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Gen 1 Sonos 1 paired with new Sonos 1 - still get airplay and Alexa?

  • 11 October 2018
  • 16 replies
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Hi there,

I have a house full of gen 1 Sonos speakers. One set is two play 1s with a sub. I'm considering getting two new Play 1s, mostly because of the Alexa and Airplay technology built in.

However, I'd like to add one of them to the sub/Play 1 combo, and one paired with another first gen Play 1. In doing so, will the paired speakers still receive Alexa commands and airplay functionality? Or will only the one speaker actually play based on those commands and/or airplay?

Thanks!
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Best answer by John B 11 October 2018, 22:17

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16 replies

Hi. I think you need to revise your terminology. There is no gen 1 or gen 2 except in the case of the Play:5. Sonos produces two small speakers, the Play:1 (not Airplay 2 compatible, no built in Alexa), and the Sonos One (Airplay 2 compatible, Alexa enabled). They are different speakers, and therefore cannot be paired as stereo together, although like all Sonos speakers, they can be grouped. Grouping would allow you to use Alexa and Airplay 2 on the Play:1 (but not.in isolation from the Sonos One).
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Got it...thank you, John. I assumed the Sonos One was just the Play:1 upgraded (next generation), didn't realize it was a whole new speaker.

May I ask what the difference is between pairing and grouping?
Userlevel 7
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Pairing you get a stereo pair, a left and right speaker, grouping you get the same mono music from each speaker. If you have 3 speakers and pair two and group the third with the pair you will get stereo from the paired set and mono from the third.
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That makes sense...thank you, Stanley!
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What I have never tested is …. if you force pair the Play:1 and Sonos One (using Sonoseqencr since this is not Sonos supported). Will the Sonos One retain Alexa and Airplay functionality. It may not - and why Sonos doesn't allow officially the pairing.

I can try and see.
Userlevel 7
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ok I testing it ….. I paired a Sonos One and a Play:1 in Sonosequencr (I chose the Sonos One in top frame as the left speaker and Play:1 in bottom pain as the right speaker and the combined pairing kept the Sonos One original name).

Alexa on the Sonos One still worked.

I was able to use Airplay2 on iPhone to play to them as a stereo pair.

So as of currently (not guaranteed Sonos won't change something in future) - force pairing a Sonos One and Play:1 retains all Alexa abilities on the Sonos One and all Airplay abilities of the Sonos One.
Interesting experiment. Good to know.

How did they sound together?
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I didn’t move them to same room. I’m sure we’re fine.
I didn’t move them to same room. I’m sure we’re fine.
Chris,

Excuse my ignorance here...

Does sonos sequencr not 'stereo pair' them then into one sonos room name? I don’t use it. ...Or do you mean you didn’t move the speaker to the same physical room in your home?
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I stereo paired I just didn’t bother to physically take them both to same room to test.
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Chris - this is awesome. I'm assuming Sonosequencr is an app you can use in conjunction with your Sonos set up?

This may solve my issue. I want to create two stereo pairs with a Sonos One with a Play:1. Two separate rooms.
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Yes it’s in iOS App Store.
Cool!!! Is there an equivalent Android/PC software? Can I still use the SONOS App after pairing with Sequencer(Or Equivalnet)? Have 4 Sonos Ones, and 4 Sonos Play1s. Would really like to split them up to get Alexa in more locations.
Dang! These socks don't match. And the worst part is I have another pair just like it.

I do understand the desire to have Alexa in every room. But it still feels like having four pairs of odd socks. I think I would buy a couple of Dots and have four pairs of tonally matched speakers. But each to their own....

And I guess if Airplay matters too...
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An Echo dot and a Play 1 in the UK is a penny cheaper than a Sonos One. There are benefits to having separate devices (flexibilty, better echo functionality etc) but I don't know if there are any benefits to having the Sonos One? With my current limited knowledge I would buy the echo dot and a Play 1, especially if I was buying one echo dot for a stereo pair!
An Echo dot and a Play 1 in the UK is a penny cheaper than a Sonos One. There are benefits to having separate devices (flexibilty, better echo functionality etc) but I don't know if there are any benefits to having the Sonos One? With my current limited knowledge I would buy the echo dot and a Play 1, especially if I was buying one echo dot for a stereo pair!There are some advantages to the One that I can see
1 Just one device / power socket
2 Potentially can work with other voice control systems
3 Airplay 2 compatible.

So best option will depend on an individual's priorities. For me, Play:1 + Dot is better, but that won't be true for everyone.

But stereo pair a One and a Play:1, as some on this thread wish to do? Not for me.