Pairing a Play:1 with the new Sonos One

Hardly believable this is a hardware issue. The syncing process of the pair is done at software level.
I have a 5.1 set (Playbar + 2 Play:1 and one Sub) and I wanted to swap a Play:1 with a Sonos One and use the other Play:1 in the kitchen/bedroom. Now I'm avoiding Sonos One, as I'm disappointed with this marketing trick.

Sonos hear me: I'll never buy two Sonos One for my 5.1 configuration (and I was very excited about Sonos One).

So... an interesting thing happened yesterday... No, I wasn't able to pair my Sonos One and Play:1 together... but this has apparently reached the top within Sonos, as indicated by a tweet from Sonos' CEO: https://twitter.com/Patrick_Spence/status/922953675756187656

This is not a statement that this will be done, of course, but to see that our voices have been heard and that it's being considered is certainly positive. 🙂

Can’t read the tweet can you post it please

Been a major fan of Sonos and this as really left me feeling like I should send it back! Come on Sonos sort it!

It means nothing to me. Until I've on black and white this is a planned feature, the Sonos One will stay on the shelf. Cheers.

I was about to order the new One speaker but having read that it won't pair with my wife's existing Play:1, I'm going to buy her something else instead (no, not Play:1 neither).

lwol wrote:

I was about to order the new One speaker but having read that it won't pair with my wife's existing Play:1, I'm going to buy her something else instead (no, not Play:1 neither).

Your logic escapes me. You do understand what ‘pair’ means, right?

It's called a context. Make an effort and try to grasp it.

lwol wrote:

It's called a context. Make an effort and try to grasp it.

Ok, I’ll play: explain your logic.

I do find there to be a disconnect with with some as to what "pairing" means as opposed to "grouping" in this and other threads. To be clear (from the Sonos FAQ):

Stereo pairing two Sonos speakers together delivers a wider stereo experience by splitting the audio signal into dedicated left and right channels. In a stereo pair configuration, one of the speakers will play the left channel audio and the other will play the right channel. This is different than simply grouping the two speakers together.

Pairing is semi-permanently linking two speakers to play as two separate channels. You can also pair two surrounds and bond them to a Playbar or Playbase.

This has nothing to do with Grouping, which is a temporary linking of two or more rooms to play the same source in sync. You most certainly can group a Sonos One with a Play:1 (or a Connect, Connect:Amp, Play:3, Play:5, Playbar, Playbase or any model sold before them, in any combination).

Sonos has always allowed groups of unlike models and has never allowed pairs of unlike models. A Play:3 cannot pair with a Play:1, and an old version Play:5 cannot even be paired with a new generation Play:5. Certainly not a shock that a Sonos One cannot be paired with a Play:1 and well in keeping with past practices (and with much the same complaints as those when the new gen Play:5 came out).

jgatie wrote:

Certainly not a shock that a Sonos One cannot be paired with a Play:1 and well in keeping with past practices (and with much the same complaints as those when the new gen Play:5 came out).

True, but in the One case nobody really needs 12 microphones in the same room. This is a new kind of device and should be paired regardless of the model. Sonos said Play:1 and One sound the same. The new version of Play:5 sounds better than the old one, this is the point of not making them pair. It's very hard to marry the aesthetic reasons given by the CEO. If they look similar and sound the same, let me decide the aesthetics of my own living room.

rgalloni wrote:

True, but in the One case nobody really needs 12 microphones in the same room. This is a new kind of device and should be paired regardless of the model. Sonos said Play:1 and One sound the same. The new version of Play:5 sounds better than the old one, this is the point of not making them pair. It's very hard to marry the aesthetic reasons given by the CEO. If they look similar and sound the same, let me decide the aesthetics of my own living room.

I'm not saying there is not an argument for the two to be paired. I'm just saying that past practices are not on the side of that argument.

Totally agree with rgalloni let the customer decide about the aesthetics, if you don’t like buy another one but why have two microphones when you already have a play one I’m very dissatisfied that you can’t make a stereo pair, let’s hope they sort it.

lwol wrote:

I was about to order the new One speaker but having read that it won't pair with my wife's existing Play:1, I'm going to buy her something else instead (no, not Play:1 neither).

pwt wrote:

Your logic escapes me. You do understand what ‘pair’ means, right?

lwol wrote:

It's called a context. Make an effort and try to grasp it.

pwt wrote:

Ok, I’ll play: explain your logic.

Still waiting, @lwol. I'm ready to make an effort to grasp your thinking: "no, not Play:1 neither".

I'm on the fence with this topic - Let me explain: "Or am I"

I currently use the Amazon Echo to control my SONOS and that sits in the kitchen. I have 6 Play 1's all downstairs and now let's imagine I want to replace say one Play 1 in the kitchen and one Play 1 in the living room so I can use Alexa in both rooms, currently you can't pair the two models so I would at least have to replace 4 Play 1's in the house to get Alexa in the kitchen and living room. So that's a lot of wonga plus when I say Alexa what my news briefing in the kitchen and as the rooms in my house are small will it also pick up the command in the living room and all four speakers start blaring out the news.

However since I heard about the new "SONOS ONE" I didn't even contemplate that you would be able to pair different models, but are they that different? I would happily buy the new model in pairs (hint! hint! @Ryan S) and replace the six Play 1's I have.

I think the key point is that they didn't say that they couldn't be paired they just said it's "aesthetically odd to pair them" and I have to agree on that - thinking about it and now staring at my Play 1's it would be like have a Black one and a White one as a stereo pair, and would stick out like a sore thumb.

Dave

pwt, a futile effort.

By pairing I meant stereo pairing of Play:1 and One. I'm not happy with Sonos' business decision that doesn't allow it. That's all.

I'm just glad I checked the forums before buying the new speaker. Peace and have a nice weekend!

lwol wrote:

pwt, a futile effort.

By pairing I meant stereo pairing of Play:1 and One. I'm not happy with Sonos' business decision that doesn't allow it. That's all.

I'm just glad I checked the forums before buying the new speaker. Peace and have a nice weekend!

I think we understood what you meant, but a Play 1 and the new One colours are different and slight design changes so they would look ugly as a stereo pair - they never said it couldn't be done and have listened to their customers whom are requesting this feature.

Move on and have "Have a nice Day"

lwol wrote:

pwt, a futile effort.
By pairing I meant stereo pairing of Play:1 and One. I'm not happy with Sonos' business decision that doesn't allow it. That's all. I'm just glad I checked the forums before buying the new speaker. Peace and have a nice weekend!

Peace and likewise have a good w/e. I hope you buy your wife something nice. Thanks for the follow-up.

Look at mikev Post very little difference.

Fairfax22 wrote:

Look at mikev Post very little difference.

Please note that in my picture is a Play:1 Tone, not a regular Play:1. The Play:1 Tone was a limited-time version of the Play:1, available in all black or all white (like the Sonos One), unlike the regular Play:1 which has a gray grille and either white or black top/bottom pieces.

I'll also note that the Play:1 Tone is still different... it's entirely a matte finish while the Sonos One is not. That might help you figure out which is which in my picture. 🙂

Cut/paste from a post I wrote in one of the many threads on the same subject:
"I don't know why Sonos did not do this from the start, but from what I read of what their CEO said, it could be as simple as that it offended their aesthetic sensibilities, given that the two do not look exactly the same! I also don't believe that this is some subtle strategy to drive higher sales of their hardware. I expect this to change sooner than many other things that posters are complaining about on the app and the Alexa integration in general."
Personally, even if they paired in stereo, I would replace one of the units at the first opportunity. Well placed - which almost always is symmetrically - stereo speakers that don't look exactly the same would offend my sensibilities enough that it will affect the perceived sound quality from them.
Grouping is a different matter; I group a Connect Amp + passive speakers with a play 1 with Sonos Sub with no trouble of any kind, real or psychological.
PS: and although Sonos allow this, how many stereo pairs exist on a permanent basis that have one black and one white speaker?!

Unfortunately, I recently bought two Play 1 as a surround pair. The next day I found out about Play One. I ordered 2 thinking that I could split the pair and have two Alexa enabled pairs in separate rooms. No dice as I found out today. It only makes sense to upgrade the software to allow this to happen. Please add me as someone who is requesting Play:1 and Play One ability to make a pair. Thanks:(

Why would anyone ever need a stereo pair, both with Alexa control capability? It's an illogical use case. I would even expect that Sonos had some significant technical issues to resolve in order for one to be prioritized over the other. Bonding a Play 1 and a Sonos 1, however, is an obvious use case, especially if Sonos plans to continue both products.

I’m really looking forward to linking those two some way...feels odd replacing a Play:1 for a One if I already have one mic in each room...