

It’s a deal breaker for me because I was considering buying two to add to my sonos system but if they can't be used away from home, I’m going to wait until they add this feature. Clearly other people also care because they have made the same comments. Are you trolling here? I’m just giving honest feedback.

 

And the devices could use whatever protocol works best according to the developers, bluetooth or wifi.

Agreed.  This is a deal breaker for me.  I have one Move and would like to add another for outside patio listening on Bluetooth as a stereo pair.  Considered the Roam also, but limited stereo pairing on Bluetooth makes this a non-purchase for me.

A deal breaker? That’s the bar that Sonos is trying to meet with its products?

It’s a deal breaker for me because I was considering buying two to add to my sonos system but if they can't be used away from home, I’m going to wait until they add this feature. Clearly other people also care because they have made the same comments. Are you trolling here? I’m just giving honest feedback.

 

And the devices could use whatever protocol works best according to the developers, bluetooth or wifi.

Agreed.  This is a deal breaker for me.  I have one Move and would like to add another for outside patio listening on Bluetooth as a stereo pair.  Considered the Roam also, but limited stereo pairing on Bluetooth makes this a non-purchase for me.

Just add a nearby mobile Hotspot to the network settings in the Sonos App and play to a Roam stereo pair, using Bluetooth, away from Home, just take the mobile with you (which you will need as the Bluetooth audio source anyway.

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A deal breaker? That’s the bar that Sonos is trying to meet with its products?

It’s a deal breaker for me because I was considering buying two to add to my sonos system but if they can't be used away from home, I’m going to wait until they add this feature. Clearly other people also care because they have made the same comments. Are you trolling here? I’m just giving honest feedback.

 

And the devices could use whatever protocol works best according to the developers, bluetooth or wifi.

Agreed.  This is a deal breaker for me.  I have one Move and would like to add another for outside patio listening on Bluetooth as a stereo pair.  Considered the Roam also, but limited stereo pairing on Bluetooth makes this a non-purchase for me.

Just add a nearby mobile Hotspot to the network settings in the Sonos App and play to a Roam stereo pair, using Bluetooth, away from Home, just take the mobile with you (which you will need as the Bluetooth audio source anyway.

So what would be the delay in this case?  Is it going to be more like BT 20ms (assuming the stereo pair is “bonded”) or more like 75ms (assuming the pair is “grouped”)?

It is so frustrating that the Sonos doesn’t officially release latency numbers for the different kinds of connection scenarios.

Just add a nearby mobile Hotspot to the network settings in the Sonos App and play to a Roam stereo pair, using Bluetooth, away from Home, just take the mobile with you (which you will need as the Bluetooth audio source anyway.

So what would be the delay in this case?  Is it going to be more like BT 20ms (assuming the stereo pair is “bonded”) or more like 75ms (assuming the pair is “grouped”)?

It is so frustrating that the Sonos doesn’t officially release latency numbers for the different kinds of connection scenarios.

I haven't noticed the latency and I’m sure it’s not as much as 75ms to a Bluetooth-linked Roam stereo pair (which obviously play in perfect sync with each other when paired). I would notice that kind of delay. 

I say that, because when travelling/glamping in our camper van, I have linked a Roam stereo pair (WiFi linked together) using a Bluetooth connection to the left Roam speaker and an Amazon Fire TV stick and the TV Shows/Movies audio-output all play in lip-sync with the video on screen.

We use a D-Link dwr-2101 MiFi router to stream the A/V to the fire stick and the Bluetooth linked speakers sit vertical either side of the TV - that setup has always worked well and no noticeable delay in the Bluetooth audio.

Obviously the audio is stereo output from the Fire Stick, but it sounds better than our TV speakers by a mile. If there is any delay I couldn’t see/hear it with the video on screen.

Hope that assists.

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 have a Sonos Move and was thinking of getting a Move 2.  But, I will not buy another Move portable speaker from Sonos until they add stereo pairing with Bluetooth.  Too much money to spend to not have that functionality.  I think Sonos purposely  holds off on these features to force you to buy future updated speakers.  Not doing it.

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 have a Sonos Move and was thinking of getting a Move 2.  But, I will not buy another Move portable speaker from Sonos until they add stereo pairing with Bluetooth.  Too much money to spend to not have that functionality.  I think Sonos purposely  holds off on these features to force you to buy future updated speakers.  Not doing it.

Just use a dual BT transmitter, or any nearby mobile hotspot and you can send Bluetooth audio to two or, in some instances, ‘many more’ Roam/Move speakers - the Move 2 has stereo output anyway. If you don’t want to purchase though that’s entirely your prerogative. The Move 2 can even help keep mobile devices/hotspots charged up too.

Thanks for your reply and advice.  I researched dual transmitting and discovered that I can connect and stream to two bluetooth speakers at the same time by using "dual audio" on my Samsung Galaxy phone.  Below is link to instructions.  

https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/setup-dual-audio/

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