Contributor I

Why No Bluetooth Stereo on Move and Roam?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 10, 2021
109 replies
10255 views

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?

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H

Huntsman180

Enthusiast I

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

Zephead2112

Trending Lyricist I

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

Zephead2112

Trending Lyricist I

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

ScooterGad

Lyricist I

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

John B

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

cabo453

Lyricist II

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

cabo453

Lyricist II

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

cabo453

Lyricist II

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

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