Why No Bluetooth Stereo on Move and Roam?


Userlevel 3

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?
 
 

109 replies

Are there any plans to add Bluetooth stereo pairing capability to the Roam or Move?  If not, why?

 
 

Sonos does normally comment on future plans, and didn’t say anything about this missing feature on the Move.  I’d be really surprised if they said anything now.

 

As to why, There are typical reasons.  It’s often a technical problem,  which I am not sure would apply in this case.  Yes, other bluetooth speakers do it, but not sure how WiFi capabilities impact that.   I can’t see it being a feature that isn’t high enough on the customer priority list.  Perhaps Sonos thought it over complicated using the speakers?  Don’t think that’s the case.

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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....

So you said in the other thread.

What a life, before I had JBL and when they released third version of their connect system for pairing Bluetooth speakers and non of them works together, I was so mad, that I switched to the Sonos system. Now I find out, that u cant pair Move and Roam together? Not even two Moves or two Roams? 
Is there any company, which offers basic features (like pairing two speakers) and also still supports 2 years old speaker, so it doesn’t consider it as old like JBL does? 

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Yes this a major development oversight. All the technology/hardware for this capability is already present in these devices as designed. If they have wifi capabiliy/adapter, then the development team could have figured this out. The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 can do this very easily; it’s definitely not over complicating anything from a customer perspective. Embarrassing oversight!

Clearly Sonos don't consider it embarrassing or important,  as the same comments were made about the Move and they have done the same with the Roam. 

Yes this a major development oversight. All the technology/hardware for this capability is already present in these devices as designed. If they have wifi capabiliy/adapter, then the development team could have figured this out. The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 can do this very easily; it’s definitely not over complicating anything from a customer perspective. Embarrassing oversight!

 

Pretty sure that stereo pairing over bluetooth wouldn’t be utilizing WiFi.

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. 

Userlevel 3

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.

@AndrewJ . Why is it trolling to express an opinion different from yours? I haven't suggested that you have no right to express an opinion different from mine. I have not made any personally critical comments. 

And you are of course entitled not to buy a product that does not meet your needs.  And of course to explain your reasons. 

Maybe Sonos have made a stupid mistake.  I think it unlikely.  Please explain why expressing that view would be trolling. 

Userlevel 3

@John B You have made 16,000 replies which hopefully helped a lot of people but you are not helping with this discussion, that is why I said you must be trolling. Your last comment from 20 minutes ago on an unrelated thread is also not helpful but merely diminishes the frustrations of another user: “You had a bad experience. Every speaker I have added over the last 10 years has taken a minute or two and been trouble free. That includes a gen 3 Sub. Whatever the reason for your bad experience, a sample of 1 is not a logical justification for your assumption that it is always that way.” Why is this a helpful comment?

Why is it unhelpful to point out from long experience that a general conclusion is false?This is a public forum not a private conversation with Sonos.

 

To be constructive…

If I want stereo sound from my Roams away from any WiFi, I will use my phone as a hotspot and my £50 Amazon Fire tablet as a Sonos controller.

I am not suggesting that this will suit everyone who wants stereo when not connected to their home WiFi (or their holiday home WiFi, or friend’s WiFi, or whatever WiFi).  In fact, I am unlikely to use this myself, as it would be a bit antisocial on the beach, but some others may wish to try this approach if they have a use case for it.

If Sonos wanted to add stereo pairing they mostly likely can make it happen. But I have a feeling that they don’t do it  because it would hurt their other products especially their soundbars. Most likely a business decision ! 

If Sonos wanted to add stereo pairing they mostly likely can make it happen. But I have a feeling that they don’t do it  because it would hurt their other products especially their soundbars. Most likely a business decision ! 

This is plainly nonsensical.  You would only be using a soundbar on home WiFi and the Roam can be stereo paired on WiFi.  I think you must be confusing this issue with the fact that the Roam cannot be used as surround speakers, which is a completely different issue with totally different rationale.

lol I’m not confused at all you think everyone thinks like you or lives the same lifestyle as you ? Some people would gladly use two Roam or two moves as Stereo speakers to get better sound then their tv speakers have to offer instead of large sound bars but fire stick roku or whatever other streaming device or certain smart tv don’t offer WiFi streaming they only have Bluetooth option and WiF streaming is out of question. I would love to use 2 Roam or move(Move especially) in a Small living place instead of sound bar not everyone wants surround sound or large sound. stereo is sufficient for a lot of people and that would make people skip purchasing sound bars. Then again that’s just probably A reason Sonos didn’t put Stereo pairing feature in sure other business and profit related reasons. Definitely don’t think it has to do with technical issues. Not all the people in the world need soundbars for the most fancy setups. As a company sometimes you have make decisions that one product  doesn’t cannibalize other products in your catalog. 

There are significant technical differences in the capabilities of a Sonos soundbar and any Sonos speaker that is designed for multiroom music, not TV use.  I am sure Sonos designs its products with the hope of maximising sales and profits.  And if it fails to meet consumer needs it won’t make any money long term.  We’ll have to see.  I suspect the market for two Roams as main TV speakers is not large enough to be on their radar. 

Userlevel 1

Just upgraded my Bose portable speakers which had this feature. Bought a roam and a move assuming they would work the same way… I’m a Sonos fan and this is a bit of a head scratcher.  Please provide an update that will support this. 

If Sonos do add this feature they will do so for 2 Roams and/or 2 Moves. 

As you have bought a Roam and a Move, are you hoping that these will one day be stereo pairable? If so, that is very very unlikely, either in WiFi or Bluetooth modes.

There are significant technical differences in the capabilities of a Sonos soundbar and any Sonos speaker that is designed for multiroom music, not TV use.  I am sure Sonos designs its products with the hope of maximising sales and profits.  And if it fails to meet consumer needs it won’t make any money long term.  We’ll have to see.  I suspect the market for two Roams as main TV speakers is not large enough to be on their radar. 

 

I have to agree with this.  While there is logic to the argument that Sonos doesn’t want their customers to use a pair of bluetooth speakers for TV instead of a beam or arc, it is not all the information we have.  As pointed out, many people simply don’t want to go with a bluetooth solution for TV.  Then there is the cost factor. Although you get the benefit of having portable speakers with the pair of Moves/Roam option (if it were available) you aren’t saving money over a Beam or Arc respectively, and you aren’t getting an option to add surrounds or sub in the future.  As well, for the people that do want to use bluetooth, there are other bluetooth options available, and they are likely less interested in Sonos whole home audio in general.  Last and perhaps most importantly, it’s hard to make an argument that the customers gained by allowing bluetooth stereo pairing (for those who want it away from home) is less than those that would not be a Sonos soundbar in favor of bluetooth stereo pairing.

Userlevel 1

If Sonos do add this feature they will do so for 2 Roams and/or 2 Moves. 

As you have bought a Roam and a Move, are you hoping that these will one day be stereo pairable? If so, that is very very unlikely, either in WiFi or Bluetooth modes.

Yea. Was hoping it would work just like my Bose micro and Bose revolve. They could pair with Bluetooth. I will have to get a travel router and a battery pack to accomplish this with Sonos I guess. 

Sonos have never yet allowed different speakers to be stereo paired, even on WIFI. There are, apparently third party workarounds.

Stereo pairing a Roam and a Move is likely to sound terrible, IMO. A travel router and a battery pack won't be sufficient to bring that about.

Userlevel 3
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I am happy with my new Roam Wifi stereo setup in my working from home desk setup.

But I would also like a bluetooth stereo option.  

Wifi stereo demonstrates that two Roams are better than one for sound quality and volume.

Also the competition supports stereo speakers (Bose Revolve comes to mind).

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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!  

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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 ;)

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