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voice control Sonos Sl One

  • 10 October 2021
  • 11 replies
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  • Contributor I
  • 5 replies

Hi

i currently have two Sonos Sl ones as a stereo pair at the end of a long room. I wanted to add a voice control speaker at the other end. 
Initially I just wanted it completely separate to the two other speakers (ie just as a stand alone speaker for radio while in the kitchen). 
however now I’m wondering if I could link all three together to play the same thing. 
would a Sonos Sl one smart speaker do this for me? Ie would I be able to ask that speaker to play a radio station and hear it across all three speakers in the same room. (I don’t mind unpairing the stereo element of the other two if that’s what needs to happen?) 

anyadvice welcome on how best to do this. 
thanks

 

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Best answer by AjTrek1 10 October 2021, 14:23

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11 replies

Userlevel 7

The Sonos One SL as you know is not voice assistant cable. Adding a Sonos One would enable voice control. You could then speak to it and request music be played on the Sonos One SL stereo pair. To get the same source to play on the all speakers you could group them or use AirPlay 2.

The only other way to get music to play on the SL’s without investing in a voice capable Sonos product would be to invest in an Alexa or Google voice speaker and integrate it with the SL’s. For example an Amazon Echo Dot.

Hi AJ,

thanks for the reply and info. 
This pretty much aligned with what I had thought so thanks for confirming. 
My only other question was if I went with the Echo Dot option, could I get the same radio station / Spotify song to play out of all three simultaneously? Im guessing not . Ie The echo dot is only used to voice control the Sonos pair ?

thanks 

 

Userlevel 7

Tap the link to use a Echo Dot with Sonos One SL.
 

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3439?language=en_US

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @RJPG 

For all three speakers to play simultaneously (and in sync), they would all need to be Sonos devices. As well as the Sonos One, the Move and the Roam could also perform this task, with the additional benefits of them being portable and Bluetooth capable. Only the Roam can share Bluetooth to play on other speakers, however.

You would not need to unpair the existing stereo pair, unless you wanted to - with a third speaker in the same room, you might decide it’s best for all 3 to play both stereo channels. It’s up to you, or your better half!

Hi @RJPG 

For all three speakers to play simultaneously (and in sync), they would all need to be Sonos devices. As well as the Sonos One, the Move and the Roam could also perform this task, with the additional benefits of them being portable and Bluetooth capable. Only the Roam can share Bluetooth to play on other speakers, however.

You would not need to unpair the existing stereo pair, unless you wanted to - with a third speaker in the same room, you might decide it’s best for all 3 to play both stereo channels. It’s up to you, or your better half!

Thanks Corry! That’s very helpful. The roam might be a better option and give some flexibility for garden parties in the summer. 
many experience of this model. Much ‘lighter’ sound than the One or does it pack a punch too?

Badge +17

Hi @RJPG 

For all three speakers to play simultaneously (and in sync), they would all need to be Sonos devices. As well as the Sonos One, the Move and the Roam could also perform this task, with the additional benefits of them being portable and Bluetooth capable. Only the Roam can share Bluetooth to play on other speakers, however.

You would not need to unpair the existing stereo pair, unless you wanted to - with a third speaker in the same room, you might decide it’s best for all 3 to play both stereo channels. It’s up to you, or your better half!

Thanks Corry! That’s very helpful. The roam might be a better option and give some flexibility for garden parties in the summer. 
many experience of this model. Much ‘lighter’ sound than the One or does it pack a punch too?

I can chime in here!

 

I have several Ones, a Move and a Roam so I can try to explain the differences in sound here.

 

If we’re directly comparing the sound of a One to a Roam, the One definitely has more bass response, but that doesn’t mean Roam has none or is completely top heavy. Roam can still kick out a fair punch at higher volumes, but don’t expect to reach the levels achieved by a One. I’ve found that turning on Automatic TruePlay on Roam can help a lot depending on the environment, and it makes a large difference when I take it outside after just a couple of minutes. 

My stereo pair of Sonos Ones are my main listening speakers when working at my desk, and I use Roam when moving around the house, outside, or when travelling. 

Move has more bass response than a Roam, and is much more comparable to a One, but you do have the additional size and weight of the speaker to consider if you’re planning on moving it around with you. Move also has Automatic TruePlay so that’s something to consider.

 

The TL;DR of it is this: Sonos One has more bass than a Roam, but Roam is more portable and can still produce quite a punch.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Hi @RJPG 

For all three speakers to play simultaneously (and in sync), they would all need to be Sonos devices. As well as the Sonos One, the Move and the Roam could also perform this task, with the additional benefits of them being portable and Bluetooth capable. Only the Roam can share Bluetooth to play on other speakers, however.

You would not need to unpair the existing stereo pair, unless you wanted to - with a third speaker in the same room, you might decide it’s best for all 3 to play both stereo channels. It’s up to you, or your better half!

Thanks Corry! That’s very helpful. The roam might be a better option and give some flexibility for garden parties in the summer. 
many experience of this model. Much ‘lighter’ sound than the One or does it pack a punch too?

I can chime in here!

 

I have several Ones, a Move and a Roam so I can try to explain the differences in sound here.

 

If we’re directly comparing the sound of a One to a Roam, the One definitely has more bass response, but that doesn’t mean Roam has none or is completely top heavy. Roam can still kick out a fair punch at higher volumes, but don’t expect to reach the levels achieved by a One. I’ve found that turning on Automatic TruePlay on Roam can help a lot depending on the environment, and it makes a large difference when I take it outside after just a couple of minutes. 

My stereo pair of Sonos Ones are my main listening speakers when working at my desk, and I use Roam when moving around the house, outside, or when travelling. 

Move has more bass response than a Roam, and is much more comparable to a One, but you do have the additional size and weight of the speaker to consider if you’re planning on moving it around with you. Move also has Automatic TruePlay so that’s something to consider.

 

The TL;DR of it is this: Sonos One has more bass than a Roam, but Roam is more portable and can still produce quite a punch.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Hi James, 

thanks for the info. 
Not sure if you read back up the thread but my intention is to have my Sonos one SL pair down at one end of a long room. (These are currently paired as a stereo pair and are fantastic). 
I wanted to add a voice control Sonos at the other end of the room which I could control the music going through all 3 or just the voice controlled Sonos if just working down one end of the room. I know I can do that by asking Alexa to play a certain radio station through one room or the ‘two room group’ I’ll set up. 
I guess I wanted to make sure when all 3 are plating the same thing that the sound won’t be brilliant at one end of the room and ‘tinny’ down the other end but it sounds like that won’t be the case. 
Originally I was going to add a Sonos one with Voice control but I like the idea of a portable roam. 
you think the roam will work fine when grouped up with the Sonos One stereo pair in the same (long) room?

thanks again !

 

Badge +17

Hi James, 

thanks for the info. 
Not sure if you read back up the thread but my intention is to have my Sonos one SL pair down at one end of a long room. (These are currently paired as a stereo pair and are fantastic). 
I wanted to add a voice control Sonos at the other end of the room which I could control the music going through all 3 or just the voice controlled Sonos if just working down one end of the room. I know I can do that by asking Alexa to play a certain radio station through one room or the ‘two room group’ I’ll set up. 
I guess I wanted to make sure when all 3 are plating the same thing that the sound won’t be brilliant at one end of the room and ‘tinny’ down the other end but it sounds like that won’t be the case. 
Originally I was going to add a Sonos one with Voice control but I like the idea of a portable roam. 
you think the roam will work fine when grouped up with the Sonos One stereo pair in the same (long) room?

thanks again !

 

Understood!

Yeah, that sounds like it would work great. I don’t have a long room like the one you’re describing, but I do, on occasion, group my stereo paired Ones with Roam to get an even distribution of sound while doing housework or moving around my apartment.

 

You will need to set Roam at a higher volume than that of a One due to its smaller size, but you shouldn’t find that Roam is “tinny” or less “shiny” than the Ones. You will notice a difference, but it won’t be jarring or off-putting. 

 

Hope that helps!

Hi James,

yes that helps a lot. Thanks again. I think I know what’s on my Christmas list now. 
One last question if you gave a moment. I like the idea of being able to just grab the Roam and move around. 
do you have the Sonos wireless charger? 
I understand it will work with generic wireless chargers too?

thanks

 

Badge +17

Hi James,

yes that helps a lot. Thanks again. I think I know what’s on my Christmas list now. 
One last question if you gave a moment. I like the idea of being able to just grab the Roam and move around. 
do you have the Sonos wireless charger? 
I understand it will work with generic wireless chargers too?

thanks

 

Yes I do, and yes, Roam will charge from a non-Sonos, Qi-compatible wireless charger as long as it’s provided enough power via a plug that meets the power adapter requirements for charging Sonos Roam :slight_smile:

Great thanks James and thanks again to all the contributors above!